Read below to find out about Hive Christianity With Rev. Dr. Hillary Raining
Rev. Dr. Hillary Raining
Thursday, February 16, 2023
Transform fear and spiritual trauma with wisdom from the great mystics, Indigenous spirituality, and trauma-informed research — as you cultivate your own sustaining practice for joy, peace, and lifelong spiritual growth.
Explore the next evolution of Christianity, and connect with a more fulfilling, experiential, and grounded relationship with the Divine.
In today’s world, why are even the most devoted spiritual seekers feeling anxiety about the future?
According to Rev. Dr. Hillary Raining, an Episcopal priest and yoga instructor, our spiritual lives have suffered as the impact of continued oppression, environmental concerns, a global pandemic, and social unrest have taken hold in our collective psyches. For many, this trauma can also be attributed to the way we’ve been practicing religion.
Hillary teaches that this moment is actually a chapter in a much larger story set in motion long ago.
In fact, this level of global spiritual upheaval — and ultimate revolution — predictably comes along every 500 years, when the way people understand themselves and the world around them changes.
In response to these tumultuous times, mystics and trailblazing wisdom schools rise up to support and guide people through their own spiritual revolutions.
Hillary herself is the pioneering creator of The Hive, a spiritual and wellness community based on the model of the connection and growth that happens in the honey bee’s hive — an ancient metaphor for the Church.
Hillary’s practices point to a fundamental evolution of Christianity, from the top-down version created in ancient Rome — which all too often led to various forms of religious trauma, as distorted authority caused religious wounding — to a more distributed, personally empowered network of grace (much more akin to what Jesus taught).
Hive Christianity helps people plant the seeds of the spiritual revolution in their own time. It’s like a 2.0 version of Christian practice that’s more empowering, liberating, and healing for practitioners...
It can empower you to transform your fear and spiritual trauma and experience deeper joy and peace. As you build your own practice for lifelong spiritual growth, you can begin to experience a more fulfilling, experiential, and grounded relationship with the Divine.
You’ll learn from great mystics and Indigenous traditions — including Native American and Celtic — to cultivate peace and a deep awareness of where Spirit has been speaking to you in your life.
While Hillary’s training is as a Christian, these mystical and Earth-honoring practices are for everyone — indeed, Spirit is more loving and larger than the Universe itself.
Hillary teaches that we can learn from our ancestors of the faith who lived through similar societal shifts — and whose wisdom can help us evolve and connect to our spiritual lives and deepest selves... for a hope-filled future.
Join Hillary for a brand-new 7-week live video course as she guides you to understand the chaotic transitions of the world in a whole new light, as a necessary birth into a more sacred way of being.
You’ll explore where you need support to heal and use your gifts as you respond to this era of spiritual transformation and growth.
In this liberating course, you’ll explore:
- Practices and wisdom to navigate the pivotal era we’re living in — one of the 500-year shifts in Christianity’s history — and follow in the footsteps of mystic ancestors who lived through them
- Ancient spiritual tools, Indigenous practices, interactive exercise, and writing prompts to help you live a holy life in these modern times
- The tenants of Hillary’s Hive Christianity movement and community as a 21st-century upgrade to faith or spirituality, inspired by the way bees work together in the hive toward a common goal — so you can begin planting your own seeds of spiritual evolution
- How to break free of the fear and trauma that keeps you in a more primitive mental and emotional state (often without you realizing it)
- What it means to “fear not” — the roadmap for evolving as a spiritual person
- How to use joy and pleasure as your spiritual GPS, especially during times of spiritual turmoil
- Profound wisdom from the great mystics who lived through difficult, transformational times — including Julian of Norwich, Mary Magdalene, and more
- How you can use your spiritual GPS for discernment to help you release your religious trauma and shame
- A guided forest therapy and bathing walk to get you outside and into the presence of Spirit, or God (actually going outside in real-time is optional!)
- Finding your unique voice as a pathway to healing and creation
- Creating your own rule of life to live a holy life of joy, peace, and stability
We can shift beyond that outdated version of Christianity when we claim our own direct experiences and connection with the Divine — and begin to awaken into Christ consciousness as a community rather than as individuals.
Many of us have lived in survival mode during this tumultuous era, so it’s been difficult to spend our time and energy intentionally setting a pattern of living that can guide us each day to grow closer to Spirit, or God, others, our planet, and ourselves.
Hillary will guide you to cultivate a peaceful, centered existence so you can live a holy life in these modern times.
Join Hillary and discover new ways of asking the Spirit to guide you on your journey to build a lifelong spiritual practice of evolution and transformation.
