Author: kc

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This May, I had the privilege of spending ten full days at Hollyhock – an inspiring retreat centre on Cortes Island. I was there to assist a retreat with my friend and very first meditation teacher Jeff Warren, and then to receive a retreat from Buddhist-Quaker Dharma teacher Valerie Brown. Despite both being meditation retreats, they varied quite a lot in tone and content. And yet, both reinforced in me the importance of practice, and the importance of practicing in community.

Like most meditators I know, the consistency of my own practice comes and goes. Retreats are helpful practice boosters and reminders. They offer containers that support us to deepen in our explorations and to feel joined in the endeavour. 

Beyond whatever form we are practicing, retreats also bring us into intimate contact with other (often new to us) humans. Participating in the emergent communities that retreat spaces form is a practice in and of itself.

We weren’t meant to practice alone – or to live, eat, sleep and dream, or work alone for that matter. The history of all life on earth has evolved through symbiotic and synergistic exchanges. The hyper-individualism of our culture has us believing we can and should eke out a life on our own. No wonder we ache from loneliness and struggle to find a sense of belonging. So many of us live so much of our lives in relative isolation, we have lost touch with our inheritance of entanglement in community – both human and more than human.

It can be healing (and activating) to step into an intentional and communal container, if even for a weekend. Retreats tend to be evocative. We witness other people get stirred up. Someone is brave enough to share a vulnerability, a challenge, a grief. We recognize our own stories in theirs. If we’re lucky, we get stirred up too. We are reminded of our shared humanity. Our hearts and minds expand to include each other and more aspects of ourselves. Again, beyond whatever form we practice, the magic of retreats appears to me in the ways they help us see and be seen, and return us to the truth of our shared humanity.

Last summer on The Land, I co-facilitated two retreats that went so beautifully we’re doing them again. It’s not for lack of imagination, but for trust in these models to support meaningful and depthful experiences. If you’re curious about whether one of these offerings is right for you, please be in touch.

August/September Retreats

Build Your Own Retreat 

August 7, 8, 9  

Co-facilitated with Colleen Browne

This retreat is a chance to camp out, decompress and tune in to what would be most nourishing for you, moment to moment. Participate in programming and connection with others at your own pace. Join us for all or part of the weekend. Click here for more info.

Soul Calling: The Art of Dreaming on The Land

September 19-20 

Co-facilitated with Lisa Hartwick

Join us for an intimate, multi-day dream intensive as we deepen our connections with our natural design, connect with the wisdom of the land, imagination and dreams. Click here for more info.

Join us for a weekend of queer magic in community and nature! 

When? 

June 19-21

Friday (4-6pm arrival) through to Sunday (4pm departure)

Where? 

The Land – 1 hour from Victoria in the Cowichan Valley (more details below)

What? 

We will be offering a balance of facilitated activities and unstructured time to just be, in all our queer glories, in nature. This isn’t group therapy but it may feel therapeutic. Full schedule below. 

Facilitated activities may include sharing circles, structured games and embodied play, guided mindfulness practices, arts and crafts, invitations into nature connection activities. Activities will help us explore themes related to our queer identities/narratives, community, connection, queer joy/sorrow, and authentic expression. 

During unstructured time, you will be welcome to take time to yourself (say, reading a book, journalling, exploring the woods, taking a nap or doing a craft). You might also take this time to connect with others. 

This retreat is intended as a time to recharge, practice self care, and land in community. 

Who?

Anyone 18+ who self-identifies as queer. Max 10 participants.

For those with accessibility issues please be in touch so we can discuss whether the venue will be suitable for you – more details on the location below.

This retreat is well suited for queer folx who think they might benefit from time in nature and time in community. 

You must be comfortable making wild wees (forest pees), using a pit toilet, possibly not showering 😯 (the outdoor shower is a bit temperamental so we don’t rely on it)

This retreat is not suited for folx in active mental health crises. 

