About
Funkey Forest
Funkey Forest was founded in 1993 as a non-sectarian human
and wildlife sanctuary. It was established with the aim
of creating a nurturing space for personal transformation,
deep connection with the natural world and with one's
own nature.
It
was founded with the aim of fostering an integral or holistic
spirituality that is simple, natural, practical, experiential,
unique to each individual, free from dogma, approachable,
affordable and fun.
Here
we aim to explore and evolve new paradigms of consciousness
development and life practices that move beyond cultural
and historical biases into universal perspectives that
draw from all the realms of wisdom and knowledge available
to us at this time.
Funkey
Forest is not a health & beauty spa,
or upmarket luxury retreat. This is a simple centre for
the encouragement of simplicity, natural living, and authentic
practices for transformation and healing which at times
can be less than comfortable. At the same time, we believe
that severe austerity and dogmatic authoritarianism, typical
of some of the male dominated traditions is unbalanced,
often lacking compassion, flexibility and nurturance or
with repressive ideas around the body, dance, music, sexuality
and the earth.
Redressing
the schism between masculine and feminine forms of practice,
and finding a true middle path that exercises and develops
all aspects of our beings simultaneously is a key element
to the retreats that we offer. A middle path of non-duality
embraces equally the eternal everpresent ground of being
or Spirit and the everchanging dance
of form and evolution.
This
approach, known as integral practice, is summarised most
succinctly by American philosopher and integral theorist
Ken Wilber in the statement "to exercise body, mind
and spirit in self, culture and nature"
This
means to engage in
practices for the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual
bodies
and applying these practices not only to the self or for
the purposes of personal spiritual development or "enlightenment"
but practice applied in relationship to and engagement
with family, community, the biosphere, socio-political
systems etc. ie. all that we are are sustained by and
interdependent with.
Particularly
of interest are those ways of being that allow us to embody
the highest ethical and environmental standards
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