What You’ll Discover in These 7 Weeks
In this 7-week transformational course, Hillary will guide you through the fundamental skills and competencies you’ll need to successfully create a lifelong practice to transform religious trauma into spiritual growth, peace, and joy.
Join the Livestream — or Stream Later to Watch at Your Convenience
You’ll connect with Hillary and experience her teachings through livestreaming video via any connected device. This connection is easy to use and will enhance the impact of Hillary’s transmissions. Can’t make it live? After each class, you can stream the video and audio recordings to enjoy anytime and anywhere at your convenience.
Weekly Sessions Thursdays at 9:00am Pacific
This course will feature LIVE teachings, interactive training sessions, experiential practices, and Q&A with Hillary. Each session will build harmoniously upon the previous ones, so you’ll develop a complete holistic understanding of the practices, tools, and principles you’ll need to cultivate a lifelong practice to transform religious trauma into spiritual growth, peace, and joy.
Module 1: Understand Hive Christianity as a 21st-Century Upgrade to Faith & Spirituality — to Transform Fear & Evolve Yourself for Whatever the Future Brings (February 16)
For Hillary, “fear not” is the key to spiritual evolution.
As this course begins, Hillary will explain how we’re in a time of enormous societal and spiritual upheaval. These kinds of major shifts come along every 500 years, when the ways people understand themselves and the world around them change.
These can be very stressful, scary times to live through. Yet, as Hillary will remind you, “fear not” is the #1 command in the Bible — a commandment that can be hard to take seriously with the effects of flight, fight, and freeze brought on by the trauma in the world today and the historical trauma caused by systematic white colonialism.
This trauma forces us to regress to our primal/non-rational selves.
Hillary will explain how to learn from your ancestors of the faith who have lived through similar societal shifts — so you can evolve Christianity, and yourself, for the future.
This module will introduce you to the guiding principles of “Hive Christianity” that pull from the natural world, mystic wisdom, Indigenous spirituality, and trauma-informed research — to help plant the seeds of the spiritual revolution in your own time.
In this opening module, you’ll discover:
- How trauma affects the body, mind, and soul for generations
- How learning to “fear not” is the roadmap for evolving as a spiritual person — taking you from your primal self to your evolved self by changing your body, mind, and soul
- The 500-year shifts in Christianity’s history and what you can learn from the mystic ancestors who lived through them
- The Spiritual Genogram, an important tool for self-awareness, personal development, and relationship development
Module 2: Rediscover Your Indigenous Root System & the Gift of Blood Memory — Practicing a Gratitude Worldview to Cultivate Peace, Joy & Spiritual Growth (February 23)
In recent years, scientists have discovered what Indigenous communities have known for generations — that the emotional and physical lives of our ancestors will fundamentally affect our emotional and physical lives.
Despite the increasing evidence that both trauma and/or gratitude can impact the individual (and by extension their offspring) as well as institutions like the Church, there has been precious little research done on the effects of generational wisdom gratitude on future generations.
Hive Christianity believes that gratitude is a deep spiritual practice that changes not just those who practice it — but also the generations that follow.
Hillary will guide you to explore generational, psychological, and theological studies using the gratitude worldview. She’ll share practices of the Ojibwe Native Americans as your entry point into the study of blood memory.
You’ll also explore suggestions for church communities looking to reclaim gratitude as a spiritual practice in modern times, drawing from the Church’s institutional “blood memory.”
In this module, you’ll discover:
- A further exploration of spiritual ancestors — Ojibwe healers and the role of “Miigwech” (gratitude) mindset
- What “blood memory” really means, and how you can tap into it to further your spiritual growth
- How trauma and gratitude change the body
- The role of your ancestors and the communion of saints in your life — including how is Communion like string theory?
- A powerful exercise where you’ll write a grief history timeline and recovery letter to release trauma
Module 3: Release Your Religious Trauma & Shame as You Use Your Inner Spiritual GPS for Discernment (March 2)
A key focus of Hive Christianity is deep healing from shame and trauma — hardships that are often caused by religion itself.
These types of traumas can be particularly heartbreaking, as they harm people when they’re at their most open and vulnerable.
Hillary will guide you to understand the relationship between shame, vulnerability, and creativity — and how to use the spiritual GPS for discernment.
You’ll explore the importance of honoring the body and creation in spiritual growth, using it as a lens to construct a spiritual timeline.
You’ll also be invited to burn the letter you wrote in the previous module.