Also, Kalen’s therapy dog Hazel (small labradoodle) will be with us for the weekend. If you have a challenge with dogs, please be in touch to discuss.

How much? 

$550-750 sliding scale*

Cost includes:

• 2 dinners + 2 breakfasts (bring your own lunches and snacks – fridges/coolers provided)
• 2 nights camping accommodation – car camping and hike in camping available
  • If tenting is really not your thing, there will be an option to sleep in an enclosed structure (though you will likely be sharing with others) 
  • If this kind of accommodation is not comfortable for you, we can support you to find a nearby place to stay (for an extra fee) off site.
• Programming throughout the weekend 
• Support throughout the weekend from 2 facilitators and a support person
• A preparation Zoom call on Wednesday June 10 at 7pm.

*We are committed to keeping this offering as accessible as possible – if this offering speaks to you and cost is a barrier, let’s have a chat and see what’s possible.

I’m in! How do I register?

For registration details, please email Kalen (kalen[at]pivotintoharmony[dot]com)

About the location: 

Parts of The Land are pictured below. Click on images to enlarge.

We will be gathering on “The Land” – 10 acres of mostly forested and wild land edging on the Cowichan Valley Regional trail, a 25 minute walk to the Kinsol Trestle and Koksilah River. 

Kalen has been stewarding and hosting small retreats on this land for the past 5 years. Tucked away at the end of a long driveway, we have lots of privacy and won’t be seeing any neighbours or other folks. We may hear cars, children, other neighbourly noises or activity on the nearby Cowichan Valley trail. Generally, the land is quiet and peaceful. We hear lots of birdsong and frogs, see lots of trees and big skies.

Infrastructure on the land includes: The Gathering Space (500 square foot shelter with a wood stove), an outhouse (pit toilet), a temperamental outdoor shower (cold showers are almost always an option), fridge and coolers for food storage, basic outdoor kitchen, coffee and tea station, tent platforms, multiple trails to explore, living altars and more.

There is no wifi on the land and cell service is available but sometimes spotty.

If you have questions about the Land please feel free to reach out to Kalen.

Health precautions:

We will be working with a health and safety policy that we hope will support everyone, including those who are immunocompromised, to feel safe, welcome and cared for. Guidelines about precautions we will take as a group will be shared with participants well in advance of the retreat. If you are immunocompromised and are interested in joining us but concerned about whether this space will work for you, please be in touch with us for more details.

Facilitator Bio:

Kalen Colson (they/them, RCC) is a nature-based therapist specializing in depth psychology, somatics and group work. Kalen takes heart in Buddhist philosophies and practices, time spent in nature, and their dog Hazel. Kalen is also a community organizer at heart, and believes in the power of connection with human and more-than-human communities to support our growth and sense of belonging.

Deposit and cancellation policy 

50% deposit required to hold your spot

Full payment required by May 15. (If you require a payment plan, please be in touch with us to discuss.)

Cancellation Policy – We are able to provide a full refund with notice by May 15. No refunds after May 15.

Extenuating circumstances will be considered on a case by case basis.

Schedule: *subject to slight modifications 

Friday 

4-6pm – Arrival and camping set up 

6-7pm – Dinner 

7-9pm – Welcoming circle, orientation 

9pm – campfire and bedtime 

Saturday 

8-9am –  breakfast 

9-10am – get ready for the day 

10-12 – programming 

12-2pm – lunch and free time 

2-4pm – programming 

4-6 – free time 

6-7 – dinner 

7:30-9:30 – programming 

Sunday 

8-9am – serving breakfast 

9-10am – get ready for the day 

10-12 – programming 

12-1pm – lunch and free time 

1-3pm – programming and closing circle 

3-4pm – pack and go 

*This is a substance free event. If you have a relationship with a substance that you work with as a medicine, please contact us to discuss.

Join us Sunday, Nov 2 for a day of ceremony, guided movement and meditation practices and invitations into land-based and communal rituals.

