Authentic Living

Devon Retreat, April 2024

Discover a Deep Sense of Belonging, and Open to the Fullness of Life.

11 – 18 April 2024, Eden Rise.

Join us in the beautiful Devonshire countryside for a life-changing 7-day retreat.

Through the powerful blend of ancient meditative enquiry and the modern relational practices of Circling and Surrendered Leadership,  you will:

  • Deeply explore your first-person, uninterpreted experience, to reveal the true safety that is always already here.
  • Learn and practice together the relational skills that enable deeper, authentic connection
  • Clarify the habitual patterns and beliefs that constrain your expression in life
  • Rediscover your intuitive knowing and learn to trust and act from its intelligence
  • Experience real transformation through connection and discover a deep sense of belonging
  • Feel empowered to fully shine your unique qualities into life.

Is this retreat for me?

Have you been struggling to integrate your realisations and insights into your everyday relationships?

As a result, do you find yourself . . .

  • Struggling to hold and maintain healthy boundaries, or even know what one is!
  • Repeating unhealthy dynamics with your partner, friends, or co-workers
  • Experiencing a continual sense of ‘something missing’ and a deep longing for more
  • Feeling stuck or blocked in your life and not knowing how to transform
  • Often in conflict with people who don’t share your perspective
  • Still struggling to form meaningful relationships despite all your realisations and progress

If any of this sounds familiar, then keep on reading . . .

What happens on an Authentic Living retreat?

  • Through meditative inquiry, sense-based exercises, relational practices, playful movement, boundary exercises, parts work, conscious touch, dance & live music you will be guided towards experiencing yourself and the world in a whole new and wondrous way.
  • From that ‘place’ of clarity, sensitivity and openness, you will begin to see the deeply held beliefs, fear-based patterns and physical clenches that keep you bound up in life.
  • In discovering how to meet those uncomfortable feelings and beliefs, rather than turning away from them, those frozen blockages can begin to thaw, enabling your essential qualities—of sensitivity, tenderness, playfulness, courage, compassion, strength, power, sensuality etc.—to naturally flow.
  • In the atmosphere of absolute acceptance and support, there is a chance to rediscover your intuitive knowing, and learn to trust and act spontaneously from it—to really live life fully, freely and authentically.
  • Ultimately it all adds up to a celebration of life with openhearted sharing, music, singing, silence, tears and laughter.
  • No previous knowledge is required, just a willingness to openly and honestly explore your immediate, first-person experience, to courageously question all your beliefs and assumptions, and to stay in contact with whatever feelings and sensations that may arise.

Important Note:

  • If the above description of this event sounds potentially overwhelming or destabilizing for you, if you have mental illness or significant emotional challenges that you feel may be exacerbated by this type of transformational environment, or if you are not sure that you can be self-directed in taking care of your needs during the event, then we advise you not to enroll.

Scroll down for more details and prices

“Jim's two-pronged approach of working with each person's inner narratives and shadow aspects, held within the largest possible container of non-dual awareness and Love, is more powerful and comprehensive than any other approach I am aware of. Watching him work is truly exquisite. With incredible delicacy and presence, he facilitates the birth of whatever it is that needs to emerge in that precise moment.”

B G

“I feel so blessed to have met you Jim! An inspiration in the true meaning of the word. You breathe life into us all with your Being, your sensitivity, acceptance, honouring, warmth and downright normal-ness. What a gift to us all to be able to meet with you and have reflected back what we truly, truly are. Thank you for meeting me exactly where I am each time I sit in the chair; no pressure, no pushing, just an extraordinary patience and trust.”

A B

“There’s no dogma, no superiority, no guru-ness, no rigid mindset, no rules, just a loving intelligence continually welcoming us back to the home we never left.”

P C

“Jim is a born teacher—infinitely patient, compassionate, crystal clear and with great integrity. Thank you Jim, for your wisdom and love.”

L P

“I am a different person since working with Jim: more real, more loving, more open, more joyous, and certainly much more alive! People remark on it.”

J B

“I am very glad that Life has brought me to you. Your words and presence had a profound impact on me. After years in a kind of impasse/wilderness I am now filled with joy, with peace.”

L W

“Jim’s teachings are clear and concise. They took me to a level of understanding that had eluded me for 45 years. A truly life changing experience that opened a new possibility for being alive.”

C L

“Thank you Jim. You act as a midwife, guiding and supporting us through the pangs and contractions of giving birth to our true selves!”