In this module, you’ll discover:
- When to flee a religion and when to stay, using spiritual ancestors as your guide — specifically the Desert Mother and Father who fled a Christianity that was wed to empire
- Tools to reprogram the neurocycle — the brain’s method of keeping you safe in a cycle of repeating thoughts and behaviors, which can sometimes get stuck in a cycle of negativity or trauma loops
- A R.A.I.N. (recognize, allow, investigate, nurture) meditation to rise above your brain’s chatter and help you enter a state of mindfulness
- How to experience pleasure and joy as you heal from trauma using your spiritual GPS
- A daily examination practice to grow in your discernment
Module 4: “Exorcize the Empire” From Your Christianity — to Experience Spiritual Healing (March 9)
In the Christian tradition, many rituals have been used to harm and colonize other people...
As Hillary will explain, several of them were at the heart of Christianity’s roots, yet were co-opted and used in ways they were never intended. Examples include baptism as a colonizing tool, confession as a way to control and cheat people, and spiritual healing and exorcisms being relegated to “second-class rituals.”
Thankfully, medical science has been able to diagnose what was once thought as a possession but is actually a mental and physical illness, so people can get the help they need.
Hillary will also share feminist and Indigenous models for spiritual healing, in which prayers of healing and deliverance are common. These two groups have historically had their voices stifled in conversations and academic research.
In this module, you’ll discover:
- How Hive Christianity takes seriously the rituals of our ancestors — and seeks ways to restore them to their actual purposes by exorcizing the empire from Christianity
- How data reflects an increasing desire for, and belief in, spiritual phenomena, including evil possession and exorcism
- Spiritual ancestor Mary Magdalene and Indigenous ancestors who carried deep wisdom about spiritual healing
- A deep look at several of the Christian rituals at the root of deep abuse in the past
- The releasing ceremony of the Chippewa people
Module 5: Confession as a Path to Healing & Self-Forgiveness (March 16)
What does it mean to follow a spiritual leader like Jesus who is described in the Bible as “The Word of God”?
As Hillary will share, Hive Christianity seeks to help you find your own unique voice as a pathway to healing and creation. Hillary will guide you to examine the trauma that leaves us speechless as we remember that the true way to heal trauma is to speak it into the world...
Research shows that people who speak their truth (through ritual, art, song, therapy, etc.) are able to heal from a traumatic event much more quickly than those who have been silenced.
In this module, you’ll discover:
- The spiritual practice of chanting
- The Celtic Christians’ confessionals and green martyrdom (“Marteo”) as confessing faith
- A full view of the Judeo-Christian view of “Nephis” — the ancient Hebrew word that means both throat and soul
- The throat chakra as the gateway to the heart
- An illuminating exercise, The Identity Game: Who Are You Really?
Module 6: Commune With Nature for Lower Stress & Improved Concentration (March 23)
We’re all connected to each other and this planet, according to a core tenant of Hive Christianity.
While we live in a culture that’s often disconnected from the natural world, many of us instinctively feel the greatest connection to God when we’re outside in creation...
As Hillary will explain, it’s no wonder! A growing body of scientific research shows that mindfully spending time in nature is a powerful medicine for the body, mind, and soul. Benefits include reduced stress, heart rate, and blood pressure, and improved concentration, creativity, and mood.
This module will get you outside and into the presence of God.
Hillary will also guide you to look at a time in Christian history — the era of the bubonic plague — and examine the consequences of not embracing nature as our family member.
In this module, you’ll discover:
- Spiritual ancestor Julian of Norwich and the goodness of Christ as mother
- Why Christianity must be an eco-conscious movement
- The Beehive as an ancient metaphor for the Church
- The mystic roles of trees in this Christian tradition
- A guided forest therapy and bathing walk (actually going outside in real-time is optional!)
Module 7: The Rule of Life Workshop — Creating Your Own Rule of Life to Live a Holy Life of Joy, Peace & Stability (March 30)
Hive Christianity takes seriously our role as modern-day mystics. It’s time to start evolving our faith for ourselves and our future faith family.
In this final module, you’ll discover the rule of life, a very old tool that can help you live a holy life in these modern times.
The rule of life is an invitation to help you live a life of intention. As Hillary will explain, it’s not a productivity plan or self-help scheme. It’s not about doing more with your life. It’s not even just about being happy...
It’s about being with God and others in a way that fosters deep peace and stability, giving yourself the gift of joy, that deep sense of abiding in God.
