Acknowledgements

For us, to nurture the grounds on which we are supported by, is to come into right relationship with the various webs of connections that sustain and shape Nurturing Ground. This means Nurturing Ground is centred on the acknowledgment and honouring of somatic connections to place, practice, ancestry, and context as inextricable to who we are.

Acknowledgement of place

We are grateful to live, parent, practice and learn on the sacred lands of Djaara people of the Kulin nation. This also extends to acknowledging Wurundjeri-Woiwurrung and Boon wurrung, whose lands we also participate in relationship with as well. We acknowledge the living wisdom of these lands. We pay our respects to and stand in solidarity with Traditional Custodians in their campaign for human rights, land back and decolonisation. In a commitment to paying the rent, we contribute 10% of our earnings to Nalderun Education Aboriginal Corporation on Djaara Country.

Acknowledgement of practice

We honour and pay our respects to the spiritual lineages, practices and traditions that inform our lives and work, especially nature, yogic, embodiment and tantric teachings in the non-dual tradition, Buddhism from the insight and Zen traditions, and Traditonal Chinese Medicine and Daoist philosophies. We acknowledge the ancient roots and the living traditions that continue to thrive, as well as the teachers, guides and practitioners who have come before us, and have nurtured and inspired us. We recognise that spiritual practices are not ours to own, misuse or appropriate, and that it is our responsibility to practice and share with humility.

Acknowledgement of people

As descendants of English, Scottish, French, Welsh, Irish & European Jewish ancestry, we acknowledge and pay our respects to the ancestors who came before us. We tend to the ways in which myth, ritual, contemplative practice, and implicit memory of their lands continue to weave through who we are and what we practice.

Acknowledgement of context

We would also like to acknowledge Nurturing Ground emerges at a time when the human species is having an unprecedented impact on the planet. We hold our practices as a commitment to caring for Country and the more-than-human world. We acknowledge the practices and discussions we have, the decisions we make and any actions we take as a result will have consequences for other people and other species – both those living now as well as future generations.