Welcome!

In the corner of our space is a large braided Fichus, a fig tree, we fondly call the Tree of Life. It has witnessed many seasons since our opening in 1996 as the Tree of Life Yoga Studio. As a yoga studio, we grew to serve many students and became the home and training ground for many aspiring teachers who would go on to share their gifts. In addition, in 2001, The Gifts of Grace foundation was founded to offer volunteerism to our community. Through the foundation, we offered many services including the making of over 300 quilts delivered to the Nashua District Office of the Division of Children, Youth and Families of the Department of Health and Human Services for distribution to local area foster care children.

In 2005, shortly after my ordination as an interfaith minister, I wanted to expand our mission to include a concentration on spiritual studies programs. For many years, I had facilitated a study of the Bhagavad Gita from which my book, An Ordinary Life Transformed: Lessons for Everyone from the Bhagavad Gita, emerged. I was ready to include additional programs. To reflect the expanded mission, we became the Tree of Life School for Sacred Living, LLC, in 2006. Since that time, we've added Living Our Purpose: The Heart of Spiritual Practice, the Sanskrit Mantra program and a study of the Lord's Prayer and Beatitudes in Aramaic.

In 2009, The Tree of Life Interfaith Seminary was created as a natural outgrowth from the study and curriculum of the many spiritual studies programs. The mission of the interfaith seminary is to provide a new vision of ministry for the coming age and to offer a systematic methodology through which participants may realize, cultivate and offer their unique divine gifts in service to the greater good.

Welcome to The Tree of Life School for Sacred Living!

Rev. Stephanie Rutt, Director

Yoga Classes

Wednesdays

6:30 - 8:00 p.m.
Kundalini Yoga with Rev. Stephanie Rutt
Session 1: September 14th - November 16th
Session 2: November 30th - February 22nd (No class Dec. 21, 28 & Jan. 4)
Session 3: March 7th - May 9th
$135 per session

This class invites you into the beauty and power of Kundalini yoga. Through the practice, the central nervous system is strengthened and the mind is honed as the heart opens and the soul rejoices. Welcome Home! The experience includes kriyas (exercises), pranayama (breathwork) and mantras (chants) to address the deep pockets of our common humanity. And, along the way, courage is cultivated to transform those very challenges into rich compost for a more beautiful life. Appropriate for all levels from beginner to those more experienced.

Spiritual Studies Program

Three Treasures

The Three Treasures series offers three 10-week mini-courses:

Session 1: The Journey Within: Experiencing Meditation Practices

Session 2: Living the Prayer of Jesus: The Lord's Prayer in Aramaic

Session 3: Rise Up! Major Themes of the Bhagavad Gita

Each 10-week mini-course is offered independently so you may choose to take just one, any two or all three. All mini-courses in the Three Treasures series will be largely experiential weaving in teaching and the sharing of participants.

Session 1: The Journey Within: Experiencing Meditation Practices

This treasure offers the opportunity to step into and explore how various forms of meditation practices open us to deeper levels of awareness. It is perfect for both the beginner and long-term practitioner alike. Specifically, we will cover:

The what, why and how of meditation practice

Working with breath, sound and silence

Traditional sitting vipassana (insight meditation) in the Buddhist tradition

Contemplative Prayer as meditation in the Christian tradition

Mantra Meditation in the tradition of the Eastern faiths: Hindu, Buddhist & Sikh

Mantra Meditation in the tradition of the Sufis - The 99 Beautiful Names of God

Walking Meditations from the Buddhist, Sikhs and Sufis

Movement Meditation - Dances of Universal Peace

In each class, you will be offered the opportunity to sample a different form of meditation through discussion and practice, share your experience and to ask questions that may arise.

Session 2: Living the Prayer of Jesus: The Lord's Prayer in Aramaic

This treasure invites you into the heart of Jesus through the sounding of the answer he gave to his disciples when they asked, "Lord, teach us to pray?" In answering, Jesus uttered The Lord's Prayer in Aramaic, his native tongue. In this class, we will explore the depths of this prayer using the language of Aramaic as our guide. For our study, we will draw upon:

Praying with Jesus: The Lord's Prayer in Aramaic by Rev. Stephanie Rutt which grew out of studies offered at The Tree of Life School for Sacred Living

Prayers of the Cosmos: Meditations on the Aramaic Words of Jesus by Neil Douglas-Klotz

Setting a Trap for God: The Aramaic Prayer of Jesus by Rocco A. Errico

Each week we will discuss a line from the Lord's Prayer using the Aramaic language to explore depths of meaning. We will then embody our understanding with sounding or chanting of the line as well as with simple breath and movement meditations.

