Unleash Your Creativity
Learn this 7-Step Nature, Art, and Ritual Modality to Create More, Get Unstuck and Reignite Your Purpose
4-Week Morning Altars
Creativity Intensive
Live Online with Day Schildkret
Start Date: June 3, 2024
AS SEEN ON
WHAT OUR STUDENTS ARE SAYING…
“Day's workshop is more than an educational experience; it's a profound journey of self-discovery and healing. I left with invaluable insights and a renewed sense of purpose, feeling deeply connected to myself and others.”
—NICHOLAS WHITAKER, COACH AND FOUNDER OF CHANGINGWORK.ORG
“Unused creativity doesn’t just disappear. It lives within us until it’s expressed, neglected to death, or suffocated by resentment and fear.” —Brené Brown
We’re in a Creativity Crisis
Most of us are barely hanging in there. We’re drowning in too much work, too many to-dos, too much worry, all underscored by this nagging feeling of “not enough.”
Overwhelmed and under-resourced, so many of us crawl to the end of our days exhausted, collapsing on the couch with just enough juice in the tank to scroll on our phones and zone-out to another series.
But here’s the thing: Life wants more from us. And most of us want more from life.
We want to feel engaged and intrigued, as if our lives still carry endless possibilities and not just problems. We miss our younger days when everything felt more playful, more expressive, more pleasurable, more imaginative, more free. But as we age, it seems that the stuck rut grows deeper, creativity becomes more elusive, and we find ourselves forgetting what it feels like to be enlivened by inspiration.
If this speaks to you, you’re not alone.
So much so that a study by The College of William and Mary revealed a startling decline in creativity scores as kids get older and grow up. The data’s consequences for adults are pretty dire: Less creativity being linked to quicker burnout at work, mental exhaustion at home, and emotional fatigue in our relationships.
Which means as we age, it's harder to stay grounded, resilient, and open to new possibilities.
Something has to change.
As we age, we sacrifice creativity for stability.
Most of us experience one of these in our midlife:
1. Decline in Risk Taking
With aging comes an aversion to loss. Research confirms that you feel the pain of losing something more intensely than the pain of gaining something.
So when faced with uncertainty, we choose safety over risk – and consistency over experimentation. [1]
2. Feeling Less Fulfilled
Over time, you might lose your sense of purpose. As studies show, declining purpose reduces your well-being and satisfaction in work and relationships.
This leads to mental decline, isolation, and increased likelihood of early mortality. [2]
3. Stagnation at Work & Home
You might feel more stuck, more often. And with that comes a resistance to change, relying on comfort and routine.
You might take less opportunities, lose your adaptability and remain stuck for far too long. [3]
This doesn’t have to be inevitable.
At every stage of life, we can redefine who we are and reimagine what we’re here to do.
This is why creativity is so essential to living a purposeful life.
Purpose isn’t found, it’s made – over and over again. And as life changes, we must keep remaking it.
The Morning Altars Intensive is your
creativity wake-up call
This Creativity Intensive is for you if…
You’re feeling uninspired but know that needs to change.
You love the process of making art and being imaginative.
You believe that your life purpose needs to be re-awakened.
You realize that you’re way less creative than when you were younger.
You know the value of nature and creativity but have trouble prioritizing them.
You understand the value of bringing play and curiosity to your relationships and work.
Hi, I’m Day and this practice changed my life.
It’s what kept my head above water during some of my life's biggest thresholds and helped me stay curious.
It began with two massive life transitions: The death of my father and a break up.
While picking up the pieces of my life, I found myself sitting under a tree crying and hearing a voice in nature whisper to me: Make the broken whole again. Without thinking, I gathered leaves, mushrooms, bark and berries and arranged them into a beautiful, symmetrical pattern.
I felt like a kid again. Body on the earth. Hands playing. Imagination exploring. Time slowing down. And, for the first time in months, I felt alive again and purposeful.
This became my morning ritual. And what began in heartbreak transformed into a creative practice that made my life more meaningful and beautiful. And it hasn’t stopped over a decade later.
