Here and Now by Daverick Leggett
The life we refuse
Will breach our defences anyway
Even at the moment of death.
Don't wait that long
In every moment there is a door
With a sign saying “Now”
Waiting to be opened.
Don't hesitate, don't even knock
Even when we turn away
we will arrive again at the same place.
Every step we take is toward this door
The life we refuse is singing to us
From the other side
Step through,
The old life with its comforting certainties
Is not a home for the soul
Break the furniture, run at the door
And leap into the place they call “Here”
The Big Listen
The Big Listen
Retreat Dates: 4th - 10th November 2018
Location: Oikia Karapanou, Aegina Island, Greece
Tuition Costs: Euros 350, Early Bird Rate Euros 300. Bursaries available for Greek participants
There is little doubt that many of us have lost a sense of community and belonging in the world. The challenge that faces us, individually and collectively, is to find a way of being in the world that respects the world and offers a real sense of belonging and involvement. The Big Listen will provide an opportunity for us to come together as a community to explore these themes.
This programme weaves Wilderness Practices (including Way of Council and The Medicine Walk) with practices from the Buddhist tradition, the emphasis being on using an embodied approach. For us, this journey explores ways of being more fully in the world, and of becoming both more embodied and more embedded in the world, rather than as an escape from it.
Embodiment is a quality of being that expresses a connection to our feeling side, to both the 'heart' and the 'guts' of us. To be embodied suggests to 'be at home', to be present and alive to our felt experience.
The Big Listen will be facilitated by two experienced and dedicated wilderness guides, Werner Pilz and Natasha Lythgoe.
A window into our time together...
During our time together we’ll come from morning meditation and mindful bodywork to soulful story telling, making time to listen to what has purchase on our hearts, using the Way of Council model.
The afternoons will involve working with nature-based practices in the beautiful landscapes surrounding Oikia Karapanou. These tools and techniques alongside supporting contemplative self reflection, invite a deeper conversation between our most authentic selves and the wisdom found in nature.
The evenings will be set aside for integrating the threads of our days. To support this we will explore creativity and play by night swimming, dancing, walking with the full moon and other activities.
At the heart of the process there will be an opportunity to be alone with your own true self and wild nature, on the beautiful Moni Island (the Dragon Island as Gigi Coyle named it). The ‘solo’ is a rich and often unforgettable experience practiced by peoples throughout time.
Landmarks of this journey will be nature connection activities, meditations, way of council, the 4 shields of human nature, mirror of nature, body awareness, dance and a constant flow of exploration surrounded by clear blue Aegean sea, olive groves and volcanic rock.
If you'd like to know more do feel free to get in touch. We're both happy to have a conversation about the details of this programme and our approach.
Travel & Accommodation
Only an hour by boat from Athens, Oikia Karapanou is a beautiful 19th century mansion, surrounded by a huge garden close to the sea. It has ben restored to provide an atmosphere of peace and inspiration.
Oikia Karapanou offers Half Board Accommodation (Breakfast & Supper) at 48 Euros per night.
Please note that accommodation is costed separately from the tuition fees.
Travel to and from Oikia Karapanou is very straight forward. From the Port of Piraeus in Athens you catch a ferry to the Island of Aegina and from here you can choose to walk, take a bus or a taxi.
Werner Pilz is a Vision Quest guide and Wilderness Facilitator. He trained with the School of Lost Borders and has been guiding Vision Quests and facilitating Way of Council for ten years. He is a member of the German Speaking Wilderness Guides Network and has been working within this organisation for approximately twelve years. He is also a proud father of two twenty year old blossoming women.
For more information about Werner please check out his website: www.schildkroetenpost.de
Natasha Lythgoe is a professionally trained teacher, a Post Graduate Fine Artist, an ordained buddhist and a Mindfulness teacher. She has taught in prisons, the NHS and has co-led many retreats. Natasha has been guiding groups and individuals in arts/mindfulness since 2004, and in the great outdoors since 2013.
She will be forever grateful to Annie Bloom (former lead guide at Animas Valley Institute) with whom she trained for wilderness guiding. She has a passion for workshops that explore deepening relationships and authenticity – with our selves and each other in response to the landscape: transforming our understanding of community and the places where we live (sometimes resulting in radically shifting how we choose to walk through this world, whether that is to live and work quietly in small arenas or very publicly on grand stages). She loves to do this outdoors through experiencing play, engaging the deep imagination, mindfulness and embodiment practices.
