Zenyu is excited to offer the 4th Annual Spiritual Wilderness Retreat for People of Color September 19-21, 2014. Yoga, guided meditation, gorgeous hiking opportunities in the world-famous Icicle Creek Canyon and the Enchantments, bonfires under the stars, and delicious food will be offered throughout the weekend, as well as ample time for solitary reflection and exploring. It has been a time of Great Change and there is no better place to seek healing and clarity than in the powerful presence of Nature, and with other like-hearted people. We will be camping and will have no access to cell service, electricity or other distractions, giving us a rare chance to reflect and go inward in healing community with wonderful people. For those who are new to the outdoors, this is a gentle introduction to the wilderness. We expect good weather, fall foliage, and a powerful healing adventure.

WHEN: September 19-21, 2014. Participants should plan to leave Seattle by 9AM on Friday, Sept 19 in order to get the most out of our time away. We will return by 8PM on Sunday, Sept 21.


WHERE: Ida Creek Campground in the Icicle Creek Canyon near Leavenworth, WA. We will be hiking nearby as well as in the world-famous Enchantments region of the North Cascades.

COST: $85-185 sliding scale ($85 covers the basic cost of food, accommodation and organizing costs but no compensation for leaders). Limited work-exchange scholarships available.

REGISTRATION: Spots will fill up quickly so please email Christine Cruz Guiao at christineguiao@gmail.com to receive a registration form. A non-refundable (but transferable if we find someone to take your spot) deposit of $50 is necessary to hold your space. The remaining balance will be due August 31, 2014.

Posted on June 28, 2012
Zenyu is excited to offer the 2nd Annual Spiritual Wilderness Retreat for People of Color September 21-23, 2012. Yoga, guided meditation, sound healing, gorgeous hiking opportunities, bonfires under the stars, and delicious food will be offered throughout the weekend, as well as ample time for solitary reflection and exploring. If 2012 has been a wild ride for you, then there is no better place to seek healing and clarity than in the powerful presence of Nature, and with other like-hearted people. For those who are new to the outdoors, this is a gentle introduction to the wilderness. We expect good weather, fall foliage, a beautiful waxing Harvest moon, and a powerful healing adventure.
WHEN: September 21-23, 2012. Participants should plan to leave Seattle by 12PM on Friday, Sept 21 in order to get the most out of our time away. We will return by 7PM on Sunday, Sept 23.
WHERE: TBD!
COST: $125-225 sliding scale ($125 covers the basic cost of food, accommodation and organizing costs but no compensation for leaders). Limited work-exchange scholarships available.
REGISTRATION: Spots will fill up quickly so please email Christine Cruz Guiao at christineguiao@gmail.com to receive a registration form. A non-refundable (but transferable if we find someone to take your spot) deposit of $50 is necessary to hold your space. The remaining balance will be due September 7, 2012.
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ABOUT US:

 Christine Cruz Guiao is a Brooklyn-born, Northwest-grown Pinay mystic artist and healer, who has explored and worshipped in wildernesses all over the world, including the Canadian Rockies, the Himalayas, Alaska, and her own wild heart. Born into the mystical Catholic tradition of her Philippine ancestors, she has also studied for over 15 years with esteemed teachers of Tibetan Buddhism, yoga, and the Earth-based spiritualities of the Coast Salish, Aleut and Native Hawaiian people. She has led regular meditations for People of Color for 6 years and has guided urban POCs in unforgettable wilderness adventures, believing that true empowerment comes from identification with our Highest and Best Self. She is Founder and Co-Director of Zenyu. For more information, check out: http://www.tawahealingworks.com

Nari Baker grew up on a small organic farm on Vashon Island that included a multitude of animals, family, community, and flowers. As a youth, she backpacked in the Cascade and Olympic mountains and sailed in the Puget Sound waters with her family. In 2009, Nari began a serious yoga practice and started teaching in 2011. As a new teacher, she is humbled and inspired by her teachers at Seattle Yoga Arts and students at POC Yoga and Rainier Health & Fitness. Nari deeply believes in the transformative healing powers of yoga, and embodiment as a radical tool of resistance for people of color.

Originally Posted on May 16, 2012

The Community Advisory Board of Zenyu are working hard to support Zenyu and would like to invite you to build with them and support one of our community partners, Hilltop Urban Gardens (H.U.G.) in Tacoma, WA.  Dean Jackson founded HUG in 2009 and has been cultivating their dream of food justice and sustainability.  We wanted to support that dream and cultivate healing justice by connecting our community to theirs.  Let’s grow together!  This WERQ Party is not a traditional work party, because we want to get GROUNDED with history, knowledge of food and healing justice, and EAT together!  So bring your laughter and some potluck items and get ready to WERQ it OwT and HUG it OwT with us on June 2nd!

DETAILS
This event is for all Zenyu members & folks interested in ZENYU or HUG.  That means everyone, especially LGBTIQQ people of color and family, friends, and allies.

