The Orbs (a.k.a. Teachers, Facilitators, & Essential Beings)
Marianne Rowe, MS, LMFT
catalyzing, emerging, enjivening
marianne@montereybaymeditation.com
As a humane being, co-founding teacher of Monterey Bay Meditation Studio, and licensed marriage and family therapist, Marianne is dedicated to cultivating eco-systemic consciousness and living in-cahoots with Earth, Cosmos, and Life in all forms. Her sense of belonging and aliveness is sourced and deepened through walks, sits, and gazing with the Pacific Ocean, forest, night skies, along with evolutionary, envisioning conversations with beloved friends.
Marianne’s (evidently) insatiable love of learning has led her into certifications as a nature & forest therapy guide, eco-therapist, California naturalist, and Authentic Relating facilitator, along with certifications in eco-psychology, climate stewardship and climate psychology. Much of her energy and inspiration is sourced in Deeptime perspective, community-building, and relationships of reverence and reciprocity with all living beings. She embodies multi-faceted bewonderment, spirited dedication, and a playful, sometimes peculiar, way-of-being in the world. For grounding and spaciousness, she is eternally grateful for daily meditation practice that she began in the last century.
Marianne’s current passions include co-creating and cultivating spaces for healing, transformation, and evolution through awareness and connection. She feels very blessed to be alive and active in this fertile and challenging time … especially with the company of the amazing Constellation that has come to light in Monterey Bay Meditation Studio.
I am touched by kindness, authenticity, and all outdoors. I am energized by collaboration, laughter, and drumming. I am inspired by willingness, community, and James Webb Space Telescope images. I am in love with Earth and all her beings ... and quite fond of holding paradoxes.
~ Marianne
http://www.montereybaymeditation.com
http://www.mariannerowe.net
mrowe@pacbell.net
(831) 373-1017
Cliff Berrien (he, his, kin)
metabolizing, dancing, eldering
For 50 years Cliff Berrien has been a student-practitioner of rhythm and drumming, inspired by the music of the African Diaspora and other global music, dance and art traditions. He has used his degree in psychology, and his interest in the whole-being balance of body, mind and spirit to focus on somatic-cultural expressions of collective joy as transformative ways to develop creativity, cultural dexterity and contemplative awareness. He recently worked with the Dr. Vanessa Andreotti and the Gesturing Towards Decolonial Futures Collective at the University of British Columbia, focusing on how to respond to the Climate and Nature Emergency by “staying with the trouble” through the uses of; music, movement, art, creative and self-reflexive practices, and African and global cosmologies, to nourish creativity and curiosity, and support emotional and relational resilience. He facilitates events as a member of the ROOTED Global Village and produces music for events for somatic abolition teacher, Resmaa Menakem and Nigerian philosopher, writer and speaker, Báyò Akómoláfé, Ph.D.
Mark Skelding
For 25 years, Mark has been a psychotherapist, educator, and social change agent, yet profoundly curious and wonder-filled for a lifetime! All this has brought him to deep interest and excitement in regard our place in the Psychosphere at this evolutionary moment.
He was once involved in communications for wildlife conservation groups, and realised that the wildlife was OK - it was people that were endangering species, habitat and, ultimately, ourselves! This, and a need to do his own therapy, led to retraining in Psychosynthesis, a transpersonal practice.
Prior to arriving in Turtle Island in 2020, he taught Psychosynthesis, facilitated experiential ecopsychology work, convened a Transition Town initiative and was co-ordinator and trustee of Heart Politics in Aotearoa/New Zealand between 1998 and 2012.
Shadi Mogadime
breathing, exploring, deeply-opening
Gerardo López-Amaro
Amaro joins us from Mexico where he engages in activist scholarship around Buen Vivir, ecopedagogies and practices of re-existence. He explores ways to highlight the experiments to co-create viable alternatives to the current system and address the global challenges of our times. He is a PhD candidate in Anthropology and Social Change by the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) of San Francisco, where he wonders about the possibilities for the emergence of the pluriverse even in dense liberal societies learning with grassroots movements. He is also part of the Steering Committee of the Ecoversities Alliance.
Stephan Martin
playing, co-emerging, and ever-exploring
Stephan Martin is an astronomer, educator, and author who has taught astronomy, physics, and consciousness studies at colleges, universities, and learning centers across the US for over thirty years. He is currently Director of the Deeptime Leadership Program at the Deeptime Network, where he helps develop and facilitate transformative and innovative leadership programs that support a flourishing future that works for all. Steve is active in leading workshops, lectures, and experiences that bring insights and wisdom from the cosmos down to Earth and everyday life. His first book Cosmic Conversations is a multidisciplinary approach to exploring the universe through the lenses of science, spirituality and culture, and his second book Living a Cosmic Life helps people navigate crisis and change from a cosmic evolutionary perspective. You can find more about him at: www.cosmicconversations.org and dtnetwork.org
Coming soon: Warm Data (i.e., "information that is alive") for Orbs: Shadi Mogadime, & Mark Skelding
Photographer
Kristen Fletcher
Based in Pacific Grove, California, Kristen enjoys photographing the natural beauty where the land and sea meet, sharing how we are all a part of it. Kristen’s “day job” is environmental law and climate policy and she translates her passions into photography hoping to inspire appreciation and action to protect the natural world. Her photography has been featured in regional juried shows, she received honorable mention in the 18th Annual California Ocean & Coastal Photo Contest, and has been recognized as a top local photographer in Monterey County Weekly. She is delighted to share her photography through the Meditation Studio. www.kristenfletcherphotography.com
Community Development Coordinator
Rebecca Genauer
observing, appreciating, learning
Rebecca Genauer has been an instructor for the past 12 years, teaching courses in Communication Arts, including film classes, public speaking, and interpersonal communication. Her passion is animal welfare, and she is a very active volunteer for a regional dog rescue group. Rebecca particularly appreciates the extent to which our companion animals are models of kindness, gratitude, generosity of spirit, and appreciation for the natural world. Rebecca greatly admires those who consciously cultivate these qualities, and for that reason is very excited to be a part of the community of the Monterey Bay Meditation Studio.
Founding Teachers
Monterey Bay Meditation Studio was founded in 2016 by Marianne Rowe and Katie Dutcher.