My heart is filled with gratitude for the generous opportunity I received that allowed me to participate in the 2017 Centers Gathering. The location – both Hawaii and the host center, Hawaii Island Retreat – provided the foundation for a warm and inviting container.
Programming – What is your canvas?
Our recent webinar focused on programming this month and was hosted by Carol Donahoe, Director of Rhinebeck Programs, Omega Institute, and Leslie Hoffman, Director of Programs & Marketing, New York Open Center.
Peers from Hollyhock, BC, Le Monastere des Augustines, Quebec, Breitenbush Hot Springs, Oregon, Kashi Ashram, Florida, Institute of Noetic Sciences, California and Findhorn Foundation, Scotland joined the conversation. It became clear that the mission of each center informs our programming and we all have a unique niche in the world. Exploring the topics and themes that each organization values and is interested in offering helps create a framework that shapes the direction. [Read more…]
What is relevant programming to be offering?
Feedback is vital and it’s important that we respond to the data collected. In the center I’m most connected to, the Findhorn Foundation, we have paper feedback forms for participants to complete at the end of their program.
Questions
- I’m curious which centers still use paper forms?
- If so do you share them with participants at the end of the program and give time for them to complete within the closing circle as we do in the FF?
- Or do you leave them on the bed for them to complete in their own time?
- If yes to Q3, do you share the forms the night before or earlier?
- If you use online forms what is your response rate and how soon after the program ends do you email guests?
- How do you respond to feedback – are you a dynamic center responsive to change?
Why are Holistic Centre’s valuable?
I attended my first Holistic Centers Gathering in 2010 and recall two participants from Queenswood Retreat Centre in Victoria, Canada. I rediscovered this article written soon after they closed and share it here to explore the value of holistic centers. Fortunately in recent gatherings we’ve noticed the proliferation of new centers, in particular in China and the USA, and how we can support each other to evolve and thrive continues to be an important conversation.
By Margaret Critchlow
The news that Queenswood Retreat Centre in Victoria, Canada is closing after forty years (Monday Magazine, June 18, 2010) comes at a time when retreat centres matter more than ever. Why? As an anthropologist studying the culture of retreat centres for the past five years I have been asking: What is the value of holistic centres as the second decade of the twenty-first century begins? [Read more…]
The meaning and purpose of Holistic Center’s
By Margaret Rodman, republished from the original article in 2007
As an anthropologist writing a book about holistic centers, one of my contributions to this year’s Centers Gathering is to facilitate an online conversation about the meaning and purpose of the Centers Gatherings, to help put the story into words. [Read more…]
Webinar Series – 2017
Following on from the 2017 Gathering, we’re delighted to announce our second series of webinars. We invite you to explore topics that are relevant for us as holistic centers and share experience, best practices, insights and challenges in a supportive and collaborative way.
Traditionally one or two representatives from different centers attend each annual gathering – the webinars are a great opportunity to include fellow co-workers in mutual learning and networking. You can subscribe to our e-news to stay up to date with details.
Network Weaver in Residence: Kalani Honua
Stepping into the role of Executive Director of Centers Gathering last year after a seven year apprenticeship, I was given the Network Weaver Handbook written by June Holley. The phrase resonated with me deeply and became the title of my dual role as staff in the Findhorn Foundation in the far north of Scotland, where I’ve been living during this time.
In the style of artist or writer in residence I dreamt of being network weaver in residence on my travels and this year it became a reality. Each year the Centers Gathering moves location and in 2017 the Big Island of Hawaii called us to this remote archipelago for our annual event.
After five days at Hawaii Island Retreat in the north, several of us travelled east for a post gathering gathering at Kalani Honua, beautifully living up to it’s name ‘harmony of heaven and earth’. In the Findhorn Foundation we’re inspired by living heaven on earth and I felt a sisterhood between our communities.
Reflections from the 2017 Gathering in Hawaii
The Big Island of Hawaii, volcanic, tropical and verdant, welcomed the Centers Gathering to the sacred land in the northernmost tip, far beyond Kona. This year Hawaii Island Retreat hosted our annual event that moves between locations around the world. The beauty of the landscape shone through, nourishing each one of us as we immersed ourselves more deeply into the experience day by day.
Each year we meet in the spirit of mutual learning, recognising each other as peers along the path all devoted to a more conscious, holistic and regenerative culture. We welcomed 18 new participants into the circle, a sign the Gathering is increasing in magnetism and being recognised for the vital meeting place that it represents. The hub at the center of a vast global network, larger than we know. [Read more…]
Who is attending the 2017 Gathering?
We’re delighted by the interest in the 2017 Gathering hosted by Hawaii Island Retreat and look forward to another inspiring event as we meet in the spirit of collaboration. By way of introducing participants to each other before we gather in person, and to share the journey with you all here’s an overview of the various centers represented;
1. Jeanne Sunderland, Owner & Co-Creator, and Lia Watkins, Coordinator & Land Steward.
Hawaii Island Retreat
Jeanne and Lia have attended the last few Gatherings and offered to host the event this May. There was shared enthusiasm within the circle for a visit to Hawaii and the opportunity to immerse ourselves in the comfort of the eco-boutique hotel and wellness spa, located on the sacred land of the Big Island. [Read more…]
Team Reflections from a Spiral Perspective
My growing interest in the stages of human consciousness and curiosity about how the center I’m most closely involved in can evolve, inspires me in many ways…
The Guest Department (GD) co-ordinates approx 100 core programs within the Findhorn Foundation (FF) each year, and makes a significant contribution to the educational income. Experience Week is the ideal introduction to the rhythms and principles of the community for first time visitors and can be followed by either Being in Community or a Spiritual Practice week. These are the first steps on the transformational journey that can support each one of us explore our potential, either as a Staff Member within the FF or out in the world, though personal and spiritual growth.