PHYSICAL SAFETY
Ethics Overview
As Anthropocene humans, we are well on the path to extinction by being fatally disconnected from nature. And though nature wins in the end (three mass [prehistoric] extinctions did not prevent the elimination of life - only selected some life for oblivion), when in nature, you are vastly outclassed! To prevent your personal extinction, Moreu College selects the best-suited candidates for the rigors of solo-hermitage retreats; rejection from our program does not mean the end of your Moreu College journey: we will adjust the program to suit your needs (hermitage sites closer to our library, for example).
In Azua we have trained service canines that will accompany you and summon help when commanded, however, serious illness or disability could put you at greater risk; as partners we will sit with you and co-create a plan outside our international campuses. (Those plans are FREE, and upon completion, you will be our alumnus [a dissertation is required].) Travel is at your own expense.
PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY
Ethics Overview
Moreu College does not see nature as sentient, only denizens like you and me, most birds, and larger mammals, are aware of themselves. Sadly, we humans are the prodigals who left our wild prehistoric niches in search of civilized power and materialism. We return today as desolate, frightened outsiders - ignorantly expecting a welcome, but unlike the biblical account of the Prodigal Son, nature will not welcome you. You, instead, must re-learn all that your ancestors lost, with no safety margin for error. Solo-hermitages work because they reveal the enormity of our loss: On our mountains, power has shifted, and we are at the mercy of the weather, a tiny shelter, and the weekly provisions brought to us by college staffers. After a week you will miss your comfy comforts back home, while the forest will not miss you at all, instead, by every means possible, it will erase you from its quiet hovels; you will be left with nothing tangible (psychologically speaking) only whatever your conscious & subconscious mind conjures up from years of television, movies, and magazines: Those will be your constant mental battles until you make internal amends with who you are, and who you want to be. It is then that your quest really begins, when you first hear the sparrows and deer-mice as they scurry around your supplies, and on your roof, inspecting you.
... Do not feed the wild animals!
Consider yourself blessed if you see a bear, blessed to hear a deer outside your cabin, blessed if you hear the treading paw-steps of a pack of coyotes en-route to a nearby mountain: Your internal non-verbal amends (your honest appraisal of your humanity, and your desire for a better world) will prepare you for your transformation into a bona-fide philosopher - then - in your final solitary week - the battle shifts to the mystical universe and its terrors (that's where Perennial Philosophy and Indigenous Philosophy comes to your rescue):
Emotional mastery is what you need on the mountain!
YOUR SAFETY NET
Procedures that can save your life in a physical or psychological emergency
1. BCI, Confidential MH assessment, MD assessment, 5 referrals required (full Board of Directors unanimously approve candidates) - MAINE & AZUA
2. Campus Mentor 24/7 (aka: Librarian, in MAINE): Basic nighttime security - MAINE & AZUA.
3. Food and clean water always available at the forest library or long-house.
4. Emergency Signaling Air-Horns - MAINE & AZUA
5, Cellphone prohibition, keeps you focused on your studies (safe storage available) - MAINE
6. First Aid Kits - MAINE & AZUA
7. Wilderness Certification (the dangers of forest living) - MAINE & AZUA
8. Leave-no-Trace Certification (forest hygiene prevents unwanted animal behaviors, and satisfy our hosts) - MAINE & AZUA
9. Vow of Silence - MAINE
10. No visitors to your solo-hermitage site (for companionship, you can visit our Forest Library, and our Long-house [AZUA])
11. Flashlights and Reading Lights available - MAINE & AZUA
12. All cabins & shelters lock from the inside.
13. Please sign cabin/shelter guestbooks.
14. Online Orientation/Initial Personal Interview (by Zoom).
15. As an alumnus, you are always welcomed to return (space permitting) and join the global outreaches of our Neo-Taino tribe!
16. No drugs, alcohol, or Tabacco is allowed (sacred Tabacco, in Azua, is used in our ceremonies) - MAINE & AZUA
*17. Companion Service Dog Assignment - AZUA
*Our service dogs are rescued from the Dominican streets if they are in imminent danger (injury, disease, etc.).
Here is BOXER, our first rescued dog, undergoing gentle service training in Azua.
A RESCUED DOG IS THE MOST LOYAL COMPANION!
Rescuing animals is an affirming Moreu College practice that benefits our communities.