FLOW
12:00pm – CARPOOL, Meet at Washington Hall (153 14th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98122) parking lot
12:45pm – ARRIVE at H.U.G. (2201 South Tacoma Way PMB 128, Tacoma, WA 98409)
1:00pm – Welcome/Grounding & History of H.U.G., Dean Jackson, Founder of H.U.G.
1:10pm – Meditation Circle, Christine Guiao, Co-Founder of ZENYU
1:30pm – Let the WORK begin*
3:45pm – Wrap up
4:00pm – Gathering Potluck & Land/Earth Story Telling & Knowledge Sharing about FOOD JUSTICE & HEALING JUSTICE**
5:00pm – CARPOOL back to Seattle

* In case of heavy rain, we will have an alternative work party & potluck inside that supports HUG
** Please bring a potluck item to share that will be warmed up and ready for you at 7:00pm when all the work is done.  Also, please bring your food, land, earth, and more stories to share and your curiosity about food and healing justice.
*** We need 25 participants and we want you there!

Donations of $5-$100 to support the work of H.U.G. No one turned away for lack of funds.  It takes a lot of work to be an independent urban farmer and non-profit organization director.  As a community partner, we want to encourage you to learn more about HUG and consider how to support monetarily, by long-term volunteering, and more.  Money will also go to support transportation and gas costs for people driving carpools.

RSVP by May 27, 2012 (Sunday) by sending this information to lulucar@gmail.com (we only have capacity for 25 participants) with SUBJECT LINE: RSVP for HUG

• Name:
• E-mail:
• Phone:
• Can you stay the whole time? (If no, what hours would you like to attend?)
• Do you want to carpool or meet us there?
• If you can carpool, can you donate your car or do you need a ride?  How many people does it hold (including you)?
• Can you bring a potluck item?  (If yes, what shall you bring?)
• Would you like to donate to HUG? (If yes, how much?

Please make checks payable to: 
H.U.G.

Send to:
H.U.G.
Attn: Zenyu WERQ Party
2201 South Tacoma Way PMB 128
Tacoma, WA 98409

For more information contact: Luzviminda “Lulu” Carpenter, Board of Directors Member, lulucar@gmail.com

Facebook invite: https://www.facebook.com/events/405775346122886/

The HILLTOP URBAN GARDEN (H.U.G.) mission is to develop systems for food sovereignty and create racial and economic justice. Our vision is communities that take care of each other. We strive to put the we back in me! HUG values interdependence, abundance and community building. We also recognize the importance of having a practical understanding of the issues that can act as barriers in our communities. While we dig our hands into the earth, HUG aims to build community-based solutions to these barriers.
http://www.hilltopurbangardens.com/

ZENYU is a Seattle-based, multicultural organization that cultivates the holistic well-being and leadership of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Inquiring (LGBTQI) People of Color through meditation classes, wilderness excursions, and spiritual retreats. We support long-term social change by developing solution-centered leadership based on compassion, mindfulness and co-operation among marginalized communities. Zenyu creates a safe, accessible, and affordable space for LGBTQI People of Color to cultivate their total well being. Through our programs, LGBTQI People of Color develop mindfulness-based spiritual practices by deepening their connection to their bodies and their spirit, and exploring the healing power of nature.

Posted on September 15, 2011
“First, their whole spiritual practice should be enveloped by the principles of metta (lovingkindness). Then they should be taken out into nature, into beautiful forests or mountains. They must stay there long enough to realize that they too are a part of nature. They must rest there until they too can feel harmony with all life and their proper place in the midst of all things.” – Buddhadasa, Thai Buddhist monk and philosopher

In many spiritual traditions all around the world, people journey into the wilderness for contemplation and (re)connection to the Divine.  In honor of the profound healing that we have personally received from the gifts of the Great Mother (Nature, Wilderness, whatever you wanna call Her!) and excited from the success of the first hike this past month, we are thrilled to announce that we will be organizing a monthly hike for People of Color on the 3rd  or 4th Saturday of every month.  The date will depend on organizer schedules and the unique gifts of each season (for instance, the September hike may be the 4th Saturday in order to catch the stunning fall foliage in the sub-alpine ecosystem).

We will be exploring and wandering through the mountains, rivers, and ocean wildernesses of the Pacific Northwest, primarily Washington, but forays and longer wilderness retreats in other states and Canadian provinces will also be dreamt up and then miraculously manifested in the future.

The goal of these wilderness adventures is to bring healing to communities of color through the Original Path: communing with each other and (re)connecting to All Living Beings by being out in nature, feeling the precious gift of your body.  There will be no preaching and no dogma, though we do ask that all who choose to come adopt, at least for the day, an attitude of nonviolence, openness and respect.  This is nonviolence in thought, word and action toward ourselves and others (individuals AND groups of people).  In other words, please don’t talk sh@$ about yourself or anybody else in the presence of the Mother!

COSTS: 1) gas money ($5-12 each time, depending on how many folks come and how far we venture)
2) if you have the means, offering to drive when you can
3) dana/love donation for organizing costs (so I can eat)!

Posted on September 15, 2011
It’s been over a month since the epic first annual Spiritual Wilderness Retreat for People of Color rocked the wilderness of Mt. Rainier.  On the weekend of August 5-7, 2011, 13 enthusiastic folks of color gathered to hike to a secluded mountain ridge, practice yoga, meditate, engage in deep dialogue about spirituality, build beautiful community, eat lots of delicious food, give impromptu tarot card readings…and play cutthroat games of Uno (while still remaining nonviolent, of course).  Stay tuned for a Winter 2012 Spiritual Wilderness Retreat!