Click here for more info and registration

~

“Silence is a form of hospitality to what is most tender in us. It offers a courtesy of attention and witnessing that is often lacking in our cultural attitudes.” Francis Weller

~~

From my latest newsletter:

October Greetings,

As the seasons turn and darkness descends, I’m witnessing many changes in the air, the land and in the inner realms of myself and the people around me. The transition from Summer to Fall tends to have quite an impact on the body and the psyche. Are you feeling it?

Fall offers us a beautiful invitation to turn inward. This season tends to be a time when people put more energy into nesting in home spaces, work or studies, crafts and rest. We tend to direct less energy toward being social. 

As a result, we often find ourselves in fewer spaces of connection and community. As social mammals, our wellbeing (mental, physical, spiritual) can be impacted by the experience of spending more time alone. 

Time alone can be healing, rejuvenating, confronting, lonely, agonizing. The whole spectrum. 

Here’s the paradox – by coming together with intention and practice, we offer each other permission to be profoundly alone and to be held in that aloneness. To be profoundly alone with ourselves is, in my view, both a basic human need and oftentimes a struggle.

And here’s another paradox – we are also never alone. We are surrounded by an animate, ensouled world in which plants, animals, skies and stars and rivers, ancestors and land are speaking and dreaming. When we get quiet enough within ourselves, we afford ourselves the opportunity to sense into voices, images and messages from beyond ourselves.

I have come to know that for myself, the support of community and a solid container helps me to go deeper within myself, deeper within practices, deeper into mystery. This is why I’m so drawn to retreats. Sharing space with people – often silent space – helps me tap into myself in a way that I simply cannot access on my own.

Join Colleen and I on November 2 when the veil will be very thin. This will be a gentle day of ceremony, practice, emergence and connection. As a community, we will co-create spaces for connection with self, land, each other and Spirit.  

~~~

EVENT DESCRIPTION:

The flow: Our day will begin with an opening ceremony where we’ll co-create an ancestral altar and set intentions. From there we’ll practice embodied connection through guided movement and meditation practices. We’ll have an extended and silent lunch break where folks will be invited to go out onto the land to make offerings and hold self-designed ceremonies. Suggestions on how to do this will be available and in the event of heavy rain, participants will have the option to continue their practice and create ceremony indoors. Our afternoon will include some guided, community-based activities and group sharing, as well as a closing ceremony.

We anticipate the day will be emergent and co-creative. No prior experience with ceremony or meditation is required. We honour that we are all at different stages of our journeys and value the diversity of backgrounds and perspectives that come together in community offerings.

This offering is inspired by multiple lineages and teachers, including but not limited to Joanna Macy, Deep Ecology, The Animas Valley Institute, Francis Weller, Zen Buddhism, and Perdita Finn.

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YOUR HOSTS

Kalen Colson, RCC (they/them) is a nature-based therapist, certified Mindfulness Meditation Teacher and a land tender. Kalen has been studying and practicing group facilitation, land connection work and cultivating ceremonial spaces for over a decade. Currently delving into the practices of deep ecology and soul work, Kalen is living the questions of how their work can support decolonization and right relationship with the land and its first people. For more information about Kalen visit: www.pivotintoharmony.com

Colleen Browne (she/her) has been meditating for 15 years. She lived at Tassajara Zen Center (the monastery for San Francisco Zen Center) for 3 years, is a certified Mindfulness Meditation and Yoga Teacher and hosts a weekly meditation gathering at her home in Shawnigan Lake. Lately she has been exploring ancestral work with Perdita Finn and expanding her understanding of Sprit.

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YOUR CONTAINER

Located on the traditional territories of the Hul’qumi’num’ speaking peoples of the Cowichan tribes, The Land is 10 acres of relatively wild and secluded forest about 10 minutes from Cowichan Station and a 30 minute walk from the Koksilah River. Kalen has been stewarding The Land since 2021 with a vision for holding nature-based therapy retreats and practices. The land has power, running water, an outhouse and a gathering space for events and workshops.

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