The shift from one season to next is definitely underway here in Toronto. The mornings and evenings are cool (so good for sleeping) and the daytime sun warms the shoulders in such a comforting way. This change in season invites us to think about what lies ahead and how we’d like meet it. We’re happy to offer some time and space for just that sort of contemplation with our online retreats. Balance  a 75-minute micro retreat. Sunday, September 24, 2023 10:30 – 11:45 am ET. We’ll ponder the place of balance in our lives and where we might find it

 There has been a great deal of turmoil and busy-ness in my life these past few weeks. I was craving connection to the ground beneath my feet, a good walk. My longing was for shady trails in the forest, open fields of late-summer harvest, skies without skyscrapers – but these busy days have prevented me from heading out of the city. Jane Jacobs, in The Death and Life of Great American Cities (Vintage, New York City, NY, USA, 1961) warned: There are dangers in sentimentalizing nature. Most sentimental ideas imply, at bottom, a deep if unacknowledged disrespect. With this thought in mind,

What’s the purpose of a retreat? Retreats offer the opportunity to pause and refresh ourselves. For the time we are in retreat we set aside daily concerns and obligations so we can engage more fully with our hopes, our values, our purpose. A retreat is never a backing away from our lives, but rather a going toward what matters most. What can I expect? Whether you are attending online or in-person, indoors or out, we work to create a calm, welcoming space for you to put aside your routines and distractions. There will be quiet moments for reflection and mindfulness.

Wildness, Enchantment & Hope: Deepening Our Engagement with Nature is now available as an online retreat. It will consist of four, two-and-a-half hour sessions spread out over the weekend of October 20–22. We appreciate the challenges presented by a weekend online event. Over the course of the weekend we will remain mindful of this, and offer plenty of off-screen time for movement, self-care, quiet reflection, and meals. We will encourage participants to get outside and connect with the natural world on your doorstep. Here is the schedule for the weekend: Session 1: Friday evening 7:00 – 9:30 pm ET Session 2:

We overfish our waters We deplete the soil We exhaust the resources of the planet. Do we do the same to ourselves? We live, it seems, amidst a culture that values Doing over being. Work over rest. And maybe that leads to over-work, over-consumption, and exploitation of the planet’s gifts and one another. Is the answer to slow down? That seems wrong. There is so much to be done To feed ourselves and loved ones, To address social injustice and oppression. To meet the challenges of the climate crisis. Don’t the times we are living in require action on all

We started out in a living room. A group of friends sorting through the transitions and dilemmas arising in our lives. We’d begin with a few moments of mindfulness to help us attend to each other and find our own thoughts. And then, we’d read a little text or poem that offered a window into the changes we were facing. A little time to reflect silently on what we had read followed. Some of us wrote, others sketched, a few just looked out the window. And then, we’d share. Not the sort of sharing you might enjoy over a cup