What we do

At Obsidian, we share a unique set of skills and experience in guiding groups and individuals in transformative work.

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Our residential programmes are set in a tranquil forested river valley system in South West France, known locally as the “pays de rêves”, land of dreams. Whilst not a wilderness as such, it is a place of wild spaces, where the cycles of the natural world, from the fecundity of life and growth through to death and decay, are evident everywhere. A landscape of abundant flora and fauna, it is a place highly conducive to contemplation and in evoking reconnection with the wild natural spaces within ourselves.

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These courses are opportunities to expand perception, deepen empathy and compassion for self and others; to awaken to our gifts and bring them home to our people. We practice non-judgment and acceptance, and acknowledge and honour both the joy and suffering of our lives, learning how to transform our life experiences into new stories of hope, beauty and action in the world.

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It must be stressed that we do not offer therapy, although our programmes do provide an environment that people often find therapeutic. To clarify, some differences are that the nature-based system we use does not seek to pathologise, instead treating the ways in which we are affected by life’s trials and tribulations as aspects of the natural cycles that move within and without. Here the emphasis is upon self-responsibility; self-care; embodied knowing; and developing resilience - all gained through learning how to utilise nature as a teacher and by developing the ability to move in harmony with the those natural cycles.

It is also a highly generative environment: a space in which the creative and imaginal capacity is stimulated. By suspending disbelief for a short while and proceeding "as if" (the world were a magical place in which anything were possible), we free ourselves to play, find our gifts, re-story our lives, and dream into our futures.

   

  

 

What you may experience on our programmes:

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Stimulation of your imaginal, creative faculty;

Disruption of your habitual ways of thinking and behaving;

The practice of presence and attention, deep listening and responding concisely from the heart;

The power of working with Intent;

Expansion of the envelope of your current knowing;

Development of the relationship with your Self through the mirror of nature;

Exploration and rediscovery of meaning, purpose and direction in life;

Learn how to let go of internal stories and patterns that no longer serve you;

Make sense of encounters with the more-than-human world;