Discover Your Unique Drum Beat
Feeling a bit listless in our ordinary routines, many of us like to spice life up with a road trip and all the sensory delight they can bring.
Others take the opposite approach, gravitating to meditation retreats in the hopes of giving their overstimulated and exhausted minds a break, by emptying them.
The programs and services we offer straddle the middle path. Tranquil surrounds and reflective questions help to still the waters, while the diversity of activities and the provoking nature of it helps to shake you out of ruts and enculturated thinking.
If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.
- Henry David Thoreau
Retreating To Move Forward
Albert Camus listened to what pulled on his soul, becoming a philosopher and writer. In doing so he went on to become the second-youngest recipient to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
His first novel, The Outsider, is about a man who refuses to accept why things are the way they are. Reading the novel has long been a rite of passage for teenagers as it provokes them to think beyond their conditioning.
Camus captured the essence of what it means to enter a retreat when he said:
“To understand one's world, one must sometimes turn away from it! To serve better, one must briefly hold it at a distance. Where can the necessary solitude be found, the long breathing space in which mind gathers its strength and takes stock of its courage.”
Consider a few modes of simple living, or slow living, that we can undertake...
Pilgrimage: A long and special journey to a shrine or a sacred place
The Camino de Santiago is one of the most well-known pilgrimages. For over 1000 years people have embarked upon it. It provides a sanctuary for self-reflection and to return to more gentle rhythms.
“As I make my slow pilgrimage through the world, a certain sense of beautiful mystery seems to gather and grow.” - A. C. Benson
Sabbatical: A period of leave granted for study or travel, typically 1 year for every 7 years worked
A sabbatical, or career break, is a period of time away from everyday routine. Some use it to travel or unwind. Others devote themselves to learning something new or pursuing a passion.
“We are travelers on a cosmic journey, stardust, swirling & dancing in the eddies & whirlpools of infinity. This is a precious moment. It is a little parenthesis in eternity.”
- Paulo Coelho
Retreat: An act of withdrawing from what is difficult, dangerous, or disagreeable
Pilgrimages tend to be expensive, while few people have the time for a sabbatical. Taking time out for a retreat is the most accessible way for many people to recalibrate.
“There is only one way left to escape the alienation of present day society: to retreat ahead of it.”
- Roland Barthes
What in your life is calling you,
When all the noise is silenced,
The meetings adjourned...
The lists laid aside,
What still pulls on your soul?
In the silence between your
heartbeats bides a summons.
Do you hear it?
Name it, if you must,
or leave it forever nameless,
but why pretend it is not there?
- Rumi
From Outward Appearances To Inner Significance
Our approach to retreats is inspired by one of the most cherished stories in the western world with Henry David Thoreau taking reprieve from his everyday existence to discover his centre.
At the age of 20, Henry David Thoreau graduated and became a schoolteacher. Opposed to corporal punishment he lasted only a few weeks. With the help of his brother, they created a nature based school. After his brothers’ death the school closed.
Around this time he met Ralph Waldo Emerson who became a mentor figure. Emerson introduced him to a group of progressive writers and thinkers. Thoreau then moved in with Emerson’s family, working as a tutor to his children. He also did gardening and general repairs.
His next career move involved working in his father’s pencil factory. He could have taken over the business and lived a prosperous life. But he found the work lacking in meaning. Thoreau wrote:
“The youth gets together his materials to build a bridge to the moon, and, at length, the middle-aged man concludes to build a woodshed with them.”
In his mid 20’s he felt himself at a crossroads. His youthful idealism hadn’t found an outlet. He feared settling into the midlife resignation he saw around him. Thoreau questioned the dominant protestant work ethic that revered busyness above meaning, saying:
“I wish to suggest that a man may be very industrious, and yet not spend his time well. There is no more fatal blunderer than he who consumes the greater part of his life getting his living. You must get your living by loving. But as it is said of the merchants that 97 in a 100 fail, so the life of men generally, tried by this standard, is a failure…”
At 28, he was restless. He was unwilling to devote his life to simply making money and he was unsure what to do with himself. Thoreau famously wrote:
“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. Most men die with their song unsung.”
