Arjuna Ardagh spoke about the transformation that occurs within people as they begin living out their unique expression, rather than the blueprint offered up by society. He called these people translucents:
A translucent person appears to glow as if from the inside. It's as though they've been lit up from inside and they appear to emit light...
Arjuna argues that this effect comes from being transformed by an awakening. Awakenings come in all manner of ways. Some find it through an ayahuasca retreat or psychedelic experience. Others through a nature based vision quest, meditation retreat or a spiritual belief system that revolutionises their way of seeing the world. Our philosophy is that translucence is deeply linked to tuning into one's higher purpose or calling in life.
Rejuvenating at a day spa, health centre, yoga retreat or other wellness avenue is a valuable part of self-care and filling our own cup in order to fill that of others.
However, if you’re wanting to delve another level deeper to gain an authentic education experience, consider our experiential and immersive 2 or 3 day personal development program designed to help you find your raison d'etre.
Finding your Life Purpose
Quest For Life
Mythologist Joseph Campbell broke down the human journey into two fundamental parts saying:
“The meaning of the Grail and of most myths is finding the dynamic source in your life so that its trajectory is out of your own center and not something put on you by society. Then, of course, there is the problem of coordinating your well-being and your virtue with the goods and needs of the society. But first you must find your trajectory, and then comes the social coordination.”
Our life purpose retreat takes a mind, body and spirit approach to help you clarify your centre, or clearly define your purpose (your trajectory).
Upon doing so, you’ll find it easier to then marry your passions with what the world needs (the social coordination).
Essentially, finding practical expression for your gifts.
Wellness Retreats Reviews
Find Your Purpose Retreat
Find Life Purpose Retreat
My girlfriend and I did the two day retreat. It was both informative and transformational. We felt comfortable and at ease as soon as we arrived. It felt as though we were hanging out with old friends. I received answers I was searching for, confirmation that I was on the right path, and discovered my life’s purpose. I am so grateful for the experience, highly recommend it and will no doubt be back myself! - Sonja L
Purpose Retreat
Thank you both for a wonderful and insightful two days. It truly has been a life changing experience and I'll be forever grateful. - Michelle S
Find Your Purpose Retreat
Here is a space where you feel seen, heard and safe to address whatever it is you want to look at or discuss. I came for the life purpose retreat to help get a clearer idea of what I truly want to work towards. I left the retreat feeling calm and confident and with a better understanding of what is important to me. I highly recommend this retreat for anyone who is wondering what they want to do with their life and passions and how to get there. - Hannah D
Life Purpose Retreat
We had a great weekend attending the Life Purpose Retreat. Such a pleasure to meet people like Marcus and Ginny. Both of them are very experienced and provide a lot of knowledge to help you out and give you some clarity on your new path way. - Tal G.
Finding Yourself Retreat
I went to the retreat and found the life purpose program very helpful. The place itself was very peaceful and calming and it's nice to have the vegetarian meals to cleanse the body. The 3 main parts of the program offer great insight into one’s real calling in life and the unique challenges each one of us faces. After the retreat, I also spent some time reviewing and reflecting on what we covered and discussed and have since found renewed sense of direction and meaning of my work and life in general. The breathwork and tarot card sessions also provide good complimentary value and effect to bring oneself into alignment and finding some great answers to one’s pressing questions/issues. Highly recommend for people who experience burnout or needing new direction for life and work. - Ting Z
Work inside or outside in the elements enjoying the views and the bird song
Chase waterfalls after dark on a local spectacular floodlit night walk
Nestled in bushland, find Tranquility within the retreat space and outside it
within walking distance of the healing Mini Ha Ha waterfall
Meet Your Retreat Facilitators
Ginny Shearer
Marcus Dabb
About Ginny
Ginny Shearer created Break Your Shell - Breathwork, Tarot Reading, Reiki & Counselling to assist people to move through the blockages, fears and limiting beliefs that keep them from spreading their wings to soar.
Her training in guiding and supporting others began with her hairdressing career, informally coaching, listening and offering support to the thousands of clients she came to know both in Australia and while working abroad.
After navigating a crisis period (where she had to take control of her life and steer it in a healthier direction) she found her calling to work with people who were also ready to reclaim their life. In addition to following Buddhist practices and doing extensive studies in self-development, she complimented this with formal studies in Youth Work, Community Services & a Bachelor of Social Work.
Finding Breathwork to be a particularly transformative form of healing she has done extensive training in it and continues to deepen her practice. Taking an intuitive approach and allowing herself to be a channel for higher realms to work through, Ginny has found a gifting for interpreting the messages offered by tarot cards, working as a spiritual healer and for being a clear vessel for the collective unconscious to work through.
She has found the more that clients commit to their inner work, the greater is the transformation that follows. This has led her to offer retreat experiences that involve two days working intensively with her as well as two-day programs where she shares the facilitation with Marcus.
About Marcus
Marcus Dabb had been always drawn to personal development before having a turning point when he came across the notion of the hero’s journey.
After reading Jim Styne’s book about it, Heroes: A Guide to Realising Your Dreams, he recognised that working as a public servant for the taxation office was probably not living out his highest potential.
His higher education in teaching was complemented by his time working in employment services, recruitment, outdoor education and the TAFE always with a view to helping people discover and develop more authentic vocational paths.
Finding the courage to walk an alternative career path - one fraught with self-doubt and other obstacles - began a journey that led to his current focuses, A Different Drummer - Career Counselling, Polaris - Soul Blueprints & and Writes of Passage Retreats - Personal Development Retreats.
