Mind Like Water, Heart Like Fire
A Remarkable Journey of the Spirit

Santa Fe, New Mexico

September 18-25, 2006

Overview | Day-by-Day Itinerary

According to the Popcorn Report for trends for the 21st century, spirituality will become much more integral to daily life as companies start to incorporate meditation or “spirituality breaks” for employees.  Life will focus more on living and being (words echoed by Don Coyhis of the Mohican Tribe) than on buying and having.  Those in any type of position of influence need to know and understand not just the future implications of leading with heart and mind but also the roots of this ancient Wisdom tradition.

A leader has often been defined as someone who influences others.  This can be in very subtle ways like a manager who considers family time important and will not on a consistent basis work overtime hours.  This sends a gentle message of leading by example and may influence others to the values placed on family life and relationships. Other influences may be more dramatic such as the civil rights movement propelled by Martin Luther King Jr. or the peaceful movement of the Suquamish people by the great Chief Seattle who said to the white man, “We may be brothers after all. We shall see”. The words of both these men continue to resonate and speak to us through the ages.

Similarly, leaders may also influence for reasons that are disagreeable or repugnant to us such as Osama Bin Laden or perhaps even Robert Oppenheimer the principal architect behind the atomic bomb that killed 140,000 people by the end of 1945.  Chief Seattle believed that the longest journey we will ever take is from the mind to the heart.  But, to be a wise and tested leader is to also make the journey from the heart back to the mind to influence others in noble and compassionate ways. 

It is our intent with this pilgrimage to begin the journey with the mind using the influential implications tool to explore possible future outcomes of a decision or choice. We then move into the deeper Wisdom Ways of the heart through Native American rituals and time-honored contemplative practices.  By integrating the wisdom gathered from both the heart and mind the leader’s path does indeed become a remarkable journey of wisdom and vision.

Day 1 – Santa Fe – Our Grounding in the Desert Place – Gathering in the Capitol City, Santa Fe, New Mexico, we meet together in the high desert, at 7,000 feet altitude, at Ghost Ranch Retreat and Conference Center. The transition to the week ahead begins with community building, orientation to the city and region, and setting our intentions for the journey.  We have been called to come to this place. How do we begin to open our hearts and minds to a deep connectedness of Spirit in this time and place among its people, history and culture? How can we begin to shed roles, expectations and preconceived notions of leadership so that our hearts and minds can receive new visions?

"What really matters is that I have taken the
fundamental decision to begin the journey."
Alessandro Pronzato

Day 2 –  Santa Fe - Opening to Deeper Awareness and Discovery –  In the morning we will walk a pilgrims walk up the hill over looking the city to the Cross of the Martyrs.  It is in dedication to many Franciscan priests who died during the 1680 Pueblo Revolt against Spanish domination.  Plaques along the way tell the colorful history of Santa Fe.  Here we pause to hold the power and spirit of the untold stories of indigenous people. We continue our journey of discovery and a deepening awareness as we move to St. Francis Cathedral which dates from 1718.  The Cathedral houses the oldest statue of the Virgin Mary in the United States, Our Lady of Conquering Love. In this place we consider the leadership implications contained in the centuries old practice of the Via Dolorosa. Our free afternoon gives us ample time to roam the lively Santa Fe streets, take in its history, and ponder the question, who and what influences my decisions and choices? How might my leadership actually shape the course of history?

"Your life is shaped by the end your live for.
You are made in the image of what you desire."
Thomas Merton

Day 3 – Los Alamos  - Stretching The Mind – We begin our day at the Los Alamos County Historical Museum learning about the beginnings of life in this pristine and sacred region. A self-guided tour takes us from pre-historic times into the famous Manhattan project of building the atom bomb.  The film we see is a haunting journey through the nuclear age, one of our most dubious achievements.  It poses the question, “how did we become prisoners of a technological monster we created”?  At the Bradbury Science museum we touch upon the many beneficial outcomes of this experiment. During the afternoon we begin to learn the use of the Implications Wheel and may ask: Do I appreciate the leadership implications of my decisions?  How have past decisions n had unintended consequences because implications were never considered?

“Walking this afternoon among the charred remains I found a black stump
 sprouting leaves and new grass thinly veiling a delicate oak sapling
 in this, the ravaged landscape of my soul.”
Susan Fisher

Day 4 – Bandelier National Park - Yielding to the Heart - Moving to one of the most wondrous sites of the Southwest, our hearts and minds are soothed by the ancient cliff dwellings of the Anasazi – the ancient ones.  It is here that Dr. Hewett, an archeologist, wrote: “history is stored away in the archives of Mother Earth…things fashioned that ministered only to the satisfaction of the spirit.” Our time is spent walking mindfully upon the land and climbing a steep ladder up the face of the mountain to enter an ancient kiva sunk deep into the earth.  As “coyote mind” of endless possibilities of mischief in the world begins to quiet, we open hearts to receive stories from the ancient oral traditions.  In this place, history’s dark shadow still obscures the oppression of this land’s indigenous people. It invites us to yield to a deeper understanding of its implications for us.  What roots us in a timeless and eternal understanding of who we are as leaders and how leadership binds us to history?

