Spiritual Formation in the Wild

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  • Instructor: Aram Mitchell 
  • Asynchronous Learning 
  • CEU Credits/Contact Hours: 2/20
  • Type: On-Demand
Course overview
This self-paced, on-demand course guides learners to connect with wild nature as a part of their spiritual formation journey. With guided practices at the center, learners will survey the many benefits and methods of nature connection as they deepen their own relationship with the natural world, and discover applications to support their personal and professional goals. Course opens on June 13, 2024.
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CEU Certificate included
This certificate meets the Diamond Standard™ for 2 continuing education units (20 contact hours) and is adaptable for academic course credit with advanced notice.

Course Details

This course is entirely self-paced. There are three modules, each of which will be released when the previous module is completed. Plan to spend 5-6 hours per module engaging the content, practices, reflections, and assignments.

I recommend that you make a commitment to your own pace and set a date by which you will complete the course. Consider inviting friends or co-workers to register for the course as well, and organize a cohort of spiritual practice. Whatever you do, stay engaged and keep up your momentum!

Each module includes:
  • Video to frame the main ideas.
  • Guided As You Go daily practice.
  • Reflection exercises to deepen engagement.
  • Multiple perspectives to broaden engagement with the core ideas.
  • Guided Trailside practice.
  • Closing audio meditation to embody the main ideas.
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Note: This course is a prerequisite for the Spiritual Leadership in the Wild - Online Cohort coming in 2025!
Learning Outcomes:
  • Deepen your personal relationship with wild nature while taking new strides on your path of spiritual formation.
  • Explore the idea of "nature" and form an operative definition of "nature connection".
  • Understand the benefits and methods of nature connection.
  • Connect in new ways with the place/s that you call home.
  • Learn how to sustain and apply your nature connection practice beyond the course.
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This is a great course for clergy, chaplains, seminarians, coaches, and facilitators who are seeking continuing education units or professional development credits.

Educators, therapists, healthcare providers, consultants, small group leaders, nonprofit directors, and public servants of all sorts would also benefit from this course.

About the instructor

Aram Mitchell

Aram is a Registered Maine Guide and Wilderness First Responder with a degree in Religious Studies from Chicago Theological Seminary.

In days gone by, he has helmed a nonprofit that offered wilderness programs for worn out care providers. He's developed programs that bolster spiritual leadership for a climate-changed world. He's served in a big church as a minister for children and families. And he's worked in a big city as an advocate for LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness.

These days Aram lives near where the Charles River flows into the Atlantic. And he invites folks to experience the confluence of wildness and spiritual formation through retreats, courses, coaching, and writing.
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Testimonials

"Aram is a thoughtful and emotional mentor who has created a course with intentional structure that allows a flow of creativity, exploration, and contemplation to emerge from the content and his students. The course seeks to look at wildness as something to embrace, to examine, and to incorporate into your lives no matter the location (from dense forests to urban landscapes). This course will allow you to step out of some of your preconceived notions around faith, nature, life and existence and create a new appreciation for what is wild around you. I would recommend it for those who are stuck or drowning in the mundane or are swept up in the stress and hurriedness of life. It gives the student the ability to both energize and release what life is currently throwing at you."

–Al Whitehouse, 2021 Learner

"Under Aram's expert guidance and with his carefully crafted curriculum, the experience was nothing short of transformative. Aram skillfully cultivated a nurturing and inclusive atmosphere, ensuring that every participant felt valued and understood... Without hesitation, I would enroll in another workshop or seek further collaboration with Aram."

–Shannon Amidon, 2021 Learner