I celebrated Winter Solstice in a group of 40 people atop a 1000-foot-high hill, with 50mph gales, in a fiery sunset amid storm clouds. The scene felt symbolic of the blowing-down of familiar stability, but there was joy facing it in a community.
     This group celebrates all the Celtic festivals with a mix of pagan and Christian ritual. We called in the directions – we drummed, danced, and shared a ‘hedgerow communion’. My friend Simon, who led the communion, gave us this question: How will the healing darkness of winter allow the light to be manifested in the new year of our own lives, and to serve others? Read more

In this newsletter, we feature the last of the Seven Seeds of Natural Happiness, which form the core of my book, Natural Happiness, published in 2024: for more on the book, see here. For an overview of Seed 7, see here.

This new project is gathering momentum. Jadzia Tedeschi has now joined us as Project Coordinator. We're starting our first online events later this month, see more here. And we have a venue in mid-Wales for pilot groups this year, and potentially as a long-term hub for the project: this is Serenity House, formerly a small hotel, in Llangammarch Wells in the beautiful Irfon Valley: see more below.

https://www.soulresilience.net...Alan writes: Since I moved from Dorset to Wales, I've been looking for a good venue nearby, and have now found one. If any of you want a venue for a retreat, a work group, or a family reunion, Serenity House could be for you.

     It's a former small hotel, with 12 en suite bedrooms, 22 bed spaces, and a lovely riverside garden, in the quiet village of Llangammarch Wells. Good availability, affordable rates. See more here.

New online series: Rising Tide
A shared online exploration

Our inaugural meeting, hosted by Alan Heeks and on the theme of 'How meaning gives us inner strength', will take place on January 22. Read more

The Sufi Garden: Wed Jan 8
This month's theme is New Year Quest: As we set sail on the seas of a new year, here’s a chance to quest for your hopes and intentions. Read more

Nature Spirits: recovering our dialogue: April 4-6

With Susan Raven

A key part of Natural Inspiration is deepening contact with nature, and a powerful way to do this is by learning methods to dialogue with nature spirits, sometimes called devas and elementals. It's clear that the earth, water and air that all life depend on are becoming seriously degraded, and the nature spirits need help from humans to cope. This is the focus of the April 4-6 workshop with Susan Raven, titled Nature Spirits: recovering our dialogue. Limited places available, and Early Bird discount ends on January 31. For more info click here.

Alan writes:
These are times of crisis and possibilities: we need to find a sense of meaning and direction for ourselves, in our communities, and as part of a larger movement. We are gathering online to meet others who are seeking inner and outer resilience in these times, and want to share in a wider effort to convene and build community in the UK. Each month, we’ll have a guest presenter who will offer us insights and guide us in a process, followed by time for discussion as a group. Read more

Nourishing renewal for ourselves and the Earth

Serenity House, Llangammarch Wells, Fri Apr 4 – Sun Apr 6
With Susan Raven

This weekend will help you play your part in regenerating the vitality of the earth, water and air, which are so degraded at present. The elementals and other Nature spirits who sustain our ecosystems urgently need human connection to sustain themselves and their vital work.

     Nature speaks, and everything in Nature is communicable. The intelligent beings of Nature wish to communicate and co-create with an awake and aware humanity. So how do we contact them? How do we learn from them? How do we enter the dream-time of their world? How do we interpret the sensations we experience with them? And how are we transformed by our meeting with them? Read more