"Look and listen for the welfare of the whole people and have always in view
not only the present but also the coming generations,
even those faces are yet beneath the surface of the earth –
 the unborn of the future Nation."
Constitution of the Five Nations

Day 5 – El Santuario de Chimayo – Letting Go and Forgiveness – This land has been holy ground for the Tewa Indians from time immemorial.  It is where the ancient ones are said to have belched forth fire and hot water from the earth leaving a sacred mud pool that has now dried into sacred dust.  Thousands of people from around the United States make a pilgrimage to this site and small chapel to be healed from what they believe to be healing power contained in this “sacred dust”. Many testimonies of miracles are found here. 
 In our time together we also touch the “sacred dust,”  pondering the source for these “miracles”.  What wisdom do we receive when we suspend all judgment, let go of attachments and outcomes and open ourselves to receiving and offer the healing power of unconditional forgiveness? The afternoon is spent on bringing together a collective wisdom into the implications of leading with heart and mind more fully integrated.
 

“Forgiveness is the answer to the child’s dream of a miracle by which what is broken is made whole again, what is soiled is again made clean.”
Dag Hammarskjold

Day 6 – The White Cliffs –– Tending to the Wisdom Heart Within Us-  After breakfast, we will explore  “White Place” or Plaza Blanca, a setting of towering sandcastles formed of white ash, mud and sediment.  In the presence of these breath-taking, ancient geological formations, we will spend quiet time to sense the power of this unique landscape and to listen to the still Heart voice of Wisdom. Through a guided desert walk and meditation, we will learn about the power of this landscape upon the ancient peoples and their life-affirming spiritual practices.  In solitude among the wonder and mystery of the desert landscape, we will be invited to tend to the movement of the Spirit within us leaning into the same Spirit who is in and through all.As we take leave of this sacred land back to Santa Fe’s Ghost Ranch Retreat and Conference Center, we take deeper notice of the desert landscape and its capacity to ground us in a realization of its transforming power.  In the afternoon we will gather to bring some closure to this part of our Leadership journey and tend to how we might bring the fruits of this pilgrimage to bear on our life’s journey. We will reflect upon how the outer landscape may alter or influence our inner geography.  Perhaps more importantly, may be the question: how do the sources of wisdom in my inner landscape now form and transform leadership implications of my outer landscape?

"The desert is a good teacher.  It is a place where we do not die of thirst.  It is a place where we rediscover the roots of our existence."
Alessandro Pronzato

Day 7 – Transition Home – Continuing the Journey with Purpose – After breakfast and leave-taking, we will depart for the Albuquerque airport and the way home.  Remembering that the Spirit has traveled with us, we leave with gratitude, insight, grace and gifts from the landscape of the high desert.  May the memories of the people and the places continue to inform our hearts, form our journey, and transform the life of our spirit.  May we leave here with feet that walk the earth more gently, ears that hear more wisely, eyes that see more compassionately and a heart that loves more deeply. May our decisions, choices and way of life influence others so that they may also be drawn to a life that journeys towards a more meaningful and rooted purpose.

"You must give birth to your images.
They are the futures waiting to be born...
Fear not the strangeness you feel.
The future must enter you
long before it happens.
Just wait for the birth,
for the hour of new clarity."
Rainer Maria Rilke

Basic Information

Dates: September 18 – September 25, 2006

Overnight (o/n): 
Ghost Ranch Retreat and Conference Center in Santa Fe 1-800-821-5145

New Mexico Leadership Highlights:

• Facilitation on the influential Implications Wheel as an exploration tool for future possibilities
• Meeting with Native American Tribal Elders and smudging ceremony
• Mini - Vision Quest and guidance on Wisdom Ways for integration into daily life
• Meditative walk through the ancient Anasazi Cliff Dwellings at beautiful Bandelier National Park
• Guided tour of Los Alamos, birthplace of the nuclear bomb
• Forgiveness Ceremony at El Santuario, Chimayo, the “Lourdes of  America”
• Free time for rest or to explore the lively city of Santa Fe
• Days framed with guided meditations and spiritual practices for renewal of mind and spirit

Pilgrimage price includes:

• Two experienced executive full-time guides
• Facilitation and guidance on The Implications Wheel by a certified consultant
• Accommodations for 5 nights, (single occupancy supplement $300, if available)
• All breakfast and dinners included, including a southwestern lunch in a local sSanta Fe restaurant and a final evening celebration dinner at Il Piatti. (Alcoholic Beverages not included)
• All land transportation in and around the area (Does not include shuttle fee from airport to Santa Fe and back to airport) 
• Entrance fees to all sites and museums
• Guest speakers and guides knowledgeable about the area and culture
• All resource materials before and during the pilgrimage
• Guided reflections and meditations each day
• Methods to integrate spiritual practices into daily life
• Gratuities and tips

Cost: $2,695.00 (Does not include airfare or travel to and from New Mexico)

Single Occupancy Supplement: $300.00 (Single occupancy will be provided where available)

Upon reservation each participant will receive a complete travel packet with health forms, suggested reading material, travel suggestions and an interactive journal for “The Leader’s Path – A Remarkable Journey of the Spirit”.

For more information, please call Regina Roman at 703-535-1114 or visit our web site at www.sapira.com. Space is limited to 10.

"...all any of us need is a very light suitcase."
– Oswald Wynd, Scottish writer

For assistance in arranging air transportation, pre and post trip travel, rental car or rail tickets in conjunction with your journey, please contact our friends at MacNair Travel & Cruises/American Express. We are beginning to establish group blocks and discounts through their organization. They offer web and published rates, provide complimentary flight insurance, offer worldwide care through American Express offices, and can interface with our team to ensure the right arrangements and communication.

Call 800-833-4382 and ask for Bob Klein or e-mail sapira@macnairtravel.com.

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