We are pleased to announce that we are going to be holding our annual Artist’s Retreat from June 13th through the 15th. We already have some workshops in store, but we still need instructors.

We are curently planning new events to take place at the Hostel over the coming weeks. Details of these will be published very soon.

There will be a Tie Dye Workshop this Saturday. Bring your old faded tshirts, tshirts with stains, any white tshirts, bandannas, etc that you would like to dye. We also have white Hostel tshirts available for sale for $10. Dye and instructions provided.

Now until April 4th in the art room there will be tie dye and T-shirt renovation workshops. Bring white T-shirts and your old oversized, underloved T-shirts from the back of your closet and give them a makeover. Also continuing in the art room are Tibetan Prayer flag making, paper making and sculpting, bombilla straw making and candle making. All materials are supplied for the projects

This month, the Hostel in the Forest is pleased to announce details on our annual Spiritual Retreat. The retreat will be from Friday March 28th through Sunday March 30th, and we encourage you to stay on through Monday morning to achieve maximum bliss. The cost of the whole weekend, with dinners and brunches as described below is $80.

The schedule is as follows:

Friday evening: The Dark and Light Sides of our Spiritual Journeys with Professor Oops!
Saturday 8am: Yoga with Lucy Lynch
Saturday 10am: Love and the Law of Attraction with Rob Jacoby
Saturday 2pm: Tea Time with Tom Dennard
Sunday 8am: Yoga with Lucy Lynch
Sunday 10am: Sacred Dance with Shakti Rowan
Sunday 2pm: Practical Spirituality 101 with Jonna Rae

An amazing Hostel dinner will be provided each night, as well as a light brunch on Saturday and Sunday. Please call to register for the whole weekend only, which includes three nights, all workshops and the meals mentioned. There also may be a sweatlodge, according to the general enthusiasm and rhythm of the workshops.

Professor Oops! is a gentle jester, and an explorer who communicates important ideas about ecology, psychology, art, creativity and science with wit and whimsy. He is the “World’s Greatest Authority on Misteaks” and has given his keynotes, performances and “Genius Lessons” to over 1000 organizations nationally and internationally. He uses humor, magic, juggling, wacky inventions, slides and his award-winning films to empower all ages to use their curiosity and creativity to the fullest. Besides his school, nature and science programs, he has a repertoire of adult and family programs.

Lucy Lynch has twenty years of experience with both yoga and massage, and will be teaching Shivananda Yoga, a gentle style.

Rob Jacoby’s letters include MS, LPC and NCC, but not XXX. The first hour of his workshop, participants will learn the nature of emotions – specifically Love – as well as finding it and living it, and how to transform pain into personal potential. Directly following will be a one-hour practical application of meditation techniques and processing, through breathwork.

Tom Dennard began to envision the Hostel in the Forest from a thorny patch of swampland over thirty years ago, and has midwifed it into its present incarnation. Spend an afternoon walking the T-trails with Tom, learning Hostel history, and then drink some tea with him back at his treehouse.

Shakti Rowan has studied Middle Eastern and African Dance, Authentic Movement, Danskinetics Sufi circle dancing, and yoga. Following the spark of their bodies’ desire to dance, move, and share stories, visions and song, participants in her workshop will practice listening and opening to the sacred movements all around, exploring the progression of dance from self, to spirit, to other, and finally to community.

Jonna Rae has been a lifelong intuitive and professional spiritual advisor for over three decades. In her workshop, participants will focus on meditations to open the heart chakra and tune in to their own true wisdom. Her website is here.

Now in the art room, Monday the 25th through Sunday the 9th, there will be spiritual origami and Tibetan prayer flag making. Materials will be supplied, but we would love some donations of nice origmai paper or any colored construction paper. Printmaking and Dreamcatcher making will also be continued in the art room.

Our friendly candle-maker Chris Collard (‘Woodchip’) of Campfire Candles
will be holding a workshop on making Hand Candles for those interested in participating all you have to do is show up prepared to watch as candles are molded into interesting shapes and designs as its poured into your willing hands. All materials will be provided for you and the workshop is free with a paid nights stay at the Hostel. To learn more about Chris and the candles he sells you can go to website Campfire Candles

“The Travelin’ Medicine Show” Will facilitate sing-a-longs of peace, social justice, and inspiration, provide presentations and training in Compassionate, Nonviolent Communication www.cnvc.org, Reiki, Meditation, and preparation of healthy, nutritional meals.

Pita Bread Making Workshop with our kitchen manager Trey.

An element since early human history, a mask conceals and disguises the wearer, usually as another person, creature, or spirit. Worn ceremonially for communicating with supernatural forces believed to rule the universe or purely as a diversion from genuine self, masks continue to remain prevalent amongst socialization. Especially since Halloween is approaching!

Of long ago folk art origins, paper mache is an eco-friendly medium. Shredded paper waste from our consumer lives (such as newsprint, egg cartons, copy paper, junk mail, etc) is reused in conjunction with a paste of water and over-processed, void-of-nutritional-value white flour from the maybe-it-will-disappear pantry stash. Three approaches — layered, pulped, and sculpted — will be introduced as we simultaneously delve into the exploration of paper mache and the creation of masks.

Please join us Saturday, October 27th throughout the afternoon in the Screen Porch

Americans remain largely in the dark about millions of pounds of toxic chemicals being used, shipped, discharged, and spilled in communities. Many are also unaware of the lifestyles and industrial processes that are disrupting the self-sustaining balance of the profound and complex interactions amongst all organisms on Earth. Our objective now must be to increase awareness, minimize impact, and replace questionable processes with those that honor sustainability of nature’s cycles.

