Opening to Fall Equinox
Contributor Registration
Friday Harbor, WA • September 11–14, 2025
This weekend invites a shared rhythm of presence, reflection, and connection with the more-than-human world.
As a contributor, you're part of shaping that rhythm by offering your presence, skills, and support in a way that helps the weekend unfold with ease.
If the atmosphere and agreements below feel aligned, please complete the registration form at the bottom of this page to confirm your role after reading through the following details.Everyone attending, whether as a guest or contributor, is trusted to self-select with care.
A few contributors are invited to help support key roles that make this retreat possible.
These are not co-host or staff roles, but participant-based exchanges that keep the experience flowing smoothly.The entire group will travel together in a shared van from Oregon to San Juan Island. To avoid ferry issues and ensure coordination, contributors must be available for the full duration of the trip—including group departure and return. Contributors will also be invited to a short pre-retreat call (in person or via Zoom) to go over logistics and ensure everything feels clear and aligned.Contributor Exchange
The standard retreat cost is $1,780, which covers lodging, meals, a full-day private whale charter, guided experiences, and transportation from Oregon.In gratitude for your support, contributors will join at no cost. Your participation covers your full retreat experience in exchange for specific responsibilities. This helps make the event possible while keeping it aligned with the scale and rhythm of the group.This is a pilot retreat, and your presence plays an essential part in shaping how this offering grows. Thank you for considering being part of it.FAQs
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Lodging
Shared meals (some catered, some simple prep)
Full-day private whale-watching charter
(+ guided watercolor on board)Group experiences and island downtime
Transportation: gas, ferry, van rental, parking
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Availability for the full retreat, including group travel
Reliable fulfillment of responsibilities
Join a brief pre-retreat coordination call
Communicate directly if needs or questions arise
Contribute to a smooth, respectful group rhythm
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Responsible and self-directed
Warm, communicative, and easy to coordinate with
Clear on boundaries and energy management
Supportive of the group experience through presence and follow-through
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This retreat brings together meals, transportation, lodging, and thoughtful facilitation—all in a unique island setting during the peak of fall wildlife season.
The contributor exchange reflects not just logistical coordination or shared time on the water, but the deeper work of shaping a meaningful and easeful group experience.
Rather than managing separate bookings or navigating everything à la carte, all details have been arranged with the group in mind. Your role supports this integrated design—making it easier for everyone to arrive fully and participate in what’s unfolding.
Transportation has been arranged for the entire group from Oregon to the island and back, removing one of the most common logistical challenges: navigating ferry schedules and vehicle reservations. Traveling together helps establish a grounded, cohesive rhythm from the very beginning.
As a contributor, your presence and participation are essential. By registering, you're confirming your role and commitment to the full experience, including group travel and shared responsibilities.
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This gathering is designed to be simple and restorative, with few decisions to make, a slower pace, and space to arrive fully. It’s meant to feel easy to step into.
Not a luxury resort or a packed weekend of workshops, but a meaningful nature-based experience for a small group in a magical setting.
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Group transportation is included and strongly encouraged, as it simplifies logistics hugely, and helps us begin the retreat in a shared rhythm.
However, if you need to drive separately due to specific circumstances, please get in touch as soon as possible.
You’ll be responsible for your own ferry reservations and parking, and retreat pricing remains the same to support the full group plan. We’ll coordinate meeting times for all scheduled activities.
If there is any way to join group transportation - let’s definitely explore how we can make that happen if possible. -
If you know someone who would be a good fit as a participant, please feel free to share the main retreat link.
All participants must register with full payment. No discounts are available outside contributor roles, confirmed in advance.
Guiding Principles and Practices
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This retreat is designed to be:
Substance-free
To support clarity and cohesion, please refrain from alcohol, plant medicines, and other substances throughout the gathering.Adult-only
Unregistered guests (including family or friends) may not join any portion of the retreat.Tech-light
Minimal phone use during shared experiences.Grounded in mutual respect, care, and gentle rhythm
A shared experience shaped by presence and reciprocity
Please be mindful of noise and volume.
This is a space for soft conversation, deep listening, and reverence for the natural world.
Our focus will be softly held on offering our awareness, listening for insights, and sharing how we might put them into practice. -
Our shared time is held as a form of renewal.
By registering for this retreat, participants agree to:Arrive on time and stay for the full retreat (Thursday–Sunday)
Join group activities with openness and respect
Honor quiet periods and reflection time as integral to the experience.