In this closing module, you’ll:
- Bring all the elements of the course together as you seek to build a lifelong spiritual practice of evolution and transformation
- Explore spiritual ancestor St. Benedict and his famous rule of life
- Discover the Rule of Life’s history and purpose
- Participate in an exercise called the Rule of Life Design Studio so you can create your own rule of life
The Hive Christianity Bonus Offering
In addition to Hillary’s transformative 7-week virtual course, you’ll receive these special bonuses to complement the course and take your understanding and practice to an even deeper level.
Miigwech & Blood Memory: Gratitude as a Multi-Lineage Spiritual Practice
Award-Winning Essay & Peer-Reviewed Article From Rev. Dr. Hillary Raining
In this journal article, Hillary documents the effect of gratitude as a deeply spiritual practice that changes not only those who practice it, but also the generations that follow. Using the lens of generational, psychological, and theological studies, Hillary takes the gratitude worldview and practices of the Ojibwe Native Americans as the entry point into the study of blood memory. She also offers suggestions for church communities that are looking to reclaim gratitude as a spiritual practice in modern times drawing from the Church’s institutional blood memory.
Healing Traumatic Emotions in the Body
Video Meditation From Rev. Dr. Hillary Raining
In this 12-minute video meditation, Hillary offers a way to sit with some of the complex feelings of trauma that arise in the body while tending to positive emotions like hope and happiness. As you work on healing in this course, this will be an excellent supplemental practice. This video was originally offered as part of a masterclass on meditation.
What People Are Saying About Rev. Dr. Hillary Raining...
— Callie Swanlund: “When Hillary Teaches, Everyone Draws Near”
— Madeleine Harris-Lerew: “It's Difficult to Think of a Portion of My Life That Hillary Hasn't Touched”
— Reverend Steve Thomason: “Hillary’s Workshop on Spiritual Practices as Balm for the Soul Offered Much Fruit for Many Who Participated”
“The Hive has been a real presence in my faith journey.”
The Hive has been a real presence in my faith journey. Since The Hive’s early days, I have learned an enormous amount from classes and discussions we’ve experienced, grown from the books we’ve read, and mourned and celebrated significant events together. I’m grateful to be part of this community of faithful friends, both on the website and on Facebook. It has been vital to me during these past pandemic years. Thank you to Hillary for her inspired idea and to everyone involved in making The Hive all that it is.
— Phyllis Drackley
“Hillary’s course is a masterclass in healing the suffering.”
Trauma imprisons us in an endless cycle of suffering. Hillary’s course is a masterclass in healing the suffering. Taught from the perspective of the seven chakras — or energy centers — of the body, this course provides context and tools to continue the journey of healing.
— Peg Schofield
“The Hive platform is incredible!”
The Hive platform is incredible! As a spiritual seeker and ordination aspirant in the Episcopal Church from India, I was surprised to see how beautifully you connect Christian tradition and Eastern spiritual practices, including yoga. Keep doing your great work.
— Baiju Markose
Join the Global Community
Hive Christianity offers some of the most transformational online teachings available, within a thriving global community of learning and practice.
Join fellow students and practitioners to support and inspire each other as you integrate the teachings and practices Rev. Dr. Hillary Raining will share in this powerful training.
You’ll join an international community on the leading edge of manifesting a world grounded in the principles of cooperation, harmony, and reverence for all of life.
Here’s What You’ll Receive
Seven 90-Minute Class Sessions With Rev. Dr. Hillary Raining
Experience a unique opportunity to be mentored by and learn from Rev. Dr. Hillary Raining, founder of The Hive — from the comfort of your own home. Each class session includes a livestreaming video option and will guide you to cultivate a lifelong practice to transform religious trauma into spiritual growth, peace, and joy. Course sessions are on Thursdays at 9:00am Pacific.
Seven Video Recordings of Class Sessions
After each class, the video will be available for you to stream in a high-quality format. You’ll never have to worry about missing a session, and you can watch anytime and anywhere at your convenience.
Seven Audio Recordings of Class Sessions
After each class, the audio will be available for you to stream. You’ll never have to worry about missing a session, and you can listen anytime and anywhere at your convenience.
Seven Transcripts of Class Sessions
You'll also receive the entire class transcription after each session is completed. You can then review, print, and highlight the most important insights and practices you were given.
Interactive Exercises and Questions for Each Lesson
Between class sessions, you’ll have the option of completing related exercises, practicing new tools, and answering questions to accelerate your learning and integrate each week’s lesson.
Online Community
Our exclusive Facebook online community is the perfect place to continue your discovery process after each class. Here, you can continue the discussion about your course materials and interact with your fellow students to take your exploration to an even deeper level.
