Reimagining our cultural parent from an ecological perspective
We will gather at this fruitful time of year to find ourselves in the mountains and the waterfalls as they reveal their shape to us at the beginning of the autumn. We will explore our relationship with natural magnificence and wildness, and how this affects our experience of power and authority; whether it invites a sense of joyful expression or fearful oppression.
We will contemplate our place in the scheme of things, and the tenderness that may bring. Working with a shared story, as well as our individual narratives. We will venture out into the wilds of nature to lakes atop the mountain, bathe in pools under waterfalls, and watch the moon rise over craggy rocks. We will work with the question of what lies beyond the cultural parent of the interhuman realm, and how do we as humans meet the ancient vastness of the landscape?
‘I want to know if you can be with joy,
mine or your own, if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you
to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic, to remember the limitations
of being human.’
The Invitation, Oriah Mountain Dreamer.
Course aims and outcomes
An embodied experience of our human scale in relation to our landscape.
A reweaving of our personal stories of authority and our place in our culture within a broader ecological imago.
An honouring of the wildness in us, in relation to other humans and all of nature
About the course
This is the third of a series of four seasonal courses being offered this year with the overarching theme of ecological connection. These can be booked individually or as a group. Please see website for full details of cost and CPD hours.
This three-day course is open to all modalities, with some focus on TA, and is ideal for student and practising psychotherapists and counsellors in who want to expand their ecological awareness.
Our work will take place outdoors and in celtic style meeting lodges. We take a dynamic, experiential approach to learning, with plenty of opportunities for sharing, creative exploration and quiet contemplation.
We will:
Journey into the landscape, and explore the different aspects, including climbing the mountain, walking along the banks of the river, making offerings to the different elements.
Creatively map the imago of our lives within the landscape.
Work with story, shared and individual, which may be expressed through words, movement or crafted offerings.
Contemplate the question of authority, scale and effort in everything we do.
Creatively explore the imagery of landscape and reflections of self in the external landscape, testing the meaning of belonging; our rootedness or freedom of movement.
Engage in practical creative activities to express and share our learning, and to make a bundle to take away with us as a reminder of what we have committed to changing in our lives and practises.
Pennant Valley and Spirit Horse retreat. At the head of Pennant Valley is a spectacular 40 metre waterfall which flows through a deep sided gorge emerging out into flowering meadows. Since the 1990’s this magnificent valley has been home to the Spirit Horse retreat, with Celtic roundhouses and yurts, sacred fires and Temples, set amongst the glittering rock faces, wild wooded gorges, rock pools and waterfalls of 200 acres of rewilding land. Wild nature retreat | Spirit Horse UK
Helen Blackburn PTSTA
Helen is committed to providing therapy, supervision and training in a way that honours our reciprocal relationship with the land. She is based in rural West Wales, and has developed her practice in partnership with Ffynnon Dawel, where she lives.
Her interest in ecological practises was initially kindled at the Spirit Horse retreat in Pennant valley, and she is honoured to bring a group to meet this wonderful place.
Practicalities
Arrive 5pm Monday with an introduction to Pennant Valley, followed by an evening meal at 7.30pm. The course is for 8-12 participants, is fully catered and residential. There are warm, cosy carpeted meeting lodges with wood fire stoves, a sauna, a fully equipped off grid kitchen with fresh drinkable spring water.
How to book your place
Book your place via the BOOK NOW button on the bottom of this page. The fees for the course are £TBA and you can reserve your place with a deposit payment of £100. A discount of 10%. Earlybird booking available.
