Woo wonder and release the grips of anxiety and doubt! Ellen Donoghue, PhD offers an inspirational slideshow about the heightened sense of well-being that comes when we actively awaken a sense of awe. Focusing on images from wildlife webcams around the world, Ellen explains how anchoring in the sensation of awe is one of the best ways to release the grips of anxiety, doubt, judgment, or ruminating tendencies. Learn to cultivate spacious awareness and bring forth a sense of possibility, ease, and resilience with Ellen and her wildlife friends.

The presentation will be via Zoom, with time after for questions and discussion. Go to Gorge Happiness Month, Events, for the Zoom info, or send me an email (ellen@ardentnature.com) and I will gladly provide you with the Zoom invite & login info!

Ellen Donoghue, PhD, is a natural resource social scientist, empowerment coach, and inspirational speaker. Through her consulting business Ardent Nature, Ellen helps individuals, groups, and organizations cultivate inner-strengths and aspire toward their heartfelt goals.

“LOVE is in the Air this Valentines Day!”

On this Valentine’s Day, Ellen Donoghue, PhD shares her “Wildlife Love Stories” presentation of intimate images of the lives of several raptor pairs, the rearing of their chicks, fledging, unexpected nest visitors, and the wonders of forging close connections with wildlife. Ellen’s presentation features unique “up close and personal” images from wildlife webcams around the US, focusing mostly on owls, bald eagles, and osprey.

May this presentation fill your hearts with positive sensations for all beings on the planet and send you on your way to whatever Valentines Day dinner with loved-ones, sweeties, or your personal time in loving reflection.

FREE Event. All welcome!

More about Ellen and her love of wildlife: Ellen began studying the connections between people and the environment in the Pacific Northwest the early 2000s, after working in Central America Southeast Asia in protected area management and community forestry. Ellen’s social science work has included collaborative resource management related to wolf reintroduction, polar bear conservation, howler monkey ecotourism, as well climate change resiliency, and the use of local and indigenous knowledge.

Through her business Ardent Nature, Ellen’s empowerment coaching helps individuals and groups release the grips of fear and doubt to empower each of us to offer our unique gifts on behalf of all beings on this planet. Ellen says she has benefited from the wisdom of a number of teachers, and yet the most enduring constant and influential teacher throughout her life has been her connections to vast wild places. Ellen is an avid outdoor enthusiast, was a wilderness guide in the Pacific Northwest, and a competitive dog musher in Alaska.

Columbia Gorge Climate Action Network (CGCAN) will be hosting our annual Solstice Celebration party at The Ruins. I have the honor of offering the keynote presentation on “Falling in Love Again: How Connecting with Wildlife Inspires Positive Action.” Plus, there will be lasagna, beverages, potluck offerings, trivia game, and good company for all. Our solstice event is part celebration of all our accomplishments this year on behalf of planet Earth.

Are you new to CGCAN? All are welcome! Come join this group of people who are dedicated to climate recovery and the well-being on all beings on planet Earth!

We will gather for a family friendly potluck solstice party on Saturday December 14th at the Ruins (formerly Springhouse Cellar), at 13 Railroad Street, Hood River. Please note: at present there is no parking directly at The Ruins. Attendees must park on nearby streets and walk past the railroad entrance to the doors of the Ruins. Please plan accordingly and give yourself time; if you are carpooling or have a lot to carry, you can drop off people/food at the Ruins doors and then go park).

Here is the agenda:

5:30pm Doors open for socializing and appetizers

6:15pm Dinner starts

6:45pm Welcome

6:50pm Trivia game

7:00pm Presentation: "Falling in Love Again: How Our Connection to Wildlife Inspires Positive Action," by Ellen Donoghue, PhD.

7:30pm Announcements and sing along

7:45pm Adjourn

Please bring a dish or appetizer, if you can (we know people grow weary of potlucks). And, please bring your plate and cutlery. This is a trash free event. CGCAN will provide non-alcoholic beverages and lasagna. The Ruins offers a variety of alcoholic beverages.

Gather, eat & drink, converse, and explore mindfulness practices that help us reduce stress and anxiety during the holiday season. Join us as we explore and renew a few simple practices to anchor in calm, gratitude, kindness, and joy!

If you have taken "Anchoring in Your Aliveness" or "Cultivating Inner-Strengths" classes or workshops with Ellen, or worked one-on-one with her, this gathering is an opportunity to refresh some of your mindfulness practices and connect with others.

Come share what practices best help you anchor in sensations of goodwill, joy, gratitude, compassion, and equanimity.

If you are new to some of these teachings and practices, please know they can be done in the everyday flow of life. Enhancing our awareness of where our mind is inclined is the first step. From there we get to choose how we react, respond, and engage with world around us. Cultivate inner-strengths through simple mindfulness practices and create a lasting sense of well-being.

The discussion and exploration of practices will be informal. Our "menu" of mindfulness practices is extensive. So, we will pick a few that best meet the interests of those who attend. The gathering will also be a time to relax, connect with people, and enjoy great food, beverages, and wonderful Crush Cider Café hospitality. We will most likely gather in the new special event room in the back.

Registration not required; however your RSVP via Meetup or to ellen@ardentnature.com is always appreciated. Becoming a member of Gorge Mindfulness Meetup is free, easy, and a great way to rsvp and connect! https://www.meetup.com/Hood-River-Mindfulness-Meetup.

