A beautiful place to assemble in mindfulness meditation - on 4 acres with views to mountains, the gulf islands, and ocean front.  A shade structure will be put up to meditate outdoors with access to a beach house to use the bathrooms and kitchen for snacks and lunch.   There are many shady and beautiful areas to tuck away and explore stillness in.

​

The main theme of this workshop/retreat will be on listening  - internally to the body and externally to the natural world around us so that we may hear the wisdom within and outwardly.  Practicing in this way not only helps us to better hear our internal deepest truth but it also allows us to listen more deeply to our loved ones. 

 

By slowing down and connecting to the natural environment we can become more connected with joy and gratitude, and with the small wonders always all around us that can add vitality to our lives.  A combination of walking meditation, sitting practice, laying down will occur.  You can go for a swim in a protected water hole in the ocean if you wish to!  There will also be instructional talks given by myself and a co-facilitator.  We will a combination of silence and some limited group discussion.

 

If you have attended one of my workshops, we will go deeper into some of the topics we've covered, and also explore some powerful nature meditations.  Nature is used a lot in the teachings of mindfulness - it is a powerful teacher!  The aim of this workshop/retreat will be to cultivate stillness and connect in a deep way to all that is around us, hearing the lessons that the natural world can teach us about our life.

​

If anyone is coming from further away and/or wishes to make more of a restorative holiday of this experience without having to drive back-and-forth to home, it will be possible to rent a bedroom in the beach house on a first-come, first served basis to sleep over on either Friday, Saturday, and/or Sunday nights.  There are two such spaces available onsite as well as a lodge right down the road.

 

Contact me here.  Limited places available.

​

Cost is $220 for the weekend.  

​

My co-facilitator for this event is Ann Holroyd. I look forward to holding space with her, and know that her presence will add a lot to the group experience.

 

Ann Holroyd is a Registered Clinical Counsellor and RN who holds a PhD in Health Science. Her interest is in the human experience particularly when faced with life transitions, including serious and persistent illness. Ann has spent a great deal of time learning about the work of Carl Jung and enjoys bringing these insights to her counselling practice. As an individual who has faced her own life challenges, Ann recognizes the greatness and the limitedness of science when it comes to the human condition. There are many aspects of our human existence that are not amenable to the laws of science. It is Ann's belief that individuals often don’t recognize this until confronted with life experiences not easily remedied by science. During these trying moments in life it is not unusual to focus so intensely on one aspect of our existence and forget about other aspects of self, namely that which is defined as our soul. When Ann has been on this journey of mindfully connecting to self she has been engaged in soul work.

​

Caring for the soul is not an action oriented experience as much as it is a contemplative experience that prompts us to begin to understand our existence and how it reflects, regardless of our actions, the will of nature and its connection to nature. Attending to the soul, means attending to life in its full complexity and gaining peace with its many paradoxes. By teaching ourselves to be mindful and observant of our life's complexities, brings forth meaning and insights about our soul and its connection to the circularity of life, most evident in the reoccurring seasons.

​

Ann has been practicing mindfulness into her daily life since her mid-thirties. Mindfulness relates to Ann’s desire to continually focus on the development of self; Soulfulness on the other hand relates to Ann’s desire to continue to grow into the fullness of her life and its connection to the soul. By using daily meditation practice as a means of integrating Mindfulness with Soulfulness, Ann is constantly working toward creating a more holistic sense of self and a worldview that is more loving and caring toward both self as well as other.

Mindfulness expands our awareness of self and helps us to grow into what could be called the fullness of life.

The mindfulness meditation that has continually inspired Ann is informed by the practice of being present with our human experiences, even the most trying experiences, in a curious and open way. For Ann, mindfulness meditation is a means of exploring her mind and connecting it to her embodied existence. This is a life work that is continually in process and one that she shares with her clients.

​

To learn more about Ann see her website: www.talkwithme.ca