Attune to timing, tone, and group flow, supporting a relaxed and spacious group atmosphere
Respect boundaries (spoken and unspoken) with grace and attentiveness
Arriving open makes room for something new to move through.
Enjoy this time of having nothing to fix, solve, or prove. -
Listening opens the way. Through quiet awareness and presence, patterns begin to reveal themselves—within place, within one another. This gathering honors the practice of deep listening as a way of being in relationship with land, sea, and community. With open ears, open heart, and without an agenda.
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These gatherings invite us to step outside the rhythm of daily life and remember what it means to live in harmony—with ourselves, with each other, and with the living world.
Together, we’ll meditate, spend time in nature, and connect through presence and acceptance. We’ll move with more awareness, responding to what feels honest and alive within us.
This is a space to return to what feels real. A place to listen more closely, soften where we've been hardened, and root into what nourishes. To feel our pulse in rhythm with all life on Earth.
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Each person brings a unique rhythm, perspective, and presence. This space is shaped not only by what is shared, but by how we hold and receive one another’s presence. These group dynamics support the experience as a whole—helping to cultivate trust, depth, and shared belonging.
On Sharing
This retreat offers space for honest presence, quiet reflection, and meaningful connection. Sometimes that means speaking, sometimes listening, sometimes just being together. Please allow each person’s process to unfold in its own way.
This is a space for offering, witnessing, and letting things be, without a need for commentary. We can release any pressure to fix, advise, interpret, or offer feedback unless someone explicitly asks for it.It will be helpful to share from your own lived experience, by using “I” statements rather than “you/we/they/it”. This might make it easier to share your truth without making assumptions or generalizations.
Let’s try to stay:
Curious. When something feels tender or uncertain, consider the question: What’s here for me to learn? Let curiosity soften reaction, in order to stay with your own inner experience. We get to release any urge to perform, teach, or know during our time together.
Brief. As a courtesy to the group, aim to be concise in your expression, speaking clearly and with intention. No need to rush. The group will thank you for your clarity and care. Think of it as a practice in the power of words.Relevant. Offer what feels timely and true. Stay connected to what’s unfolding. Trust yourself to know what belongs in the space, and what’s better left to silence.
Why Speak Aloud?
Sharing dreams, goals, or even small truths aloud activates both emotional and cognitive centers of the brain. Research in psychology and neuroscience shows that speaking something out loud helps encode it more deeply, strengthening memory, motivation, and clarity. In other words, saying it helps make it real. As social beings, voicing our inner world with others can bring coherence to thoughts and emotions, reducing stress and increasing a sense of alignment. Some would call that science, others call it magic. Maybe it’s both. -
Punctuality. Beginning together helps create a shared rhythm and spaciousness for all.
Hold Stories with Care. What’s shared here is offered in trust. Speak and listen in ways that honor that trust, without retelling anyone else's story without permission.
Shared Respect. This space is open to the full spectrum of who we are, in our identities, experiences, perspectives, and ways of being. Let us show up with humility, warmth, and a willingness to learn.
One Voice at a Time. Let’s allow each person to finish their thought before the next begins. This creates a more easeful, attentive rhythm and helps everyone feel heard.
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All guests will stay together in an oceanfront lodge. Sleeping arrangements are mostly in shared rooms, with a mix of beds and premium air mattresses.
To maintain a cozy environment for relaxed connection, we will all agree to:
Communicate respectfully and honor each other's rest and privacy.
Practice tidiness, flexibility, and consideration in communal areas.
Honor quiet hours 9pm-9am, and personal space to support deep rest.
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Please help us maintain a sense of emotional safety and mutual care.
If experiencing any illness or symptoms before the retreat, communicate with the organizer as soon as possible, before arrival.
Communicate personal needs with clarity and compassion.
Tend to one’s own emotional state, and avoid placing caretaking on others.
This retreat is not a therapeutic setting, nor intended for deep personal healing work.
While emotion and reflection may naturally arise, the space is not designed for processing trauma. Each participant is encouraged to tend to their own needs, take quiet time when helpful, and support the shared rhythm of the group. Heartfelt sharing is welcome, and everyone is trusted to speak with care, knowing what feels appropriate to offer.
Join as a Contributor!
By completing this form, you’re confirming your role and agreeing to the shared principles and details outlined above.