The Hive Christianity Bonus Collection
- Miigwech & Blood Memory: Gratitude as a Multi-Lineage Spiritual Practice
Award-Winning Essay & Peer-Reviewed Article From Rev. Dr. Hillary Raining - Healing Traumatic Emotions in the Body
Video Meditation From Rev. Dr. Hillary Raining
An Unprecedented Opportunity to Join the Online Training, Hive Christianity
We feel honored that Rev. Dr. Hillary Raining has chosen to partner with The Shift Network to offer this exclusive LIVE online training. This is a unique opportunity to interact directly with the founder of The Hive, whose powerful insights and pioneering work are helping us heal and awaken ourselves and our world.
If you’re serious about cultivating a lifelong practice to transform religious trauma into spiritual growth, peace, and joy, then you owe it to yourself, your loved ones, and our world to take this one-of-a-kind training.
If you’re ready to take the next step in your own evolution, click the register button below to reserve your space now.
Your Satisfaction Is 100% Guaranteed!
Your satisfaction is 100% guaranteed! If you don’t absolutely LOVE Hive Christianity — or don’t feel that it meets your needs — please submit your refund request form on or before March 2, 2023 and we’ll happily issue qualifying customers a refund.
About Rev. Dr. Hillary Raining
Rev. Dr. Hillary Raining, the rector of St. Christopher Episcopal Church in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania, is the first woman to rector a large parish in the suburbs of Philadelphia. She is the founder of The Hive, an online spirituality and wellness community.
Hillary, who holds advanced degrees from Moravian, Drew, and Yale Universities, is Adjunct Faculty and the Director of the Center for Christian Spirituality at the General Theological Seminary in New York City, and has served as a deputy to several General Conventions of the Episcopal Church. She is the author of Joy in Confession: Reclaiming Sacramental Reconciliation and Faith with a Twist: A 30-Day Journey Into Christian Yoga.
As a 500-hour registered yoga instructor, and a 100-hour registered meditation teacher, Hillary loves to blend yoga and meditation with her spiritual teachings. She is also a Certified Forest Therapy Guide who blends her great love of the outdoors with spirituality, and a Certified Daring Way Facilitator (CDWF), having trained with Brené Brown and her team.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What’s a virtual course?
A: It’s a great way to engage live and pre-recorded teachings and each other from the comfort of your home! All you need is a computer, mobile device, or telephone. If there’s more than one person in your household taking the course, you’ll each need your own connection. We use Zoom video conferencing to make it just like an in-person event, where you can ask questions and deepen your exploration of the course themes.
There’s no additional charge for connecting to Zoom with your computer or mobile device. Please note that dialing Zoom from your telephone is a toll call; your telephone service provider will charge you according to your existing long-distance calling plan. International access numbers are available.
“I’ve never seen a course so well put together ever...”
I had never participated before in an online course. The packaging, presentation, inclusion, and Facebook postings created a wonderful, safe cocoon within which to participate. I’ve never seen a course so well put together ever — not in all the years of taking college classes — and I had my doubts about doing an online course. The wealth of organization and ease of learning materials and support made this fun as well.
— Claudia F., Medford, Massachusetts
Can I still benefit from the course if I miss the live classes?
A: Absolutely! You can stream the recordings and download the transcripts of all course sessions, so you never need to worry about missing live calls. You can also engage with the full community and leaders in our private online community group.
Q: Can you tell me about the private online community group?
A: We’ll have a private online community group for all course participants on Facebook that will support you in making connections with others, sharing insights, engaging in discussions, and completing homework assignments that can supplement your transformational journey. You’ll have the ability to share your experiences, projects, and growth throughout the course.
Q: Are there scholarships available for this training?
A: Yes, we always make a certain percentage of spaces available for partial scholarships, for those who otherwise would not be able to enroll at the regular rate. If you’d like to apply for a scholarship, please review our guidelines, which include a link to our online application form.
Q: What’s your refund policy?
A: Your satisfaction with The Shift Network and this course is our highest priority! We offer a satisfaction guarantee so that you can sample the course risk-free. The deadline to receive a full refund is March 2, 2023. To request a refund, please click on this refund request form and submit your request. Qualifying refunds will be processed within five business days and an email confirming the refund will be sent. However, we’d love to have a chance to address and resolve your concerns first. If there’s something we can assist you with, please email us at support@theshiftnetwork.com and we’ll be happy to help! (No refund requests accepted after the above date or with scholarship awards.)
Q: How can I reach Customer Support?
A: Please visit our Customer Support Center, where you should be able to find the answer to your question or the solution to your problem. And if you can’t, you can submit an online request form and we’ll get right back to you.
