“The magic and power of nature is that it can stop our busy mind in its tracks and bring us into the stillness and beauty of the moment.”

— Clare Tanner

A gentle journey of discovery across the four seasons, exploring the principles that underpin our lives and pointing us back to our true nature as human beings. We will more deeply connect to our natural essence and take a deeper look at our innate capacity to live peaceful, creative and fulfilled lives.

Understanding our interdependence with the whole of nature and our unique way of experiencing life as human beings, enables us to more easily navigate the ups and downs of life. The positive impact of taking the time to understand this more deeply results in an ease and balance in life that arises effortlessly as we rest more comfortably in our true nature – a feeling of being at home.

Who is it for?

This programme is open to everyone and will be of particular value and interest to those who are curious about exploring nature, psychology and spirituality in a practical way that enables you to:

• Increase your creativity & connect with your life’s passion

• Resolve relationship difficulties effortlessly

• Relax and enjoy your life now, not in some imaginary future

• Release yourself from negative conditioning, old wounds and painful memories

• Quit struggling, striving, trying too hard & doing too much (have you noticed how unhelpful they are?)

• Increase efficiency & productivity – achieve more with less effort

• Let go of any destructive habits and behavioural patterns

• Breathe easier and eliminate stress by understanding how it gets created

What will we learn?

During this year long personal development programme we will do as nature does……

Nature reminds us that life is good and has a magical way of evaporating our busy thoughts. It opens us up to the joy of being alive and a gratitude for all that it offers us in our experience of life and living.

The seasons reflect different aspects of our humanness and provide a rich seam of inspiration for our personal journey of exploration. We will use the cycles and seasons of nature as a framework to guide our time together and inspire a deeper connection to our own true nature.

The four seasonal two-day retreats will be woven around the following themes…..

Autumn

First, we will slow things down a little and create space for reflection. We will take time to connect with our true nature, in nature.

We will explore the spiritual and psychological principles that underpin how life works and create a foundational understanding for our journey together through the seasons. Taking time to connect to ourselves, each other and the beauty of nature.

Autumn symbolizes the balance between light and darkness, releasing and letting go of the old, preparing for the winter and creating time for self reflection.

“Waking up to who we are requires letting go of who you imagine yourself to be.”
— Alan Watts

This is the perfect time to set our intentions together for the year ahead and make personal commitments to the things we would love to create and the old habits we want to leave behind. Taking our inspiration from the beauty and wisdom around us, including each other.

Winter

Our second retreat together will take place in the winter, in the space before growth. This is the time for rest and quiet curiosity, to become comfortable in the not knowing and the stillness/nothingness that precedes creation and new life.

We will explore how rest and rejuvenation is essential to the cycle of life, for the creation of new energy and how the ebb and flow from formless to form shapes our resilience. We will take a moment to pause in our own personal experience of nature and what this can teach us about ourselves.

“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes. Even you.”
— Anne Lamott

This is the ideal time to just be present. To listen. To go deeper. The perfect practical space to prepare the ground for new projects, commitments and actions. This quiet place of creative incubation will bring us questions, ideas and thoughts that support our intentions. We can observe them and allow them to germinate in preparation for the new energy and green shoots of spring.

Spring

In our third retreat we will embrace the exuberant energy of spring-time, opening ourselves up to the possibilities beyond. This natural time of new growth reminds us of our own creative potential and our capacity to have new thoughts and ideas in any moment.

We will nurture our intentions and the ideas we have been quietly incubating over the winter months as we have rested and renewed. We can take action to give back to nature those things that have been getting in the way of us healing relationships, letting go of bad habits or realizing our passions and creative projects. Taking the time to more deeply understand and harness our creative power and its presence in every moment.

“Spring is natures way of saying – Lets party!”
— Robin Williams

Together we will nurture our new seedlings, ideas, insights and support each other into bringing them to fruition.

Just as the plants and trees are interdependent, so are we. Harnessing our collective creative potential and the spirit that supports that growth, to birth our projects, heal relationships and accelerate our natural productive capacity.

Summer

Our final retreat will be in the summer season of blue skies and clear waters (hopefully!), where nature is in full bloom. For us gardeners it is a time to stand back and enjoy the fruits of our labour, alongside the ongoing watering and nurturing to keep the plants healthy and vibrant.

There is a feeling of space and sense of achievement that our commitment to taking care of the soil, to planting, to pruning, to cutting back the old, creates a well nourished garden.

As we come together we will celebrate our shared journey, take a look at the path we have traveled and reflect on the insights and collective wisdom that has contributed to our experience.

We can take all the learning, discoveries and observations and go forward into the next year armed with a new sense of clarity and both a spiritual and practical understanding of ourselves as human beings and our innate capacity for wisdom, peace and well-being.

We are nature. Being clear that there is an ebb and flow annually, seasonally and in every moment creates a certainty that we can navigate the undulations of life and harness its natural rhythms to support us to live, love and create our most fulfilling lives.

It is this wisdom, the wisdom of nature and our innate capacity to live a connected, creative and rich experience of life that this group programme will explore and celebrate.

“Love is what is left when we let go of everything we don’t need.”
— Eric Shiffman

Where and When?

Our journey together will be in the beautiful setting of Dartington Hall in Devon with lots of opportunity to explore the beauty of nature on the grounds of the estate. We’ll eat wholesome, locally-grown organic food and enjoy the space to slow down whilst connecting with yourself and others in an intimate group setting.

We will also have the joy of experiencing the beautiful gardens and estate in all the four seasons which will bring us closer to the nature of life and how this creates inspiration for our personal journey and hopes for the programme.

Programme Dates

There will be four seasonal two-day retreats at Dartington Hall in Devon, to be held on the following dates:

9th – 10th November 2017
25th – 26th January 2018
12th – 13th April 2018
5th – 6th July 2018

In between the retreats we will also meet six times virtually as a group to reflect and share insights and discoveries and provide space to ask questions and gain support for your own creative projects, challenges and new ideas.

Investment

Earlybird Fee if paid in full before 30th September: £995

Full Fee if paid after 30th September, or by quarterly instalments: £1200

To make full or deposit payments please click here: –

http://www.theinsightspace.com/events/natural-wisdom-dartington-hall

Accommodation and food are not included.

There is a broad variety of accommodation on site and nearby as well as cafes and restaurants.

“We have a shared love of nature and a passion for guiding people back to their innate wisdom, creativity and well-being.

Through collaboration and combining our interests and talents, this new programme has emerged organically as the perfect vehicle for us to co-create something together that we know will be deeply nourishing and transformational for both the participants and ourselves.

We look forward to welcoming you onto the programme.”

— Ian Watson & Clare Tanner

Enquiries please contact Ian Watson or Clare Tanner