A few months ago I received an email from Cameron Wenaus, co-founder of Retreat Guru, who bring together retreats, teachers and practitioners, as well as develop retreat management software. Cameron attended the 2016 Gathering at Le Monastère des Augustines and there are natural overlaps and interconnections between our networks.
He wrote to make an introduction, saying, “Heather Scott is the Executive Director of Dorje Denma Ling, a retreat center in Nova Scotia connected to the Shambhala Lineage. I have been to DDL many times for retreats; it is a humble and powerful location.
I was talking to Heather about the challenges they are facing recently and she expressed a yearning in networking with other retreat centers during this next phase of growth and change. I thought that the Centers Gathering might be a good resource.” [Read more…]
A big stir around our circle recently has been a conversation/debate about what defines gender and who gets to decide. It appeared as a proposal to both recognize and actively support transgender people in their struggle for inclusion and acceptance in society, starting with women-only events at Breitenbush (whether sponsored by Breitenbush or not). It is noted that transgender people are perhaps the most persecuted population of all, suffering a host of abuses, from sexual violence to ridicule, ostracism, shunning, lack of public services, loss of employment and family abandonment, among other cruelties.