The Haven Archives - Holistic Centers Network

A Unique Cross-Cultural Gathering

November 24, 2015 by Christine Lines 2 Comments

Since 2010 I’ve had the great joy of attending the Holistic Centers Gathering that takes place around the world every year. In October it was held in Asia for the first time in its 30-year history – a unique cross-cultural experience full of potential for the future of humanity.

Hosted by The House of I, we were nestled in the mountainous region of Yanqing, to Beijing’s northwest and 80km from the Great Wall of China, one of the sites of the 2022 Beijing Winter Games. I feel the Gathering shares an affinity with the spirit of the Olympics – nations coming together to foster understanding and friendship. [Read more…]

Interview with Rachel Davey, The Haven

April 16, 2014 by Christine Lines 4 Comments

Rachel Davey

Paul O’Brien, producer and host of the Pathways program since 1984, taped a 1/2 hour interview with Rachel Davey, Executive Director of The Haven and host of the 2014 International Holistic Centers Gathering. The result is an excellent audio snapshot of The Haven and the Centers’ Gathering.Rachel worked internationally in education management and consultancy for more than 15 years, for organizations including the British Council and the United Nations. She first came to The Haven, a center for personal and professional growth and development on beautiful Gabriola Island in B.C., in 2001, traveled to Canada from Cyprus every summer to take Haven programs, and began working at The Haven in 2006.

Pathways is a 30-minute radio interview program focused on personal and cultural transformation. The show has a large, loyal following covering the entire state of Oregon and southern Washington, airing on Sunday mornings at 8:30 AM pacific time on KBOO 90.7 FM in Portland, Oregon (also streaming at that time via kboo.fm). Downloadable podcasts of Paul O’Brien’s Pathways interviews are made available at Divination.com and the iTunes store for free.

Listen to the interview at https://divination.com/podcast/the-haven-a-center-for-growth/ and feel free to set up a link on your website for more exposure.

Rachel and Paul, I really enjoyed listening to the interview that you did together. So glad you sent it on, Paul. You are a fantastic interviewer. You shared your inquisitiveness in a delightfully contagious way with the audience and asked questions that we all wanted to hear the answers to.

Rachel, you are so articulate and your personal warmth is clearly expressed in your voice. Your voice has a song inside of it, like a lullaby.
Thank you both.

Felice Dunas, Ph.D.
Personal Health Innovations, Inc.
www.felicedunas.com

Come Alive at The Haven in B.C. Canada

April 6, 2014 by Christine Lines 3 Comments

Come Alive is the enticing name of a program that draws people from all over the country, and further afield, to a tiny island of the West Coast of Canada. I imagine each one of us sitting in the opening circle were curious to find out what this really means, some perhaps clearer than others as to the reasons that drew us here.

For 30 years The Haven has offered programs in personal and professional development on beautiful Gabriola Island, B.C. and I was part of the latest intake responding to the invitation to ‘grow, transform, connect.’ After a few days exploring Vancouver I arrived via seaplane and then ferry, the day becoming progressively brighter with stunning views across the water.

I actually came to Canada to attend the annual Holistic Centers Gathering. However, travelling all the way from Scotland and with an ever curious spirit, I was keen to experience The Haven on a deeper level by extending my stay and immersing myself in the learning environment of another center. [Read more…]

Centers attending the 2014 Gathering

March 28, 2014 by Christine Lines Leave a Comment

We look forward to welcoming 27 participants from 18 centers in Canada, the US, Scotland and China to the 2014 International Holistic Centers Gathering, hosted this year by The Haven on Gabriola Island, beautiful British Columbia Canada.

Representatives are joining us from the following centers: [Read more…]

The Centers Gathering at The Haven is less than a month away!

March 19, 2014 by Christine Lines Leave a Comment

The excitement is building for the International Holistic Centers Gathering which runs from April 6-11 at The Haven on beautiful Gabriola Island, British Columbia, Canada.

If you have not yet registered, please do so soon. You will be joining colleagues from centers of all different types, ages and locations. Together, we will once again be co-creating an intense and rich week of learning from our differences and similarities. There are already more than 20 participants from all over Canada and the US, as well as Europe and Asia.

The agenda offers the opportunity both to discuss the topics of most interest to those of us who are responsible for running our centers as well as enjoy the experience of the best that The Haven and Gabriola Island has to offer. The agenda covers topics such as:

Successes and challenges
Marketing
Social media and online cooperation
Education and programming
Human Resources
Trends/zeitgeist
Green issues and environmental sustainability
Governance and decision making
Fundraising

As ever, the agenda will be negotiated throughout the Gathering to ensure that all participants get maximum value. Sessions will be facilitated by participants who have experience in the topic under discussion. There will be opportunities for breakout sessions on specific topics that may be of interest to a smaller number of participants. Our intention is to remain flexible and responsive to the needs of the group.

If you are registered and have a suggestion or contribution to the agenda, please contact Rachel Davey by email (rachel@haven.ca). I’d love to hear from you!

To register for the Gathering, please contact the Haven registration office by phone (1 800 222 9211 x 1) or email (register@haven.ca). Our registration staff are available seven days a week from 9am to 6pm Pacific time (PST).

