World as Lover,
World as Self

A retreat following The Work That Reconnects from Joanna Macy

Near Berlin | July 24 · 30

REGISTER UNTIL FRIDAY, JUNE 9 TO GET -5% EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT ON YOUR TICKET

What if I could see myself in a leaf, a flower, a river, a rock? In the story written on the face of a fellow human, or in the eyes of a child born 100 years from now? What if the grief or anger or fear we may feel about the condition of the world was not a risk to avoid, but a doorway to step through — one that could lead us into deeper belonging as life, ready to act to defend and care for itself?

In this retreat, held at the Nimis Dretzel community near Berlin, we will use practices from The Work That Reconnects to bring ourselves into felt intimacy with the living world. Without expectations, we open the doorway to discover our interbeing with all life, in a caring, playful, and generous container of community.

Nourished by shared meals, saunas, and spacious time for reflection, integration, and companionship, this one-week journey is for anyone who seeks a deeper communion with life and rootedness in the soil of planetary belonging to nourish heartful action in the world.

What to expect

Over the week, we will introduce you to the core principles of The Work that Reconnects. The programme will include playful, embodied moments, space to allow you to truly drop and listen, practices to deepen your relationship with the natural world, games, meditation, role play, song, and space to share each of our personal experiences of working towards the Great Turning.

Accommodation

We will all be sleeping in tents, either your own tent or spacious “glamping” tents provided by the venue. There is a sauna, and hot showers are available.

Food

We will receive delicious lunches prepared by Nimis Drezel’s team, and prepare breakfast and dinners together in the beautiful outdoor kitchen. All food will be vegan or vegetarian.

Dress for outdoors

We will have a beautiful sheltered space for group practices but will still be working outside as much as we can, so bringing waterproofs will be essential. We’ll share a list with suggested items to pack closer to the event.

All bodies are welcome. If you have questions or special needs, please reach out to us at worldasself@gmail.com! The main facilitation language will be English.

The Work

Essential to the work is the spiral journey that provides a universal structure for all The Work that Reconnects (WTR) offerings. It will lead us from gratitude, over honouring our pain to seeing with new eyes and going forth.

Gratitude

The Spiral begins by coming from gratitude, quieting the frantic mind and bringing us back to source, stimulating our empathy and confidence. It allows us to open our hearts and bodies to our joy of life and love for the planet, anchoring and nourishing ourselves to be more fully present, and opening psychic space for acknowledging the pain we carry for our world.

Pain for the world

A place to safely express the emotions in the face of what is happening on and to our planet. Grief, fear, anger, numbness, all are welcome, none is forced. In owning and honouring our pain for the world, and daring to experience it, we learn the true meaning of compassion: to “suffer with.” We begin to know the immensity of our heart-mind. What had isolated us in private anguish now opens outward and delivers us into the wider reaches of our inter-existence.

Seeing with New Eyes and Deep Time

Experiencing the reality of our inter-existence helps us see with new/ancient eyes. We can sense how intimately and inextricably we are related to all that is. We can taste our own power to change, and feel the texture of our living connections, perhaps from the perspective of other generations, non-human beings, or the cells of our own bodies that have been part of earth’s history over the last 15 billion years!

Going Forth

What is ours to do? We will explore our next step, our personal contribution to the repair and thriving of the web of life. We go forth into the actions that call each of us, according to our situation, gifts, and limitations. We don’t wait for a blueprint or fail-proof scheme, for each step will be our teacher, bringing new perspectives and opportunities. Even when we don’t succeed, we can be grateful for the chance we took and the lessons we learned.

And thus the spiral can begin anew…

Facilitation team

Lukasz ‘syriusz’ stanek is a social and climate activist, artist (artist in action), as well as a 44 year old dad of a little human. He is working as a trainer, facilitator and deep ecology processes guide, ie. for WATAHA – a week long intensive retreat in the Carpathian Mountains, The Work That Reconnects workshops, or intensive up-skilling camps for activists.

He graduated Scenkonst in Sweden (performing arts, physical theatre, dance, nature connection), “Alternative Conflict Resolution Methods” at the University of Warsaw, Gaia Education with Jeremy Lent and the NVC Academy‘s Leadership Coaching Program: “Responding to the call of our Times” with Miki Kashtan.

He is a member and coordinator of various activist groups, artistic collectives and non-hierarchical communities where he steps in as designer, coordinator and trainer of nonviolent direct actions and guerilla theatre around the world. He is a friend, student and part of a farm and collective Fiskeröd (Sweden) / Friends of Mio, which creates a free zone for individuals of all species and a sanctuary for interbeing, developing a non-hierarchical coexistence between different species and individuals as well as between a human and the surrounding nature, through physical work, presence and studying and workshops for groups.

