THE WAY HOME
To Soil & Soul
A year-long hybrid virtual & in-person pilgrimage for those who seek to deepen their connection to the natural cycles within and without.
​
Are you
-
Seeking to reconnect with nature and her rhythms, or someone who believes in a more compassionate and connected way of being in the world?
-
Wanting to be the cause of your life rather than the effect?
-
Seeking clarity or healing through a transformative process that addresses all dimensions of humanness; physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual?
-
In the midst of a challenging life transition that has you wondering deeply about who you are and where to go from here?
The Invitation
Our Soul and the Soul of our Earth-Mother are inextricably linked. Like Soil, Soul is that from which authentic life springs forth. Just as tending to Soil improves a garden’s ability to flourish, tending to Soul nourishes our inner gardens, showing us the way home.
Join us for a series of 5 virtual & in -person retreats rooted in honoring the
sacred rhythms of the seasons.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
Your Pilgrimage
***Please note: Scheduled meetings are in Pacific time.***
Spring Seeds: April 19-21, 2024
We open our circle with a virtual weekend on Zoom.
6-7 PM Friday, 10 AM-4 PM Saturday and 10 AM -1 PM Sunday – includes nature-based solitary time.
&
An invitation to participate in a guided medicine walk with Corinna or Julie – on a Spring date at Ravenwood, or an Eastern location TBD. (Optional)
​
Summer Heat July 19-21, 2024
A virtual weekend on Zoom.
6-7 PM Friday, 10 AM-4 PM Saturday and 10 AM -1 PM Sunday – includes nature-based solitary time.
&
An invitation participate in a guided medicine walk with Corinna or Julie – on a Summer date at Ravenwood, or an Eastern location TBD. (Optional)
Fall Harvest: Sept 20-22, 2024
A Fall Equinox virtual weekend on Zoom.
6-7 PM Friday, 10 AM-4 PM Saturday and 10 AM -1 PM Sunday – includes nature-based solitary time.
&
An invitation participate in a guided medicine walk with Corinna or Julie – on a Fall date at Ravenwood, or an Eastern location TBD. (Optional)
Winter Integration Dec 20-22, 2024
A Winter Solstice weekend virtual gathering on Zoom.
6-7 PM Friday, 10 AM-4 PM Saturday and 10 AM -1 PM Sunday – includes nature-based solitary time.
&
An invitation participate in a guided medicine walk with Corinna or Julie – on a Winter date at Ravenwood, or an Eastern location TBD. (Optional)
Spring Fire March 21-23, 2025
Final virtual Spring Solstice Weekend Solstice virtual weekend on Zoom.
6-7 PM Friday, 10 AM-4 PM Saturday and 10 AM -1 PM Sunday – includes nature-based solitary time.
&
An invitation participate in a guided medicine walk with Corinna or Julie – on a Spring date at Ravenwood, or an Eastern location TBD. (Optional)
Tuesday Evening Meditation and Contemplation Practice.
Every 1st Tuesday of the month starting in May (May 2nd), 5:00 PM. Julie will lead us through a meditation practice (mindfulness of breath), based on her lifetime practices and Breathe,You are alive! Sutra On The Full Awareness of Breathing., Thich Nhat Hanh’s book and A Gradual Awakening by
Steven Levine.
***Please note: Scheduled meetings are in Pacific time.***
​
Awareness & Mindfulness in Nature ($280 value, when taken outside this program)
– Click here for a course description
Be the Cause of Your Life ($900 value, when taken outside this program)
- Click here for more information
The total cost of your year-long program is: $975 CND (including GST).
(Only $195 per 3-day seasonal retreat.)
You will also need to purchase the following required reading:
-
Ravenwood, The Healing Forest: Indigenous Wisdom, Life Threatening Illness & Awakening the Heart, by Corinna Stevenson Purchase Here
-
The Zero Point Agreement: How To Be Who You Already Are, by Julie Tallard Johnson Purchase Here
-
Reconciliation: Healing The Inner Child, Thich Nhat Hanh - Please listen to the audio version, if possible. Purchase Here
Minimum number of participants: 12
Maximum number of participants: 20
YOUR GUIDES
Acahk Miskinâhk Iskwêw (Corinna Stevenson) & Julie Tallard Johnson
This is a rare opportunity to work with two skilled and authentic guides who practice and explore daily what they teach.
​
​
​
​
Acahk Miskinâhk Iskwêw (Corinna Stevenson); B.Ed., MATP – Ecopsychology
Corinna is the creator of Dragonfly Healing and author of Ravenwood: The Healing Forest: Indigenous Wisdom, Life Threatening Illness, and Awakening the Heart. For over 26 years, she has guided people through personal transformation in wilderness settings. As a therapeutic wilderness guide for youth at risk, she hiked and kayaked some of British Columbia’s most remote destinations. Diagnosed in 2010 with multiple myeloma, a terminal plasma cell cancer, and no longer able to withstand the rigors of wilderness expedition, she began navigating the wild terrains of the soul.
