Adriene Jenik: Grief Circle – SAT 9am

Local artist, educator and end-of-life doula Adriene Jenik will support a safe, non-judgmental space for sharing, expressing, releasing and engaging grief. Join an intimate group as we are guided by the Artists’ Grief Deck, and the power and beauty of the desert to honor this peculiar and powerful emotional state. The Artists’ Grief Deck is a tool developed by Jenik in collaboration with the Artists’ Literacies Institute (ALI). In response to the COVID pandemic. Jenik and ALI crowd-sourced artwork and grief “prompts” to make the deck (first published in Dec 2020) to assist people from all ages and backgrounds to move with and through grief. Her experimental art practice spans “data humanization” performances, public climate future readings with her ECOtarot deck, and experiments in extreme experiential learning. The creative producer of The Artists’ Grief Deck, Jenik serves as Professor of Expanded Arts at the School of Art, ASU.

WEBSITE

Saturday 9am – 10:15am, Sanctuary

Amanda B’hymer: Nervous System Regulation Via Somatic Movement and Breath – FRI 4pm

Amanda (Holistic Behavioral Health Practitioner C-IAYT, E-RYT 200, RYT 500 YA) began professional work as a facilitator, teacher and guide in 1995. She became interested in life-long, experiential, environment-based learning teaching in public schools, facilitating social service programs and by guiding the Montessori method. Amanda is passionate in her dedication to share the Therapeutic Yoga perspective as modality toward a more connected, embodied life experience. She is certified by Yoga Alliance, the International Association of Yoga Therapists and the Optimal State Yoga Therapy Training School, to guide: Yoga & Mental Health, Yoga & Physical Health,
Yoga Nidra and Yoga & Ayurveda practices in the traditions of T. Krishnamacharya, T.K.V. Desikachar and Dr. Amy Wheeler. Amanda is the proprietor of Grateful Desert Apothecary ~ gratefuldesert.com, Joshua Tree’s primary Health and Wellness shop. She is also the founder of the JTSP: Breath Lab ~ joshuatreespaceprogram.com/breath-lab/, where she works individually with Yoga Therapy students. From 2006, Amanda has lived and worked in Joshua Tree, California alongside a menagerie of cats, dogs, birds, lizards, snakes, humans, bunnies, insects and flora of all
kinds.

Friday 4pm-5:15pm, Sanctuary

Anastasia Baratta: Death Cafe – SUN 9am

Death Cafe holds space for group-directed discussions that are free from agenda, dogma or motives and invites you into the present. The main objective is to increase awareness of death, with the goal of helping people make the most of their finite lives by an open and compassionate forum for discussing death and dying.
Participants are invited to share their thoughts and experiences surrounding death and dying in an accessible, respectful and confidential space. Death Cafe is not a grief support or counseling session. Rather, it is a group driven discussion that encourages participants to share their own experiences and perspectives, while also listening deeply to the perspectives of others.
Anastasia Baratta is a guide, advocate, and educator for the realms of healing, movement and mortality. With a personal understanding of these themes, they journeyed deeper into study and practice acquiring certifications and completed training courses including Death Midwifery with Olivia Bareham. Anastasia’s work has since expanded to include intensive study and advocacy of personal and cultural healing through death literacy and community connection. They initiated Sacred Undertaking, an education, resources, and support offering for individuals and communities to navigate end-of-life experiences with compassion, empowerment, and dignity. They currently facilitate The High Desert Death Cafe at the Joshua Tree Retreat Center every second Sunday of the month, providing a space for open discussion and exploration of death-related topics. Anastasia’s work extends to other areas of their expertise, such as embodied movement techniques taught at Pilates and Arts in Joshua Tree. Their work combines their vocations in movement, sexuality, and death education to promote a holistic approach to wellness.

Sunday 9am-10:15am, Sanctuary

Chelsie Norton & Andrew Amick: Body & Soul: Navigating Substance Use Effects – FRI 2:15pm & Conscious Dating & Connection: Attachment Theory 101 – SAT 12:30pm

Chelsie Norton, LMFT and Andrew Amick, AMFT are both psychotherapists working in the Calfornia area. Both have been mental health supporters since 2014, both have been psychotherapists since 2019 and both have steeped backgrounds in social sciences. Each are well-positioned in Southern California’s electronic music scene by providing harm reduction person-to-person ground-level support and substance education to festival goers. Chelsie values yoga traditions and movement/dance as a way to integrate trauma. She has been a long-time participant and active community member for the legendary Moontribe gatherings. Sometimes you may even find her behind the decks spinning techno at Moontribe and other underground events in the Southern California area. Andrew is a Mojave desert native, and advocates for the ethically-sound integration of psychedelic medicine and integrating Eastern and Western health psychology, to help people nurture a more holistic and comprehensive view of the world around them. Both currently work at NEST Harm Reduction & Consulting based in California.

Friday 2:15pm-3:30pm & Saturday 12:30pm-1:45pm, Sanctuary

Christina P. Kantzavelos: Neural Retraining Circle – FRI 9am

Christina P. Kantzavelos is a licensed holistic psychotherapist (LCSW) writer, artist, and citizen of the world, with a home base in Joshua Tree, CA. She received her Bachelor’s and Master’s of Social Welfare (MSW) from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and her Master of Library and Information Sciences from San Jose California State University (SJSU). 