I love movement and expressing the deep self through “non-words”. I dance on the streets, in public parks, in the forest. I meet with dancers, artists, sounders, animals and plants, somatic practitioners to move, be, sound, to go deeper. During jams, when being lost, or making intensive monthly workshops, I express the unspeakable and break through the barrier of the “imaginary world”. I find myself where a meeting is possible, where I can play and use the interface called “lukasz stanek” for something bigger than cheating in this BIO.

Sometimes I am alone. I sleep in the woods for a day or four, coming back home, becoming humble and listening again. Other times I’m sailing alone into the sea. I’m practising a journey to nowhere 🙂 “And you carry yourself, little boat until you become the ocean itself” (joseph brodsky)

Theresa Fend is a facilitator, community builder and climate activist committed to fostering regenerative cultures through collaboration, care and play. With a background in theatre, film and media science as well as anthropology, and after a brief and sobering excursion in the world of marketing, she spent most of her professional life network weaving as part of decentralised grassroot communities for social change making. Among them are The Global Innovation Gathering, the Impact Hub network and Ouishare.

The devastating IPCC report of October 2018 triggered an intense period of engagement with the climate and ecological crisis and forever changed the focus of her work. She became a full-time activist and sharpened her focus on culture building, looking closely at dynamics of conflict, oppression and burnout as well as cyclical living, somatics and celebration. In this period she also discovered The Work that Reconnects as a powerful space of holding and nourishment. She has practiced with Catherine Gautier and given WTR workshops in three countries as well as online.

Theresa is trained in Participatory Leadership & Facilitation (Art of Hosting), studying and teaching the Healthy Human Culture framework with Sophy Banks, and has been studying nonviolent liberation with Miki Kashtan. To this retreat, she will mostly bring her newest experience of mothering Julek. More at theresafend.com.

Julek was born in February 2023 and will be present with Theresa and Lukasz, bringing our attention to the life of the moment ✨

Adam McKenty is a facilitator, writer, software developer, and amateur researcher whose life was changed by encountering the Work That Reconnects and working with Joanna Macy and other long-term WTR facilitators in 2017 and 2018. In 2021 he initiated the Church of Interbeing project in Berlin.

Orga Support

Carolin Goethel is a facilitator and community weaver. She has always been curious about how we humans can be in right relationships with ourselves, each other and the earth. She loves cross-pollinating projects and the thread that unites them all is her mission to nourish cultures of interbeing, care and commoning in different contexts. She hosts experiential learning journeys with CitizensLab, takes people on wilderness rites of passage with the Wild Minds Collective and has been stewarding the Church of Interbeing project from the very beginning. She will be supporting with organisation and registrations at the retreat.

The venue

Nimis Dretzel is an eco community and retreat centre surrounded by nature, about one hour from Berlin. Nimis is nestled in a serene and peaceful location surrounded by old forests and open cow fields. A small creek and a castle are in the neighbourhood.

The location is easily accessible by car or public transportation. The closest train station is called Genthin and is easily accessible by RE1 from Berlin. The train ride takes about 1h from Berlin main station and we will arrange a pick-up service.

Your investment

Your booking includes accommodation, food and the workshop content for one week. We will prepare breakfast and dinners together and receive delicious lunches prepared by Nimis Drezel’s team. All food will be vegan or vegetarian.

The prices are sliding scale & depending on your choice of accommodation. You can either bring your own camping kit (tent, sleeping bag, ground mat etc.) or book an equipped bell tent with comfortable beds. The price includes lifts at pre-announced times to and from the closest train station.

We want to make our offering as accessible as possible. If you are able support somebody else to participate/our work, please choose an amount above the Standard Ticket. If you are in need of a supported place please reach out via email, we would love to hear from you!

720 € Standard Ticket (camping with your own equipment included)

880 € Supporter Ticket (camping with your own equipment included)

Registrations close on July 3rd.

Glamping upgrades

Bell tents have a size of 5m diameter and can sleep up to 4 people comfortably. They cost an additional 330€ for 1 person, 120€ per person for 2 people, 70€ per person for 3 people and 45€ per person for 4 people sharing a tent.

We have a limited number of reduced scholarship places and are currently looking for funding to enable subsidized/helper tickets. Please write to us at worldasself@gmail.com and let us know who you are and what is within your possibilities.

Register

We are looking forward to meeting you!

Reach out to worldasself@gmail.com with any questions.

To register, please click here:

World as Lover, World as Self