ForREST Retreat: Spring Awakening Weekend

In a world that demands constant output, emergence is a sacred pause. This spring, we invite you to remember you are nature—to honor the ancient rhythms that call us outward when the forest awakens and the days grow long.

The ForRest Retreat is a sanctuary for spring emergence, designed to help you reconnect with the regenerative wisdom that lives in the unfolding of the season. Here, in the embrace of 54 acres of forest, you'll experience renewal not as something to achieve, but as a return to your wild, natural state.

Let yourself unfold. Let yourself bloom. Let yourself rise into the soft, verdant awakening that spring offers.

"In the spring forest, the birdsong is so abundant you can hear your own heart harmonizing with the rhythm of the waking earth."

Nature knows what we have forgotten: spring is not a season to rush, but to tenderly unfold into. As seeds begin to sprout beneath the soil and wildflowers push gently through the earth after their long winter rest, the forest teaches us that renewal happens gradually, organically, in it’s own perfect time.

This retreat honors the ancient practice of emergence—the quiet stirring, the gentle reaching, the soft allowing of your spirit to unfold. Spring awakening is not about forcing growth; it's about trusting what's been germinating in the darkness to naturally rise toward the light. It's how nature ensures that vitality blooms at exactly the right moment.

Feel the warmth on your skin. Feel something stirring within. Feel yourself being called into life by something larger than yourself.

1. FOREST THERAPY

Step into the gentle awakening of the forest. Through guided Forest Therapy, you'll be invited to wander softly, open your senses, and let the trees remind you that you belong to this wild world. The forest invites you to witness the quiet magic of new beginnings—the first wildflowers emerging, the tender shoots reaching upward, the patient unfolding of spring.

Breathe in the soft green air. Let the birdsong wake something tender inside you.

2. EMERGE AS RENEWAL

In a culture that glorifies constant striving, choosing gentle emergence is an act of wisdom. Here, you have permission to unfold at your own pace, to bloom softly, to trust the natural timing of your own growth. Like the wildflowers that know exactly when to push through the soil, you too have an innate wisdom about when and how to emerge.

Let your heart soften. Let your spirit gently expand. Let yourself rise in your own time.

3. EMERGE AS REBIRTH

This is your invitation to gently shed what no longer serves you, to soften the heaviness of winter, to remember what it feels like to begin again. Let this weekend be the gentle threshold that allows you to return to your life with tender new growth and quiet clarity.

Feel the lightness arriving. Feel the possibility softly expanding. Feel yourself gently stepping into something new.

4. THE MOST ALIVE YOU'VE FELT IN YEARS

Imagine waking to the symphony of the spring forest, warmed by golden light, with endless possibility stretching before you. Our cozy private container rooms offer a sanctuary where you can rest and rise—the kind of emergence that changes you.

Wake to birdsong. Open to sunlight. Rise like the forest rises.

FOREST REST is your permission slip to do absolutely nothing—or everything your heart whispers. This is not a retreat with schedules and workshops. This is pure, unstructured time to remember what rest actually feels like.

Read in bed until noon. Nap in the afternoon sun. Stare at trees. Listen to silence. Move when you want. Stay still when you don't.

Everything here is optional. Everything here is for you.

Located along the banks of the Nottawasaga River on Anishnabeg territory, BlackHouse is a masterpiece in sustainable architecture and intentional design. Built by Toronto-based artist, designer, and builder Carl Cassell, this extraordinary space was created to host lifelong memories using repurposed materials and innovative thinking.

Constructed from 20 high cube shipping containers, recycled refrigerator doors for windows, a rescued spiral staircase, and endless creative solutions, BlackHouse stands as an art piece highlighting our intertwined connection to the natural world.

Situated on 54 acres of forest land, streaming waters, wild flower meadows, and gardens, BlackHouse is perfectly nestled into its surroundings, bringing indoor comforts to outdoor beauty.

Each guest enjoys a private room in our one-of-a-kind shipping container home. These cozy, thoughtfully designed spaces are built for deep rest and gentle awakening:Private, cozy container room for one night

• All meals: arrival snack, lunch, dinner, early breakfast (optional), and brunch
• Optional energizing yoga class (Saturday)
• Optional morning yoga class (Sunday)
• Elemental care package: wood-burning sauna and steam room
• Guided Forest Therapy walk
• Tour of the 54-acre property
• Access to multiple fire pits and lounge areas
• Complete freedom to wander, explore, create, or simply be
• The most alive you've felt in years
• Connection to the wisdom of spring and the power of presence

Your own quiet cocoon. Your own peaceful haven. Your own place to surrender completely.

One of the most profound gifts of spring is presence. In the ForRest Retreat, you're invited to experience the medicine of witnessing—to let go of constant planning and drop into a deeper noticing. The spring forest is your teacher here, showing you that in attentiveness, everything essential is revealed.

Let the aliveness wash over you. Let it fill you. Let it teach you what words cannot.

When you truly allow emergence, you:

• Restore vitality and rekindle creative energy
• Release stagnation and welcome flow
• Clear mental fog and enhance clarity
• Reconnect with inspiration and purpose
• Access joy and possibility that come with new beginnings
• Realign with your body's natural rhythms
• Remember that you are part of nature, not separate from it

Emergence is not a luxury. It is a biological necessity. It is how we grow, how we create, how we step into our fullness.

Let yourself receive these gifts. Let yourself bloom. Let yourself become.

We live in a time that treats growth as something to force, control, or perform. But nature shows us a different truth: emergence is the natural, gentle continuation of rest. Seeds emerge from winter soil when the time is right. Wildflowers push through the earth in their own perfect timing. Trees emerge from dormancy, softly sending their energy upward into tender buds.

You are as wild as the forest. You, too, need seasons of gentle, patient emergence.

This retreat is your permission slip to honor that truth.

Give yourself this gift. Give yourself permission. Give yourself the soft renewal you've been craving.

A FINAL INVITATION

The forest awakens in spring for a reason. The animals emerge. The trees bud. The earth blooms.

And so can you.

Come emerge with us. Come remember that renewal is your birthright. Come awaken your wild spirit. Come experience the profound medicine of spring's unfolding.

Come home to your wild nature.

Let yourself unfold. Let yourself bloom. Let yourself rise.

You are as wild as the forest. You deserve to emerge.

"Wild Nature Retreats are designed to help you remember you are nature. Through guided Forest Therapy, art, play, and rest, the magic is revealed."

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