Once I started to share this practice publicly, it struck a chord. Thousands of people, from Melbourne to Madrid, were inspired to practice Morning Altars as a way to mark the big and small moments in their lives by being intentionally creative.
Within a few years, it became a global movement.
Since then I’ve…
Founded the Morning Altars Teacher Training Certification Program, now in its third year, having graduated over 150 students.
Authored two best-selling books on healing with nature, art, and ritual
Won the prestigous Creative Works Fund grant for artists and organizations to create new art works through collaborations
Created over a thousand nature altars
Taught workshops to thousands at esteemed places like Modern Elder Academy, Esalen, the 9/11 Memorial Plaza, and the Google campus
Spent hundreds of hours studying with legendary teachers such as Stephen Jenkinson
Have a permanent, hands-on exhibit at the Oakland Museum of California
Been featured on international television such as the CBC, NBC, FOX, and CBS
And I’ve taught Morning Altars to…
The foundation of the Morning Altars practice is comprised of three pillars:
Nature, Creativity & Ritual
“My soul desires only one thing: Wonder. And creativity is my most efficient pathway to wonder.” —Elizabeth Gilbert
What happens when Nature meets Creativity, and Ritual?
Why is it that so many of us feel healthier, happier, more focus and belonging when we’re in nature, when we’re being creative, and when we’re making something meaningful?
There’s actually scientific data about this!
Nature has restorative effects on our capacity to focus, maintain attention and recover from mental fatigue. (Kaplan)
People who do creative activities elevate their mood, boost personal well-being and experience sustained happiness (The Journal of Positive Psychology)
Family and personal rituals can reduce anxiety, increase confidence and provide psychological stability (The Journal of Family Psychology)
Being in nature or making art on its own is incredibly inspiring. But integrating them together unlocks extraordinary results, especially as we age.
So much so that hundreds of therapists, helpers, and healers all over the world have studied the Morning Altars practice to help their clients and communities.
If you’re here, I suspect you already understand the value and potential that nature, creativity, and ritual offers you.
“This has changed everything in terms of my comfort with my creativity and my direction in life.”
RENEE ROSSI
“It's been a gentle yet powerful transformative experience of reawakening my inner artist.”
JILING LIN, LAc
“If you love nature, poetry, art, and your soul yearns to slow down, and reflect on life, consider taking this.”
DIANA COHN
Have you ever struggled with one of these?
I used to be more creative, what happened?
I feel intimidated by being creative, can I do it anyway?
It’s been so long since I’ve felt creative, can I get it back?
I have so many things vying for my attention, can I make time for my creativity again?
What is the Morning Altars Creativity Intensive?
This is designed for anyone in their midlife who values creativity and understands how essential creative practices are to reimagining and reinspiring their life’s purpose.
Our society struggles with change so we need new creative practices, techniques, and community to help us understand how to change as life changes.
Using the pioneering 7-step Morning Altars practice as our creative landscape, this intensive provides in-depth learning with the founder Day, live creating time making altars during each session, as well as access to our online community forum where hundreds of practitioners from all over the world will welcome you into a space of inspiration, reflection, wisdom, and a sense of belonging.
By completing the intensive, you will feel more creative and alive; gain a deeper understanding of many of the principles, techniques, and philosophies behind the Morning Altars practice; have clarity, direction, and forward movement in your purpose; and belong to a robust community of nature-loving, creative and caring humans from all over the world.
The Intensive Consists Of…
-
These 4-session journeys each lasting 2 hours, are designed to explore the intersection of creativity and purpose. In each session, we will delve into one of the four creative capacities, learning how to apply them toward our purpose. Guided by Day, you will actively engage in constructing your own altars live in class, a process that is both creative and reflective. This experience is amplified by the communal setting, where you can share, witness, and draw inspiration from each other, fostering a sense of connection and mutual growth within our community.
Dates:
4 weeks, every Monday on Zoom
June 3rd, June 10th, June 17th, June 24th
5:00pm - 7:00pm PST
-
Session 1: Wandering Into Creative Solutions
In the opening session, we will delve into why a destination-less wander is essential to coming Into creative solutions. This session highlights the significance of curiosity and openness in our journeys, both literal and metaphorical. By embracing the unknown and venturing beyond familiar boundaries, we foster a mindset conducive to innovation and problem-solving. This exploration is a vital element in our approach to overcoming challenges and harnessing new opportunities.
