Unbelievable Utopia 2008

The difference between Utopia and other retreats I have done was obvious from the moment I walked through the door.

It was the incredible light, ambient atmosphere; so palpable, and present, perhaps enhanced by the crystal arrangements, the carefully selected glass artifacts and the feminine warmth of the welcome, including the complementary, pink bag of gifts. Although, later I heard that the facilitators and creators of this retreat had been cleansing and clearing the energy prior to the launch.

Yet, why would this atmosphere be surprising? This was Utopia after all. "A heart centred retreat and respite, for those who are choosing to awaken to their spirituality." And I was fortunate to be attending it’s initial launch in Noosaville, on the beautiful Sunshine Coast at Australis Noosa Lakes Resort and Convention Centre, situated on the shores of Lake Doonella and adjoined by a wetlands reserve teeming with abundant birdlife.

I knew this event was going to be something special. Having only previously met the retreat creators Sue and Jan, and some facilitators online, it was great to finally connect with them in person and be part of a pre-event meditation, led by Utopia co-founder Jan Hordern, to centre and focus our energy for this amazing event.

The schedule, described the 2 ½ day retreat’s facilitators, as modern day mystics, working from their hearts, to share their knowledge and wisdom to offer participants new tools, expertise and high vibrational information to assist their own journey. A big request, you might say, yet for me, this retreat really delivered what it promised!!!!

It just had so much heart.

Each session seemed to open yet another layer of my heart. The amazing thing for me was that it wasn’t just lots of words and head information. The processes were almost always interractive.

It started with the opening ceremony with it's welcome words of respect for the original custodians of the land, sounds of live didgeridoo and a meditation which included the imbibing of a specially made essence created for heart opening, that all combined to set the intent for the weekend.

After this we were launched into Margaret Gill’s "Leading from the Heart". Margaret, a business & professional coach with over 25 yrs experience, is passionate about helping practitioners achieve their full personal & professional potential. She encourages clients to lead from their soul and heart (not from their heads).

The cocktail hour that followed where we were treated with delightful nourishing snacks & cocktails or juice , provided opportunity for networking, interaction & a chance to freely communicate with speakers, other participants and give us a taste of the weekend to come.

This weekend for me was living proof that we can operate in this new paradigm, even though in the past I’ve had doubts as to how this could work. I talked about this concept with the other co founder of Utopia Susan Joy Coombes,( a practitioner in ‘Angelic Light Work’ and a guest lecturer on complimentary therapies at TAFE) and to my delight, she assured me, that this is always how she has worked. "In the feminine", which as we know is a vast difference from the way our society generally operates. She also affirmed that the retreat was a true reflection of the new way that we could be operating in the world,“From Our Hearts” This was such an uplifting idea for me, that there is truly a new wave of change happening on our planet and this was clearly demonstrated by another facilitator Simone Matthews (The Love Matrix & creator of DVD “The wave of Love” ) who is living testament to this concept. Simone's The Wave of Love Foundation’s primary role is to facilitate global projects for humanity with the desire of uniting our world in unconditional love, peace & harmony. “We are already whole and enlightened” says Simone; and “when we love ourselves unconditionally, we can BE THE CHANGE that is needed on the earth at this time.

‘Utopia Retreat’ unifying Heart and Mind. This theme seemed to connect all the presentations & sessions throughout the weekend. The speakers were passionate and in their hearts about their mission on earth. There was nothing vacuous about their presentations though; they were grounded in heartfelt reality. As Ian White, speaker on ‘Healing & Spiritual Power of the Australian Bush ‘& ‘Spiritual Alchemy’ at Utopia, shared his pioneering research about the remedial properties of Australian native flora . Ian is the founder of the Australian Bush Flower Essences and fifth generation herbalist’. He described the healing power of his remedies, and how they address the unique and new needs of society today in the 21st century. These essences can greatly increase our quality of life. We all sampled the essences, which of course were chosen in the theme of the “heart opening vibration.” Ian’s work has been influential in pioneering the concept of ‘Medicine for the Emotions’ and how our emotions affect our everyday health and wellbeing.

Inspirational and humorous, was my description of Molly Carlile’s ‘Your Spiritual Self’. Molly has extensive experience in Palliative Care as an advanced practice clinical consultant, administrator and educator; She, so eloquently reminded participants, “Why is it that as carers we often forget self care/nurturing?” She provided us with a clear model to work with in our own practices.

Another highlight of the retreat for me was Dr. Monica Henry’s ‘Harmonic Medicine’ session. This quietly spoken, dynamic doctor has spent the past twenty-two years in practice, exploring why people get sick and how to make them better. Monica has developed a method she calls Harmonic Medicine which is based on the Vascular Autonomic Signal – (described by French Neurologist Dr Paul Nogier in 1966.) We learnt a simple pulse taking technique, to assess a person’s overall health status, taking into account sensitivities, toxicity status, environment nutrition deficiencies, ph, underlying pathogens, major organ and endocrine function and more.

Utopia Retreat wasn’t all theory though. No, we had lots of fun & body movement. We started our days with early morning yoga &relaxing yoga nidra after lunch with delightful Jan Winslade, our yoga teacher who brought joy and fun to the classes. We were also fortunate to practice opening our voices with Harmonic overtone singer - performer, recording artist, Guinness world record holder for the longest held musical note, instructor and author, Dean Frenkel.

I’m sure the laughter from the room during the energy movement of free dance with Anthea Pert, resonated across Noosa .. What contrasts we experienced over this weekend. From the deeply guided meditation with Jan Hordern in her session 'The medicine Wheel' to Patrick Zeigler’s 'All- love' Spiritual growth and healing through love.(In 1984 Patrick introduced to the world an ancient healing method called SEICHIM.)

We were transported and uplifted to new dimensions and I was reminded of the introduction on the Utopia website…..“If you are an advanced soul working with love, who often forgets to nurture and give back to yourself, this weekend, designed to soothe, delight and expand your future potential…….”

I celebrate Utopia… it was a heart opening experience for me…. Imagine…. learning whilst being nurtured… that’s how it felt for me. I am truly grateful for this divine experience and I feel optimistic that indeed with events like Utopia, now occurring on the planet , there is great hope for our children, our people and our planet. I look forward to all the utopias of the future and feel blessed to have been a part of this special first one.

I thank the founders and the facilitators from the depths of my heart.

Isabella.