Returning to the child, one breath at a time.

“To realise that you are not your thoughts is when you begin to awaken spiritually.”

- Eckhart Tolle

Do you remember those days as a child, when you'd be lost in imagination, creative thought and play? The natural world was a playground full of magical connections. Toys were living beings, active participants in the co-creation of imaginary realms.

In scientific terms, this stage of life is guided by the right hemisphere of the brain, where creativity, intuition, emotional depth and holistic thinking take place.

Then slowly, over time, connection to these imaginary realms begins to erode. The world becomes more structured, mental and analytical. Space for right-brain activity is overridden by a cultural preference for logic and the analytical mind, the left hemisphere of the brain.

Compounding this dominance of the left brain over the right is the disembodiment of self. For most of us, we didn't find ourselves in a world or culture that was supportive of our sensitivity, rather, we had to desensitise ourselves. The capacity to remain anchored and attuned to the intelligence of our body, and to the world around us, was progressively undermined. If anything, we had to reduce our sensitivity in order to survive.

As time goes by, we find ourselves identifying more with the mind than with the body. Our thoughts become who we think we are. Hours in front of screens, bombarded by world events and the stresses of daily life, only compound this dynamic. The freedom and spaciousness our younger selves once inhabited become distant memories.

And yet, life has its own intelligence. A grand re-membering is taking place right now. More and more people are being called to practices that bring them back into their body, learning to connect with their feelings, listen to their intuition, and access the intelligence that exists beyond the mind. As Eckhart Tolle reminds us, the moment you realise you are not your thoughts is the beginning of your awakening. This is happening individually and collectively, each of us popping like popcorn, and like popcorn, the process will only pick up pace as things heat up.

Breathwork, movement, nature connection, creativity, ritual and meditation have all played a significant part in my own returning to right-brain, embodied intelligence. These methods soften mental energy and create more space for present-moment awareness to arise. Ultimately, they bring us closer to silence, as a living, embodied presence.

Of course, the mind is reactive to these methods. As our attention opens to more expansive ways of being, the tight grip of the left-brain mind begins to loosen, and so do the old, frozen parts of self. Old pains and traumas, whether biographical or ancestral, will emerge, offering us the opportunity to digest these stagnant energies and create more spaciousness within our nervous system. The less that is held within us, the lighter we become.

These methods are woven into the fabric of the Soul Seeker Retreat. We'll begin each day with nature-connection practices. We'll return to the body through movement and breath. Space will be held for processing what arises, as we progressively merge into silence. Past attendees have all cherished this emphasis on silence as a practice, supported externally through extended periods of Noble Silence, where we can each drop the mask and simply be in the quiet presence of others.

Nature is the primary container. The living, breathing, conscious presence of the natural world organically brings our nervous systems into stillness, while flushing up anything not in alignment with its vibratory medicine. This is further amplified by the fact the retreat is offered over the Autumn Equinox, arguably one of the most powerful times of year to initiate a new way of being. A time of release and renewal.

Supporting all of this is conscious connected breathing, the crown jewel of breathwork practices, in my experience. Four sessions spread across the three days will help create the energetic expansion needed to activate, process and integrate all that arises, ultimately cultivating the inner silence necessary for the reawakening of awareness, and a return to the magic of the child and the soul.

If this resonates with you, and you feel the calling to join us, you are warmly welcome. Registrations close Saturday, 14 March 2026.