Radical Wholeness Deep Dive, Portland, OR

If you are looking to be more present, or more embodied, or more grounded in your daily life, you have likely found yourself facing certain questions, like: Why is it so difficult to be present? And what internal switch is it that, in the blink of an eye, can flip you out of the present and back into the restless commentary running through your head?

The problem we all face in this regard can be stated simply: we learn ‘how to be’ from our culture – and we are immersed in a culture that is chronically disembodied. From an early age we were conditioned to mistrust the body and put the head in charge. So the difficulties we face in remaining present and embodied stem from a cultural problem, not a personal failing. Overcoming those difficulties, then, requires an awareness of how that encultured mistrust lives within you. But it’s a bit of a Catch-22: that mistrust shows up in patterns of behaviour we have habituated to. It’s very difficult to notice, much less question, our unconscious patterns. And what you don’t notice you have no choice over. So those patterns just keep running, tugging you out of the present.

The five-day residential Deep Dive Retreat, led by Philip Shepherd and Allyson Woodrooffe, is an immersive experience that gently opens your awareness to those unseen patterns so that you feel how they compromise your experience of life: how they interfere with your breath, dull you to your own body, and make you feel separate from the life of the world around you. The practices of the Deep Dive are very simple, but they initiate a gradual transformation: once you notice those habits, they start to soften and unravel – liberating your body and your experience into the spacious, nourishing ease that comes with being in the moment. By the end of our five days together you'll be equipped not just with a new way of being – you'll come away with the practices and skills to sustain and deepen it for a lifetime.

5 nights private accommodation (including bathrooms) and all meals are included.

Transportation to and from the airport is not included, but closer to the event, we'll do our best to help people carpool and share rides.

Rough Schedule
Oct 1: arrival after 4pm, dinner 6:30, evening session 7:30 - 9pm
Oct 2 - 5: session 10 - 5pm
Oct 6: morning session, departure after lunch

No Prerequisites: Deep Dive is open to all

Maximum 20 participants

Venue photos by Todd Bartlett