THRIVE~ The HEARTh of serenity
Here at Off-Grid we are all on a journey to find out how we can thrive in our own lives and in our communities. As humans we share a deep connection with each other and the beautiful world around us. We are all busy planting seeds, sharing, learning and striving to find meaning in our lives. In the river of life’s choices and actions we can sometimes forget ourselves. We invite you to come and find serenity and take time for you.
Our well-being leaders are passionate about joy, meaningful connections, creative expression and whole body nourishment.
We are here to share our experiences and guide you through some of the ideas and understandings about how each of us can build our own personal resilience and THRIVE!
Hosted by Devon Synergy Arts
For more info email; [email protected]
Thrive Schedule Available Here Now
~ Body ~
By reconnecting with our bodies through movement and learning we can explore how to nourish ourselves so we may flourish. Feel your feet touch the ground and practise the art of care and love for your body~ your beloved temple.
Within my body are all the sacred places of the world, and the most profound pilgrimage I can ever make is within my own body.
~ Saraha
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Sandhya Dave
Family Shiatsu, sustaining the whole
SATURDAY 13th August, 5:10pm
Time to breathe in…all are invited to come and learn some simple Shiatsu body work techniques that are safe and effective to use within the family set up. Shiatsu is a clothes on energy (ki) body work therapy rooted in the principles of ancient Chinese medicine and developed in Japan. It views us as an inter-connected whole being, vital, ever changing, constantly moving and adapting system, just like a family! We will look at the 5 elements, have a go at meditating both moving and sitting and learn some Shiatsu which we will have as a skill to use within the family forever….!
Bring your ma, pa, babies, grandpa, great great grandma and teenagers!
Please bring a blanket and cushion and wear lose comfortable clothing. I look forward to meeting you, Sandhya.
Steve Wheeler from Dark Mountain Basecamp at Embercombe
“Rewilding the Heart” workshop
FRIDAY 12th August, 12 noon
“Many of us are passionate about rewilding the land; reintroducing native species, healing the ravages of industrialism, and trusting nature to take its own course. But all too often we forget that we, too, are part of nature – and that our minds and hearts are just as much in need of rewilding, and are just as worthy of care, as the rest of the world.
In this session, I will guide participants through a series of collaborative games and experiments designed to help us reconnect with our bodies, to explore the relations between the inner and the outer environment, and to show that – just as as with the land – we can trust in the inherent wisdom of our own nature to begin the process of human rewilding.”
‘Just sitting’ Meditation
SUNDAY 14th August, 8:30am
Qi Gong workshop
SUNDAY 14th August, 9am
basecamp.dark-mountain.net
www.whiteoakhealth.co.uk
Anthony Johnston
‘Voicing the Soul - Earthing the Body’
SATURDAY 13th August, 7pm
Singing in the wild workshop
Meet at the Flow Geodome
Time TBC
Come outside onto the land with Anthony Johnston and connect with nature through song, chant and the voice.
“We all have a voice, it’s part of being human. We also have an inherent desire to communicate ourselves. How we communicate and whether we do that directly or indirectly, is our choice. This work is for people who want to explore their voices to get across who they are in a creative, empowered and fulfilling way. With our voice we can express our internal world and allow deeper parts of oursleves to see the light of day, to be seen and heard by others. With the voice we can bridge our inner and outer worlds. We can reach the other at a deeper more fulfilling level.
When deeper and more intimate sharing becomes a possible, we become more available for true contact at levels that can bring meaning and fulfillment in relationship. The voice carries the possibility of change and transformation. Through music and harmony the soul can start to flower in beautiful and surprising ways. “
*****
If you consciously let your body take care of you, it will become your greatest ally and trusted partner.~ Deepak Chopra
~ Mind ~
Do you want to better understand your mind and how to use it to communicate with yourself and the world? Our experts want to discuss this fascinating subject with you and take a look at techniques that can help us to reconnect with our mind so we can better understand ourselves.
As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.~ Henry David Thoreau
Aspasia Leledaki
Mindfulness for creating inner and outer freedom
SUNDAY 14th August, 4pm
Mindfulness refers to clear, kind awareness and intimacy with one’s inner and outer life. Mindfulness training included deep inquiry into our intentions and actions, and encourages us to align our values of compassion and non- violence with those behaviors and actions. Mindfulness training develops our capacity to meet challenging situations with compassionate, liberating wisdom. It can transform our relationship with our body and mind, with other people, animals and the planet. Evidence shows that Mindfulness breeds resilience and enhances personality characteristics like optimism, patience and joy.