Having worked closely with many people to help them find their sense of vocational fit and career bliss he found greater illumination was available through the metaphysical sciences of numerology & astrology.
He utilises both mainstream and esoteric tools to give people a holistic understanding of their career journey.
After running a wide variety of workshops in Australia and overseas he launched his retreat initiative in the belief that contemplation, nature, carefully curated ideas and guidance from someone who has been through the ordeals of the hero’s journey, is the ideal means for people to look at life with greater possibility and unearth their own dormant potentiality.
Life Retreat
Life Retreat
This was a wonderful experience that I’d highly recommend. Such a unique and fantastic opportunity to do a bit of ‘soul searching’ and put things into perspective. Marcus is a gifted facilitator and has a wealth of insight. After the time spent here (which is so warm and welcoming) I feel like I have a better vision for where I want to focus my energies and move forward in this crazy journey of life! If you’re looking for a bit of motivation, direction, or just some ‘time out’ to re-energise, this is a really wonderful opportunity!
- Katie M
Slowing down, being in nature and paring away from one’s busy life allows you to tune into the wisdom of the body, the subconscious and the collective unconscious. As the following quote suggests, stilling oneself not only leads to finding your centre but better recognising the authentic self of others.
“Learn to be quiet enough to hear the genuine within yourself so that you can hear it in others.” - Marian Wright Edelman
Meaningful Exchanges And Sharing
We adopt a person-centred approach, moving away from the traditional role or therapist and client — toward a process that allows you to use your understanding of your experiences as a platform for clarity.
“We have much to learn from within, but it is easy to get lost in the labyrinth of the inner life. We have much to learn from others, but it is easy to get lost in the confusion of the crowd. So we need solitude and community simultaneously; what we learn in one mode can check and balance what we learn in the other.” - Parker J. Palmer
Leave The Wasteland & Find The Source That Makes Everything Green
This retreat will provide integral clues on your life purpose and a new motivation to take action, learn by doing and refine the ideas into a clear direction that is nuanced & specific.
"You are being presented with a choice: evolve or remain. If you choose to remain unchanged, you will be presented with the same challenges, the same routine, the same storms, the same situations, until you learn from them, until you love yourself enough to say “no more”, until you choose change. If you choose to evolve, you will connect with the strength within you, you will explore what lies outside the comfort zone, you will awaken to love, you will become, you will be.” - Creig Crippen
Find Life Purpose Retreat
Program Outline:
Day 1
Morning Session
The French use the term raison d'être to speak of a person finding their reason for being. The Japanese describe this as one’s ikigai and believe each of us needs to find what it is. This session will help you find the overlap between the things you love, what you’re talented at, the needs of the world & the realities of the marketplace.
Mid Morning Session
As the rational mind can only take one so far, you’ll have an intuitive counselling session which includes a tarot reading to add further clarity. Carl Jung felt that tarot and the universal symbols it offers unveils the unconscious to relay important messages regarding our life’s purpose which our conscious minds often overlook.
Lunch
Afternoon Session
You can choose between looking at adult development passages to explore what the central themes and challenges are in relation to your age and the quest for a higher purpose and living meaningfully.
Alternatively, you can receive a numerology reading for deeper insights when it comes to discerning your life’s purpose. Typically, career guidance looks at one’s inherited values from family and culture. From the metaphysical perspective, we each have a soul’s blueprint outlining the lessons we’ve chosen to work on and our talents to develop and share with the world. Much of the frustration people feel in terms of their careers stems from following conditioning rather than tuning into one’s authentic path.
Dinner (or the option for you to take in one of the local dining facilities)
Optional Evening Activities
Day 2
Morning Session
The North American Lakota Sioux used the Medicine Wheel to help identify their purpose. They taught that we are born with a primary preference, or direction on the wheel and spend our lives walking the wheel to gain the wisdom of the other directions. Through understanding your innate preference you are better equipped to work in harmony with your strengths and find flow to channel your life purpose.
Mid Morning Session
You can deepen your exploration of vocational themes during this session or alternatively, undertake an optional session breathwork to help counter the rational mind and work through blockages, outworn beliefs or trauma stored in the body which impede us from achieving our potential.
Lunch
Afternoon Session
Astrology complements numerology as a metaphysical science in the same way that physics complements chemistry as a natural science. Exploring your astrological chart completes your understanding of your soul’s blueprint and what you've come here to do.
Alternatively, you can choose any one of the activities previously mentioned as an optional activity.
Mid Afternoon Session
Our final gathering will be a counselling session to tie all the threads together and will involve a career guidance and planning session in order to activate the understanding you’ve gained and form a plan to begin working towards expressing your life purpose and aligning who you are with what your life expresses.
Day 3
For those undertaking the extended program, you will have the opportunity to delve a little deeper and expand upon what your niche is and how to fulfil it.
Sessions will be determined by what has come up for you during the first two days.
Cost: $590 for a 2 day program or $540 for a weekday program. $790 for a 3 day program.
Inclusions: Accommodation, meals, workbooks and the readings, counselling, healing and guidance sessions.
Optional session with a bibliotherapist. Learn more about our bibliotherapy service.
Included in your package is an optional stand up paddleboarding session, mountain bike ride or bush walk at the end of day 1 of your program (weather permitting).
Instead of gaming love, master the game of love by understanding your core needs and the stumbling blocks between you and a lasting, enriching connection.
Our self-love retreat is ideal for singles working on relationship patterns and for those who could use some self care and greater appreciation for who they are & what they have to offer the world.
A holistic retreat involving creative expression, life guidance, relationship exploration & a range of activities such as astrology/numerology readings, tarot, breathwork, transpersonal counselling & more.
