Holistic Centers Network

The Culture of Holistic Centers: an Anthropological Perspective

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By Margaret Critchlow, Ph.D.

28 April 2008, written for submission to Alternatives

Have you taken a workshop at a holistic center? There are many advertised in this magazine, ranging from yoga teacher training to How to Sing in the Shower. Have you spent quiet time at a center on a personal retreat or a holiday? Perhaps you’ve been to Breitenbush Hot Springs here in Oregon or to one of the fourteen centers represented at the Holistic Centers Gathering, held at Breitenbush, April 20-24, 2008?

Even if you haven’t visited a holistic center are you curious about what goes on at these places? Do you wonder whether the people in charge “walk their talk”? I did, and that’s what led me to begin an anthropological research project on the cultures of holistic centers.

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Why are Holistic Centre’s valuable?

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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?

In my research, I have visited nine centres, mainly on the west coast of North America and attended three Holistic Centre Gatherings, annual conferences for owners, managers, and staff. Some centres are religious, many are not, but all participate in a global, holistic movement, seeing all beings, the planet, and universal energy as interconnected and interdependent. (Holism, a concept also important to anthropology, is the idea that any system is greater than the sum of its parts and that the parts make sense only in terms of the whole.)

In the best anthropological tradition I have participated in the culture of these centres, taking workshops, talking with several hundred people, and learning the local “language.” I’ve done a lot of what we anthropologists call “deep hanging out:” overlooking the ocean from a hot tub, chatting with guests under shady trees, sitting in meetings and in meditation with staff. This has been some of the most enjoyable and deeply rewarding fieldwork of my career. And, I suggest, it is has profound significance for understanding the human condition.

That significance comes down to one simple question: What is the value of being there? This is not to question the value of being here. The power, indeed the necessity, of being fully present in the here and now is indisputable. The precious, impermanent beauty of the present moment is all we humans have. But what I have touched is the power of retreat centres to disturb the comfortable “here” of day-to-day life. Centres create a “there” in which to be fully present and from which to envision and ground that most precious and elusive goal, a positive future.

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What topics were covered at one of the recent Gatherings?

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The 2010 Gathering, hosted by Kalani Oceanside Retreat, included the following topics, these were chosen by the participants at the start of the week;

  • Ecological Sustainability and Programs
  • Communication: conflict resolution; synergistic/win-win
  • Financial Sustainability/Recession/Debt/Sustainable Employment Practices
  • Promotion/Marketing
  • Governance Personnel/Structural
  • Bridging Alternatives/Mainstream
  • Trends and Programs
  • Succession Planning
  • Pricing Options
  • Spirituality Education
  • New Models of Centers
  • Issues of small centers
  • Safety Net in Bank?
  • Success Criteria
  • Operation costs as percentage of income
  • Where does your growth lie? Is there an optimal place to land in the growth?
  • What are developmental stages? Life cycle?
  • What was projected? What was actual?
  • Occupancy rates/break even points?
  • Bigger framework -% of sources of income how stable?

What has the schedule been like on previous Gatherings?

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If you’re interested in attending the next Gathering you may like to view the schedule from 2008, held at Breitenbush Hot Springs, Oregon

Meals:
Breakfast 8:00-9:00, Lunch 1:00-2:00, Dinner 6:00-7:00

Sunday, April 20

Evening
7:30-8:00 Breitenbush Orientation
8:00-9:00 Introductions / Agenda Review

Monday, April 21

Morning
9:15-12:00 Thriving in Challenging Times

– Impacts and Responses
– Mission / Vision
– The Economy: rates, inflation, costs
– EDGU 10:45
– Policies:Alcohol, cell phones, internet, assistance animals

Afternoon
2:15-3:15 Systems Tour with Don
3:30-5:00 Ecological Footprint- Walking our Talk

Evening
7:30 Breitenbush History Sharing with Peter Moore

Tuesday, April 22

Morning
9:15-12:15 Operations / Technology

Afternoon
2:15-3:15 Community Village Tour
– Big Tree Walk
– R&R Time

Evening
7:30 Concert with Katie Gray

Wednesday, April 23

Morning
9:15-12:15 Marketing / Fundraising / Programming

Afternoon
2:15-4:15 Staffing and More
– Insurance: Medical, Liability

Evening
7:15 Dances of Universal Peace

Thursday, April 24

Morning
9:15-11:15 Concluding Remarks/Appreciations
– Next Years Venue

A Historical Perspective – The 2000 Invitation to Amsterdam

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The date

The year 2000 and the new millennium ahead of us are food for thought for many. 5 May 2000 in particular is generally considered to be a historic moment for planet Earth and consciousness. Astrologically, 28 May 2000 sees the beginning of a new era as well: shaping a more natural way of living jointly with people from different countries and cultures, with joy. As with the birth of a child, every beginning deserves attention – for the beginning holds the future. A perfect time (is it not?) to meet and discuss life on earth and higher consciousness, following in the tradition of very special World Gatherings of Holistic Centers. [Read more…]

A Historical Perspective – The 1996 Invitation to Amsterdam

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World Gathering of Holistic Centers

3- 5 May, 1996 – Obibo, Amsterdam

Do you really want to contribute to a world more in a balance?

Can you really make your ideals come true?

Can you also make them economically interesting?

Are you also in need of an international network?

 

Let’s come out of our isolation and let’s concentrate our energy and share information! [Read more…]

This gathering has been INCREDIBLE. As a small center based way out in Yosemite National Park, I really feel folded into the greater network. This feels so vital. Thank you for creating this!

Heather Sullivan, Executive Director & Co-Founder, Balanced Rock Foundation