A (Not So Hasty) Retreat

I read recently that the Dalai Lama has said that “The ultimate factor determining whether we have a healthy mind and a healthy body lies within.”

Though there are several ways to take this, here’s what I get: our health and well-being are in our own hands, at least to a certain degree. In a world where so much is out of our control, this is one thing we can have some control over. We can get out and do the things for ourselves we’ve been wanting to. We can feed our spirits, our hearts and our souls. Feed them and nourish them by making choices that our both good for us and that make us happy.

To a large degree, that’s what the recent and ongoing creation of the programs at Dancing Deer have been about. I mean, here we are with this fantastic property that has so much to offer and we’re connected with a large number of deeply and diversely talented people. It did not seem like a leap to us to take the next step and think about what programs we could create that would make use of our wonderful resources to enrich our own lives and the lives of others.

For a while now, we’ve been contemplating just how to to do this, because all the elements were already there. It was just, then, a matter of arranging them in the sequence that would benefit the largest number of people.

And so here we are.

Though there are still some programs in the planning stage, the ones that are already being offered are terrific and fill several very specific needs. Here is a brief description of each of our current programs. Follow the links to get more information on all or any of them:

Yoga Retreat
Dancing Deer’s yoga retreats focus on sustainable and natural branches of wellness and attunement with the body. We offer weekend and week-long yoga retreats that include sessions with our resident yogis as well as time for self-exploration and retreat.

Hot Springs Retreat
Many people believe that natural hot springs have therapeutic effects that can relieve or restore health. At the Hearts Journey Hot Springs retreat, visits to nearby Franklin Hot Springs will a core part of your week with us, but not all of it: the emphasis is on healing and rejuvenation with ample time for self-directed reflection and learning

Personal Retreat
Combining elements of private retreat and farm stay in a completely natural and self-directed environment, your personal retreat gives you the opportunity for relaxation and reflection that we seldom allow ourselves in this fast-paced world.

Raw Food Retreat
Offering participants the opportunity to learn more about incorporating raw foods into their diet for detoxification and health while learning how to gain the maximum life force from your food, all in our beautiful farm stay environment.

For an overview, visit our Programs page. Interest has been high and spots are filling up incredibly quickly. If you’d like more information on any of the retreats, e-mail me here or call 805-769-6664.

Greening the World: From the Grassroots Up

One of the things that truly delights me is to see how deeply the grassroots of the green movement has taken hold. Amazing things are happening in all segments of what I think of as the greening of our world. That is, a more conscious approach to living by an ever broader number of people from so many walks and so many countries.

Here’s an example: an international Green Roof conference kicked off in Vancouver, Canada today. Over a thousand delegates are expected from as far away as New Zealand, Denmark and South America. The eighth annual CitiesAlive green roof and wall conference runs until December 3rd. Unofficially, though, it’s been an important focus for 20 Vancouver grade six and seven children for the last week. The class has been building their own green roofs at a local college campus, getting a real grassroots feel for what this all means in real world terms. From The Vancouver Sun:

The kids used real green roof building materials and a few varieties of drought-resistant hardy sedum plants to create their mini-roofs inside quarter-litre milk cartoons.

Next, they tested their constructions to see if they retained water. Most worked well.

As important as that, however, is the fact that those kids will retain what they learned all their lives. Not just the pieces of technology they’ve no doubt picked up, but also the idea that we are all part of something larger than ourselves and that our attention is needed in very intimate ways in order to make a difference. And that alone will make a difference.

The conference sounds amazing, too. I wish I were closer and able to attend. It seems like it’s going to be part think tank, part trade show, part brainstorming session. Again, The Sun:

There will a wide range of experts, include urban planners, architects, environmentalists and landscape designers, who want to share information and learn more about green roof and green wall technology.

Green roofs are seen as a way to cut energy costs, recycle rain water and reduce the heat-island effect buildings have on their immediate surroundings, considered a significant contributing factor to global warming.

The Vancouver Sun piece is here. The conference web site is here.

Yoga Retreat at Dancing Deer

I’m excited about an upcoming series of yoga retreats that will be held at Dancing Deer Farm over the coming months. This will be an incredible opportunity for those who are interested in learning more about yoga as well as those who already have incorporated aspects of yoga into their lifestyles to learn more while experiencing the beauty and bounty at and near Dancing Deer Farm. Participants will enjoy the opportunity to connect with nature and themselves, interacting with the animals and wildlife here, walking our beautiful trails and enjoying our oak forest and our wonderful setting. (So close to everything... yet it often seems a million miles away!)

Interest in the retreats has been high and available space is filling up quickly.

You can learn more about the retreats -- including accommodation information, pricing and who to contact -- on the Dancing Deer web site.

Also, stay tuned for more updates. We have a whole slate of restorative retreats on the boards. All of them connected to healthful and conscious living.

All This Excitement! Time For A Snooze?

If you’ve been paying any attention at all lately, there’s been a lot of excitement going on: culminating with you getting out and voting yesterday.

Now I’m not going to comment either way on the outcomes here. Anyone who knows me at all knows that politics is just not how I roll. But all of this talk along with the resounding cries for action have gotten me thinking about one thing: no matter how you feel about the results of the vote, the energy we created in discussing and debating our desires is not for naught. That’s the thing about living consciously: when we begin something -- a project, a cycle, even a thought -- we start something in motion. If that’s been done in a conscious way, it’s seldom a bad thing.

There is so much wrong in the world just now. And there are so, so many good things happening and so much that is right. If you are feeling disappointed today, don’t lose heart. The energy you expended is good energy. And nothing that brings motion is wasted.

Dancing Deer on the Web

Want to learn more about Dancing Deer Farm? Come visit our brand new website for a close-up glimpse.