“The earth does not belong to us. We belong to the earth.”
– Chief Seattle
The Earth has the medicine. She is the medicine. More and more of us are coming to this nectarous realization, afflicted with all the dis-eases of modernity that have grinded our well-being and besiege our inner-peace with all kinds of clamour.
And yet, as we walk with bare feet on the dewy Earth, through the forests bathing us with sweet perfumes of foliage, listen to the hymnals of rivers and sagacious streams, and wonder at the twinkling night sky with the Moon’s mysterious pulls, a part of us finds deep rejuvenation. Our peace is regenerated. Our character ennobled. Our innocence proclaimed. Beauty, endless.
To find meaning in the Earth, with the Earth, is an eternal thing. An ancient story that still clings to the wiles of our souls, asking us to sing new verses into life.
Join us as we return to the Earth, to Gaia, in blessed community, for a day of such recharging respite and sacred delights. We shall be your guides, spiralling us into shamanic wisdoms and inspiring activities to enthuse this sacred relationship with nature, with each other and with ourselves, through eco-spiritual touslings. The day shall be a dance through an elemental map, charting us back into the sacred web of ecology.
What to expect:
- An opening shamanic ceremony to call on the directions and centre us with Mother Gaia
- Forest bathing hikes with stops for communion with trees, reflection and deep contemplation
- Dips in Swan’s Nest’s private, deep, glacier-made, spring-fed lake
- An ecstatic dance spiced with NIA & shaking medicine + cacao medicine
- A sumptuous organic, vegan dinner
- A Fire Ceremony for Release
- A Labyrinth Ceremony for Inner Guidance
- Spirit songs and singalongs around the fire
We will gather at Swan's Nest Holistic Wellness and Nature Centre, in King Township, only an hour from downtown Toronto. It is located on Rufus' family farm, which they rescued from ecological ruin when they purchased in in 1949. As stewards of this unique parcel of land for the past 74 years, his family has committed to protecting this land in perpetuity from development by planting over a million trees and by granting conservation easements to the Oak Ridges Moraine Land Trust.
A gourmet vegan dinner will be served, consisting of a cauliflower & vegetable coconut curry and rice, with a mixed salad with balsamic vinaigrette. It will be prepared by Rufus’ wife Dinora Garcia, a vegan chef who trained at Organic Live Food Bar and runs her own catering company, Gourmet Mexican Food to Go, with her sister Judith.
The address will be provided to all those who purchase tickets, either through Eventzilla or by e-transfer*. If funds are an issue, let us know, and we can work something out.
Please Bring: A water bottle, a bathing suit and towel, insect repellent, good walking shoes or hiking boots, and layers of extra clothing and rain gear just in case.
A clean and cool portapotty is available onsite, and well as hand sanitizer. Fresh, mineral-rich well water is also available to refill your water bottles.
Tickets: https://events.eventzilla.net/e/earth-spirit-medicine-an-ecospiritual-elemental-journey-2138589012
Address and Driving Instructions are provided upon payment via Eventzilla or e-transfer*. E-transfers can be sent to rufusglassco@gmail.com without a fee.
* NOTE: PLEASE BE SURE TO INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS IN THE E-TRANSFER MESSAGE, OR IT'S POSSIBLE I WON'T BE ABLE TO EMAIL YOU THE ADDRESS OR DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS.
FACILITATOR BIOS
Darren Austin Hall is an international song-channel, shamanic sound healer, author, poet and spiritual teacher-philosopher. He is the creator of the Source Resonance Academy devoted to leading sound healing training retreats, intensives and workshops around the world. He shares his legendary Druid Medicine Ritual Sound Journeys around the world and is a renowned recording artist. His new double-album, HONOUR ALL CREATION, is a concept album of sound healing journey music, mystical folk and ambient dance music devoted to the dawning of the New Earth. It also consists of a coinciding online course that charts a deep vision quest into the sacred wisdom of nature and the Earth, Honour All Creation: The Journey.
His new book ‘Love’s Revolution: Tantric Truths & Passion Poems on Sacred Sexuality, Conscious Partnership & Divine Romance is available on Amazon. Darren shares his Wisdom Warrior Teachings on his Youtube channel, sharing spiritual perspectives and empowering knowledge. Darren is also passionate about rectifying masculinity in a toxic world and has led many men’s groups over the years. His KINGS OF THE HEART online program takes men through an 8-week journey through the masculine archetypes of empowerment to inspire next level positive transformation in their live. He is also the founder of the Earth Knight men’s retreats. Darren also shares his Journey Through the Elements Ecstatic Dance with Cacao Activations, donning his DJ Druid cap. He also shares next level Shaking Medicine sessions. Darren is devoted to the re-enchantment of our world: restoring a sense of the magical beauty inherent to nature, reverence for Gaia (the Goddess that is Earth) and stewarding a new golden age of universal truth, spiritual science and unity consciousness.
Rufus Glassco is a trilingual facilitator who works with sound and nature to help people of all ages to connect, learn and heal. His company, Sound Benefits, specializes in experiential learning and healing through Drum Circles, with a focus on health and wellness, as well as Sound Healing, Community Singing, Labyrinth Ceremonies, Forest Bathing and Shamanic Coaching. He helps both individuals and groups to relax, and come into greater resonance and harmony.
Rufus has been studying modern shamanic practices and shamanic coaching for the past 8 years through the Institute of Shamanic Medicine, and will soon become a Shamanic Practitioner. He has been learning from curanderos and chamanes for even longer in Mexico, where his wife Dinora is from. They have been attending Temazcal sweat lodge ceremonies since they first met in Mexico in 1994, and after living and studying in Mexico in the Fall of 2019, they finally became Temazcaleros. They built their Temazcal at Swan’s Nest, the holistic wellness and nature retreat they recently opened, in the summer of 2020.
Dinora Garcia’s Bio:
I am a yoga teacher, a sound healer, a Nia healing dance instructor and a holistic nutritionist.
I believe in the importance of honouring, appreciating, trusting, and listening to our bodies, so we can receive its wisdom. And I know with my heart that we all have the medicine within us and the power to heal ourselves.
I use sound, voice, mantras, meditation, movement and breathing to fully experience our ability to use the intelligence of the body.
Sound baths help reduce anxiety and stress, and release stuck energy. They help to detoxify us and bring us greater peace and relaxation. And our voice’s medicine is very powerful and brings love to the places that hurt.
I use healing herbs to cleanse people’s energy fields and ground their bodies, and sacred Cacao plant medicine to help open and heal their hearts.
My purpose is to give people simple and easy to use tools, and remember how wonderful it is to be a human again.
Facebook Event Post: https://fb.me/e/4sRaSX9i4