Session 2: Play to Build Resilience
The second session of the Intensive explores the theme of using play to build resilience. We'll delve into how engaging in play enhances our ability to handle life's challenges and stressors, thereby nurturing our capacity to bounce back more effectively. This session highlights the transformative power of play, showing us that through playful interactions, we can fortify our emotional and mental resilience, ultimately guiding us towards a more robust and fulfilling approach to life's ups and downs.
Session 3: Move Inspiration Into Expression
The third session teaches us how to utilize inspiration to hone our attention and improve our decision-making skills. By fostering an environment of meaningful inquiry and cultivating an adroit curiosity about new and unfamiliar concepts, we will practice discovering and pursuing inspiration.
Session 4: Creative Constraints to Express Your Vision
In the fourth and final session of the Intensive, we will focus on how limits can actually enhance creativity, helping us to clearly define and express our visions. We'll practice welcoming constraints as a creative tool to sharpen our ideas, choices, and intentions. Emphasizing the power of these deliberately chosen boundaries, we will see how they can lead to a clearer sharper purpose.
Worried about missing a session? Fear not, we record and post all sessions in our online community forum where you can watch it at your own pace.
-
During the live sessions, you will be immersed in a unique and creative altar-making experience. This is a time for both playfulness and introspection, where you'll engage in the quiet, tactile creative process under the guidance of Day. You'll have the opportunity to craft an altar that is both unique and beautiful, enhancing your learning through this hands-on, experiential approach. This artistic creation serves not just as a learning tool, but as a personal expression of your journey through the Intensive.
-
The Mighty Networks online community is a vibrant hub for Morning Altars Practitioners from around the globe. This inspiring space is filled with hundreds of members who share their own altar creations, uplifting quotes, valuable resources, and thought-provoking questions. Here, you'll find a sense of community and belonging among a diverse group of nature-loving, wildly creative people that will feel like kin immediately. It's an ideal place for those seeking connection and inspiration in their practice of Morning Altars.
Live Class Dates:
Mon. June 3rd, 5-7pm PST
Mon. June 10th, 5-7pm PST
Mon. June 17th, 5-7pm PST
Mon. June 24th, 5-7pm PST
“So simple, so profound … what it has drawn out of me is beyond words. I now look at my life in a whole new way.”
-KYM MCCABE, AUSTRALIA
Frequently Asked Questions
Summary
-
The first online session is May 27, 2024 and the intensive ends on June 17, 2024.
-
Day is a world-renowned author, artist, and teacher who developed the Morning Altars modality in 2011 as a way of healing from his own loss and grief. He has written two award-winning books on nature, creativity and ritual, and has shared his modality with thousands of people, from Melbourne to Madrid. He has taught workshops at esteemed places like Esalen, MEA, the 9/11 Memorial Plaza, and the Google campus, and has been featured on international television such as the CBC, NBC, FOX, and CBS.
Morning Altars is a healing modality that emphasizes the therapeutic aspects of nature, creativity, and ritual. Through a 7-step creative practice, participants mindfully arrange natural elements into intricate designs that foster reflection, reciprocity, gratitude, meaning, and a sense of interconnectedness. This act of creation and impermanence also allows individuals to process grief, loss, and change, finding beauty in the ephemerality of life.
-
The Intensive masterfully merges online learning with hands-on natural interaction. During Zoom sessions, you'll be creatively engaging with elements of nature, crafting with earth and exploring the outdoors through your hands. This approach weaves together screen time with nature time, allowing for journaling, wandering, and deep immersion. Additionally, the program includes audio meditations, which are specially designed to accompany you outdoors, guiding you through meditative activities and deepening your connection with the natural world. This integration of digital and natural experiences promises a holistic and enriching journey.
-
For those unable to attend the live sessions due to timezone differences, all sessions of the Intensive will be recorded. You can watch these recordings at your convenience, ensuring you won't miss any of the course content. These recordings will be available for 6 months after the intensive concludes.