Determined not to fritter away his life he decided to retreat, in order to advance. The despair he saw in the majority of lives provoked him to seek out its counterpart, hope. There had to be a more authentic way of living available.
Emerson owned some land which included a pond. He offered Thoreau the use of it, that he may find his centre. In the summer of 1845 he moved onto the land, expressing his intent:
On July 4th, 1845 (Independence Day) Thoreau moved to the cabin he had built for himself on the shore of Walden Pond
Thoreau didn’t retreat into deep wilderness or isolation. Walden was a few kilometres from Concord, where he’d spend most of his life. To sustain himself he grew his own food and traded his beans for a few basics at a market. For shelter, he built a small log cabin.
His days were spent walking, canoeing, reading, bird watching, writing and living simply. He felt that modern society kept people shackled to unsatisfying jobs so that they could afford ‘things’. In stepping back from conventional life he reconnected with the natural world and his soul, or interior life.
Philosopher Alain de Botton said that in retreating from the world:
“His [Thoreau] true aim was to find a way to navigate a frighteningly vast, dizzyingly interconnected and morally troubling modern society. He understood that solace wouldn’t come from avoiding society and its overwhelming intricacies and distractions, but by engaging with it in a deeper, more purposeful way.”
After placing a warm urn on his table, Thoreau noticed a beetle emerge from its 60 year hibernation. He felt that to be an analogy of passing from winters death into summers liveliness. All it required was a hiatus from society to find our centre.
“Not till we are lost, in other words, not till we have lost the world, do we begin to find ourselves, and realize where we are and the infinite extent of our relations.”
When Thoreau returned to society he well and truly had found his bliss in writing. People sought him out to speak about his time at Walden and what he had learned. He wasn’t advocating that we should opt-out of society but rather opt-in more consciously.
Soon after leaving the place he wrote Civil Disobedience, which went on to influence Gandhi and Martin Luther King. He took the journalling he did from his time there to produce his most famous book, Walden. Nearly 200 years on it still speaks strongly to people. He once said:
“There is no more fatal blunderer than he who consumes the greater part of his life getting his living. You must get your living by loving.”
In taking a retreat, or a sabbatical from the well trodden path in life, Thoreau managed to do just that.
Wellness Retreats NSW
Testimonials
This was a wonderful experience that I’d highly recommend. Such a unique and fantastic opportunity to do a bit of ‘soul searching’ and put things into perspective. These gifted facilitators have a wealth of insight. After the time spent here (which is so warm and welcoming) I feel like I have a better vision for where I want to focus my energies and move forward in this crazy journey of life! If you’re looking for a bit of motivation, direction, or just some ‘time out’ to re-energise, this is a really wonderful opportunity!
- Katie M
I recently participated in a two-day writer's retreat at Katoomba, which Marcus readily adapted to my circumstances. I've found Marcus to be insightful and easy to talk with and in seeking a different way of expressing my life thoughts, has enhanced and encouraged me. I'm planning on having ongoing consultations with Marcus. I recommend him to any other writers.
- Peter H
My girlfriend and I did the two day retreat. It was both informative and transformational. We felt comfortable and at ease as soon as we arrived. It felt as though we were hanging out with old friends. I received answers I was searching for, confirmation that I was on the right path, and discovered my life’s purpose. I am so grateful for the experience, highly recommend it and will no doubt be back myself!
- Sonja L
"For years I have felt like I’ve been living but haven’t been alive. Over the last couple of months, that feeling was becoming more than overwhelming, where I knew I needed to do something before my coping strategies would end up killing me. Randomly, I found this retreat and booked, 3 days. Yep - needed more than what Marcus and Ginny offers as standard. As time came closer to the date, I was overthinking everything… is this a hoax, are they just “pretend”, will be this a waste of time and money? HAHAHA! Boy was I wrong! Marcus and Ginny have absolutely changed my life. Their caring and relatable nature, hospitality, active listening, safe space holding, responses and guidance, (as if they had known my story more than I knew it), experience, knowledge with the “airy fairy” spiritual side but also the research / evidence / references, resources and guidance for when I left the retreat - everything, is something I’ll forever be grateful for. Marcus and Ginny saved my life! And I can’t wait to book in more private, group and courses with them soon.""