My experience in and knowledge of ‘Mindfulness’ consists of a 17-year personal meditation practice in Vipassana meditation as taught by S.N. Goenka and my academic work in modern yoga and meditation methods. I have been practising Vipassana since 1999 and have also been influenced by the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh and Jainism’s practice of ahimsa = non-violence. My PhD research, completed in 2008, was a socio-cultural and socio-psychological study of self-transformation of a group of men and women through practising a variety of modern ‘meditation’ and ‘yoga’ methods’. As a tutor/facilitator for the mental health charity MIND in Exeter & East Devon, I currently design and deliver short and long-term (1 to 10-week) courses including ‘Developing Mindfulness’, ‘Mindful Eating, Mindful Living and Veganism’, ‘Mindful Moving’ and ‘Connect with Animals and Nature’. I am certified as a Professional Mindfulness Teacher by the Mindfulness Training Institute.”
www.aspasiaawakebodies.co.uk
Chris Hardy
Sacred Singing workshop
SUNDAY 14th August, evening by the fire
“What would you most regret not having done in 10 years time?
As a coach and group facilitator I love asking questions that open minds, broaden perspectives and inspire committed action.
My story involves a degree in Philosophy and Religion, 3 years London classroom teaching experience, 5 years work as a life coach, and a recent position with TNM coaching to be on their executive level leadership coaching team. My experience is varied and broad giving the people I work with and the groups I facilitate an empowering, explorative and insightful experience.
Alongside my professional development I’m a keen guitar player and a ceremony creator. I spent two years as an apprentice to Marga Luna, a Temazcal practitioner and modern shaman living in the far north of Ibiza. My wife (Ruth) and I met on this magical island and love hosting singing circles and sacred spaces for personal growth and expression.
We’ve recently moved back to the UK and are settling in nicely to Frome, Somerset.”
Emma Boddy
Improv your Mental Health workshop
SATURDAY 13th August, 10am
Erica Lewis
‘No more stress or striving~ the simple understanding to reconnect you to your innate natural wellbeing’ workshop
SATURDAY 13th August, 2pm
Mary Daniels~ Hay House
‘It’s time to get real, it’s time for a Wild Awakening!’
(Wild picnic - Bring some food)
SATURDAY 13th August, 12 noon
Join Mary for a real, powerful and inspirational ‘picnic workshop’ that will explore the raw and courageous journey she believes life - our souls - are crying out for. Aged 24 Mary found herself stood on the side of Tower Bridge with her baby in her arms ready to jump, today she shares her amazing and truly inspirational story behind what lead up to that moment and the courageous journey back to ‘self’ that never ends.
Drawing from the core principles of permaculture and 9 simple questions Mary asks herself nearly every day, Mary will take you on an interesting journey full of real conversations. Mary believes that if we are really going to make a lasting difference in the world we need to be willing to do the inner work, the ‘real’ journey. To know who we are, have the guts to face our pain, welcome life’s grief, ask the questions we are afraid to ask, and be still to hear the answers we are sometimes terrified to hear. If we really want the life our hearts and souls yearn for, we need to be willing to get real and welcome our own amazing Wild Awakening!
“Between her humorous down to earth, ‘keep it real’ style of teaching, infectious laugh and ability to immediately see what’s needed and communicate it with ease, Mary naturally inspires others to step up, wake up and get real. Author of ‘Wild Awakening: 9 Questions that saved my life’; and described by Princess Badiya of Jordan as “A very inspiring lady” . Mary Daniels has a natural ability to transform every challenging situation into a triumph, spending most of her adult life working with vulnerable people in the community, including a prison, young offenders’ units, schools, women’s centres and inner-city charities. Mary is a real Woman and true force of nature.”
Nathalie Griffin and Tim Beasley
‘Activist’ Burnout: what is it and what can we do about it?
FRIDAY 12th August, 4pm
“Since moving to England from Canada in 2001, I’ve been involved primarily with activist legal support and prisoner solidarity and, since 2007, I’ve been involved with a permaculture allotment project in Bristol. After re-training as a counseling therapist, I volunteered for Counseling for Social Change for two years, providing counselling support for many people managing the stress that comes with trying to build a more socially just world. I have co-facilitated this workshop at the Bristol and Cardiff Anarchist Bookfairs and I am always humbled by the resiliency and honesty of the participants”
*****My own brain is to me the most unaccountable of machinery -always buzzing, humming, soaring roaring diving, and then buried in mud. And why?~ Virginia Woolf
~ Communication ~
If words are a form of action with the potential to influence change how do we find our authentic voice? Communication is a skill often forgotten and one which is key to our own personal resilience as well as our connections with our families and communities. We invite you to learn some valuable communication skills and explore through constructive conversation, play and through silence and listening.
There are four ways, and only four ways, in which we have contact with the world. We are evaluated and classified by these four contacts: what we do, how we look, what we say, and how we say it.
~ Dale Carnegie
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Jamie Catto & Raisa Bratislava
‘What About Intimacy’ workshop
SUNDAY 14th August, 2pm
On the What About Intimacy? We tenderly bust all our foolishly inefficient strategies for getting what we want and clean the channel straight to the heart of direct, visible, powerful communication and action.
We want to enjoy all relationships, at home, at work, in bed, free of manipulation and control, free of complaint and game-playing. We are relearning how to be straight with each other.
We will explore the possibility of experiencing deeper and more nourishing connections in our relationships, in all areas of life, which includes both the vulnerability and the presence to share more and more of ourselves.