Despite a prognosis of 1-3 years to live, Corinna has danced with life threatening illness for over 13 years. Through her work, she offers passage into the wild, dynamic natural world where the fullness of life, even in the face of great difficulty is felt. Those who work with her experience the miracle of finding one’s true connection with nature and how it is possible to live a good life, a beautiful life, amidst illness, chronic pain, loss, and uncertainty.
As a Métis woman, wisdom keeper, and ceremonialist, Corinna weaves traditional cultural teachings and Earth-based forms into all her practices. An exceptionally talented soul guide and writer, Corinna brings much heart, wisdom, and integrity to her work. She is a wonderfully grounded and deeply inspirational person who holds the tension between lightness and darkness with grace, humour, and love.
Corinna is caretaker of Ravenwood. She holds a Bachelor's in education from McGill University and a Master of Arts in transpersonal psychology with a concentration in ecopsychology from Naropa University. She has also completed master’s level clinical counselling courses in counselling theory, family systems therapy, group therapy, and research methods, and has trained with the Vancouver School of Narrative Therapy. Corinna is a level 3 Reiki Usui practitioner and a shamanic drum journeying guide. She is a recipient of the Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence (Certificate of Excellence, 2003).
Julie Tallard Johnson, MSW, LCSW
Julie started her meditation practice and journaling at the age of 16, along with consulting the ancient Chinese oracle, the I Ching. Buddhism, mindfulness meditation, writing and consulting I Ching remain central to her life and work in the world. Her spiritual practice and teachings are grounded in Buddhism and Nature. The Sage of the I Ching has been her constant companion, a lantern on her path. She wrote a book for Teens on the I Ching. She has authored 11 books on helping us discover one's own spiritual path. Her primary motivation in guiding others is for them to find their own truth and spiritual path. She has held transformational circles based on The Wheel of Initiation: Practices for Releasing Your Inner Light, The Zero Point Agreement: How To Be Who You Already Are, and, The Clue of the Red Thread: Discovering Fearlessness and Compassion during difficult times,for over 30 years. This yearlong pilgrimage, The Way Home borrows from the wisdom of The Zero Point Agreement.
As an elder now, having been a transpersonal psychotherapist for over 40 years, Julie has gathered meditation and mind training practices that bring forth our unique inner resources of insight, compassion, courage, clarity, and creativity. Rooted in the Buddhist tradition that we are one with nature, one with all of life, she brings us back to ourselves through our breath, through clarity with our hearts and minds, and our dependence on nature. She is trained in transpersonal breathwork, mindfulness meditation practices, somatic healing, and depth psychology. She also works with writers to help them bring forth their voices and stories to the page.
Her teachings and practices are grounded in understanding how our emotions influence our relationship to ourselves, others, and the natural world. “Spiritual health, our relationship to our soul and Spirit, and the health of our planet (soil) are interictally dependent on our emotional well-being.” (JTJ, 2024)
​
​
​
YOU WILL LEARN
-
How to deepen your understanding of the healing and restorative qualities of nature, rekindling your relationship to your Wild Self and renewing your connection to Earth, Self, Spirit, and each other.
-
How to incorporate the gifts of each season into a holistic, congruent, and authentic way of being in the world. ​
-
Medicine Wheel Teachings & philosophy rooted in Indigenous and bhuddist wisdom.
-
Practices grounded in Buddhist philosophy and in Nature.
-
How breathing brings freedom
​YOU WILL PARTICIPATE IN​
-
Virtual and in-person meetings
-
Powerful sensory awareness and mindfulness practices that will keep you more grounded in your body and strong in your emotional well-being.
-
Time in solitude in nature
-
Medicine Walks
-
Nature-based ritual and ceremony
-
Trance drumming and spiritual journeying/meditation
-
Meditation and mindfulness practices.
-
Ancient breathing practices for insight & well-being
Together we will find our way home, again.​
​
PLUS AT NO EXTRA COST!
COMING IN 2025
LEAD OTHERS HOME
Facilitation Certificate and Program Guide
Corinna and Julie with their decades of experience and fondness for facilitating healing retreats, and transformational groups (both virtual and in-person) want to pass their tools and leadership skills on to others. They are dedicated to offering more opportunities to Lead Others Home to soil and soul by having more trained facilitators.
This program will be offered in 2025. Your participation will be dependent upon your having gone through the year-long pilgrimage of The Way Home to Soil & Soul*. (However, you can experience The Way Home without any intent to take the facilitation training.)
More information to come.
​
*For those who have participated in other year-long groups with Julie or Corinna (or Julie & Corinna), may also apply to this training.