Oracle of Consciousness

Over the Winter months and a little into Spring, Jake and Angelique were busying themselves with fitting out their newly renovated barn to house their retreat guests and hold a variety of personal development events in a cosy, warm, multi-functional environment.

And maybe throw in a wedding or two along the way!

They had also installed a yoga shala-come meditation space overlooking the greenery and lavender fields beyond.

These sacred spaces were created to serve their shared Life Purpose, to be of service to others, dispensing their wisdom, adventures and experiences with receptive and like minded people.

Their First Retreat - Six participants

Amélie
France
Attempted Suicide

Amélie became so disenchanted with her life that she attempted suicide, thinking there was no hope or other solution.

Joachim
Colombia
Witnessing Violence

Joachim had lost two family members to the drug cartel in Bogotá, because of unpaid bills he had wracked up.
He is filled with guilt.

Delphine
France
Severe Illness

Delphine has Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and struggling to come to grips with the her numbness, fatigue and cognitive problems.

Alexandre
Portugal
Bullied

Alexandre was continually bullied at school, felt he never fitted in and that there must be something very wrong with him.

Anousheh
Iran
Oppressed

Anousheh, ran away from home and left Iran because of the harmful conditions she endured as a woman.
She deeply feels the injustice.

Zelda
Germany
Sexually Abused

Zeldas was sexually abused by an uncle as a pre-teen and has struggled to come to terms with the event and move on with her life.

Disclaimer:
What follows is purely fictitious and not meant to be any form of diagnosis or remedy.
Those afflicted with any the above should seek profession medical and mental health and counselling services.

Arrival - Day -1

The participants arrived at various hours of the day and from different locations within Europe.

Joachim had travelled the furthest having hiked from Turkey to France.

They were warmly welcomed by Angelique and Jake along with their very enthusiastic Labrador, 'Mirza'.

Each had been assigned a private and homely space, settled in and got to know each other throughout the afternoon, enjoying a balmy evening and super healthy dinner.

Day Two
They were briefed on the content
of their 21-Day healing retreat.

"Let food be thy medicine."
Socrates

Sound
Healing

Yoga, Health and Wellbeing

Sacred
Breathwork

Life - Spiritual
Coaching

Plant
Medicine

Immersion
in Nature

Regression
Therapy

Reconnecting with
the Child Within

Moving from Separateness to Interconnectedness

Each day started at daybreak with light stretching and basic yoga.

Their diet for the duration of the retreat was to be vegetarian/vegan, healthy eating, with Angelique explaining the benefits at every meal, and plenty of pure water from a nearby aquifer.

Each day consisted of three modalities, group discussions, questions and answers, with free time to integrate what had transpired during their day, relaxing in nature, journaling and sleep.

They were very full, but richly rewarding days.

Each processing their past and present trauma.

Painful memories

Joyous release

Everything in between

Day-by-day, hour-by-hour, moment-by-moment, each courageously dived into their past, reliving, recalling, embracing and releasing their pain.

Sometimes they had to be coaxed, other times they would put up fierce resistance, but always with Jake, Angelique, or both, holding space with total compassion and understanding.

Perception, Perspective, Beliefs - Behaviours

Perceptions

Perception is how we view the world through our five senses of sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell, along with our sixth sense of intuition.

Perspectives

Those perceptions when continually reinforced, cause us to form a perspective, a point of view or viewpoint on a subject, object, place or person.

Beliefs

From that continuing perspective we may create a belief, something we consider to be true for us, not necessarily for anyone else, although that may be the case.

Behaviours

And from our beliefs, emanate our behaviours.
How we act, our actions that we take will be a direct correlation to what we believe.
Behaviours are seen.

A sizeable part of the participant's retreat was spent uncovering what beliefs they had about a multitude of subjects, but mainly limiting beliefs they have about themselves, which lead them to self-sabotage the goodness within, and their dreams of a better life.

Not an ideal behaviour!

Beliefs shape the reality we experience in our local universe.

What we experience in our lives is in direct correlation to our beliefs,
be they about:

Happiness - Sadness
Well being - Ill health
Prosperity - Poverty
Expansion - Contraction
Struggle and effort- Ease and flow
Fear - Love
etc - etc

The list is endless and observable through behaviours in ourselves, and others.

Fast forward 21 days

At 3pm on Day 21, the group met for their final healing circle, seated around a welcome fire-pit, where they could dispense with any written negative statements used against themselves in the past.

As each did this letting go process, they openly spoke of their experiences and gains from the retreat.

Speaking their authentic truth

Amélie

I was totally confused and conflicted about my life, but now I am completely certain as to who I am at the core, and at peace with myself.

I now see life as a gift, not to be squandered or spent in fear, but to be wholly embraced and embodied with the love that lies within me.

Joachim

I have forgiven myself completely for my recklessness and irresponsibility. I have also forgiven those who took revenge on my family.
I have left the past behind and focus on this precious, present moment in time.
The future will be what I make of it as my reality, a new local universe.

Delphine

I still have MS but now see it from an entirely different persective and belief. No longer in judgement and resistence, I have totally surrendered and accepted my condition.
I realise I was my own worst enemy and have now empowered myself.
It feels so liberating not to be carrying around all that pain.

Alexandre

I recognise now there was nothing wrong with me, I was just different, and now I can celebrate that difference openly.
It is none of my business what other people think of me, but it is my business what I think about myself.
Now I can love myself unconditionally.

Anousheh

I spent way too much time thinking about all the restrictions and societal limitations and lost myself in the process.
Now that I know my true self, I am embracing endless, creative possibilities. I cant wait to get started on my new life!

Zelda

I see clearly now my perpetrator was projecting his own sexual abuse trauma on me. While I certainly don't condone his behaviour, I have found the bravery, compassion and love in my heart, to move on and leave the past behind, knowing it cannot be changed.

An ecstatic, group hug ensued as they danced around the fire, bidding the old, dying caterpillar farewell and welcoming the beautiful butterfly to emerge, flying freely and shining its beauty upon the world.

The human metamorphosis continues.

There's more coming, watch this space.

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