And just as a reminder, if you are not a center representative and you want to know more about how holistic centres work, join us for A Peek Behind the Scenes: discussions on starting, running and growing a holistic centre. Don’t miss out on the opportunity of learning from six representatives (with over 100 years combined experience) from five centers which have been in existence for more than 200 years!

This workshop will run from April 11-14 and you can find out more by following this link to The Haven web site (http://www.haven.ca/programs/a-peek-behind-the-scenes.html)

Call for Input into the 2014 Agenda

February 12, 2014 by Christine Lines Leave a Comment

The 2014 International Holistic Centers’ Gathering at The Haven on Gabriola Island is now less than two months away. If you have not registered yet, please do so soon!

You can register by contacting The Haven’s registration office by phone (1 800 222 91-211 x 1) or by email (register@haven.ca). There is a member of staff (Morag, Tina, Cindy or Naomi) in our registration office from 9am to 6pm Pacific Time seven days a week.

I am now in the process of putting the agenda for the Gathering together, and I would love your input. My experience of the Gatherings has taught me that there are three great benefits to attending:

The opportunity to meet representatives from other centres and find out more about them and their centre.

The sharing of best practices in centre management and organization.
The chance to see and experience the work of the host centre and the place where it is located.

The 2014 agenda will weave all of the elements above together, and will be even better with your input.

Every year there are a number of general centre issues that get covered at the Gathering, which include the following:

Mission/vision/values
Future of centres
Sustainability
Residential students/volunteers
Staffing
Marketing and media
Fundraising, capital campaigns, board development
Successes, struggles, general ‘feel’
Growth – who wants it, needs it and how to get it
Best practices in guest services
Conscious Community/Conscious Centre – definitions, delights, difficulties
Human resources – best practices
Education and programming
Governance and decision making
Holistic leadership

I would like to hear from you if you think there is something important missing from this list. Or if there are issues on this list that are more important than others. I would also love to hear from anyone with experience and passion for a particular topic who might like to facilitate a session. Please contact me by email (rachel@haven.ca) if there is anything that you would like to contribute to the agenda of the 2014 Gathering or a wish that you hope we can fulfil while you are here.

And just as a reminder, if you are not a centre representative and you want to know more about how holistic centres work, join us for A Peek Behind the Scenes: discussions on starting, running and growing a holistic centre. Don’t miss out on the opportunity of learning from six representatives (with over 100 years combined experience) from 5 centres which have been in existence for more than 200 years! This workshop will run from April 11-14 and you can find out more by following this link to The Haven web site (http://www.haven.ca/programs/a-peek-behind-the-scenes.html)

Rachel Davey
Executive Director
The Haven

Opportunity to join The Haven team!

February 10, 2014 by Christine Lines Leave a Comment

We’re Hiring!

The Haven is looking to recruit an Assistant Executive Director. This person will be responsible for every aspect of a person’s experience of The Haven from when s/he steps on to the Haven property to when s/he leaves, with the exception of the educational content of the programs.

The Assistant ED also deputizes for the Executive Director in her absence. We are seeking someone who is passionate about the onsite experience of The Haven and ensures that it matches the high quality of our educational programming. This job would particularly suit someone with a proven track record in working at a managerial level in hotel, facility or resort management or other similar experience with a customer orientation.

For more details and to download the full job description go to the Haven web site (http://www.haven.ca/contact-us/jobs.html).

Registration open for the 2014 Centers Gathering

October 30, 2013 by Centers' Gathering Leave a Comment

6-11 April, 2014

The Haven, Gabriola Island, BC, Canada

I am delighted to announce that registration is now open for the 2014 International Holistic Centers Gathering. On behalf of all of us at The Haven, we look forward to welcoming participants from all over the world to our beautiful island.

The Gathering will begin at 7.30pm on Sunday April 6 and end at noon on Friday April 11 to allow for travel time on both days. Check in is at 4pm, check out at noon. We can accommodate early check in or late check out on request.

The registration fee includes the Gathering, accommodation and meals from Sunday April 6 to Friday April 11. Taxes are not included.

Shared accommodation: $700 plus taxes.

Private accommodation: $900 plus taxes.

We have a very limited number of subsidized places for those in financial difficulty. Please contact Rachel Davey, Executive Director of The Haven (rachel@haven.ca) if you wish to be considered. [Read more…]

Come Alive at The Haven

July 4, 2012 by Centers' Gathering 2 Comments

The Haven is located on beautiful Gabriola Island, BC, Canada and for more than 25 years has offered programs for personal and professional development and growth. People leave The Haven with skills to be fully alive, have healthy relationships and communicate effectively.

At the heart of The Haven are the five-day Come Alive, which we run one or two times every month, and the 25-day Living Alive Phase programs. These were created by The Haven’s founders Bennet Wong and Jock McKeen before The Haven itself existed and continue to have enormous popularity and impact.

Come Alive is an intensely personal experience and one that is not easy to put into words. So we’ll let you hear the experiences of some recent (some not so recent), Come Alive attendees, so you can hear in their words, what their experience was like, what they remembered, and what they brought away from the program.