Photo by Margot Duane
“Speak your truth even if your voice shakes.”
- Robin Sharma
After two years of unprecedented isolation, we have an opportunity to gather again. Many of us have not yet truly processed the grief, trauma and events of this time. By being together in an intentional and supportive space we hope to touch, express and heal the places we can not reach alone.
This is an invitation to come and explore what it means to Live your Truth.
This retreat offers a deeply supportive space to slow down, unplug, get grounded, let go, and deeply connect with ourselves, nature and community.
It is a profound opportunity to let down some of our barriers and judgments and to say what needs to be said (out loud). We offer a community of transformation to access our unique gifts and to provide support to bring them into the world. Together, we will explore the individual actions we can take to create meaningful, lasting change in our lives and communities.
A 4-day retreat (+ 9-month integration circles)
June 16-19, 2022
@ Be Love Farm
Vacaville, California
*Each month after the retreat until February 2023, the group will meet on Zoom in listening circles that provide support with integration in living our truths. The day and time of these meetings will be determined based on participants’ availability.
A Personal Invitation
Please click here to read a personal letter from Rachel and/or watch or listen to the video below.
This invitation is part of a much bigger dream…a dream of a world where we prioritize raising each other up, where we hold one another accountable in living nothing less than our truths and that we lead this way. We tell the truth, and we do it through love. We reveal the most raw, real expressions of ourselves that we already are. This is the call to live our truth.
Why attend this program?
Live Your Truth is set up to provide women change makers with the tools to:
* tune into and stay present with what’s happening in their bodies (so that they can take positive action for themselves and others)
* get clear on visions and goals by connecting with their own inner wisdom
* enhance confidence and capacity to say what is needed (speak their truth) in the moment (whether it be to members of their family, colleagues, collaborators, or to people who occupy positions of authority or ‘institutionalized power’ (i.e, doctors, lawyers, police, managers)
* more clearly set boundaries with honesty, transparency and authenticity
* speak in public confidently and in a way that inspires others to support them
* increase self-trust and respect in their everyday lives
* support and be supported by other women who are equally committed to make change in their personal lives or in their communities
* learn and connect with women across divides
* be more fully themselves and proud of who they are and what they have to offer
Testimonials from previous participants:
“I could not recommend this retreat more highly for those seeking greater connection in their life - connection to themselves, the world around them and peoples’ humanity. It is a rare and amazing opportunity to take the time you deserve to really embrace the beautiful and painful parts of yourself which seek to be explored and honored.”
•
“It was truly a life-changing program which allowed me to not only unpack some of the things that have been holding me back but also connected me with beautiful, inspiring, and courageous women.”
Through this 9-month journey, women support women to know, speak and live their truths
Know Your Truth
This journey begins with accepting that what you know is more than enough. By trusting your unique ways of knowing, you will allow space for your wisdom to prosper. You have something to offer in the world. Your unique gift is needed.
Speak Your Truth
Through a 4-day retreat with a diverse group of women, we will dive more deeply into accessing the knowing that resides within. We will explore what we can learn from the natural world, from each other and from our own breath, bodies and voices through experiential practices and exercises like breath work, somatic movement, group process work, creative expression and vocal play. We will invite our gifts and the release of obstacles that prevent us from expressing ourselves in the world.
The program will incorporate land-based wisdom traditions and Circle practice, which involves dialogue, deep listening and practices for women to tap into their inner wisdom and express the leader within. A community ceremony will allow us to recognize and express our grief for ourselves, our communities and the world.
The retreat will culminate in an expression and commitment to living our gifts in the world.
Live your Truth
The journey continues with monthly online sessions over a 9-month period that support the integration of your commitment to live your truth and bring your gifts into your life and communities. Your guides will mirror and coach you as you walk your journey of transformation. Together we will continue to witness each other and nurture the ways we are uniquely called to fully express the lives we are called to live. Our words and our wisdom will not be lost.
