Immersion

Way of the Circle in France

September 3, 2019
to
September 6, 2019

Enrollment Open

03-09 September 2019
Explore the ways in which we can listen deeply to ourselves, our human companions, the more than human world, and the voices of the past, present, and unseen future.
Who the Way of the Circle is for: You are interested in ecotherapy, forest therapy and/or circle facilitation, either professionally or in your personal life. You are a certified forest therapy guide and want to continue your training in circle leadership in order to become a masterful guide. You are a healing professional and want to infuse new energy into your work. You work in the fields of education, social change, liberation studies or community development and want to gain new skills in circle work. You are looking to cultivate deeper intimacy with yourself and all your relationships. You want to develop your capacity for embodied listening, personal authenticity and compassion. You are new to Forest Therapy and curious to experience its’ benefits in a safe, supportive environment.

Who should attend

The Way Of The Circle

In this 4 day immersion, participants will experience the potency of circle practice and the essential elements of a circle. This course aims to develop participants’ capacity to lead a circle or council, both within and beyond the context of forest therapy, and to cultivate an awareness of how our shared stories illuminate our interconnectedness.

Combining forest therapy and the practice of circle, we will explore ways of listening deeply to ourselves, our human companions and the more than human world. We will ask powerful questions, deepen our perception and practice how to build authentic community.


When we sit in a circle with the intention to show up with our whole selves, we may experience the ways in which our stories weave us into community. Alone, we can only see the world through the lens of our own experience, but together, we can witness reality from all angles. Each of our stories are like ingredients in a great soup that sits at the center of every circle. What we each bring forth from within our hearts blends with all that is offered and in turn nourishes us all. In the center of every circle we find the common themes of our existence, illuminating our shared experience of this world and eliminating personal and cultural isolation.

But showing up with authenticity does not only apply to our relationships with each other; it is also critical in how we relate with the more-than-human world. How do we listen to the sky and the animals, the stones and the rivers? How do we give expression to what we perceive?

In the circle, we learn to bear witness to what is real and to harvest the wisdom generated by authentic community. In this way, we may more fully experience our connectedness with the world around us. When we are open to listening, we find the medicine we are carrying within us and in our community.

We will experience forest therapy walks, circle and triad practice and a presentation by Ben ‘Crow’ Page on the ways in which consciousness can incorporate increasingly complex levels of perception through the practice of deep listening, from his master’s thesis work ‘An Exploration in Living Council.’

What you can anticipate in this course:

Skills and Learning

  • Essential elements of circle practice
  • Circle facilitation skills
  • Circle leadership skills: how to be a leader without leading
  • Developing awareness of group energy
  • Circle practice with the more-than-human-world

Personal Development

  • Experience circle as a pathway towards community and relationship
  • Experience circle as a pathway towards finding ourselves and our medicine
  • Develop embodied listening
  • Cultivate nature connection

Experience

  • Guided Forest Therapy walks
  • Community building practices
  • Planting ceremony in community

Gardoussel (which means “guardian of the birds”) is a magical oasis of calm in one of the most beautiful and untouched parts of France. Set in the lush Cévennes mountains of the Languedoc region, this family-run retreat center is a place of stunning simplicity and natural beauty. Hammocks hang from an assortment of trees, and a swimming hole on the property invites guests to cool off during the late summer.

Gardoussel is surrounded by glorious pine, holm oak forests, and chestnut trees and provides shelter to an assortment of animals such as cats, donkeys, chickens, and the occasional wild beaver. The retreat is tucked away in a picturesque hamlet set in 45 acres of private meadow and woodland, and features a stream running below the property. While secluded and private, Gardoussel also has easy access to small French villages, and offers the perfect opportunity to tune into nature and to ourselves.

VENUE
Gardoussel Retreat, France
Gardoussel, St Andre de Valborgne 30940, Occitanie, France
St Andre de Valborgne 30940
France
http://www.gardoussel.com/
LODGING

Rooms are shared and accommodate 2-4 people per room.  Shared rooms for participants will be 615 euros/week, and will be same gender.

Single rooms might be available based on the number of participants attending the program or camping. Should they be available, they will be available for 740 euros/week.

The above prices include catering, linens, and use of the property. Please note: you will need to bring your own bath towels.

Participants may also camp for a reduced price of 400 euros/week. Gardoussel has two tents available, but they welcome people to bring their own camping equipment as well.

Book all reservations by emailing Sharon Black at sharonblack1969@yahoo.com directly.


MEALS

Please note: this is a vegetarian training. There are restaurants and a market around a 20 minute walk away. Participants may cook meat for themselves in the kitchens available to them, but it will not be provided by the venue.

Meals will be made onsite by a chef. Prices for food are built into the cost of accommodations. Gardoussel uses almost entirely local and organic food. Dietary preferences/allergies must be communicated to Gardoussel as soon as possible, and no later than 2 weeks from the beginning of the training. For questions about food or to share your dietary preferences email Alex  at alexduncan1974@gmail.com.

TRANSPORTATION

You can read about transportation options on Gardoussel’s website, here: http://www.gardoussel.com/travel.html.

GENERAL NOTES

Lodging:

Rooms are shared and accommodate 2-4 people per room.  Shared rooms for participants will be 615 euros/week, and will be same gender.

Single rooms might be available based on the number of participants attending the program or camping. Should they be available, they will be available for 740 euros/week.

The above prices include catering, linens, and use of the property. Please note: you will need to bring your own bath towels.

Participants may also camp for a reduced price of 400 euros/week. Gardoussel has two tents available, but they welcome people to bring their own camping equipment as well.

Book all reservations by emailing Sharon Black at sharonblack1969@yahoo.com directly.


Meals:

Please note: this is a vegetarian training. There are restaurants and a market around a 20 minute walk away. Participants may cook meat for themselves in the kitchens available to them, but it will not be provided by the venue.

Meals will be made onsite by a chef. Prices for food are built into the cost of accommodations. Gardoussel uses almost entirely local and organic food. Dietary preferences/allergies must be communicated to Gardoussel as soon as possible, and no later than 2 weeks from the beginning of the training. For questions about food or to share your dietary preferences email Alex  at alexduncan1974@gmail.com.

Transportation:

You can read about transportation options on Gardoussel’s website, here: http://www.gardoussel.com/travel.html.

Fitness Requirements:

Light to medium. There is a small village a 20 minute walk away. There are hills nearby, but also a large offering of meadow trails and easy to access swimming holes.

Schedule for Live Events

Tuition

Register
Who should attend

Trainers

Entrenadores

Pamela is the creator of the Forest Bathing Podcast (coming in April 2020) and director of the 2019 Forest Bathing International Conference. She has been involved as an advisor with ANFT since its conception in 2011 and is a certified guide, practicum mentor and immersions facilitator.

Pamela has a background as a professional life coach and rite of passage mentor and has studied and worked for several decades in the field of human development. The journey of motherhood awakened in Pamela a passionate sense of caring for the thriving of life and with forest therapy she has found a practice which allows her to share this passion and to experience states of awe, wonder and love of life everywhere.


Ben ‘Crow’ Page is the Director of Training for the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy as well as a trainer of guides. He is the founder of Shinrin Yoku LA and has been guiding Forest Therapy walks since 2016. Since his practice began, Ben has been featured in such publications as Women’s Health, USA TODAY, Good Morning America, The Washington Post, and WebMD. Ben is also a co-founder of The Open School, Southern California’s only free democratic school. He holds a B.A. in religious studies from Carleton College and an M.A. in human development and social change from Pacific Oaks College. Ben’s primary interest is to live the question of what it feels like to be alive.