This is It—It has Started
It is irrational to dream. A vision must move through ‘what-ifs’ and worries if it is to become tangible. When envisioning, a leap must be taken, a leap past rationality and into a firm faith that a different future is possible. This leap starts with me. With my way of being…
An Ongoing Story
By David Ward (2014 Byron Fellow) As I sat on the plane flying over the east coast of America on my way back to England in the Summer of 2014, I was on a high. I had just spent a week at the Byron Fellowship, where I met inspirational people from all over the world...
From Fear to Freedom on the Path of No Return
The valley I returned to is the city of St. Louis in the wake of Ferguson, with its coldly warring factions of shouts and silence seemingly as opposed to each other as fire and water. My own sense of change is fleeting at the best of times. But those dreams that took flight at Byron flutter back to visit me when I need them the most…
Engineering in a Sacred World: A New Blog Bridging Engineering and Spirituality
Byron Alumna Julia Thompson recently launched a blog to explore spirituality in engineering. She hopes to create a space for the community of spiritually-minded engineers to connect, and to allow those who are questioning the role of their spirituality in the engineering culture a space to discern.
Apply for the January 2016 Re:Generate Fellowship!
The Re: Generate fellowship is a holistic leadership development program for young, North American faith leaders. The 4 day fellowship provides an opportunity for those pursuing food justice, sustainable agriculture, climate change, and ecological resilience through their vocation to explore and deepen the inner resources needed to sustain their work. Applications for the 2016 course themed, Leading in a New Narrative: My Story, Earth’s Story, God’s Story, which runs from January 11-14 are now open.
A Transformed State of Being: Reflections on the Byron Experience
I knew that there was something magical about the Byron Fellowship from my very first evening as a mentor five years ago. I drove in from Louisville, and had another commitment that afternoon, so I arrived after dark. The participants were gathered around a picnic table a few hundred feet away from the cabins, introducing one another by the flickering light of a campfire. As I listened around the table, it became obvious that these were some of the most remarkable young people I had encountered in my nearly 30 years of experience as a teacher and mentor…
Reflections on the Byron Fellowship, 5 Years Later
I was on the cusp of finishing an Associates Degree in Design Technology as a non-traditional student. I was co-parenting my young son with my ex-wife. I was living in a small home that I had built myself of earth, straw bales, and salvaged materials, and I had begun transitioning professions from driving nails to drawing floor plans. I was on the fence about what to do after finishing my Associates Degree. Sometimes, I wanted to continue on in academia, study architecture “for real”, and pursue obtaining my architectural license. Other times, I thought about returning to former employers and work that did not really satisfy me but was safe.
Hopefully Byron would help me find the answer that I so greatly desired….
Exploring an Emerging Age of Purpose
There’s an emerging and enticing idea in the United States that we’re entering an age of purpose – that millennials, more than any other generation, are searching for purpose and purposeful work and that we’re entering an era or economy of purpose. Yet, measuring purpose is a relatively new endeavor. Are we entering an era of purpose? This is an inspiring idea and we want it to be true, but is it?..
Building with Purpose: Learning to put Values into Action
Laura Yates, a 2013 Byron fellow, describes her journey from building to living in a tiny house. Watch and be inspired as she shares how this experience enabled her to more authentically express her values in all aspects of her life.
The Power of a Renewed Mind
by Jasmine Hamilton (2014 Byron Fellow) The culture of Byron, which I experienced as imagination, enthusiasm and openness, encouraged me to freely share some of my aspirations and challenges as a scientist. I remember sharing my struggles with accepting the current...