-
We create and foster our cohort by providing an intentionally welcoming and safe environment where all feel valued and cared for, and where all are given the opportunity to form meaningful connections with one another. We foster a climate of purposeful inclusion of all. We cherish the diversity of gender, age, race, ethnicity, national origin, range of abilities, sexual orientation, gender identity, financial means, education, and political perspective. We actively create a safe space during the sessions by encouraging sharing from all participants for anyone who feels called to share with the large group, and by providing small, more intimate opportunities to share and dive deeper with just the individual small groups. We also maintain open channels of communications with all our students to come to us with any issues that might arise, ensuring everyone feels seen, heard, and cared for.
-
If you can't go outside, don't worry. The sessions and the creative practice of the Intensive are designed to be conducted indoors. The only outdoor component is the audio meditations, and these can be done at your own pace and in any location that suits you, even if it's just a small outdoor space or near a window. The program is flexible to accommodate your situation.
-
Yes, if you complete the full intensive and all the exercises, and aren’t feeling it, you are eligible for a full refund of your tuition (minus a 10% admin fee).
-If you drop out mid-intensive for other reasons, you are eligible to forward your tuition to a future intensive
-If you cancel before May 31, 2024 at 11:59PM PT, you are eligible for a full refund minus a 10% admin fee.
-
The Intensive will be taught by Day Schildkret, not only the pioneer behind Morning Altars but also a recognized leader in the field of nature-based spiritual art. His work has captivated a global audience, earning him features in renowned publications, media platforms, and praise from influencers such as Esther Perel, Chip Conley, and Elena Brower. This acclaim underscores his proficiency and deep understanding of the transformative power of transitions, ritual, nature and creativity in personal and collective healing.
-
No, participating in the Intensive does not lead to certification. If you are seeking certification, you should consider signing up for the next cohort of the Morning Altars Teacher Training, which is launching this fall. This program is specifically designed for those looking to gain formal recognition and credentials in Morning Altars.
-
While there is no artistic experience necessary, you will quickly discover that you are profoundly creative. The Morning Altars modality helps us all discover that we all have the capacity to see, feel, create, and express beauty and gives us a way to access that deep truth.
-
If you miss a session of the Intensive, don't worry. Each session will be recorded, so you will have the opportunity to catch up and review the material at a time that's convenient for you. This ensures that you won't miss out on any of the valuable content and experiences offered in the program.
-
Yes, we will be offering the Intensive three times a year, each with its own unique themes: Transitions (Winter), Creativity (Early Summer), and Grief/Loss (Early Fall). These can be taken individually or as a series, providing a range of experiences and insights throughout the year. So, if you can't make it this time, there will be more opportunities to join in the future.
-
Our private online community is called a Mighty Network, and it is where the course lives when we’re not meeting live on Zoom (or when you’re not out in nature). This is our main gathering place online (akin to Facebook but not open to the public like Facebook) where you will be invited to post photos, have interesting conversations with classmates, get feedback from experienced Practitioners, access additional content, reference upcoming events, and dive into our vast resource library. You’ll also meet Graduates from our Teacher Training from all over the world. We hope that you find it a comfortable space to engage with this community of practice that we are all building together. And yes, there are free app versions for iOS and Android if you want to access it on your phone or tablet.
-
The Intensive offers excellent networking opportunities. Participants will have access to a diverse community of like-minded individuals, fostering connections through shared experiences and discussions. This setting provides an ideal platform for building relationships, exchanging ideas, and expanding your network with others who share a passion for nature and creativity.
-
To join the Intensive, you don't need any prior experience, just a love for nature and a spark for creativity. Whether you're someone who revels in the whimsy of the natural world or delights in artistic expression, this program is designed to welcome and nurture your innate connection with the earth and your creative spirit. We encourage you to be familiar with the Morning Altars practice and its attendant 7 steps. If you’re not, please read Morning Altars: A 7-Step Practice to Nourish Your Spirit through Nature, Art and Ritual beforehand. Everything else will be taught.