The Verdant Collective
Winter 2024
Detailed Immersion Information
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The location for our weekends will be Christiane’s house in the Gunbarrel section of Boulder: 6482 Jib Court 80301. The house is on a cul-de-sac with minimal parking so please park on Kalua. If you’ve got a lot to unload and want to park momentarily in the driveway that’s fine.
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The Verdant Collective is an intimate community of women. We will learn, grow, dismantle, unravel, and re-weave, over and over. While The Collective will likely be one of the most nourishing experiences you have ever had, it is likely also to be, at times, quite disorienting as we remove scripts about love, arousal, intimacy, self-identity, community, and more.
The Verdant Collective is an advanced program. It is expected that you already have the resources outside of the program to process and receive skillful support around any pieces of trauma and wounding that arise as a result of our beautifully wild and old-world dance together. We welcome your articulation of your experience within the circle, and we will skillfully weave the individual threads into the Collective tapestry to redefine what women’s community means, how it looks, what it’s for and more. And, we gratefully rely on your wise and already-existing resources to hold you in your individual process through these four months.
It warrants repeating (perhaps many times) that this experience is likely to be different from anything you’ve done so far. Your self-care needs might also be different because of this. Please pay attention to your energy level, your nourishment, your exercise, your quiet time and of course, your sleep. If you have any questions about this please reach out to us and/or one another.
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Our erotic intelligence, our vibrancy, our deep embodiment, and capacity to be present to ourselves and our Collective sisters is our primary focus for these four months. Because of this, we are each responsible for co-creating a sober environment. In this context, ‘sober’ means: the capacity to be present, tracking your experience, and in relationship with yourself and the women in the room.
If there are substances you take in support of your capacity to be present (including pharmaceuticals and/or self-prescribed medicines including plant medicines and micro-dosing) we ask that you let us know. While these medicines might support your capacity to be present, they also might have an impact on your experience of pleasure and we want to be able to support you. The more we are informed, the more we can support you and the community. Please speak to us if you have questions or concerns about this request.
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We will have an initial conversation to create Collective Guidelines for our weekend immersions, which will include a conversation about the use of gloves for any direct genital touch. We will provide nitrile gloves and The Collective will be a latex-free environment.
This brings us to the important conversation around sexually transmitted infections. The statistics are tremendous at this point for things like the herpes virus. More than half of us in The Collective likely test positive as carriers of this highly intelligent and adaptive microorganism. We will follow well-tested protocols for hygiene. If you are living with the Herpes Virus please let your pod-mates know if you’re experiencing an outbreak during our weekend immersions. We ask that everyone practice great attention and care for your own wellness and the wellness of your Collective mates.
We will be using fractionated coconut for all our body work. If you have a sensitivity to this please bring the oil you know works for you. You won’t need this for our first weekend together, but you will for the rest of our time together.
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We will provide small hand towels, table pillows and light blankets for your comfort. Also, we will have tea, hot water and other essentials like honey, creamers [dairy and non] and light snacks like fruit, nuts, etc. There will be a place in the fridge/cooler for your perishable food items but space is limited so please pack your food in small containers.
In addition to whatever you know will support your well-resourced participation during each weekend, we ask you to bring the following items:
Water bottle
Journal & pen
A lunch for each day and whatever snacks you require to stay well-nourished (there will not be time to go offsite for lunches)
A sarong, robe and/or shawl so you have exactly what you want in the way of wrapping and warming
A sheet for your table work
Any particular talismans, items and objects that support your participation and groundedness. During each weekend we will construct an ever-shifting altar area of gratitude, reverence and repair. It will be part of our coming together each weekend to attend to this altar. You will bring your items home after each weekend but you may leave them for the duration of each of the four days.
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We need help each weekend from two of you to tend our Women’s Hut. It’s not a large job, just 15-20 minutes before we start, and 15-20 minutes at the end of each day. You can use this spreadsheet to sign up for the weekend of your choice.
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If you are running late or have an emergency, please be in touch with us. Any last-minute messages and updates about your arrival during weekends should be directed to Chris Muse at (303) 433-7873. Please do let us know if you’re going to be unexpectedly delayed. We will start our days promptly at 10. You are welcome to arrive as early as 9:40 to get settled in.
Core Faculty
Christiane Pelmas 303-449-8590 christianepelmas@gmail.com
Chris Muse 303-433-7873 chrismuseme@gmail.com
Alyssa Morin 720-220-5777 alyssa.a.morin@gmail.com
Participant Contact Link
Please use this Google Doc to verify and update your contact if needed
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ALL TIMES MOUNTAIN
Calls
February 1st, 5 – 7 pm
February 22nd, 5 – 7 pm
March 21st, 5 – 7 pm
April 25th, 5 – 7 pm
May 30th, 5 – 7 pmImmersion #1 February
Thursday, February 8, 10 – 5
Friday, February 9, 10 – 5
Saturday, February 10, 10 – 5
Sunday, February 11, 10 – 3Immersion #2 March
Thursday, March 7, 10 – 5
Friday, March 9, 10 – 5
Saturday, March 9, 10 – 5
Sunday, March 10, 10 – 3Immersion #3 April
Thursday, April 11, 10 – 5
Friday, April 12, 10 – 5
Saturday, April 13, 10 – 5
Sunday, April 14, 10 – 3Immersion #4 May
Thursday, May 16, 10 – 5
Friday, May 17, 10 – 5
Saturday, May 18, 10 – 5
Sunday, May 19, 10 – 3Make up Weekend (if Necessary)
Thursday, May 30, 10 – 5
Friday, May 31, 10 – 5
Saturday, June 1, 10 – 5
Sunday, June 2, 10 – 3
If you’d prefer to have this information in a printable document, use this link.
Sisters and Pods
Sisters:
Kassandra/Nikki/Mary
Sarah/Melissa
Betina/Kim
Ann/Jojo
Pods:
Muse: Melissa, Kassandra, Kim
Alyssa: Mary, JoJo, Betina
Christiane: Ann, Nikki, Sarah
Poetry, Readings, and Handouts
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Click on the name of the poem or handout to access.
Two Countries by Naomi Shihab Nye
Ask Much, the Voice Suggested by Jane Hirshfield
Sanctuary by Ada Limón
Suppositions by Pattiann Rogers
Salvage by Ada Limón
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Remember by Joy Harjo
“Recognize that the very molecules that make up your body, the atoms that construct the molecules, are traceable to the crucibles that were once the centers of high mass stars that exploded their chemically rich guts into the galaxy, enriching pristine gas clouds with the chemistry of life. So that we are all connected to each other biologically, to the earth chemically and to the rest of the universe atomically...It’s not that we are better than the universe, we are part of the universe. We are in the universe and the universe is in us.”
– Neil deGrasse Tyson
“The body remembers, the bones remember, the joints remember, even the little finger remembers. Memory is lodged in pictures and feelings in the cells themselves. Like a sponge filled with water, anywhere the flesh is pressed, wrung, even touched lightly, a memory may flow out in a stream.”
– Clarissa Pinkola EstésThe Grooming by Patiann Rogers
How Angels Come by Miriam Darlington
Because of Our Wisdom by Hafiz
Fire by William Carpenter
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Boomerang Valentine by Andrea Gibson (and a video of them performing it)
Learning to Fly by Manju Kapur
Instead of Depression by Andrea Gibson
Great As You Are by Susan Griffin
It Seems Like Something’s Happening Here by The VC 2024
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Wild Geese by Mary Oliver
You, Darkness, by Rilke
Instructions for the Journey, by Pat Schneider
When Women Were Birds, by Terry Tempest Williams