We will also examine the polarity of the masculine and feminine and our relationship to giving and receiving, sharing tools for being empowered in our vulnerability and taking responsibility for how we feel and what we need. In supporting each others’ unique journeys and excitements, you will use this weekend for shared and reciprocal growth.
“Creator, Producer / Director of the multi-award winning global 1 Giant Leap films and albums and founder member of Faithless is now leading uniquely transformative workshops and one-on-one sessions. Drawing from the richly diverse wisdom, techniques and processes he has encountered during his ground-breaking filming, recording, philosophy voyages across all 5 continents, he is weaving these creative techniques and exercises to spark both Professional and Personal breakthroughs.”
Sophie Docker
Non- Violent Communication and Restorative Circles
Time TBC
www.fromefoundation.org
Anairda~ Artivist For Social Change
‘Art and Social Action’ workshop
FRIDAY 12th August, 2pm
A dynamic workshop to explore our personal possibilities to inspire our work in social action with Art, or our Art with Social action.
‘Re-Connect’ workshop
SATURDAY 13th August, 4pm
Playful theater-based dynamics to free your body and reconnect with your inner child. This session addresses personal well-being through personal and collective re-connection.
“Anairda is a Latin American community artist and activist resident in the UK. Her art practice includes music, theatre and painting. She’s been involved in the environmental movement for the last 9 years and runs workshops using art as an agent of social change & personal empowerment.”
Audaye Elesedy
‘Circle Of Security Attachment Parenting’ an interactive workshop
Sunday 14th August Time TBC
We are all hard-wired for relationships. Our children constantly seek relationships with us from birth. We innately want to be there for our children. In a world with so much pressure towards perfection all our children need from us is to be good enough.
(cos is a relationship-based parenting programme based on over 50 years of attachment theory and research about how relationships between ourselves and our children can be supported and strengthened leading to securely attached children.
Many courses focus on managing child behaviours with behaviour management techniques, which are easily forgotten in the heat of the moment. COS differs in that it helps us to identify and understand our child’s needs — to see beneath behaviour - and to strengthen confidence in ourselves as able caregivers/parents who love our children.
“Audaye Elesedy is a registered parent facilitator. He works with systemic practices as a coach and adheres to ICF and BACP ethical codes, he is a member of BACP Coaching and Children & Young People divisions.”
Time TBC
www.circleofsecurity.net
*****
Use soft words and hard arguments.
~ English Proverb
~ Peace ~
Take a moment in serenity to be at peace. Be silent. Meditate. Breathe. Feel and see beauty. Ignite your senses. Feel the calming energy of the hearth.
You are not Atlas carrying the world on your shoulder. It is good to remember that the planet is carrying you. Vandana Shiva
Sandhya Dave
Rewilding Ourselves, the inner and outer connection SUNDAY 14th August, 10am
What’s it like being wild? What stops us from being wild and whole? How do we shake off the cultural paradigms of expectations? Where do we resource ourselves from? What do we really need? What’s the ancestors got to do with it? Guided by our bodies, heart and mind, listening to our own innate wisdom, we will explore what it means to be wild in modern day living and how this affects our daily choices and behaviours. Using meditational inquiry, movement, voice and the inner and outer- door( s) to get curious again. Come…get ready to howl…
Please bring something with you that represents the ancestors for you. I look forward to SEEing you, Sandhya.
Racism, Diversity and Sustainability, an invitation to ALL! SUNDAY 14th August, 11am
His-story informs everything we are and do. What is the impact of this legacy? What does slavery have to do with sustainability? What about our body memories? How does not being allowed to belong affect our actions? How do we as initiators and innovators invite every one along to change? An invitation to explore this, our own diversity and his-story and the impact of racism on constantly making us the ‘other.’ There will be stories and song, meditational Inquiry and moving explorations.
Please bring with you a cushion, something that represents your ancestors and a courageous heart to explore yourself and others.
“Sandhya Dave is a shape shifting mischievous goddess who likes to play! She is also a body psychotherapist in practice for 18 years. Her background training is in Shiatsu and Gestalt psychotherapy. As well as private practice where she works with babies, children and adults, she works on two mental health wards, offers workshops in communities and is now taking Shiatsu into schools. She also co-ordinates and trains on a programme from the Global Centre, called Cultural Champions which takes cultural diversity and tackling racism work into schools and the community. She has worked as a focaliser for Trees For life in Scotland, planted trees in the foothills of the Himalayas with Vriksha Mitra Saklaniji (friend of the trees) and been part of a core group that set up Moor Trees in Devon looking to reforest parts of Dartmoor and have to date planted 60,000 trees. She has recently co set up Devon Earth and Faith Network and organised three conference days looking at faith and sustainability in action. Her ancestral roots are Indian having grown up with the ecological religion of Hinduism and discovering of this for herself in its truest essence. Sandhya has a meditation practice, loves dancing, funynesss and eating! She is passionate about her part in offering to help create a more harmonious planet through needs met ease of being, for all beings.”
www.culturalchampions.org.uk
Self Discovery Arts drop in sessions in the FLOW Geodome