- Karina Joanna
An example of a retreat experience being life changing
-
Dissolution
For many people, the pull to go on retreat begins with dissolution, defined as "the act or process of dissolving: separation into component parts, decay, disintegration.”
Consider one persons experience going on a retreat and having his life change monumentally.
Having grown up on a sheep farm, Mike continued his family’s heritage until the invention of synthetic fibre decimated the wool industry in the late 1970s’.
Financial stress followed and soon his marriage collapsed. At age 40, he found himself in the thick of a midlife crisis and suffocating depression.
-
Belly of the Whale
In mythology, this is the stage in one’s journey where we symbolically die and then must be reborn.
Unfortunately, our culture doesn’t address our innate need for midlife rebalancing meaning many people miss the opportunity for transformation.
For Mike, a backpacker visited his farm and told him about a retreat centre in California that helped had helped him through his own dark night of the soul.
Mike took a chance and went abroad in search of a ray of light. While visiting the Esalen institute he found a renewed sense of hope. He also met a chap who was building yurts for a living.
-
Rebirth
A rebirth is a period of new life, growth, or activity; a revival.
The Californian yurt builder offered to visit Mike in Australia and teach him how to build them.
It led to him discovering a real passion. In time, he created a yurt farm on his property which gave kids a unique camp experience be it milking a cow, getting electricity from the sun and wind or introducing them to natural building.
In his mid 80s’ he’s still doing what he loves with a supportive partner.
Being open to his mini pilgrimage to a retreat proved the catalyst to reshape his life.
Our Wellness Retreats
Very few people possess a will powerful enough to transcend the stifling of their true identities. Most of us, require a community to help nurture it. In Thoreau’s case, he found his way in part due to the support of his mentor Emerson. Exposure to the ideas of other free thinkers also served to help him find his resolve.
Our retreat programs are designed to midwife you through transitions such as finding your career direction/life purpose, composing your life story or birthing a new business endeavour.
In his work, Nature and the Human Soul, depth psychologist Bill Plotkin spoke about how disconnecting modern life has become, saying:
“By suppressing the nature dimension of human development (through educational systems, social values, advertising, nature-eclipsing vocations and pastimes, city and suburb design, denatured medical and psychological practices, and other means), industrial growth society engenders an immature citizenry unable to imagine a life beyond consumerism and soul-suppressing jobs.
This neglect of our human nature has led to the tragedy we face today: most humans are alienated from their vital individuality.”
In 1928, marketing professor Paul Nystrom coined a term for this, ‘the philosophy of futility’.
We can each counter this by listening to the ‘pull of the soul.’ Thoreau coined the term “A Different Drummer.” This describes someone who is individuating and expressing their full talents in the world. They carry an exuberance and a vitality that is infectious.
Our retreat programs are designed to help you tune into your unique drum beat and de-script from cultural conditioning that doesn’t have your best interests at heart. Author Tim Winton spoke about the necessity for liberation:
“Liberation – a process of disarmament, reflection and renewal – isn’t just desirable, it’s desperately necessary. In our homes, in business, and in our politics.”
We assert that liberation begins with the individual. Philosopher Peter Singer used the image of an expanding circle of concern. After prioritising our own development, we naturally want to help others to fulfil their potential and continue expanding our concern to ensure all living things have dignity and self-determination.
“In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.” - Coco Chanel
Our Approach
The Writes of Passage approach endeavours to deliver a meaningful rite of passage in areas that I have both personally worked through and developed a real passion for - birthing your business(es), writing your life story, navigating the middle passage of life, creating high functioning relationships and finding your career direction and life purpose.
