Bear Wisdom

Click here to listen to the informational call
with Koelle Simpson and Meghan Walla-Murphy that happened on March 4th to discuss this retreat.

When I was a young child, I suffered from hearing loss, which made it harder for me to connect through conversations with my peers and family. However, this disability gave me the gift of connecting at a different level of awareness with animals through nonverbal communication. This insatiable curiosity to seek the wisdom of nature and animals has continued my whole life. As an adult, I realize the power of connecting to our diverse animal kin helps us to understand how to live and lead more nourishing and meaningful lives. 

Several years ago, thanks to mutual friends in the field of animal tracking, I met Meghan Walla Murphy. Meghan has spent much of her life as a true explorer. With a background in biology, she discovered the art of tracking and made a point to travel the globe to soak up the wisdom from indigenous elders and animals alike. Synthesizing this rich tapestry of knowledge, Meghan has become an author and wildlife ecologist who strives to help people connect to their internal and external landscapes. 

When meeting Meghan, I felt an overwhelming sense of meeting a kindred spirit, especially when she shared that few animals offer the insights bears have to share with us. “They are true masters at embodying the vital importance of self care,” Meghan offered with a smile.

Despite our modern era of immense disconnection from the natural world, Mother Nature has a mysterious way of seeping into our dreams, our visions, and our hearts. She reminds us to slow down, become enchanted by the world around us, and truly listen. Over the years I’ve had many vivid dreams, potent spiritual messages, and even literal face to face visits with bears while hiking in the mountains. Connecting with Meghan reminded me and inspired me to take my time, lean in, and really listen to what the bears might have to say.

Anyone who chooses to submerge themselves into a bear’s rhythm will quickly discover the profound lessons we can glean as a humble student of bear. Here are just a few:

• Learn to slow down, take your time, and truly replenish yourself with deep rest. 
• Embracing the death cycle of winter is not laziness. It takes courage to trust in a greater intelligence and honor the natural rhythm of life’s seasonal cycles. 
• Eat well! Bears are icons of foraging a diverse array of wild food and truly delight in quality self care. 
• Play! Bears naturally follow what brings their bodies a genuine sense of joy: rolling around, scratching up against trees, and snuggling with their cubs.
• Honor your needs and personal boundaries. Bears are amazing communicators and good at letting you know if you have crossed a boundary.
• Be your whole self. While bears follow the innate guidance of their own bodies and soak in the joy of self care, they naturally give back by simply being themselves. Spawning huge environmental diversity, bears are a key family member to the thriving forest.

Learning to lean into self care is easier said than done. For most of us, living in our modern world is a dizzying environment that encourages immense multitasking which leads to ignoring the wisdom of our bodies. With a constant sense of pressure on our time, downing more coffee instead of a nap, many of us feel increasingly disconnected from ourselves and one another.

Given the intense rip current of our cultural environment, it can feel nearly impossible to cultivate a new practice of self care or trust that the wisdom of your body is actually leading you to a better life. That’s why Meghan and I have decided to team up to offer you a unique four night, five day retreat to step away from your usual daily stressors and to enter into the dream-like mystery of bear wisdom. 

At first glance you may wonder how five days days of wandering about in nature together while tracking bears can help transform highly ingrained stressful habits into a state of wellbeing. Yet, when we enter the magic of the bear’s way of life, they have an uncanny ability to help you viscerally experience the wisdom of truly nurturing one’s self. 

We will spend our mornings tracking the California black bears that call Lake Tahoe, CA home. After soaking in the adventures that Mother Nature has in store, we’ll take an afternoon break to honor our needs for rest and play. In the evenings we’ll circle together to help you implement a new way of being in your daily life while enjoying a nourishing meal, sharing stories, aha moments, and taking in a good dose of belly laughter. Our group size will be limited to no more than 8 participants.

I hope you will join me.

Concerned about Covid-19?

We understand. You’re safety is a high priority. Thus we are taking precautions in order to gather safely:

• Our group size will not exceed more than 8 participants. 
• All of our activities will be organized outside. 
• You’re welcome to wear a mask if you prefer and we’ll be able to easily create distance as needed
• If you face the unfortunate event of becoming sick with covid-19 leading up to this event, we will make every effort to apply your retreat fee to a future program or virtual coaching support by Koelle Simpson.

Cancellation Policy

Due to the costly, non-refundable nature of reserving venues for various events, and the limited spaces available in workshops and retreats, a cancellation made 60 days or less from the dates of an event is non-refundable. Fifty percent of the event fee will be refunded for a cancellation made between 90 to 61 days prior to a scheduled event. Any cancellation made 91 days prior to a scheduled event is fully refundable minus an administrative processing fee.

Please note that should an issue or challenge arise due to Covid-19 (either with travel restrictions or health matter) we will make every effort to apply your payment as a credit to a future retreat program.