“I had become stuck, and now that I’m taking part in The Immersion, so much gunk has been removed.” – Sam, a 2019 Immersion Student We talk with many folks who turn to The Immersion at Wilderness Awareness School for a big transformation in life. These are individuals who are prepared to bravely show up […]
It was time to gather our small, newly formed community for our final day of the Fall Quarter. We sat shoulder to shoulder in Malalo, one of our outdoor classrooms, as a fire burned high and bright in the center of our group. I was proud of that fire because I took part in creating […]
Welcome to the WEST! This is where the sun sets as we gather around the dinner table in the evening. This the time of Fall harvest, gathering the fruits of the year. As mentors we are tasked with gathering the stories of our students. It is in this shield that we help to weave those […]
Let us all take a deep breath as we relax into the South West. Here at The Immersion, this is an important shield to cultivate as we continue our journey around the medicine wheel. This is where the connections in our learning journey deepen. In the plant metaphor, this is when the internal woody growth […]
Let us enter the South! The South represents the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, or Mid-day when the sun is at the highest point in the sky residing directly in the South. This where we do the hard, physical, and mental work. This is where we make commitments and practice. We call […]
Let’s take a journey into the South East. This is a place of rapid growth, deeper orientation, electricity, rapid growth, a child’s passions, motivation, and Vitality. The Ordinal directions represent a place of transitions from one direction to the next. If the East is new growth and birth the southeast represents the rapid growth and […]
One powerful part of The Immersion is the projects and adventures that each individual student chooses to engage and create for themselves. Due to the fact that we have only 3 scheduled class days a week, that potentially gives us 4 days where we are free to fill with whatever passions move us. Many take that time […]
Here at The Immersion, we practice the skills of our ancient ancestors. We use these skills to better interact with the landscape and increase our ability to thrive in any scenario. Here is an example of some of the skills we learned this quarter. Stone Tools We spent a day down by the Tolt River […]
Like most of you, I have spent a lot of time in all types of classrooms. At university, I studied literary theory, plant taxonomy, ethnobotany, and even how to ride a horse. In the Army, I went through jump school, language school, and how-to-soldier school. However, the most significant school for my career as a […]
Come in, grab a blanket and warm yourself by the fire as we gather in the North West. A place of darkness after the sun has set and the light has faded. A time of year when the leaves have all fallen and the forest seems still, dark and wet. The time before winter comes […]