MEN’S DJEDI TRAINING
Djedi Training is Arcoora’s bi-annual volunteer initiative that brings together a team of committed and disciplined regenerators to nourish and evolve both the Arcoora land and one-another.
We gather, deeply immersed in nature, to get fit, eat clean, break from intoxicants, build healthy habits and engage in some deep personal and inter-personal development as a group whilst being in service to a collective vision.
4 weeks living, eating, working and growing together.
The Container
Clean vegetarian diet. Intermittent fasting. Early morning practice of mindfulness, movement, breath work, ice bath and nature connection. 6 hours a day working together on the land. Sharing circle around the fire after dinner. Weekly adventures to visit other partner projects in the bioregion to offer support as a part of our broader outreach initiatives. Group campouts in nature.
We’ll be maintaining an encouraging, disciplined space, holding one another accountable to our agreements and supporting one another as we push beyond comfort zones to grow together, exploring themes and practices focused around leadership, communication, communal living, collaborative work, healthy living and self-discipline.
Every training is unique as we collectively decide how we will operate as a group; our agreements with ourselves and each other, the structure of our morning practice, our standards of relating and communicating, our values, the rhythm of our day, roles and responsibilities and so on. We have some suggestions in these areas that we believe will be beneficial for our time together and there will likely be some great ideas put forward by other participants.
We will all be committing to a full 4 weeks of no drugs, alcohol or smoking and beyond this we may choose to collectively or individually abstain from or limit things like vaping, coffee, sugar, meat, social media and so on. Some participants may decide to adopt additional commitments for themselves eg. daily practice of an instrument, writing, reading, art, dance, work on a personal project, exercise etc.
If you plan on leaving part way through the training you will be making a commitment to the group to take your practice and agreements with you, to continue for the rest of the 4 weeks in your own space and to remain in regular contact with the group throughout that time. If you need to modify your practice or agreements to better suit the environment or schedule that you will be returning to that is fine, but it must be made clear to the group before you leave.
The main focus of our work together on the land over the 4 week period will be continuing work on a compost toilet, shower and bush kitchen amenities for our campground to accommodate the upcoming Ecosystem Restoration Camps that we have begun hosting.
There will be around 2hrs free time each day and a full day each week for personal commitments and activities. We’re on an 200 acre block with some beautiful rainforest walks to explore and we have a gym, epic temple space with sound system, extensive library and big swimming dam available for you to make use of.
A core part of the program will include completing the 8 Shields ‘Kamana One’ course:
“In this first level of the Kamana program you will embark on a potent and grounding path to connect with nature at your own pace, at your own place. The Kamana One workbook moves you through two weeks of awareness exercises and eight areas of ecological study using a field guide and audio series narrated by Jon Young, for a total of four to six weeks of independent study.
The awareness assignments culminate with finding a “sit spot,” or an outside area you visit on a regular basis to practice exercises that expand your awareness of nature and knowledge of your place. The ecological research helps you utilise field guides as mentors to connect you with the flora and fauna of your place, and to understand how these taxonomical family groups weave the ecological web of your region.”
Awareness exercises and ecological study include:
Mapping and Journaling
Hazard Awareness and Safety
Reptiles and Amphibians
Mammals and Tracking
Plants and Wandering
Ecology and Community
Trees and Survival
Birds and Sensory Awareness
Event Details
When: TBA
Arrival: Tuesday 4pm
Finish: Tuesday 4pm
Accomodation: This course is run entirely outdoors from a base camp. There will be canvas tents with single mattresses available to use but you will need to bring your own bedding.
Toilets and Showers: There will be access to warm showers and compost toilets.
Catering and Food: We will be operating from an outdoor camp kitchen. All meals will be provided and communally prepared around the fire. Tea, coffee, hot chocolate, fresh water and a fruit bowl will be available at the base camp.
What to bring: Bedding for a single bed (fitted sheet, sheet, doona, pillow, blanket), warm & cool layers, walking shoes, torch, sun hat, raincoat, water bottle, notepad. Please be prepared for colder nights.
Cost: $600 + Booking fee (As with all Arcoora programs we don’t want funds to be a limiting factor that prevents participation - please get in touch if things are tight and we’ll see if we can arrange something)
Feedback
Some feedback from Samuel Bowden, a returning participant of Djedi Training:
“Jedi training has been a full time period of exponential growth. Essentially, I could liken it to the Hyperbolic Chamber in Dragon Ball Z, where one can train for a full year in the space of one day in the real world. What you put in is what you get out. I approached Djedi training with my own set of unique skills and I feel that these have developed and been shaped in this environment. I have developed a heightened sense of situational awareness and memory. It’s a very self-work based process, it is like gym for will power in that you have to show up daily with your full self and push yourself in every domain possible.
The land itself is a high level men’s initiation land, and the content of the training provides a framework to push yourself physically and psychologically towards your higher goals of self development.
Highlights: Rising to the challenge. Hard earned reward. Connection with brothers. Hard work as the reward. Full moon dance. Mountain climb. Breath Work. Seeing five weeks of work pave the way for the 3 week Dancing Freedom workshop, and functioning behind the scenes to help the workshop operate smoothly. Spring mission, working as a team. Building a bridge and clearing lantana.
Takeaways: Increased physical energy, becoming fitter and healthier. Increased mental clarity and discipline. Quitting smoking. Cleaning up drinking of alcohol to a minimum. Upgrades, life hacks and healthy habits. Becoming an active agent of change. Responsibility. Self awareness. Brothers in arms. A vault of resources for personal growth and knowledge. Connections.”
Who were/are the Djedi?
The Raising of the Djed took place in ancient Egypt at the Winter Solstice, at transitional times such as the death of a monarch or the end of rule and the beginning of another. The most important time for the raising of the Djed and the revealing of secrets and mysteries was at the end and beginning of historical eras – as is written on the texts of Edfu Temple in Egypt. This is the time when it is most important for mankind to raise the Djed inside us, individually, once again.
The initiates of this mystery were known as the Djedi, the ‘stable ones’, ‘pillars of the world’ - wisdom keepers of one mind and one spirit who, as initiates of the Osirian mysteries, comprised the living, terrestrial body of the archetypal, celestial Osiris. They served the planet and the plan at the end of the world age and guarded and transmitted the secret teachings. Thus, in this time of world change, it is time for the Djed to be raised in all of us again. Contemporary Djedi are self-selecting re-generators of cosmos. They are those who, regardless of race or creed, are awakening to mission in service to the planet and the epochal imperatives of stability, continuity and regeneration. The Djedi sense, and know, Osiris’s arising as their own. As Osiris awakens from the sleep of the aeon, the Djedi also “rise to the occasion,” moving into resonant relationship as the re-constellated members of the collective Osiris. Therefore, as the mighty bones creak and the ancient One stirs, let the Djedi return. This is the historical moment of our awakening and our call.
Associations and projects are emerging across the world to raise awareness and take action on one issue or another. Throughout planet Earth human beings are actively engaged in Raising the Djed without associating it with the ancient Egyptian practice.
The Djedi are champions of the downtrodden, the underdog, the deprived and most of all champions of women and the Divine Feminine imprisoned in women throughout the world. The Djedi are those raising awareness, raising consciousness, stirring the rest of us to stand up for what is right and good in the world, to stand against oppression and tyranny – they are raising the Djed.
“S-aha Djed!”
If you are interested in being considered for a place on the Djedi Training Program please get in touch using the form below: