Look up at the sky. What do you see? Has the air travelled over oceans, deserts or mountains to reach you? What were the oxygen molecules part of before they became you, taken in on your breath?
Spring Equinox At Home Retreat | 20 March 2023
How would it feel to step into Spring filled with wonder and gratitude for the sky above us, the air we breathe and the cyclical rhythms of the earth and our bodies?
With the endless spiral of negative news sending our nervous systems into a perpetual state of panic and survival, it can be hard to see beyond a world full of divisions, isolation and helplessness.
"Quiet activism is the "small, every day, embodied acts, often of making and creating, that can be either implicity or explicitly political in nature" - Pottinger
This Spring Equinox let us reject this world of scarcity and loneliness and spend a day together embodying the wonder of being alive under an ocean of sky. Let us act on creating new worlds where we take care of ourselves, unearth our intimacy with the more-than-human and find joy in a supportive community - let us feel alive again.
The Equinox marks a day where the in breath of night equals the out breath of day. As winter scatters into spring the air seems to change - it becomes lighter, full of possibility and imagination. Our bodies notice the change in day length through intricate biological clocks and, if we listen, let us know how to take care of ourselves.
Through a sky inspired nature journaling session, a talk by Dr Rebecca Dumbell on the wisdom of our bodies and an afternoon of creativity we will share our experiences and knowledge to co-create new worlds and ways of being inspired by air, potential, flights of fancy, earth, wild power, nourishment, joy and wonder.
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The retreat has been designed to give a renewed faith in the wonder of being alive and to give you a taste of the year long Rewild Your Soul experience. Your investment in the retreat will be refunded when you sign up to Rewild Your Soul - A year of seasonal adventures.
"Paying loving attention through nature journaling is an act of love"
“The dream of my life is to lie down by a slow river and stare at the light in the trees – to learn something by being nothing.” Mary Oliver
Retreat programme
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Day before
Prepare your food, nature journaling kit, music and creative, nourishing activities for the next day.
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Morning
Begin your day outside with your favourite morning drink. Send your gratitudes to the world and notice the air, light and ground. Can you sense Spring returning?
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Sky and Earth | Campfire gathering, 9.30-10.30am BST
We gather virtually and welcome each other through guided breathing, movement and sketching exercises to awaken your child-like curiosity. Agnes Becker will introduce the themes of the day: sky as fluid connector, as protector from the ravages of space, air in breath, our permeability, pollution as well as the equinox, spring as a time of potential, earth as a place of wild power, nourishment, decay and wisdom, our bodies as nature. There will be opportunities for you to contribute and discuss the themes in the campfire - our discussion means the day will be co-created with you all.
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Sky | Cloud gazing nature journaling session, 10.30am - 12noon BST
Encouraging you to get to know the sky away from screens this is the time for you to lie down and let time drift as you gaze at the clouds. With pre-written prompts in a PDF you can print off and take with you you will explore the air and sky. Awaken your creativity with a pre-recorded cloud sketching tutorial.
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Earth | Creating new worlds, 1-2BST
A guided visualisation recording helps you imagine a new world filled with love. Afterwards, you will act on one thing to bring you closer to that vision – be it love towards yourself, your body, your community, the nonhuman beings around you. For example you may invite in play, reciprocity, movement, creativity, rest and/or joy into your day. In doing this we are exploring a new way of being that nourishes rather than depletes us and our communities.
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Body wisdom and biological clocks | Talk and Q&A with Dr Rebecca Dumbell, 2-3pm BST
We are joined by Rebecca to learn about how our bodies are biologically intimately linked to the Earth's rotation around the Sun.
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Sunset reflections, 7pm BST
Sit outside or near a window, listen to the birdsong and reflect on the day with pre-written prompts in a PDF you can print off and take with you away from screens. We will identify ONE practice inspired by the potential and wonder of the sky that leads us closer to a world filled with love to take with us into the new season.
"Things that are ordinary become magical" - Sarah-Louise on Rewild Your Soul
What's included?
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Secret programme webpage
A carefully curated webpage you can screen shot or print off to guide you through each stage of the day, aiming to get you engaging with nature as much as possible.
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Voice note encouragement
You can sign up to receive gentle voicenote encouragement from me, Agnes Becker, throughout the day.
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Online community space
An online community space on Facebook will be open from 17-24 March 2023 to share discoveries and thoughts and to support you if you are in a different time zone.
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Cloud sketching video tutorial
In this video tutorial Agnes Becker will show you how to sketch fluffy clouds and paint an overcast sky. The video will be linked into the emails during the day.
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Creating new worlds visualisation
You'll receive a downloadable guided visualisation recording to help you imagine a new world filled with love.
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Journaling prompts
You'll receive pre-written journaling prompts as a downloadable PDF to help you get to know the sky and reflect on the day.
About your host
Agnes Becker is an an artist, science communicator and creator of We Are Stardust - a place where art and science collide to enrich your experience of and relationship with our messy, beautiful universe.
About Dr Rebecca Dumbell
Dr Rebecca Dumbell is a Senior Lecturer at Nottingham Trent University. Rebecca's research focuses on how appetite, growth and energy expenditure are influenced by seasonal and circadian rhythms.
Rebecca's fee for this talk will be donated to Turkey-Syria Earthquake Appeal 2023.
Questions
Can I still take part if I can't make the actual day?
Yes, you will still get the emails and (if you sign up to them) the voicenotes on 20 March 2023 but you can save them and do the retreat either in bits throughout the week or on a different day.
There will be a communicty space on Facebook to support you open from 17-24 March 2023.
What if I'm in a different timezone?
If you aren't based in a UK time zone, please feel free to join in when you can.
Will sessions be recorded?
Zoom sessions have been kept to a minimum of two. Both sessions will be recorded.
How will the retreat be delivered?
Online time has deliberately been kept as short as possible with emphasis on paying loving attention to the more-than-human world and nurturing ourselves.
You will be sent emails with ideas of how to take part for each stage of the day. As such, by signing up to this retreat, you will be added to my mailing software, Flodesk. PDF prompts will be attached to the emails.
The campfire session and talk will be held on Zoom.
You can sign up to Voxer, a free walkie-talkie app where I will send out encouraging voice notes throughout the day.