Courting Soul

Making a gift of your life

9-DAY wilderness retreat outside of Asheville, NC

Future offering TBD for 2025

Belonging, Purpose and Soul

“All of life is in a continuous cycle of giving and receiving… In order to experience true belonging, we must not only acknowledge the gifts we are receiving, but also give our beauty away, no matter how it may be received by others.” - Toko Pa Turner

Courting a Vision, Calling out to Soul

A foundational principle of life is slowness. When we go to Earth and align with its rhythms, we open ourselves up to “a language older than words.” By listening to the other voices that we find in the forest, the swamp, the river's edge, we can more fully hear the truth of our own central self and perceive the beauty of the life around us.

At this time of accelerating crises, we are urged to tune our ears to this slower tempo, listening for our gifts and the beauty we came to give. By doing so, we begin to decompose the story of progress and speed, opening to the yet-unseen possibilities of a regenerative future. Each of us contains a particular seed and our work now is uncovering and planting it in our immediate communities and bioregions.

Courting Soul is a program designed for those who are following a thread of their unique gifts and path of service. This is an opportunity to get closer to one’s central Self through slowing down and listening to the inner and outer landscapes. During our time, you will be invited into the cross-cultural rite of the wilderness vigil, fasting alone for one day among many other practices to slow down and attune to the conversational nature of reality. By aligning to the entangled relationships of the forest and offering ourselves to the language of Earth, we open to the possibility of discovering our part in the song.

Jacob meditating in group music space and community ritual.

Wilderness Fast and ceremonial Details

Co-create ceremony for yourself as you enact your wilderness vision fast (three days) to track your threads of meaning, healing, and/or belonging and mark what is ready to die, ready to be born, or where you are
Enact other ceremonies based on what you’re tracking and what might be tracking you to live your meaning
Build community and share from your heart in group talking circles
Apprentice and court elusive, numinous, and poetic replies from your ancestors, from the night, and from the more-than-human that shape your life, meaning, belonging, and healing
Listen to the other voices that you find in the forest, the swamp, and the river's edge so you can more fully hear the truth of our own central self and perceive the beauty of life
Slow down on the land to listen to the undercurrent of mystery and your place (and contribution) within it

Tend to your nightly dreams in morning dream work to listen to what the unconscious realm is gifting you
Explore your gifts through movement and rhythm
Have your experience and gifts reflected by guides to see yourself more fully in the mirror of another and integrate what you’re being called into
Enact personalized practices given by the guides to deepen into your vision or ceremony and live it
Have intentional solitude in nature to move slowly and listen to what is being asked of you (offer gifts to the wild)
Make vows to your life, loved ones, ancestors and descendants for how you will live

Vision Fast Details

This is a nine day program in August 2024

We will be camping in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Western North Carolina outside of Asheville, NC in Celo.

This offering is limited to 16 people.

embodying and integrating visions

This is for people seeking greater depth and clarity about life purpose and unique meaning at this pivotal moment in human history.

Beginning with slowing down and dropping into our bodies, we will open our senses to the wider relations of southern Appalachia. Over nine days, we will listen to what nature and psyche are asking of or offering to us.

Centering permission and relationship, we will wake in the morning with dreams, welcoming them and the messages they bring, moving into our animal bodies with dance and other movement practices. From this rooted place, we will weave our days between group councils, land-based invitations, relating to a sentient world, and enacting living ceremonies based on what you’re tracking and what might be tracking you.

At the halfway point you will be invited into the cross-cultural rite of the wilderness vigil, fasting alone for three days. This is an opportunity to listen deeply to life, possibly relinquishing what no longer serves and opening to this very moment. This could also be an opportunity to pray, make vows, connect to ancestors, or simply embrace the long pause.

After the vigil, we turn toward integration, listening to and mirroring all that’s been revealed, witnessing and reflecting you in the mystery of your earth-rooted life. Our practices could include vows, sacred enactments, and writing explorations to envision pragmatic life changes that will allow you to live your vision back into your community.

Preparations

Registrants will receive a preparation package including practices to begin and recommended resources for review. We like people to be signed up 6 months in advance to prepare psycho-spiritually for the wilderness solo. Fasting is not required, we believe in going empty, exposed, and in solitude and work with people prior to coming to determine what is the most healing and potent way for them in their lives right now. Site is remote and shared when enrolled.

Exchange

We acknowledge systemic differences in people’s access to resources, therefore the cost of this program is donation-based with a suggested donation of $1300-2200.

Flourish Rate: $2200

If you have access to financial security, own property, are in a double-income home, have personal savings or your household income is over $115,000.

Sustain Rate: $1800

If you have access to steady income and stability in your home/life, and have access to resources through family or friends, and ability to budget for opportunities such as this training. The median price is suggested to help cover the full cost of hosting this class.

Support Rate: $1300

If your access to resources is limited and your economic situation limits your ability to attend at the higher tiers.

To register please fill out the application below. We will be in touch soon. If you’d like more information, we would be glad to connect with you - please email us.

Soul Application

What is your name?

What are your gender pronouns?

Email

Phone

(###)

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Why are you interested in taking this course?

What is your relationship to Slowness and Soul?

Do you have any accessibility needs that would be important for us to know about prior to joining the program?

Please indicate which pricing tier you'd be able to pay given your access to resources and financial context.

Flourish Rate 2220

Sustain Rate $1800

Support Rate $1300

I will reach out about another option

I want a payment plan option for the donation I've selected above

There will be a one day fast in the middle of this program. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns about this part of the program.

Any questions or anything you want us to know?

How did you hear about us or this offering?

Please list three times you are available in the next two weeks for a conversation.

I agree to Remembering Earth's Refund Policy: Cancellation 60 days or more before program start date will get a full refund (minus processing fees), Cancellation between 60 and 30 days before program start date will get a refund of half the program cost (minus processing fees), and Cancellations 30 days or less before program start date will not receive refund (unless another participant can take the vacant spot)

I agree

Program Guides

The four of us found one another in mysterious ways and wove our mythic selves together into this beautiful offering, Remembering Earth. We are excited to do our first offering where all four of us guide.

Jacob Erickson

Kristopher Drummond

Madison Ledgerwood

FAQs

Yes, this is a small offering of only 16 people and staying for the full duration of the program is necessary for us to deepen in and feel held by one another.
Yes, we will include time for you to check in with us 1:1 where we can answer your questions, mirror whats arising for you, tend to a dream, offer invitations and co-create ceremonies that may be useful for you.
No, if you have it great. If not, we have tents, sleeping pads and sleeping bags for you to use. Just let us know.
Yes, people of all genders are welcome.
This offering includes three nights and four days of camping in Celo North Carolina. Each day you will receive personalized and group invitations to deepen into the questions and responses of this offering. You will be guided into ceremony, ritual, dreams, wandering on the land solo, journal practices, meditations, group talking circles and ecological awareness activities.
No, if you are in an active crisis or emergency we encourage you to seek personalized therapeutic support.
No, we believe consciousness is altered through our various practices and want you to experience the transformation without additional substances. Please email us if you have any questions.
Any cancellations more than 60 days before the start of the program will be provided a full refund, minus processing fees. Any cancellations between 30 and 60 days before the start of a program will be provided a refund of half the program cost, minus processing fees. Any cancellations less than 30 days from the start of a program will not be refunded, unless another applicant fills that spot.
This program is donation based. We have a suggested range but are happy to discuss other options for exchange.
Thank you! You’re incredible. You can paypal wild@remembering-earth.com with the note naming who you are paying for. Please have the person you are paying for fill out the application.