Offered with co-facilitator Erin Macri, PhD, creator of “Cultivating Compersion”.

A workshop on authenticity and compassion in relationships.

Courageous Relating is a full day experience designed to offer deep insight into relationships with others. With a strong focus on respect for all relationship styles, we will cover such topics as compassionate communication, boundaries, rules and agreements, negotiating consent, and authenticity. Exercises designed to understand trauma, deconstruct the shadow and navigate relationships will give participants the opportunity to learn the best practices in relating and start putting them to use.

We invite you to dive into a new, courageous experience of relationships.

What do you want, and why is it so scary to ask for it?

What clues do our desires give us about our needs?

How can knowing our core needs help us to develop deeper intimacy with our loved ones?

How does trauma impact our ability to share intimacy, and how can we support experiences of building and strengthening trust in our relationships?

What can we do to nurture a lasting feeling of intimacy and connection- not just between partners, but between friends, community, and tribe- in a way that is consensual and offers space for individual expression?

In this dynamic full-day workshop, we’ll be exploring some practical tools for developing intimacy, empathy, connection, and diving into core needs and desires- with activities that include playing interactive games that will combine theatrics, physical touch, and communication.*

This workshop is an invitation for anyone who wants to deepen their relationship with themselves to step into a new experience of intimacy. This workshop is for everyone who has ever felt stuck, alone, or afraid of connection.

“True Intimacy asks for more than eye-gazing; it calls upon a kindness with one another’s shadows and gentleness with all our imperfections.”

*This is not a sexual workshop, and participation in activities is optional.

Relationship Anarchy– a philosophy that provides a construct for the most consensually-based relationships. Whereas the act of applying labels like ‘monogamy’, ‘primaried’, ‘polyamory’, and so forth, is about defining what we have with someone (sometimes with the belief that by defining something we preserve it, a notion I don’t personally buy into anymore), Relationship Anarchy is a conversation about, “Where are we right now?” and “Who are we today?” and “What’s real for us in this moment?”

‘Relationship Anarchy’– is it just another label en vogue, or something that goes beyond labels? Is it only for polyamorous people, or can you be a relationship anarchist and have sexual fidelitous and monogamous relationships still? (the answer to that is- yes!) How does Relationship Anarchy apply to the forming and maintaining of community and tribe? And what does this all have to do with the emerging trend towards promoting Consent Culture and new paradigms for communities?

At the age of 22, Mel married the man she thought was the ‘love of her life’ and moved to rural BC to pursue a dream of having a home and raising a family together.

After five years, two miscarriages, and losing enthusiasm for those dreams, she began to wonder if there might be something missing. After separating from her husband, she began her journey into Polyamory, or ‘honest, consensual non-monogamy’.

In this talk Mel shares personally about her journey and the important- sometimes difficult- things she learned, debunking some of the myths and misconceptions about this increasingly popular style of relating.

What do you want, and why is it so scary to ask for it?
How do we sabotage our desires without even realising it?
How can we cultivate more open and honest communication with our lovers?

In this high energy, interactive mini-workshop we playfully explore these questions and learn techniques for building authentic, dynamic, empowering connections in our relationships.

In a world of increasing cyber-connectivity, and a culture of ‘busy-ness”, many feel a loss of connection and intimacy in their lives.

Sharing a transforming and inspiring experience together can create a sense of intimacy with others; when we watch an inspiring movie, travel to an exciting new place, or embark on a weekend of personal exploration, intimacy between people can be experienced. In those moments of shared experiences that bring us closer together, we form a kind of trust, and shared context for understanding one another.

What can we do to nurture a lasting feeling of intimacy and connection- not just between partners, but also between friends, community, and tribe- in a way that is consensual and offers space for individual expression?

In this mini workshop, we’ll be examining the roadblocks to experiencing intimacy, and exploring some practical tools for developing intimacy- playing interaction games that will combine theatrics, physical touch, and communication. Mel will guide us through fun and playful ways to grow deeper, lasting intimacy.*

“True Intimacy asks for more than eye-gazing; it calls upon a kindness with one another’s shadows and gentleness with all our imperfections. ”

*This is not a sexual workshop, and participation in activities is optional.