DATES:

Weekend IN PERSON retreat  
Saturday October 5th and Sunday October 6th
10am-5pm each day 

Additional zoom calls ** will also be recorded if you cannot attend live
• Thursday September 26th at 7pm (approximately 30 minutes):  Pre-retreat zoom call to discuss what to prepare, protocols, etc…
• Tuesday October 8th from 5:30pm-7pm:  Post-retreat zoom call to further integrate the teachings and share our reflections together
 
LOCATION:
Downtown Vancouver in a beautiful, private and very special location that we are so excited to share with everyone.  Near the sea-bus terminal and bus routes.  Address and details will be sent prior to the retreat. 

TO REGISTER: Please send an email to [email protected] before September 22nd to confirm your spot at the retreat.  

Retreat contribution for the full weekend is $775 + GST and can be sent via e-transfer to the email above.

** We also have payment plans available as well as a few Ayllu scholarships to assist those who could use a bit of extra support to be able to attend.  Please reach out for more details.

♥️

OUTLINE OF THE WEEKEND:

We will of course follow the rhythm of having a "Referential Plan" yet following the "Cosmic Program"  😊

The structure of the weekend will consist of an opening circle, a morning session of teachings and time for reflection and integration as a group.  We will have lunch together and then continue with an afternoon session and a time for Q&A.  We will further deepen the teachings on the 2nd day in a similar format and finish our time together with our closing circle. 

Throughout the weekend Michael and Jhaimy will share reflections on the similarities and complimentary teachings of the Eagle and the Condor and how Indigenous knowledge and worldviews can be applied to navigating our daily lives and existence both personally and collectively. 

While we will remain fluid as to how the energy and conversation flows during our time together, Michael has highlighted some of the themes and teachings that he will be sharing which focus on our relationship as human beings to natural law and Mother Earth.   

 

In Michael’s words about what he will be sharing with us during the retreat:

🌿  Many of the North and South American First Peoples utilize a way of life model that originates in ancient Indigenous understandings of the Laws of Nature, often known as the Medicine Circle.

🌿  The Medicine Circle as a background grid through which to see our universe.

🌿  Human disconnection from Natural Law and habitat sustainability.

🌿  An Indigenous paradigm of sustainability. There is nothing wrong with the natural world, just the humans on it.

🌿  A global shift from a human RIGHTS culture, to a Human RESPONSIBILITIES culture, assures our shared habitat.

🌿  This presentation is in regard to the exploration and application of Indigenous knowledge as it concerns the theory and practice of human sustainability.
 
MORE ABOUT MICHAEL:
Many of you know that Jhaimy speaks of Michael as his Elder/Teacher/Master here in the North - the one person that he has given this acknowledgment and reverence to here in the Northern Hemisphere…to be able to spend time with "our teacher's teacher" is such an incredible gift.

Their relationship has spanned almost 20 years and it is a true honour, privilege and JOY to spend time with the two of them together…we are SO looking forward to having Michael meet our Ayllu family. 

We also wanted to share Michael’s professional bio to give you a sense of the work that he has done over the past 45 years and the different circles that he is a part of and has touched.  

In his early years he spent much of his youth in northern Saskatchewan working alongside his father, honing his business and wilderness skills while operating a remote hunting and fishing lodge north of Lake Athabasca. After leaving the north to further his education, work and travel, Elder Thrasher returned to Canada and came into contact with a number of influential Elders from Alberta’s First Nation communities. From these initial meetings began a process of apprenticeship, learning, and training that provided Elder Thrasher with the foundations of traditional Indigenous knowledge and ceremony with roots dating back to the early civilizations of Canada’s Indigenous peoples.

He has given lectures and taught courses on the topic and has mentored numerous undergraduate and graduate students across Canada, including a number of doctoral candidates at Trent University.  As a valued Elder, colleague and Adjunct Professor with the Indigenous Studies program at Trent, Elder Thrasher has been instrumental in bringing the original vision to fruition, integrating traditional knowledge into the University through the development of initiatives such as the PhD program, another first in Canada.  He has designed and presented a credit course on First Nations Psychotherapy at the Adler School of Psychology where he was also awarded an honorary doctorate degree for his life’s work. He was also responsible for the creation of a curriculum framework for Urban First Nations education for the Toronto School Board, in Ontario, Canada. 

Significantly, Michael was one of the four traditional Teachers and Elders invited to conduct the sacred pipe ceremony at the opening of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal peoples. In addition, he was invited to co-chair the first Round Table Hearings for the Royal Commission.  He is a past Federal Treasury Board Audit Committee member for the Indian Residential School Settlement and an Elder Advisor to the First Nations Statistical Institute, a crown corporation.  

Recognized for over forty-five years of working with the Elders of the Canadian Indigenous community as well as conducting seminars for personal development for the governing councils and staff of a number of First Nations and non-First Nations communities, organizations and industry. 

🌿🌿🌿🌿