Friday 9am-10:15am, Sanctuary

AA Meeting – FRI SAT & SUN 10:45am

Diana has been a Recovery coach & a prevention educator for adolescence over 20 years. Recovery coach to people with substance abuse, addiction or mental illness. Diana has been clean & sober for 26 years. Sobriety has given me the freedom to party, connect, dance without having a hangover or consequences.

Friday Saturday & Sunday 10:45am-12:00pm, Sanctuary

Ellen Chinnock : Somatic Practice for Embodying Nonviolent Communication – SAT 2:15pm

Join us as we practice bringing our whole selves, all of our senses, and our imagination into the way we relate with ourselves and others. Ellen Chinnock, Center for Nonviolent Communication Certified Trainer and Somatic Consensus Trainer, will offer a simple and expansive meditative practice for exploring the qualities of needs as life energy. Our human needs are what connect us, and as we explore what these needs are and how they live in us, we deepen our connection with ourselves and all of humanity. What is Love? Or Peace? Or Kindness? Each human need has its own flavor, its own way of arising in us. During this session we will practice embodying these needs, begin to see more clearly what we would love, and choose strategies that align with what we deeply care about.

Saturday 2:15pm-3:30pm, Sanctuary

Jenn Parma: InteGreatness – FRI 12:30pm

Jenn Parma is an Integration & Empowerment coach, passionate about the transformational journey, and integration back to the true Self.  Jenn inspires greatness through a myriad of spiritual tools and practices that have transformed her life from unworthy to empowered. It’s her heart’s work to create a safe and sacred space for transformation and healing. Jenn studied many modalities of healing including 1200-hr YTT certified, Certified Addiction Recovery Coach and Psychedelic  Integration Coach, Breathwork facilitation, Reiki Master, Death Doula, meditation guide, sound healer, and visionary plant medicine guide through the study of shamanic practices. She offers one-on-one programs, group ceremonies/workshops, and retreats.

Friday 12:30pm-1:45pm, Sanctuary

Lauren Stambaugh: Sustainable Burial Practices – SAT 4pm

Years ago, I decided to confront my anxiety and fear around death and dying by submerging myself in the topic. I’ve watched countless YouTube videos and Ted Talks on the subject, read books, and taken classes at the local college. Last year I completed training and became an End-of-Life Doula for both people and companion animals. Through my journey I have cultivated a passion for learning about greener burial practices and how these practices can help bring us back into harmony with Nature and bring a sense of peace to us and our loved ones knowing that our last act on Earth was one of giving back what we have borrowed during our time here.

Saturday 4pm-5:15pm, Sanctuary

Liz Myers: Sound Healing Journey – SUN 12:30pm

Liz Myers is a sound healing facilitator residing in the mountain town of Julian in San Diego county. She is passionate about guiding people on expansive journeys of healing and restoration. She combines her training as a yoga teacher, meditation/mindfulness instructor and counselor to infuse your sound healing experience with a deep sense of safety, kindness and care. She uses a variety of instruments for a transformative sound session; her “otherworldly” singing voice, buffalo drum, hapi drum, rainstick, koshi chimes, singing bowls and more.

This is her 7th time attending the Joshua Tree Music Festival and she is honored and delighted to be crafting this healing journey for this community that over the years, she has come to appreciate and value as a precious gift for her soul.

WEBSITE

Sunday 12:30pm-1:45pm, Sanctuary

Nicholas & Trevor Deane: AA Meeting – FRI SAT & SUN 12am (midnight)

Nick and Trevor are sober participants putting on AA meetings. All are welcome that are involved or curious about any 12 step meeting. Come and participate and meet others who are in recovery or want to know more.

Friday Saturday & Sunday 12am-1am, Sanctuary

Sant Khalsa: Artists for Environmental and Societal Change – SUN 2:15pm

Art is a powerful tool for creative expression, raising awareness and consciousness, building community, and initiating societal change. Artists have the power to express numerous and varied perspectives that can inform and inspire new ways of thinking and action towards a more just, equitable and inclusive society. Sant Khalsa will share her art-life experiences and insights, and lead a discussion on the various roles visual, performing, and literary artists can play in giving voice to the natural world, those silenced by oppression, and issues of critical importance to our future. 

Sant Khalsa is an artist, curator, and activist whose projects develop from her mindful inquiry into complex environmental and societal issues. Her artworks are widely published, exhibited, and collected by museums including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, National Galleries of Scotland, and Nevada Museum of Art. She is recipient of the prestigious 2023-24 California Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship Legacy Award. Her Getty supported curatorial project “Desert Forest” about the threat of climate change on Joshua trees opens at MOAH Lancaster, CA in September 2024. The documentary series “Long Time Sun” featuring her photographic works (executive produced by Rick Rubin) premiered at SXSW 2024.

INSTAGRAM & WEBSITE

Sunday 2:15pm-3:30pm, Sanctuary