What Now? An Exploration of Awakened Economy

Economy?

Why Economy?

Because it takes us into the heart of the question: How do we live an awakened life?

It calls us to consider every area of our lives: our relationships, our work, our spending, how we choose to engage with the institutions, organizations and movements in this time of unprecedented upheaval and emergence, and more.

This is about awakening in the midst of the market place!

And it’s about the support we can give each other to be bold and true to what is waking up in/through us.

Let’s take time together listening & speaking from Source, tuning into the Universal Field as we explore questions like these:

• How do I make my money?
• What do I invest in?
• What do I want to support?

And deeper still:

• What do I value?
• What are the key assumptions running my life?
• What happens when I question the social conditioning that has shaped my sense of possibility

We don’t do this work alone. Coming together, we’ll share our inspirations and our dreams. We’ll explore our experiences of awakening and how these change our perspective on what is valuable. We support each other to see in our blind spots, and to bring our lives into greater alignment with our deepest essence.

This is an invitation to spend three days together exploring the mystery of awakening. Bring your whole self, your rough edges, your dreams, your questions, and all of your gifts!

The old maps got us here. It’s time to create new ones together.

The Venue

This retreat will take place at the Xenia Centre on beautiful Bowen Island, a Gulf Island just miles from Vancouver, British Columbia.

Check out the Xenia website to get a sense of this center, founded 25 years ago as a place to be “inspired, rejuvenated, still, at peace, creative, engaged and yourself”! It’s located on a former farmstead in the midst of a beautiful and wonderfully peaceful forest that is graced with a thousand-year-old Douglas Fir named OPA. Also onsite are a Labyrinth, an infra-red sauna, walking trails in the forest and around nearby Killarney Lake, and several meditation & meeting spaces. As well, the central lodge, the oldest building on Bowen, has a comfortable living room, dining area and kitchen for our use. This site will offer each of us an opportunity to witness and experience Nature’s “economy” as spring turns to early summer on the west coast.

The accommodations at Xenia are in the central lodge, older cabins and 2 yurts. The spaces are clean and warm and “Rustic” – not high-end hotel rooms. There are only a few spaces that will suit single persons so we will be in our own beds but sharing the room with others. Some of the cabins do not have ensuite bathrooms and folks staying in those units will need to go next door to use a bathroom or take a shower. Rooms will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis so the earlier you book the more choice you will have.

If having a single/private room and/or ensuite bathroom are of high importance to you, then see the links for names of nearby B&B and AirB&B accommodations. Anyone choosing offsite options will need to cover their costs over and above the retreat fee.

Timing

Check in time is 3:00 pm on April 16, 2020. Please plan to arrive by 5:00pm to allow you to settle in before our first meal together at 6:00pm.

Check out time from the accommodations spaces is noon on April 19, 2020. The retreat will complete by 2:30.

Fees:

The retreat fee includes three nights accommodation, access to Xenia’s facilities, two catered meals per day, snacks, and self-serve breakfasts.

Early Bird Rate (til March 1, 2020) C$875 (~US$660)

Regular rate (after March 1, 2020) C$1,025 (~US$775)

Note: fees are the suggested minimum, as they cover only our actual costs and just room and board for the organizers. We intend to explore what a Gift Economy might look like (where money is one type of gift) so this is a great place to practice gifting.

To register:

Please either register through this Eventbrite site, or send an e-transfer for PayPal payment of $250 to incitepress@telus.net. This will secure your spot and establish the order of first come first served for the accommodation options.

Getting there

By Car: Drive to the BC Ferries Horseshoe Bay Terminal in West Vancouver. Take the ferry to Snug Cove Terminal on Bowen Island, and drive about 5-7 minutes to Xenia Centre.

By Transit: Bowen Island is a short 20 minute ferry trip from the BC Ferries Horseshoe Bay Terminal in West Vancouver. The Horseshoe Bay terminal is fully accessible by public transit from Downtown Vancouver (~30 minutes) and also from the Vancouver International Airport (90 minutes). Check with Translink’s Trip Planner for route and timing options. If coming by transit, please plan to arrive on the Island by 4:35 PM ferry at the latest. Let us know your timing, and we’ll come pick you up at the Snug Cove ferry terminal.

The Organizers

We four so look forward to co-creating with you a shared exploration of Awakened Economy, acknowledging your gifts and genius!

Evan Renaerts, an executive coach and consultant, draws on five decades of experience spanning blue-collar construction work to C-Suite consulting, and from 35 years of meditation practice to expressing creativity through paint and clay. His background in heavy construction involved bidding and managing multi-million dollar projects in complex unionized and multi contractor contexts where he was known for running trouble free jobs. Evan is a certified mediator and negotiator (Justice Institute of BC), and was part of the consulting team at the United Community Services Coop. In 1990-93, Evan took what became a four year sabbatical and immersed himself in the Findhorn Foundation, a spiritual and intentional community in northern Scotland. There he took on management of the Maintenance Department, management of the Park (the largest physical site for the Foundation), facilitated guest workshops, and was an active member in the Foundation’s Senior Management Group. He is also credited with stewarding a process that revitalized the Foundation’s Staff Group. Deeply committed to radical self inquiry, since 2018 Evan has worked extensively with plant medicines to challenge his beliefs and habit patterns and to continue opening to a full and rich life.

Kate Sutherland is a social entrepreneur and organizational development consultant with a passion for bridging mindsets, stakeholders, silos, and sectors to support innovation and greater positive impact. Digging deeper, Kate is on a lifelong quest for ways to quicken peace and joy. This has included deep dives into alternative education, economics, community, and inner work, along with a geeky fascination for group dynamics — groups being a doorway to win-win-win breakthroughs in perception, thinking, and action. For over 35 years she has worked with think tanks, non-profits, private-sector organizations and governments at all levels, and on issues as diverse as energy policy, urban transportation, food security, social inclusion, community currencies, early childhood development, and livable cities. She is increasingly focused on helping leaders and change agents create non-linear change through inner work (i.e. intention, perception, intuition and consciousness), tapping the latent capacity of groups for collective intelligence, co-creation and flow. Kate is also co-founding faculty and executive coach for Simon Fraser University’s Social Innovation Certificate, SFU’s Certificate in Evaluation for Social Impact and Transformational Learning, and THNK School of Creative Leadership. Her third book, We Can Do This! makes accessible frameworks used by professional facilitators and consultants. http://www.katersutherland.com

Jeff Vander Clute is a veteran technology entrepreneur, consciousness coach, and organizational transformation consultant committed to harmonizing human systems with Earth’s ecosystems. Jeff has grown companies in the online, medical imaging, social enterprise, and consciousness domains, and he has advised numerous other businesses and charitable organizations. Along the way, he has developed unique methods for leadership transformation and inspired decision-making that enable teams to operate with greater wisdom and achieve worldchanging results. Jeff delights in helping complex living systems – especially organizations that are contributing strongly to social and environmental well-being – to evolve and thrive during these times of disruption and new possibilities. He is able to see the gifts that are seeking to be born in his clients and facilitate the emergence of their more awakened selves in alignment with the trends of shifting consciousness on the planet. He creates and leads retreats, workshops, and other transformational experiences for people who are ready to dive into their radical potential as change agents. Jeff is a longtime member of the Evolutionary Leaders Circle, the board chair of the Source of Synergy Foundation, and a co-founder of Sourcing The Way, The Consciousness of Money, and Enlightening Journeys and Expeditions. jeffvanderclute.com

Anne Stadler, Wise Woman, Disruptor, and Convenor/Host of Radical Open Space. For more see: https://enlightenment.zone/team/anne-stadler/