An Amazing Retreat

The Gawler Foundation's Life and Living retreat that took place out in the Yarra Valley was an amazing experience. From the program, to the people (participants and instructors/counsellors), to the environment where it took place, it has definitely had a life changing affect on me.

A bit about the program. The ten day Life and Living retreat is a full on program that educates the participants and their support people on key principles that can enable anyone to activate and develop one's own healing power and maximize the body's potential to restore a natural state of balance and vitality. If you read Ian Gawler's book, You Can Conquer Cancer, he specifically lays out principles that he developed while on his own personal experience of being diagnosed with a terminal cancer in which he was able to cure himself, recover and be cancer free for over 30 years. Most important is that the book also takes the feedback from participants in the support groups that he was running for the past 30 plus years. Furthermore, the book, the program and the practices can also be applied to people who are not diagnosed, but want to live a preventative lifestyle.

The key principles that I was educated on and that I put into practice during the retreat were meditation/relaxation techniques, deep dive on nutrition and deciding on a dietary approach that is best for me, understanding the the true causes of cancer, tapping into the power of the mind or simply living life in a more positive way, exploring spiritual development via reflection and contemplation, diving deep into emotions/going through a forgiveness process/reviewing past relationships, dealing with and controlling pain, and contemplating/accepting death and dying. I also took part in Yoga and Qigong classes, had numerous massages for rebalancing purposes, and had one on one counseling sessions. Finally, I went through a full detox eliminating alcohol, sugar, salt, meat, caffeine, etc. from my body. This was accomplished by eating a vegan diet and drinking 5-7 juices a day. At the end of the retreat I felt great. The biggest challenges is to commit to and live by some or all of the principles that were taught. If anyone is interested in me diving deeper into any of these topics I would be happy to do so via the blog or email.

Without a doubt the most amazing part of the retreat were simply the people. I met some amazing/inspirational/beautiful people. From every walk of life, young, old, funny, intelligent, experienced, warming, philosophical, emotional, kind, etc. Someone said at the end of the program that if you looked at the cross section of the people who were involved in this retreat (participants and all), that simply there is much hope for the human race and the future of our planet. There is so much good in the world and unfortunately we are all sucked into the hype of the media, consumerism, and the busyness of life. For the individual, this is not sustainable. What matters most is the living in the present moment. I have to agree. The most amazing part of it all is that I got an opportunity to listen to the incredible life stories of these people and understand their life journey, their diagnosis, and the affect on their lives the diagnosis has had on them. I was also able to share mine as well. This being done in a group setting and in a one on one environment, it was very therapeutic and most important you really got to know everyone and develop a special bond with people. I was exposed to and have become close with some amazing people who attended this retreat. For some of those people, this is their last hope to escape death. This was humbling. I was also exposed to many people who attended as a support person (i.e. wife, friend, sister, etc.) and watched in awe of their complete devotion, commitment and love with their primary focus to get their loved one healthy again. And finally the instructors, therapists, counselors, staff, etc. were the most loving, positive, welcoming, educated group of people I ever met. They made the experience what it was, Amazing.

The environment where the retreat took place was in the heart of the Yarra Valley right outside of Melbourne. I was literally inserted into this pristine estate where I was surrounded by bush, mountains, and numerous wildlife (kangaroos, koalas, too many bird species to name, etc.) The smells, sounds, and the air made me feel at peace and was the icing on the cake for me.