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Sister Miriam
Genesis
Farm
Press Release- World Renowned Speaker at upcoming Conference
Speaker
Spotlight: Sister Miriam McGillis
The International Conscious Design Conference
& Expo
September 27-29, 2007
Sponsored by the International
Feng Shui Guild & Conscious Design Magazine
"We're at a moment where there are no guarantees as to the Earth's future. It's a question of our own critical choices. And I think what we're deeply in need of is a transforming vision....A vision that opens the future up to hope."
About
20 years ago, sitting alone in my Oregon kitchen, I listened in rapt attention
to a tape of one of the most staggering and unsettling speeches that I had ever
heard. It was given by a quiet and unassuming nun whose words continue to reverberate
in my mind and heart, and totally changed my perception of life on Earth and my
responsibility to it. I had no idea that these prophetic words were not a common
language to her religious order, but were a new language for our times, and they
struck me to the core as Truth.
Today, it is with a sense
of wonder that I am now able to introduce to readers a little of the life of this
remarkable artist and teacher from a remarkable community-based farm in North
West New Jersey. Through the words and great work of Father Thomas Berry, a 'geologian'
and scholar- she has inspired many to a vision of hope for our future that includes
principles of conscious design with the largest possible perspective. Meaning
is brought to life by remembering that the stuff of earth is divine and is sacred
space. That includes you and me at our interior, as it is in the interior of all
life. Sr. Miriam is able to articulate the story of the Universe and its complexity
is a most fascinating way that takes us on a 15 Billion year old journey to the
present moment.
She will be speaking in her own backyard at the Conscious
Design Conference and Expo this September and I encourage you to listen well.
As conscious designers, we seek to be aware of the effects of our environments,
but larger than that is to see our role in the process of the unfolding of a universe
which was consciously designed from the beginning.
Miriam McGillis, the co-founder of Genesis Farm, (www.genesisfarm.org) established in 1980 with the sponsorship of her Dominican congregation of Caldwell, New Jersey. With almost miraculous expansion to 226-acres, the farm is a learning center for Earth studies. They offer a variety of residential and non-residential programs, including an accredited masters-level course in Earth Literacy. Designing in collaboration with the earth processes that are natural and self healing is an ongoing intention.
Genesis
Farm's Community Supported Garden cultivates biodynamic fruits and vegetables
on land free of chemical free soils for over 250 local families. Over many years
of experimentation in a new way of thinking about farming, it has evolved as a
highly successful model of small scale agriculture, independent of the aggressive
and competitive agri-business system which has crippled many small family farms
in the US.
In conjunction with several colleges and universities, the Learning
Center offers graduate and undergraduate credits in Earth Literacy. In these programs,
the focus is the connections between the health of our global commons of air,
water, and land, and the health of our local communities and 'bioregions', a term
coined by Father Berry to indicate the distinct differentiated regions of the
earth with regard to life forms, geography and climate.
Miriam would likely
say that their work is rooted in a spirituality that honors Earth as a primary
revelation of the divine. As a farmer, Sr. Miriam plants seeds of mystery that
produce an abundant crop of diverse ways to truly love this sacred space that
nurtures and supports the entire communion of life. With the image of the whole
and holy Earth as a divine support system of which we are all integrally and uniquely
a part, we are given a great gift.
For one of many, I am so grateful
to have met this wise teacher of transformation.
"My business is
the way I express my love to the world."
~Sister Miriam McGillis
Written by Anne Mansfield, International Feng Shui Guild President/CEO, 2004-2007
www.annemansfieldfengshui.com
Conference Information
For More Information on the Conference:
www.ConsciousDesignExpo.com
888-4591020
or email Deana@consciousdesignmagazine.com
Media
contact: pr@consciousdesignmagazine.com
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and sponsorship opportunities are available.
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