Community HeartWash: Islands of Coherence with The Fertile Void

The Community HeartWash: Islands of Coherence is a response to these challenging and chaotic times in which we are living. We all need ways to make space for the range of our emotions—internally and in community—and find ways of coming closer to internal and communal coherence in order to feel our agency and hope in these times.

This event is inspired by a quote from Belgian chemist Ilya Prigogine: “When a complex system is far from equilibrium, small islands of coherence in a sea of chaos have the capacity to shift the entire system to a higher order.” The Fertile Void hopes to foster these islands of coherence within each of us individually, and as groups that come together to stand firmly in this sea of chaos—with clarity about what is important, like trees whose root systems meet each other underground and provide a support network to one another.

This Community HeartWash will bridge sound healing, embodied guided meditations, and musical performance that includes (optional) interactivity. It will weave in delights of the senses to bring you into your body and connect with the larger collective body. We invite you into The Fertile Void so that we may soothe, cleanse, and energize your heart and whatever it is holding—so that you may come out the other side sparkling anew, ready to re-enter the world feeling more connected to yourself and the world.

This event is in-person only. Tickets are sliding scale $20 t0 $50 with no one turned away for lack of funds.

The Fertile Void Project began in 2011, playing between the boundaries of performance, sound healing, and ceremonial journey work, and includes a story-web podcast of the same name. The musical iteration is, at its core, Carrie Rose Katz on vocals, shruti box, ukulele, percussion, and other sound-making objects, and Beth Vandervennet on cello and loop pedals. Rose and Beth have been performing together since 1996, formerly in the band Rosin Coven, “the Bay Area’s Premiere Pagan Lounge Ensemble.”

The Fertile Void expands over time, rotating in various musicians so that our sound evolves to attune to the feel of a gathering. Our intention is to blur the line between performers and audience, inviting people into the liminal realms where creativity is sparked—to traverse the range of human emotions, leaving people feeling soothed, renewed, and inspired. We are pleased to have special guest Sonya Brewer, vocalist and breathwork teacher, for this event.

Rose is a somatic, expressive arts, and ketamine psychotherapist and psychedelic integration guide in Berkeley, CA. She finds a major overlap between the therapy process, working with non-ordinary states of consciousness, and the realms of music, art, and theater—all of which invite seeing the self and the world through new eyes. Creating community through facilitating these experiences is her current passion. She has created these kinds of gatherings with Rosin Coven, in her work as a psychedelic guide, and with Dreamhive Collective.

Beth is a member of the Oakland Symphony, Santa Rosa Symphony, Marin Symphony, and former principal cellist in the Vallejo and Stockton symphonies. She bathes herself in a wonderful variety of music-making: from orchestral masterpieces to Squid Inc. Strings mashups, previously from the original Pagan Lounge sounds of Rosin Coven, to traditional chamber music of the grand masters, and Dreamhive Collective gatherings. Beth is a committed teaching artist, program director, and community team player throughout Oakland and Berkeley.

In the past, as manager of the Oakland Symphony’s MUSE (Music for Excellence) program, and currently as associate director at Berkeley’s Crowden School, Beth is committed to being a creative arts advocate for music—making our lives a richer place to be.

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