Session 3: Rise Up! Major Themes of the Bhagavad Gita

This treasure challenges you to rise up, moving beyond fear, to offer your gifts in service of a greater good. Using An Ordinary Life Transformed: Lessons for Everyone from the Bhagavad Gita by Rev. Stephanie, we will discuss:

Moving through inner obstacles holding us back from optimum living

Recognizing how each of us has a unique role to play in the Divine plan

How to see with new eyes the Divine all around us

Why distinguishing between the mind and the soul is the key to freedom

What it means to live in the heart of God

How to honor the seasons of our unfolding

Dancing with God through will and surrender

Each week, you will have a reading assignment from An Ordinary Life Transformed: Lessons for Everyone from the Bhagavad Gita and a specific exercise-activity to explore based on the week's topic. Class time will offer a blend of teaching, discussing the topic and sharing by participants.

Schedule and Fee for Sessions 1 - 3

All Sessions will run on Tuesday nights from 6:00 - 8:00 pm.

Session 1: The Journey Within: Experiencing Meditation Practices

September 13th - November 15th

Please register by September 8th

Session 2: Living the Prayer of Jesus: The Lord's Prayer in Aramaic

November 29th - February 21st (No classes Dec. 20th, 27th, Jan. 3rd)

Please register by November 17th

Session 3: Rise Up! Major Themes of the Bhagavad Gita

March 6th - May 8th

Please register by February 23rd

Fee Each 10-week mini-course is $200 payable by check or credit card at the time of registration.

Spiritual Mentoring Certificate Program

The Spiritual Mentoring Certificate Program is especially designed for those wanting to cultivate the inner presence and skills helpful in offering mentoring to those in need. This program is open to ordained cergy, seminarians in training, mental health counselors and other professionals working with the public in capacities where mentoring skills may be considered useful. If you are interested in this program but do not find yourself in one of the above categories, please discuss with me your particular situation and, together, we can assess the appropriateness of this program for you.

What is Spiritual Mentoring

Aims to deepen and strengthen clients' experience of and relationship to the Divine in a way that is authentic and meaningful to the clients

Helps clients to name, understand and work with the problems, blocks, patterns in their life by using spiritual perspectives, practices and tools

Guides clients to assume total self-responsibility, not for all that happens to them, but for how they choose to be with what happens

Assists clients in coming to know themselves as "whole" integrating all aspects of the self - physical, mental, emotional - with the Self - spiritual

Helps clients toward wholeness through the cultivation of inner compassion (heart), discernment (mind) and courage (action)

What Spiritual Mentoring is NOT

Spiritual Mentoring is NOT mental health counseling or psychotherapy. An important part of this training is to help those wanting to offer spiritual mentoring to be both clear and humble in recognizing and defining just where their skills lie and what the limits of those skills are. Should Spiritual Mentors find themselves with a client whose emotional, psychological or psychiatric needs are beyond their own skills and scope of training, they must be ready to refer the client to more appropriate care. In such cases, the client may also choose to continue with spiritual mentoring focusing on spiritual needs and concerns. In this way, a client may enjoy the benefits of a team approach to care.

Sample Topics Covered in the Spiritual Mentoring Certificate Program

Developing the mentor/client relationship - key areas of difference from the traditional psychotherapist/client relationship

Deep listening - qualities of presence - skills of attunement

Establishing healthy boundaries - tools for keeping interactions clear and clean

Basic skills: reflecting feelings, restating information, questioning, offering reflections

Identifying the core issue(s) - beyond the presenting details or story - skills to help you hear at a deeper level

Exploring transference and counter transference - why continuing your own spiritual and healing journey is critical

Working with the clients' personal and spiritual history

The use of prayer, meditation, journaling, spiritual practice in the mentoring process - both within and outside of sessions

Working with acute trauma, grief and loss

The basic symptomology of the primary mental health diagnoses - for example: anxiety, depression, addictions

When to refer a client for professional psychotherapy and how to establish a team support system for the client - and when it is important to refer a client for immediate care

Ethical issues - confidentiality and conditions for breaking confidentially

Mentor self-care

For non clergy - Envisioning how Spiritual Mentoring skills and tools may be integrated into your life-work environment

For clergy - Envisioning your Spiritual Mentoring practice - ethical, professional and practical issues

Schedule for Classes

The Spiritual Mentoring Certificate Program will be offered the first Saturday of each month, and the second and fourth Thursday evenings of each month.

9 Saturday Classes:

Half day 1:00 - 5:00 p.m., October through June, beginning October 1st and ending June 2nd, 2012.

*The May Saturday class, May 5th, will run from 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

18 Weekly Classes: Second and Fourth Thursdays:

6:00 - 8:00 p.m., September through May, beginning September 8th and ending May 31st.

*No more than 2 Saturdays may be missed and no more than 4 Thursday night classes may be missed to remain in the program.

Upon Completion of the Program

Participants will graduate with a "Certificate in Spiritual Mentoring". For those working in non-ministerial capacities, there will be an extensive amount of information and tools provided to support and compliment a variety of work environments. For clergy wanting to establish a Spiritual Mentoring practice, there will be the opportunity to envision and plan how the skills acquired might create and support such a practice under the auspice of a minister. (It is important to note here that, because this program does not offer a second year in supervised clinical training and externship, those seeking to establish a professional practice beyond the boundaries of the ministry may want to investigate more extensive programs elsewhere.)

