Dates

December 28–January 18, 2013  (Tentative)

Interested in joining us for a deeply transformative program taught on the shores of the Galilee, and applied and reinforced immediately by a two and a half-week trip throughout Israel?

We are partnering with the Euphrates Institute (http://euphratesinstitute.org/) whose mission is to build bridges with the Middle East by focusing on that which unites us rather than divides us. In this amazing opportunity we will face our own transformation as we meet locals, professional peace builders, and visit historic Bible sites.

All participants will attend a tailored program called “Living Beyond Our Stories” taught by Sandy Wilder, Janessa Gans Wilder, and her husband Forrest as we tour Israel and the West Bank.

Living Beyond Our Stories focuses on Personal Awakening and Interpersonal Communication so the content learned will be reinforced by immediate opportunities for application in a setting that is yearning for peace.  We will take a deep look at how our self-concepts are formed and how we unconsciously live in “stories” that determine our view of reality.  Through a process of unlearning we will learn to release the beliefs, concepts, opinions and stories that create limiting self-images, views of others and worldviews.

We will explore and practice a listening/communication model that allows us to deeply listen to others.  Through this listening we will learn to help others deeply inquire and tap into their own space of clarity and inspiration.

Equipped with our deepened self-awareness and listening abilities we will meet with Israelis and Palestinians as they share their individual stories based on their history and collective narratives.  We will understand and experience:

• The foundational beliefs behind the longest running continuous conflict in the world today.
• Why the violence continues.
• The history of the conflict?  What happened, how, why?
• The stranglehold the past has on their present view of reality.
• The cycles of victim and victimizers on both sides.

More than cognitive learning and an awareness of history, we will use our daily experiences to reflect deeply so as to allow grace to release whatever reinforces our own belief in separation.  We will find ourselves listening through new eyes and an open heart as we watch our natural compassion and clarity pour forth, increasing our desire for connection and oneness with all life.

Previous Itinerary: January 2-20, 2012

January 2: Depart from home city.

January 3: Arrive in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Group members will arrive to the Ben-Gurion International Airport in the modern city of Tel Aviv to meet up with trip leaders.  We will then head via bus to the Upper Galilee region in the north of Israel to stay in the ancient city of Safed.  Safed is one of the four holy cities in Israel, along with Jerusalem, Hebron, and Tiberias.  Set in the mountains, Safed commands sweeping views of the Golan, Lebanon, and the Sea of Galilee.

January 4-7: The Galilee region. These four days in the north of Israel will be rich with space for deep dialogue, listening, and reflection as we dive into the content of the  “Living Beyond Our Stories” program.  Here we begin to unpack the concept of story in our individual lives and in the Holy Land, both in ancient and modern times.

Nestled in the mountains of Upper Galilee, we will tour nearby Biblical sites, such as the ancient city of Bethsaida, the ruins of Capernaum, and Mount Beatitudes, where Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount.  We will also explore where Jesus is said to have fed the multitude of 5,000, and the beach where, according to tradition, he appeared to his disciples after the resurrection.  We will also hear political, religious, and cultural overviews of the region, and visit memorial sites, such as Tel Hai, to discuss Israel’s founding, pioneer days, and challenges with neighboring Lebanon and Syria.

January 8:  Golan Heights and Nazareth. We will continue exploring northern Israel with a visit to the Golan Heights, one of the most beautiful parts of the country.  The Golan Heights was formally annexed by Israel in 1981, although it is not recognized by the United Nations.  We will visit a Druze village along the Syrian border and tour archeological sites.  We will spend the evening in Nazareth, a primarily Arab city in the region, where we will meet Israeli Arabs and tour the Biblical sites.

January 9-11: Tel Aviv. We will head back south by way of the coastal city of Haifa, to take in its magnificent views and Bahai gardens.  In Tel Aviv, we will receive briefings from the Israeli Defense Forces and U.S. officials, and meet with a variety of secular, local Israelis to discuss conditions and views in Israel today.  We will also hear the viewpoints of Israeli peace organizations.  We will continue to have space for inspired solitude and deep dialogue around the theme of “who would we be without our story”.

January 12-13: Bethlehem. Next, the group will travel to the birthplace of Jesus, to visit the Church of the Nativity and Shepherd’s Field.  We will also meet with Palestinian Christians and local peace organizations, and tour the separation barrier and a refugee camp.  Situation permitting, we will also visit the Cave of the Patriarchs, the second holiest site to Jews, and the resting place of Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and Jacob.  Space for inspired solitude and deep dialogue with our group will continue.

January 14-15: Dead Sea and Jericho. Jericho, at over 10,000 years old, purports to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world, with archeological remains that date to pre-pottery times.  At 823 feet below sea level, it is also the lowest town on earth.  We will visit archeological sites and hike to a beautiful Greek orthodox monastery, started in the 6^th Century, which clings to the side of a deep gorge.

Relaxing by, and optionally floating afterwards in, the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth (1,388 ft below sea level, and over 33 percent salinity, one of the saltiest bodies of water in the world) will be a novel treat!  Space for inspired solitude and deep dialogue with our group will continue.

January 16-19: Jerusalem. We will spend our final four days in Jerusalem, soaking up the history, mystery and majesty of this ancient, holy, and troubled “city of peace”.  Jerusalem is where the themes of conflict, peace, and story will come in to stark relief.  All sides, religions, and groups share the same piece of real estate and often the same religious figures, albeit with different stories and attachments.

We will see those divisions up close, and yet meet with Israeli and Palestinian peace groups who, despite these tensions, have found ways to bridge divides and to drop the limitations.