Be Love Farm
Matthew and Terces have spent over 13 years creating a farm house where others can come and enjoy being close to nature, awakening to the sounds of a farm and eating food from the land. Our group will have exclusive use of the grounds including beautiful indoor and outdoor meeting and dining spaces, a fresh water pool, wood-fired sauna, and outdoor copper tub. We will be served delicious meals made with organic ingredients from the farm. A variety of accommodations will be available to choose from for our participants, ranging from thoughtfully decorated bedrooms to camping sites under the stars.
Program Cost & Application
Cost
Program fees range from $1,325-2,000 depending on the accommodation you choose. This cost includes the 4-day retreat at Be Love Farm (including accommodation and organic food) and the 9-month virtual program.
Application
This program is being offered by invitation. We intend to thoughtfully curate a diverse group of participants that will enhance our co-created experience. We invite you to apply below. Applicants will be notified of invitation on a rolling basis. All who identify as women are welcome.
Scholarship Fund
For those who would benefit from receiving financial assistance to attend this program, we are pleased to provide scholarship support. Please indicate on your application the level of support you need. The deadline to apply for scholarship is April 30. We will respond to scholarship applicants by May 5.
Living our truth means being accountable to ourselves, to our dreams and to our communities. Together, let’s dream bigger. Let’s live more courageously, authentically, and truthfully.
Your Hosts & Guides
Irasha Talifero
Irasha has sat in thousands of listening circles with people from all walks of life and was part of the founding group of The Ojai Foundation where the listening circle was developed as a form of peacemaking for over 40 years.
Through her work as an educator and a naturalist, she has designed many programs over the years, all starting and ending with the listening circle. Her most powerful experiences are with “at-risk youth” and “newly released prisoners.” She looks forward to deepening her practice and continuing to learn with others.
Rachel Cernick
Anyone with a voice has a song, anyone with a body has a dance. Finding and expressing hers has been her soul life mission. Deep listening, the natural world and her own body have been her greatest mentors. Rachel fuses her study of vocalization, improvisation and movement with body awareness and play to help guide others in more freely expressing themselves. She earned her BA in PR/Communications and integrates expressive arts of all kinds, as well as women’s health into her work.
Terces Englehart
Terces is the founder of Cafe Gratitude and Gracias Madre plant based restaurants. Her heart is in serving others and her life’s lessons are the springboard of the stories she shares where her challenges become opportunities. In 2014 she participated in TEDx at Occidental College. She recently launched her podcast called Unreasonably Grateful. Her calling is people trusting their inner guidance.
She is an author, speaker, wife, mother and grandmother of thirteen. She lives and works on their organic farm with her husband, Matthew, in Vacaville, Ca.
Miriam Jones
Miriam’s life was transformed through listening circles and its pathway to reconnecting with the natural world. Her life’s mission is to integrate what she discovered into the structures and culture of the world she experiences with her family, in organizations, and in community. She is fascinated by learning and collective practices that can lead us to see and learn from each other. She is a partner in We are Open Circle.
Background & Context
Live your truth began in 2019 as an initiative of Action Aid to empower women to take action in their lives, knowing that women speaking their truths is a key component of changemaking.
The initiative was a response to the global environmental crisis and conversations playing out through the UN and World Economic Forum that focused on the importance of investing in women to create a more equitable and sustainable future.
“To free the voice is to free the person” - Kristin Linklater
Testimonials
What previous participants have said:
“The retreat gave me the space to open up about issues that have been weighing on my mind in a safe and welcoming space. I immediately felt at home and so quickly felt connected with inspirational and brave women. I've walked away feeling so much lighter.”
•
“This retreat was beyond my imagination. It opened my eyes to an inner sense of self-resilience that I almost had forgotten I had in me.”
Additional Details
Covid Precautions
Be Love Farm offers plentiful outdoor spaces for meeting and dining
A robust facilitator and support team will ensure the retreat is held
We ask participants who test positive for COVID or who have been recently exposed to someone with COVID to refrain from attending (we will offer a refund in this case)
Cancellation Policy
We hope that once you register, you will stay with us. If something changes our policy is as follows:
Beyond 2 months of the Retreat, we offer a 100% refund less a $100 administrative fee.
Beyond one month of the retreat, we offer a 50% refund.
Within one month of the retreat, no refunds will be offered.