M W

“The first time I connected with Jim it was a life-changing epiphany; to totally meet and be met on a transpersonal level—it was literally awesome. This is all I have ever wanted, and I am so grateful that the universe introduced me to someone I resonate with and learn so much from.”

M J

“Working closely with a guide who knows the territory, who can understand where we are on the journey, who meets us and sees us as we really are and reflects that back to us, is a rare and precious opportunity. Jim is that very guide.”

J B

“Thank you dear Jim. I've heard the words so many times and no one has ever led me to a place where I could actually experience those words—like what does it mean? That's what I was asking for, and you managed to do it.”

A B

Schedule

8:30am – Breakfast
9:30am – Gentle dance warm up (optional)
10 to 11:30am – Session 1
11:30am to 12noon – Tea & Biscuit break
12noon to 1pm – Session 2
1pm – Lunch then free time
4:30 to 6:30pm – Session 3
7:00pm – Dinner

The first 2 days will be held in silence (not in the sessions).

Each evening there is a chance to sit around the fire (weather permitting!) which often results in impromptu sing-alongs.

There is also a sauna on-site which we can arrange to use throughout the week.

On Monday there will be no afternoon meeting but instead an optional trip to the beach, with swimming in the sea (also optional!)

On Tuesday eve there will be a chance for willing participants to play music, dance, sing, tell stories, poems, or whatever they wish to offer to the group in an optional impromptu cabaret.

Your Facilitator

Jim Eaton graduated in Maths from Oxford University, then tried a number of vocations, including working as a singer-songwriter, an actor, and a school teacher in inner city London. Despite achieving success, he couldn’t shift a profound sense of lack and longing. What followed was an intense spiritual search that culminated in directly realising the wholeness of being—the home he’d been longing for.

Since 2011 Jim has been leading workshops and retreats internationally, guiding others to that same realisation, and to the subsequent empowerment and life transformation it can offer. He uses the modern relational practices of circling and surrendered leadership, amongst others, to help bring about that lasting transformation.

Full retreat details

Venue:

Eden Rise is managed by the Network of Wellbeing charity, and consists of two beautiful 200 year old converted barns, situated in the lovely Devonshire countryside two miles west of Totnes.

Full Address: Eden Rise, Sandwell Barns, Harberton, Totnes TQ9 7LJ.  Map

Description:

The retreat will begin with dinner at 6:30pm on Thursday 11th April. You are welcome to arrive from 5pm that day, although no food will be served until dinner. The retreat ends after breakfast on Thursday 18th April. The first 2 days will be held in silence (not in sessions).

Accommodation:

There are two types of accommodation available:

  1. Shared Rooms, that include single ‘pods’ (one large room partitioned into 4 private spaces), twin rooms and triples
  2. Single Rooms (limited number available)

If you would like to share a room with someone specific (e.g. a partner), then please let us know in the ‘order notes’ section at checkout, otherwise shared rooms are allocated according to gender.

All guests will be given a full linen set each (sheets, duvet cover, two pillowcases and towel) although you are of course welcome to bring your own if you prefer.

Food:

3 delicious, home-cooked vegetarian meals are included each day.

Transport:

Train: Travel to Totnes mainline station, which is 3 miles from the venue.

Flights: Nearest airports are Exeter Airport (33 miles), and Bristol Airport (96 miles).

Transfers: Taxis are available outside Totnes train station to transfer you to the venue (approx 10 minute drive)

Contact:

jim@jimeaton.org

Integration:

There will also be two group integration sessions, that will be held on Zoom the following two weeks of the retreat, to support integrating all that we’ve discovered into everyday living. The day/time for each session will be arranged by the group.

Cancellations:

£100 non-refundable and non-transferable deposit to confirm your booking.
Remaining balance due by 15th February 2024 (8 weeks before).
75% of balance refunded if cancelled before 22nd February 2024
50% of balance refunded if cancelled before 29th February 2024
25% of balance refunded if cancelled before 7th March 2024
No refund if cancelled after 7th March 2024

Cost:

There are two parts to the payment:

1. Donation to Jim for all meetings and support

Suggested donation for 7-day retreat: £300 (or between £200 and £400 according to means)

2. Food & Accommodation costs

Shared room: £395
Single room: £540
Own Campervan: £330
Camping (tent can be provided): £330

Register Your Place

  • Pay £100 non-refundable, non-transferable deposit to reserve your place.
  • We will then contact you for the remaining balance, plus donation to Jim, which are due by 15th February 2024.
Register

The number of participants to the retreat is limited, so make sure you book in time. Your place will be reserved after payment of the deposit has been received.