Honouring the Liminal by Going Within

On November 2nd, at the tail end of Samhain and Dia de los Muertos, the veil between worlds is thin.

We are gathering in community during this liminal time to co-create a ceremonial space to honour ourselves, our ancestors and our plantcestors. This is a potent time to go inward, make offerings, attune to Spirit and to all those who have walked here before us. Through a variety of guided and solo practices, we will become quiet enough to listen to the natural world and the many worlds within us.

“Silence is a form of hospitality to what is most tender in us. It offers a courtesy of attention and witnessing that is often lacking in our cultural attitudes.” Francis Weller

The flow: Our day will begin with an opening ceremony where we'll co-create an ancestral altar and set intentions. From there we’ll practice embodied connection through guided movement and meditation practices. We’ll have an extended and silent lunch break where folks will be invited to go out onto the land to make offerings and hold self-designed ceremonies. Suggestions on how to do this will be available and in the event of heavy rain, participants will have the option to continue their practice and create ceremony indoors. Our afternoon will include some guided, community-based activities and group sharing, as well as a closing ceremony.

We anticipate the day will be emergent and co-creative. No prior experience with ceremony or meditation is required. We honour that we are all at different stages of our journeys and value the diversity of backgrounds and perspectives that come together in community offerings.

This offering is inspired by multiple lineages and teachers, including but not limited to Joanna Macy, Deep Ecology, The Animas Valley Institute, Francis Weller, Zen Buddhism, and Perdita Finn.

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YOUR HOSTS

Kalen Colson, RCC (they/them) is a nature-based therapist, certified Mindfulness Meditation Teacher and a land tender. Kalen has been studying and practicing group facilitation, land connection work and cultivating ceremonial spaces for over a decade. Currently delving into the practices of deep ecology and soul work, Kalen is living the questions of how their work can support decolonization and right relationship with the land and its first people. For more information about Kalen visit: www.pivotintoharmony.com

Colleen Browne (she/her) has been meditating for 15 years. She lived at Tassajara Zen Center (the monastery for San Francisco Zen Center) for 3 years, is a certified Mindfulness Meditation and Yoga Teacher and hosts a weekly meditation gathering at her home in Shawnigan Lake. Lately she has been exploring ancestral work with Perdita Finn and expanding her understanding of Sprit.

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YOUR CONTAINER

Located on the traditional territories of the Hul'qumi'num' speaking peoples of the Cowichan tribes, The Land is 10 acres of relatively wild and secluded forest about 10 minutes from Cowichan Station and a 30 minute walk from the Koksilah River. Kalen has been stewarding The Land since 2021 with a vision for holding nature-based therapy retreats and practices. The land has power, running water, an outhouse and a gathering space for events and workshops.