DANCING WITH THOREAU
A new film by Chis Korrow, creator of Garden Insects
FIRST SCREENING AT THE CLYDE THEATER, LANGLEY, WASHINGTON
(WHIDBEY ISLAND) JUNE 22, 2014, 2 PM
About the film
Dancing with Thoreau is a feature film that inspires a connection with nature. Journey with the filmmaker as he explores the benefits of a connection with nature, and how and why we, as a Western society, can and should reconnect with our environment.
How does a connection with our natural
environment strengthen our spiritual, physical, creative, economic, and
intellectual pursuits? How can the cultivation of a spiritual outlook
and practice support a healthy and balanced natural environment?
Dancing with Thoreau
weaves Chris's film footage and photography from dynamic natural
environments across the country together with commentary from leading
edge teachers, naturalists, farmers, scientists, spiritual leaders, and
representatives of major religions as he explores these questions.
Climate
scientists tell us we might be heading toward irreversible climate
change, and so many of us do our best to “go green.” Through this film, we articulate a different kind of environmental activism,
one where we are “optimized through our encounters with nature” and our
lives become more compassionate, successful, balanced, and interesting
as a result.
Some of the key subjects in the film are:
Perception and awareness.
The effects of nature on our mind and well being.
Laws of nature. (For example: sustainability and balance are not simply concepts, but actual laws that govern our existence.)
How color, sound, touch, and smell affect us.
Techniques to develop a deeper connection with nature.
Religious leaders who are embracing nature and its effect on our spirituality.
Gardening and agriculture as a way to reconnect with nature.
The importance of children spending time in nature.
From
the filmmaker: “I’ve been helping people to connect with nature for
over thirty years. This work is one of the main reasons I became a
farmer, since the care of the soil and the raising of vegetables is one
of the easiest pathways I’ve found by which we can all come into a
closer connection to this beautiful world in which we live. Dancing With
Thoreau is the culmination of my life's work thus far.”
Who appears in the film:
His Holiness The Dalai Lama
Jon Young (Author of What the Robin Knows, Coyote’s Guide to Connecting with Nature, and founder of the Wilderness Awareness School.)
David Suzuki (Author, activist and host of Canadian public television’s The Nature of Things.)
Stephan Schwartz
(Senior Samueli Fellow for Brain, Mind, and Healing of the Samueli
Institute, and a research associate of the Cognitive Sciences Laboratory
of the Laboratories for Fundamental Research and a columnist for the
journal Explore.)
April Blair & Matthew Bibeau (Founders and teachers of Mother Earth School, a Waldorf-inspired all-outdoor preschool and kindergarten in Portland, Oregon.)
Denis Hayes (National coordinator of the first Earth Day when he was 25, one of Time magazine’s
“Heroes of the Planet,” and president of the Bullitt Foundation,
founders of the Bullitt Center—the world’s greenest commercial
building.)
Jeffrey Cramer (Notable Thoreau scholar and author of many books, including, The Portable Thoreau, Viking/Penguin, 2012.)
Richard Ryan, PhD (Professor of psychology, psychiatry, and
education, University of Rochester. Lead author of “Vitalizing effects
of being outdoors and in nature,” Journal of Environmental Psychology.)
Elizabeth K. Nisbet, PhD (Psychology Department, Trent University,
Ontario. Researcher on individual differences in subjective
connectedness with nature--nature relatedness--and the links with
health, well-being/happiness, and environmentally sustainable
behavior.)
Dennis Klocek
(Founder of the Coros Institute, dedicated to dialogue between
individuals in the sciences, the arts, and business with a commitment
to spiritual values arising from the contemplative life; director,
Consciousness Studies at Rudolf Steiner College, CA; international
lecturer; author of many books including, Climate, The Soul of the Earth; The Seer's Handbook; Drawing from the Book of Nature and his most recent book, Sacred Agriculture.)
The Rev. Canon Sally G. Bingham (Rev. Bingham has brought
widespread attention to the link between religious faith and the
environment through her work on The Regeneration Project and the
Interfaith Power & Light campaign. As one of the first faith
leaders to fully recognize global warming as a core moral issue, she
has mobilized thousands of religious people to put their faith into
action through energy stewardship. She serves as Canon for the
Environment in the Episcopal Diocese of California and is the lead
author of Love God Heal Earth. In 2012, Rev. Bingham was awarded the Audubon Society’s Rachel Carson Award for her environmental leadership.)
So, how does nature connection benefit us in our everyday lives?
Here is some of what the film will explore:
Most
of us look at our relationship with nature simply in terms of
environmental issues. But our connection (or disconnection) with the
natural world goes far beyond a material relationship.
Someone
once said that “insanity is doing the same thing over and over again
and expecting different results.” Gaining a new and different point of
view is where a nature connection can really benefit us.
Concerns
we face in society revolve largely around money, time, scheduling,
reputation, and fulfilling a myriad of material desires, whereas what
matters in nature is balance, living life in the moment, understanding
one’s place in the surrounding environment, and finding satisfaction and
fulfillment with what already exists.
April
Blair of the Mother Earth School in Portland explains how, when a child
climbs a tree, there is nothing uniform in the tree. Branches are at
different angels, strength, and distances, so a child's brain-body
connection has to deal with this in a much more creative way than when
he or she is on a playground, where the jungle gym is uniform and of
consistent strengths. Nature connection triggers a different creative
process, which is why so many of the great thinkers spent time in nature
for inspiration.
By
increasing our relationship with nature, we double our ability to
problem solve. We already have access to the knowledge and wisdom that
our society has to offer, and as we increase our connection with our
natural environment, we add to that the vast amount of knowledge and
wisdom available in nature.
The
scientific community is discovering that spending time in nature
reduces stress and aggression, improves self esteem and creativity, and
strengthens community.
Nature transcends religion and
politics—nature is nondenominational and has no ties to a political
affiliation. As Jon Young stated when he was interviewed for the film,
“It’s purely a matter of ergonomics, this body was meant for it, a
connection with nature optimizes us.”
About the filmmaker:
Chris Korrow is a farmer, naturalist, photographer, filmmaker, and author. His film
Garden Insects won three film festival awards and premiered nationwide on
PBS.
Frost Flowers has aired on
PBS Kentucky for several years. Most recently, he has collaborated on a series of short films on food and local economy for the
Whidbey Institute’s Thriving Communities effort, a series of conferences on community resiliency.
He has a new children’s book called
The Organic Bug Book (SteinerBooks 2013), and is based on his award-winning film,
Garden Insects. He is the author of
The 30 Square-Foot Garden,
A Guide for Observing Nature and
Awakening to Nature.
For
over 20 years, Chris and his family lived on a rural Kentucky farm in a
solar-powered home and ran an organic/biodynamic vegetable business.
They lived a sustainable lifestyle, growing most of their own food, with
no phone, no electricity, and no hot running water. They are now based
on Whidbey Island, Washington, living right in town. He grows vegetables
on a one-third acre market garden inside the city limits of Langley,
within walking distance of home, and the produce is for sale through an
honor system farm stand.
Chris and his wife Christy have embarked on a new project to create an
affordable, green, co-housing neighborhood on 10 acres of woods and meadow in their hometown of Langley.
He
explores the intersections between nature, agriculture, community, and
spirituality through his media company, Breathe Deep Productions.