It draws on research from mainstream fields such as psychology, career development and adult development stages while going beyond merely an intellectual understanding to take in more imaginative, mythic or soulful ideas.
“I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavor.” - Thoreau
Committing to your self-development is the most important investment you can make.
As a joint endeavour, I see my role as providing you with the impetus of learning material, a conducive space to reflect and wrestle with the important questions, as well as insights, feedback, guidance and encouragement.
Writes of Passage Retreats is founded on the conviction that something alchemical occurs when the following elements combine:
• A sabbatical, or moratorium from the treadmill existence
• Time in nature and quiet space with meditation and yoga
• Learning and reflection aimed at de-scripting & clarifying core values and passions
• Mentoring, collaboration and the importance of a fresh set of eyes
Thoreau once said, “The universe constantly and obediently answers to our conceptions; whether we travel fast or slow, the track is laid for us. Let us spend our lives in conceiving then.”
If you’ve been looking for a catalyst to push you out of where you are now and into a more fulfilling, authentic life, then one of our retreat programs might be just the launching pad you need.
Blog Articles
-
![writers retreat]()
Rather than focusing purely on building creative clusters, perhaps we should give equal regard to building a hub for cultural creatives where the focus is on nurturing socially flourishing communities.
-
![marriage retreat]()
How many relationships do you know of that you would regard as high functioning and responsible for bringing out the best in each person?
-
![writers centre sydney]()
We all engage with archetypes, be it consciously or unconsciously. The combination of introspection and writing helps us to view life as a great adventure and privilege. It infuses soul back into our lives.
-
![ayahuasca retreat]()
A brain scientist, a plant behaviourist, a healer, a philosophy professor, a psychedelics scientist, and a Buddhist monk each offer their perspectives on the big questions.
-
![midlife crisis counseling]()
When it comes to life phases, the midlife passage (ages 35-55) is the most treacherous of our lives. Midlife calm is not a phrase in the lexicon but midlife crisis certainly is.
-
![mens retreat]()
Moving beyond the masculine tendency towards anaesthetising the feminine, there is a great level of tenderness as the men allow their feminine side to surface in the way that they open up and care for one another.
-
![narrative therapy workshop]()
Narrative Therapy was born as a personal development tool to help people identify themselves as being distinct from their problems in order to employ their own strengths to move toward change.
-
![the wealth retreat]()
A radical rethink of our relationship to money is needed if we are to readdress the imbalances behind climate change, poverty, unhappiness and so many other social issues.
-
![tarot card course]()
Its been argued that our fascination has to do with stories being able to speak to that part of us which yearns to live a heroic or significant life.
-
![life therapy review]()
Our End of Year Exploration program is an opportunity to reflect on the year, integrate the developments and learnings while preparing for next years focus.
-
![midlife mastery retreat]()
The moment you understand your value, you become valuable. Making the midlife shift from approval seeking to authenticity.
-
![couple counseling retreat]()
Of all the myths causing heartache, few compare to the one which says that once we track down our elusory soulmate, everything will fall into place for us. Anaïs Nin put it succinctly when she said: “Where the myth fails, human love begins.”
-
![Trauma Retreat]()
Why go through the struggle of metamorphosis? This urging to individuate resides in us all. Suffering and becoming authentic is the ultimate alchemy. Embrace it. Welcome it.
-
![wellbeing health retreats]()
Words such as "depressed" and "anxious" don’t exist in some American Indian languages. Quite a contrast from modern society, where depression is the single leading cause of disability globally.
Blue Mountains Retreats
“Great things are done when people and mountains meet;
this is not done by jostling in the street.”