Host: Ellen Donoghue, PhD, is a social scientist and empowerment coach with a core area of research on well-being, resiliency, and the connections between people and nature. Ellen draws on Buddhist psychology and other wisdom traditions to help people grow inner-strengths for lasting well-being. Contact Ellen or learn more about her aliveness services at www.ardentnature.com.

“Cultivate Inner-Strengths and Anchor in Your Aliveness!”

Empower yourself for joyful holidays with Ellen Donoghue, PhD!  Check out this new class...

Let the stress of holidays be gone! Holidays are joyous times to share with loved ones, friends, and communities.  And yet for many of us, holidays trigger tension and anxiety, creating background stress that negatively impacts our natural tendency to feel gratitude, generosity, and joy.  For some, stress or anxiety may arise when we reconnect with loved one.  For others who have experienced loss or change, the absence of loved ones may arouse sensations of disconnect and loneliness.  This seminar offers teachings and practices that help us cultivate positive sensations as we approach the upcoming holidays.  Learn why it is easy to get triggered as we “rev up” for holiday events and activities.  Explore how when we become more mindful of our reactive tendencies we learn that we have the power to choose how we react to anything. Yes, anything, from your reaction to the person who almost slammed into your car while snatching the parking space you were approaching to the relative whose very presence launches you back to unhealthy patterns and difficult sensations you thought you had outgrown.  Learn simple practices done in the everyday flow of life to bring you back to calm, love, and heartfelt joy for the holidays!

Monday, November 5th, 6-8:30pm, HR Campus. $39. Registration required. 

To register, please visit cgcc.edu/schedule or call CGCC student services at (541) 506-6011

Join Ellen for this FREE workshop as part of Gorge Happiness Month!

“Letting go” is a rejuvenating and enriching practice to do in the everyday flow of life.  If you are holding on to ruminating thoughts, grudges, hurts, limiting beliefs, or perhaps clinging to sensations of wanting or insistence that situations “must be” a certain way, this workshop  offers teachings and mindfulness practices to help you (a) be with difficult sensations, (b) let go of what is no longer serving you, and (c) let in and grow positive traits to enhance a lasting sense of well-being.  Jack Kornfield’s saying that “we can be very loyal to our suffering” is a gentle reminder to be open to the various ways we cling to that which does not feel good, even though clinging perpetuates our suffering.  Learn to let go and allow ease, contentment, and equanimity to flow. 

Hood River Library, Tuesday, November 9th, 6-8pm, downstairs conference room. 

Free event. No registration required, although a courtesy rsvp to Ellen at ellen@ardentnature.com is appreciated! 

Loosen the grips of anxiety, fear, doubt, and judgement by cultivating inner strengths that create a foundation of well-being.  Return to a place of contentment and joy – a place where the mind is not so easily “triggered” or hijacked into negative rumination.  Learn how to cultivate strengths such as compassion, gratitude, and resiliency and feel more at ease with the inevitable ebbs and flows of life.  Uh, too serious a topic for a sunny summer morning?  Well, the sub-title of this workshop is “Making Fear Fun.”  We will keep it light, informative, and perhaps even mildly entertaining!  You will leave the workshop with practical information and easy-to-do mindfulness practices to enrich your life and therefore the lives of all beings you encounter.  The workshop includes presentation, discussion, and guided practices that help us lay down positive neural structure and tilt our brain away from what neuroscientists call the “negativity bias” of the brain.  Recommend bringing notebook and pen.  $39, Registration required through Columbia Gorge Community College. 

For more information or to register, please visit cgcc.edu/schedule or call student services (541) 506-6011.

I have the great honor of leading the community meditation at 11:00am at the Culture Fest event.  The community meditation will kick-off this wonderful day of celebration of culture and diversity.  The day is full engaging performers and opportunities to participate, such as an African Drumming workshop, Salsa Dancing Lesson, Warm Springs tribes N'chi Wanapum Canoe Family Dancers, and more!  The Culture Fest provides an chance to celebrate the diverse backgrounds of those in our community and experience cultures other than your own. Bring your family and friends, all are welcome to this free event!

Join residents of the Gorge as we celebrate the role of science in improving life for all beings on this planets.  Visit booths, listen to inspiring talks, and march with heartfelt aspirations to inspire learning, knowledge, truth, and goodwill for all.  Yes, Ellen will be giving a little talk at this marvelous event, most likely leading the group in the practice she calls "Wooing Wonder, Amassing Amazement, Courting Curiosity, Awakening Awe."  Fun! 

Earth: Think the world of it! 

Join residents on the Columbia River Gorge in celebrating the diversity of ways we cherish, adore, care for, and connect with live on Earth.  Consider renewing your intention or vow to life on Earth.  Put your hand on your heart, touch the ground or something meaningful, and gently state your aspiration "May I ..." 

Ellen will be offering a short inspirational talk, inviting participants to let go the grips of anger, frustration, anxiety, doubt, and fear (even if just for this special day) and rekindle aspirations to do good things for this Earth from a heart-centered orientation.  As Gary Snyder said in response to a question about what are we to do with the dire environmental situation, "Save it because you love it."  Let your intentions for the Earth come from your heart.  The Dalai Lama reminds us, "The more you are motivated by love the more fearless and free your actions will be."