Program Fee

$1,200.00

Fee may be paid in full via check or credit card.

Optional Payment Plan: $300 at first class, $300 November 10th, $300 January 26th, Balance due March 22nd

Click here for a PDF application for the Spiritual Mentoring Certificate Program.

Spiritual Mentoring - Private Sessions

Spiritual mentoring sessions offered by Rev. Stephanie Rutt provide a blend of western behavioral science principles and eastern mysticism. Psychological thinking and behavioral patterns are explored within the context of the spiritual journey. Clients are asked to take an active role in the process and are often offered breathing exercises, meditation practices, journaling exercising, etc., to use in further exploration between sessions. Spiritual mentoring is different from traditional mental health counseling in that the client's psychological journey is seen as the doorway through which the spiritual journey may be realized. The goal is not treatment but rather enhanced awareness. The intention is not so much to fix something as it is to offer tools through which the client may transform unwanted life patterns into more harmonious ones.

The fee for each session is based on a sliding scale. To schedule an appointment, please call or e-mail Rev. Stephanie Rutt at 603-546-2320 or stephanier@treeoflifenh.com.

Workshops

Islam/Sufism Talk & Dance

Please join us on Sunday, February 5th, beginning at 2 p.m., when we will be blessed with a most special talk and dance. To begin, we welcome Salaam Odeh - a Palestinian born woman, now a U.S. citizen - from 2 - 5 p.m. to speak on the Islam faith and culture. Afterwards, please stay from 5 - 6 p.m. for an optional potluck meal. To conclude the evening, we will enjoy dancing the Dance of Universal Peace, led by Sufi Rev. Jenaabi Finlay. The dance will focus on readings, practices and dances from the words of Hazrat Inayat Khan, who brought Sufism to the West.

Sunday, February 5th

2:00 - 5:00 p.m., Islam Talk

5:00 - 6:00 p.m., Optional Potluck Dinner

6:00 - 8:00 p.m., Dance of Universal Peace
The Tree of Life School for Sacred Living
Cost: $15/person for Talk. Free to students currently in the Tree of Life Seminary Program
$10/person donation appreciated for Dance.

Dances of Universal Peace

For the 2011 - 2012 year, the Dances of Universal Peace will be offered in support of our seminary world religion speakers. Four times throughout the year, the School will offer a presentation on a world religion followed by an optional pot-luck and then a Dance of Universal Peace to help embody the concepts and information on a deeper level. All are welcome to come for the presentation, pot-luck and/or the dance. The fee (to all but seminary students) is $15 for the presentation or $25 for the presentation and dance.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Dances of Universal Peace, they are simple circle dances which originate from and celebrate many of the world's faith traditions. They are a kind of body prayer, joyful and sweet. They invite us to step light as we journey deep. Absolutely no dance experience necessary! Our core dance team is lovingly held by Rev. Debra Rosenblum, Michael Rosenblum, Rev. Jenaabi Finlay and Rev. Stephanie Rutt. Come and join us on the following dates!

2011-2012 Dates

Sunday, October 23rd

The Dances of Judaism
2:00 - 5:00 p.m. Presentation on Judaism by Rabbinic student Michael Rosenblum
5:00 - 6:00 p.m. optional pot-luck
6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Dance of Universal Peace facilitated by Michael Rosenblum

Sunday, February 5th

The Dances of Islam & Sufism
2:00 - 5:00 p.m. Presentation on Islam by Fatima Deek
5:00 - 6:00 p.m. optional pot-luck
6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Dance of Universal Peace facilitated by Sufi, Rev. Jenaabi Finlay
(Snow date: Sunday, February 12th)

Sunday, April 1st

The Dances of Shamanism
2:00 - 5:00 p.m. Presentation on Shamanism by Julie Hannon
5:00 - 6:00 p.m. optional pot-luck
6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Dance of Universal Peace facilitated by the Tree of Life dance team

Sunday, May 6th - TBA

Drumming Circle

Reverend Pam Nowell will be facilitating the monthly Drumming Sound Circle at the Tree of Life this year. Come and share a journey in sound rhythm in the company of other sound explorers. There is no experience needed in the unique circle. We will bring rhythm and sound together to form a sacred union of body and sound. Any type of drum will do. Bring your rhythm instruments; bring a tin cup and a stick if that is what you have. No instruments you say? There are a few to spare. Do not miss out on this opportunity to experience time with the divine. Reverend Pam Nowell has been playing drums for over 15 years and is the facilitator for the Milford NH Drum and Dance.

The Drumming Circle is offered on the first Monday, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. of each month beginning October 3rd. $15 fee. Come and enjoy!