Homecoming: Holding Wholeness in Self and Relationship

“Our deepest calling is to grow into our own authentic self-hood, whether or not it conforms to some image of who we ought to be. As we do so, we will not only find the joy that every human being seeks - we will also find our path of authentic service in the world.”

― Parker Palmer

Are you looking for an opportunity to re-connect with your vibrancy, courage and integrity in the world as we find it?

Do you crave stillness and sacred space to think, feel, reflect and deepen into your sense of service and gift?

Are you feeling called to participate in the regeneration of culture from the inside-out?

Homecoming is a 3 -day Quest facilitated by Al Jeffery and Ryan Mannix, inviting you to journey with us as we explore what it means to return to ourselves, relationship, and a greater sense of service as agents of change in the world as we find it (and it finds us!).

We live in a hyper-connected-yet-deeply-fragmented world, a culture that often has us engineer distance and smallness into our lives. We feel it within ourselves, and between us. The process of unravelling and re-grounding in our nature as powerful, compassionate individuals in a complex web of life, is a process many of us yearn for (we know we do!).

Lockdown and COVID-19, an emerging increased awareness of systemic inequalities and ecological collapse, have spurred many to face and come to value the BIG QUESTIONS, of who and why, and how to ground this.

This unique retreat experience is for those seeking to deepen in their own practice, power, purpose and be in greater service to cultural and ecological renewal.

Homecoming will invite you to inhabit the questions relating to how you live in paradox, how you hold your own wholeness, and that of those close to you.

How do I hold the knowing that I am embodied as an individuated self, with the knowing that I am embedded in a rich tapestry of life? How do I navigate these malleable boundaries of self, other and world with integrity as I re-enter the social world post-lockdown? 

You’ll come out the other side with a greater felt-sense of how you can live with congruence, as a prayer for the world our hearts know is possible.

Held at the beautiful Riverdale (on Wurundjeri land), you will be guided through a series of processes combining:

• hatha yoga, Animal Flow, primal movement and somatic (bottom-up) practices;
• meditation, guided self-reflection and contemplative (top-down) practices;
• wilderness therapy and nature based-inquiry;
• group process, dialectic and community-inquiry;
• feelings and authentic-relating work, and;
• secular ritual and ceremony.

YOU WILL LEAVE WITH:

• awareness of that which is holding you at-distance from yourself;
• understanding of that which is holding you at-distance to others;
• clarity and a strong connection to your sense of meaning or purpose (rooted and grounded in place);
• a deeper sense of self-compassion, strength, and inner-knowing;
• practices and tools to come into deeper connection with wholeness, yours and others, and;
• a committed group to support you in integration following the weekend.

LIMITED TO 14 PEOPLE

This Quest is limited to 14 people and will be an intimate group of others on a similar path. This means there will be plenty of time to connect with others meaningfully and have the space you need.

OUR VENUE

Riverdale is a stunning biodynamic retreat center situated in Wesburn just 1 hour from Melbourne CBD. A river walk on the property, architecturally-designed spaces, breakout areas, communal gathering spaces, and bushland to roam.

We will be gathering on traditional Wurundjeri lands, and hold this very sincerely. Acknowledging sovereignty was never ceded, the pain and the privilege alive today in this place, we prayer that our being here is in reverence and homage to reconciliation and renewal. 

FOOD AND MEALS:

All meals (breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, and dinner) will be plant-based, and cooked by the wonderful Viviana Sandoval. Viviana was taught by a Michelin Chef, is a former chef at many of Melbourne and Sydney's 2-hat restaurants, and currently runs the kitchen at Cafe Cuccina (a 2-hat restaurant). Her philosophy is incredibly aligned with our Quest, embedded within a connection to land, soul-filled intention, and deepening a connection to place through the medicine of food.

A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR FACILITATORS:

Al Jeffery (www.aljeffery.com)

As a meditation teacher, training-psychotherapist, and community-builder, Al has supported thousands of people around the world in restoring connection in their lives, leadership, and communities.

He is a facilitator, writer, speaker, and founder of The Base Between; a facilitation agency restoring community in the 21st Century. As a queer man, haiku poet, leadership virtuoso, and martial artist, Al’s love for integrating the diverse and transgressive is alive in all he touches.

Whether he’s teaching through words, or the spaces between them, Al’s love for philosophy and contemporary science shines through in all his ways.

Ryan Mannix (www.instagram.com/ryanmannixyoga)

Ryan lives and breathes a philosophy of connection. He loves creating a space for people to come together to share, inquire and grow.

He owns and runs It's All Yoga in Torquay and has been a yoga teacher for six years, traveling the world to share his teachings. 

Deeply inspired by Buddhism and self-inquiry, Ryan uses yoga and meditation as a platform to deepen one's connection to self, and create a deeper sense of freedom and ease. He leads teacher training at Yoke yoga and teaches in and around Melbourne.

SUPPORTING CHILDREN'S GROUND

All registrations also include a $20 donation to Children's Ground: facilitating systemic, economic, and cultural transformation for the life-long wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth in Australia. 

COVID-19 & LOCKDOWN POLICY

If due to a Melbourne (Victoria) lockdown (again!?!) we are unable to proceed with our original dates, we will postpone to a later date and hold your place. If you are unable to attend the revised dates, you will be offered a refund, minus registration costs to Humanitix 😃  

WE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE YOU JOIN US.

If you have any questions or would like to know more before sensing if this is for you, please email Al at al@aljeffery.com.