Beginning with an overview of the city from the Mount of Olives, we will descend down into the Old City to tour religious sites, such as the Garden of Gethsemane, the pools of Bethesda, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the spot where it is believed Jesus was crucified and (for three days) entombed.

We will also visit Jewish and Muslim religious sites, such as the Wailing, or Western, Wall of the Temple Mount (the site of Herod the Great’s ancient temple), and the Dome of the Rock, with its golden dome that features prominently in panoramic pictures of Jerusalem.

In addition, we will learn more about the calamity of the Holocaust with a tour of Yad Veshem, the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem, and meet with local rabbis and officials.  Space for inspired solitude and deep dialogue with our group will continue.

January 20: Depart Tel Aviv for home city.

Trip Leaders

Janessa Gans Wilder

Janessa is a  former U.S. government official, founded Euphrates on the heels of a 21-month assignment in Iraq. Janessa was liaising with top Iraqi leaders in the run up to the first elections in 2005, and witnessed first hand the clashes between Americans and Iraqis and the lack of cultural, religious, and historical understanding that pervaded both sides.

After five years of government service on the Middle East and South Asia, she became a consultant to the State Department and a visiting professor of Middle East issues at Principia College.  Her Middle East experience has included extended travel throughout Israel and the Arab world, and most recently, she led a three-month study abroad for college students to Israel, the West Bank and Jordan.

Janessa received a Master’s degree in International Policy Studies from Stanford University, and her BA from Principia College.  On her off time, she enjoys playing chamber music, swimming, conversing in English, fluent French, conversational Arabic, passable Spanish or sadly faded college German, and travel.

Forrest Wilder

Forrest currently serves as the Resident Counselor of a men’s dormitory at Principia College.  With his wife, Janessa, Forrest led a college study abroad to Israel, the West Bank and Jordan at the beginning of this year, and in 2010 he helped lead another student abroad to Peru.

Prior to this, Forrest worked for College Summit, an NGO in Washington, D.C. with a mission of improving college enrollment rates in low-income communities across America.  Over a span of eight years, in several different roles with the organization, he worked in fundraising, opened a new regional office in West Virginia where he ran the program for several years, and served in a national management role supporting program implementation across the country.

Forrest received his B.A. in English Literature, with Honors, from Principia College in 1998, and has traveled in every continent except Australia.  Besides crossing borders, he also loves to play and coach rugby, read, write, learn more about religion, play chess and fish.  He and Janessa were married last August, and can’t wait to return to the Holy Land this January.

Sandy Wilder

After receiving a B.A. in Economics from Union College, Sandy played professional soccer and then coached, counseled, administered and taught at Principia College.

Sandy started the Educare Learning Institute in 2002 and transitioned to it full time in 2009.  Prior to that he was the President and CEO of Communico Ltd., a consulting and training company focused on helping leaders to create cultures where customers love to do business with them and where people loved to work.

With Educare, Sandy coaches individuals and facilitates programs, retreats and vision quests that help people face conscious transformation through unlearning that which their conditioning has made unconscious. He facilitates a safe, dynamic space to come home to where each of us feels nurtured and challenged to awaken to the wholeness and oneness in Truth.  His purpose is to awaken in Love, by surrendering to grace, as it releases egoing and liberates self.

Registration Deadline

To be determined.

Group Size

7—12 Participants

Age and Fitness

All participants must 18 or older and be of average fitness.  We will be walking over uneven surfaces and climbing up and down hills and stairs, sometimes for extended periods of time.  Temperatures will vary from the 30’s to 65 degrees Fahrenheit, with the probability of rain and a possibility of some snow.  Some locations may not be handicap accessible.  Any concerns about health conditions need to be raised upon registration.

The Educare Learning Institute and Euphrates Institute has created a sliding scale for this offering in an effort to keep it affordable to a wide range of people. We set forth no criteria and trust that each individual will pay what he/she feels is appropriate.

The fee is $5,250—$6,550.

Fee Includes:

• Course facilitation
• All course materials
• 20 nights accommodations: double occupancy, (for single occupancy add $1,200, availability pending)
• 20 breakfasts
• 9 lunches
• 15 dinners
• All ground transportation in the Middle East
• All group sight seeing and entrance fees
• Group tips (individual tipping is optional)

Fee Excludes:

• Airfare
• Airport fees and departure taxes
• Baggage fees
• Meals on your own
• Passports fees (no visa necessary for US citizens)
• Personal charges and optional activities
• Baggage fees
• Individual tipping (guides, drivers, etc)
• Travel insurance (encouraged)

1% of Educare Learning Institute sales are donated to organizations that help the environment: spiritually and/or physically.

Payment Dates

$400 deposit is due upon registration (non-refundable)

Final payment is due by: to be determined.

Cancellations and Refunds

Refunds will be made up until September 30, 2012 (less the $400 Registration fee).  After that date all fees are non-refundable and non-transferable to another date or program.

Forms of Payment

If you desire to pay by Credit Card or PayPal please add 3% to fees.

All checks are to be made payable to:  “Educare Learning Institute” and mailed to:

Educare Learning Institute

711B Wind Rivers

Grafton, IL 62037

Exchanges of attendees are acceptable upon conversation with trip leaders.

Passports

A passport is required for US citizens and must be valid at least through Aug 1, 2013.

Questions or Additional Information

Please contact:

• Janessa Gans Wilder: janessa@euphratesinstitute.org
• Forrest Wilder: forrestbrookswilder@gmail.com
• Sandy Wilder: SanfordCWilder@gmail.com