Mainstream household cleaners typify American consumerism. Capitalizing on insecurities, manufacturers and marketers transform synthetic cleaning agents, anti-redeposition agents, bleaches, builders, enzymes, and optical brighteners into an $18 billion market. The products work under more varied conditions, against more forms of dirt, in colder water, require less time and effort than ever before, and introduce a plethora of chemicals whose presence in homes raises serious health and environmental concerns.

Please join us Saturday, October 13th at 2pm for our discussion-based workshop, Opt for Clean ‘n Fresh, instead of Annihilation ‘n Toxic Consequence. Focus topics will include the Greener Clean tactics in motion at the Hostel, home application of these methods, the global toxics and destruction dilemma, biodegradability verses bioaccumulation, eco-friendliness, and nature’s cycles.

We will be hosting a garden party in our Secret Garden in celebration of the end of the summer harvesting season. Observing the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, we will gather together to admire the bright mid-autumn harvest moon and celebrate the abundance of the summer’s harvest.

The Global Mala Project is a call for a global gathering to unify consciousness and action through yoga. On Friday, September 21st (UN International Peace Day) and Saturday, September 22nd (autumn equinox) a mid-morning sounding of the Conch Shell of Manifestation will summon those interested to gather at the Glass House. We will unite in a circle for a moving meditative form of the mala. Breathing deep with intentions of peace in action and raising awareness, we will offer 108 sun salutations. As Shiva Rea wrote, “This activates individuals and communities to experience the power of a mala, which supports collective consciousness and empowers the individual to go beyond the limits created by our mind.”

Please join us in this collective effort.

For more information visit the Global Mala Project and/or read Rise! by Shiva Rea.

We will be hosting a Mind, Body and Spirit retreat on August 31st, September 1st and September 2nd. There will be a special living foods dinner on the Saturday night following the Living Foods workshop. The charge for the retreat will be $80 per person and will include accommodation, evening meal and brunch on the Saturday and Sunday. Please make your reservations as soon as possible as space is limited.

Workshops will include the following:

Yoga for Slugs Workshop – with Dolly Russell

Guided Meditation Workshop – with Dolly Russell

Living Foods Workshops with Dolly Russell and John Oliver – “My life was changed forever, at the age of twelve, when some neighbors turned me on to a copy of Survival Into the 21st Century by Viktoras Kulvinskas. At that time, after learning the realities of the meat industry, learning about karma, Yoga, and nutrition, I became a strict vegetarian. I learned to do the sun worship salute from my new found “life’s handbook”, and did it every day. I presently live in Bradenton Florida with my husband, Todd, and my daughter, Morgan, who are both strict vegetarians.

Poi Making with Hanoch Schmalbach

Poi Lessons – Fire Spinning with Hanoch Schmalbach. He began his fascination with fire as a young boy on a farm. These qualifications cannot be understated. His true symbiosis with the flame would not occur until college, however, where enrolled in the circus he was taught the rudiments of fire spinning and sent off to elaborate upon them. Based on the Maori (New Zealand) Poi, instruments of knotted rope spun to train the body and liquefy motion in preparation for war and combat, a warrior of light will gain the benefits of humility, and focus, improved circulation and cardiovascular health, flexibility, upper body strength and tone, agility, ambidexterity, and rhythm. In this two part workshop participants will be taught to make their own practice poi, taught basic weaves and patterns and given the resources to elaborate upon them as well.

Body Movement Workshop, Movement From Within – Erin Leigh Mahoney grew up in a small Connecticut town studying Vaganova ballet, tap, and jazz. After a particularly grey Boston winter, she flew south for jasmine and sunshine. Experiences studying and teaching amongst various spaces, exploring vinyasa yoga, becoming Karma Kids Yoga certified, dancing with shadows, and pedaling bicycles nurtured her passion while in Saint Augustine, Florida. She believes movement from within empowers and hopes to share this joyous celebration with many. Dance invokes emotion, cultivates the mind-body-spirit connection, and expresses the creative life force. Day-to-day often leaves stiff bodies disconnected from scattered minds. Awaken your body and calm your mind thru a guided exploration of breath and movement.

Our friend ‘Boomer’ will also be conducting a workshop in stained glass. We have a few places left please call ASAP to reserve

A group of midwives from the International Center for Traditional Child Bearing will be coming to the Hostel. They will be leading us in a few workshops, which include:

Saturday, August 11th, 10am Rediscovering Our Sacred Sexual Self: Presenter: Nyasha Bonner-Shakir, MSN, CNM (Certified Nurse Midwife)

Did you know that sexual energy is life energy? You can direct this energy even without a partner, to help rebuild and rejuvenate organs within the body. It is time for women to develop a healthy, loving relationship with their sexual organs. In this workshop you will learn the power of the womb in birthing your dreams. You will also learn how to strengthen your sexual organs through thought, exercise, herbs, and tonics. Come join us, bring your womb concerns into a safe, sacred, and healing environment with a spiritual Midwife. This is an abbreviated version of a 4-hour workshop.

Sunday, August 12th, 10am Choices in Childbirth Presenter: Sarahn Henderson – Midwife

Choices in Childbirth is a discussion of the many pregnancy and childbirth option available to expecting moms in Georgia. This includes: childbirth provider (ob/gyn’s and Midwives), children classes, pregnancy massage therapist, hospital and home birth options and waterbirth. We will discuss the pros and cons of each.