Sharing the Wisdom School Experience

The following reflection by Therese DesCamp was originally offered in a recent newsletter by The Contemplative Society, and now graciously shared with permission so our community can hear about this very meaningful event (held at Sorrento Retreat Centre in BC).

If you are intersted in learning more about 'The Wisdom Way of Knowing' and three-centered presence and practice, we invite you to join our monthly online Practice Book Circle with Wisdom Teacher Heather Ruce & co-facilitator Lorie Martin, starting September 26th.

*****

Here I am, as I am. We came, physically, from across western Canada. We came, virtually, from Texas and North Carolina and Quebec and North Carolina and Ontario and Washington and Illinois and Maryland and New York and Ohio and Alberta. We showed up with rescue dogs and gardening tools; we showed up from kitchens and studies and the top of a windy Alberta park, wearing a warm toque.

In this world, as it is. We came with grief over deaths and the environmental catastrophes; we came with curiosity, with questions, with an overwhelming desire to bring in the reign of God.

Participants in The Contemplative Society’s fall retreat, “Three Centered Presence and Transformation of Consciousness: A Wisdom school with Heather Ruce”, came to learn how three-centered awareness supports the transformation of consciousness. Held at Sorrento Centre, British Columbia, on September 8th to 12th, 2024, the retreat integrated Gurdjieff movement practices with Swiss philosopher Jean Gebser’s insights on structures of human consciousness. The practices themselves—both the dances and the meditations/body prayers—brought the wider group into deep resonance with themselves and each other, and held out the hope that we could indeed return to our work with deepened stability and capacity—and joy. Studying Gebser’s structures of consciousness helped ground participants in a worldview that anticipates the new becoming and helps us make sense of the current chaos and suffering.

Ever connected, in this wondrous luminous web. Of particular note was the very deep integration between the physical and virtual retreats. Due in large part to Heather’s comfort with working online, and her capacity to keep both groups in mind as she was teaching, the retreat moved seamlessly between the room and the internet community, creating a sense of the whole, a single heart for the retreat.

This was the first time that TCS has offered a major retreat at Sorrento Centre, and the retreat space helped participants enter deeply into the week. The tech set-up was sophisticated and worked well; the opportunities for conscious labor rewarding and many; the physical setting beautiful; and the many options for housing guaranteed an affordable space for participants. Of special note was the welcome felt for the dogs of the retreat!

Ever abiding, in the heart of God. It is with gratitude that we thank Heather Ruce for her Wisdom leadership; Virginia Bennett, Lorie Martin and Therese DesCamp for tech support; and Sorrento Centre for a warm and welcoming home base. It was indeed “a sweet success,” “a gift from God,” “a meaningful and connecting experience,” and “an amazing few days spent in the inspiring, joyful and open-hearted company of fellow explorers on the Wisdom path”, which were exact words shared with us by various retreatants.

It is with great joy that we look forward to upcoming retreats and events with TCS and Wisdom Teacher Heather Ruce!

*****

NOTE: You can find a video of Heather Ruce demonstrating the 'Here I Am Body Prayer' here. 

Find details and registration for our upcoming Wisdom Practice Book Circle here.