- William Blake
Take in a local stargazing tour at night
Rejuvenate in the Blue Mountains natural wonders
Retreats NSW
Art Retreat
Discover your creative potential and explore a variety of artistic mediums. Art Retreat
Astrology Retreat
An introduction to astrology where you learn about the zodiacs planets, signs, houses and how they impact one another. Astrology Retreat
Birth Your Business Retreat
A new small business is started every 100 seconds. Learn how to take your passions and make your livelihood doing what you love. Small Business Course
Boost Your Business
Learn how to make your business thrive & contribute to positive social change. Business Course
Breath Work Retreat
Intensive 2 and 3 day breathwork programs to help you release trauma and energy blockages. Breathwork Retreat
Career Retreat
Take a mini sabbatical to determine your ideal career & how to actualise it. Career Retreat
Couples Therapy Retreat
A program to enrich or revive one's relationship. Couples Counselling Retreat
Family Constellations
Explore your Internal Family Systems to liberate yourself from inherited beliefs and intergenerational trauma. Family Constellations Retreat
Family Healing Retreat
A program that explores the mother/father wounding and overcoming our imprints. Family Healing Retreat
Healing Retreat
Our healing retreat takes you through a range of modalities such as energetic healing, breathwork, transpersonal counselling & more. Healing Retreat
Health Retreat
Our health retreat takes a holistic approach to optimise your body, mind and emotional health. Health Retreat Blue Mountains
Life Purpose Retreat
Finding your life purpose is like the hub of a wheel, everything radiates out from it. Life Purpose Retreat
Love Retreat
Instead of gaming love, master the game of love by understanding your core needs and the blocks between you & a lasting connection. Singles Retreat
Maiden to Mother Retreat
An initiation to heal and move beyond the maiden phase of development & into the strength & centredness of the mother. Women’s Retreat
Men's Retreat / Women's Retreat
Integrate your divine feminine & divine masculine to find inner wholeness, sustain fulfilling relationships and obtain greater life direction. Sacred Union More
Mental Health Retreat
A program which focuses on working through mental health issues in a more holistic way that mainstream methodogies. Mental Health Retreat
Midlife Crisis Retreat
Midlife crisis presents us with a great opportunity to transition from the morning of life into the afternoon of life. Midlife Retreat
Mystical Retreat
A week long intensive where you learn the art of astrology, numerology, tarot & sacred geometry. Mystical Retreat
Rewilding Retreat
Recalibrate with nature, technology, yourself & your place in the world. Reconfigure your life in a radically simple and integrated way. Rewilding Retreat
Sacred Geometry Course
Create sacred geometry, learn the 9 numerology archetypes and explore your soul blueprint. Sacred Geometry Retreat
Self Discovery Retreat
A retreat centred around understanding yourself at the deepest level to integrate who you are with the life you live. Self Discovery Retreat
Self Love Retreat
Ideal for singles working on relationship patterns & those who could use some self care & greater appreciation for who they are. Self Love Retreat
Silent Retreat
Our silent retreats help you attain greater clarity through a calmer mind and clearer perspective. Silent Retreat Blue Mountains
Spiritual Awakening Retreat
A program to explore spiritual awakening and the process of understanding & expressing your soul aspect. Spiritual Retreat
Tarot Retreat
A Jungian retreat exploring the major arcana #0-3.Depth psychology & archetypal integration through a tarot course. Tarot Retreat
Wealth Retreat
There is an energetic aspect to money often overlooked. Explore the psychology of money & take a holistic approach to managing it . Wealth Retreat
Wellbeing Retreat
A retreat involving creative expression, life guidance, relationship exploration & activities - tarot, breathwork, counselling & more. Wellbeing Retreat
Writing Retreat
Each of us has a unique and interesting story to share. This program looks at writing your life story beginning with childhood. Writing Retreat
Writing Retreat (Program #2)
This program looks at writing your life story with a specific focus on the exploration of your adolescence. Writing Retreat NSW
Yoga Retreat
Discover a range of eastern wisdoms such as yoga, mediation, chakras, ayurvedic health and more. Yoga Retreat Blue Mountains
Sign Up To Our Newsletter
Get Notified About Upcoming
Events & Happenings
Writing Programs, Self-Development Retreats, Career Counselling, Life Purpose Guidance & More
7 Seventh Avenue,
Katoomba, NSW
0402959946