SINGING SCRIPTURE
With River

- 4 WEEK COURSE -

October 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th (Saturdays in October)
1:30PM EST - 3:30PM EST (approx. 2hrs)

SELECTIONS FROM: "The Radiance Sutras: 112 Gateways to the Yoga of Wonder and Delight"

Dive into the joyful practice of “song study” and bring voice to the activity of reading! This unique 4-week course features a group discussion on specific passages from Indian scripture (a different passage each week), followed by a guided meditation leading into singing.

All songs are developed directly in collaboration with the text, and all citations will be shared as the recommended reading in preparation for the workshop.

Participants will be guided gently through vocal exercises in the live online community call, and all participants are muted so that each individual may fully embrace their own voice in the privacy and comfort of home.

Musicians and non-musicians alike are welcome. Devotional chanters, maestrae, metalheads or funk punks, jazz sopranos or blues tenors, whatever musical heritage you come from, be welcome here.

River (they/them) hopes that workshop participants will walk away from workshops with three things:

1) a feeling of refreshment in the learning community,
2) a new song or chant for practicing at home that nourishes the mind, voice, heart, and throat,
3) a real-time refuge strategy for challenging moments on psychedelic journeys. River deeply subscribes to the spiritual and cultural belief that all plants – and all living beings – appreciate songs and being sung to.

According to one of River’s mentors: “The forest is always singing.” The practice of song study is a nourishing mind-body collaboration with Dharma texts. Learning any devotional songs or mantras by heart, and offering them to yourself, your guide, or any visions along the way during a journey, has the potential to be a radically compassionate technique for many occasions.
Workshops are confidential and will not be recorded.

Once registered for the course, participants are expected to attend all four classes. On the day before the first live Zoom class, a welcome e-mail will be sent out with the Zoom link. River reserves the right to remove any participant for displaying inappropriate or antagonistic behavior on live calls such as hate speech or discrimination about any identity, nationality of peoples, culture, race, gender, religion, income, spirituality, or profession.

River believes that online facilitators deserve livable compensation, particularly those who are full-time instructors. At this time, River does not depend on this course for livable income. River’s full-time income as a service provider in New York City is currently 70k-72k with health benefits. Allow this to inform your decision when choosing a payment tier for this course offering.

About
River (they/them) is an advocate for environmental education, former wilderness professional, contemporary spiritual student, and singer. They hold a selection of mental health and wilderness safety licenses and certifications, and they have been a practitioner of meditation (and student of psychadelics) for over a decade. River grew up camping, worked professionally guiding in the outdoors for three years, and trekked 500 miles of the Appalachian Trail on a 3-month excursion in 2017. Prepping and executing long-ish excursions for camping and meditation next to nature is an important part of River’s life and mental health. Most recently, River slept under the stars every night on a 6-week retreat which included silent meditation, gardening, and “song ceremonies” around the deep remote coastal forests of Northern California. River has studied closely with meditation teachers, plant teachers, and voice healers of reputable qualities.

River hopes for all voices that they may somehow be liberated by singing a single note; may the utterance of one vowel be like diving into the boundless joyous ocean.