Interbeing 04: (((sound + wellness + community)))

Friday – Sunday, August 18-20, 2023
Ages 18+

@ Silvae Spiritus Northwoods Nature Retreat
68441 Rhine Lake Rd Finlayson, MN 55735

Program:

Welcome to Interbeing 04: A transformative event curated by passionate individuals, centered around community and wellness, where every participant is valued and encouraged to explore the intersection of nature, sound, wisdom, and healing. Unlike traditional lecture-based gatherings, this is an interactive and collaborative experience, fostering collective participation and shared growth.

Explore 30 acres of stunning land with forests, meadows, and walking trails as you camp for the weekend. We provide morning and evening meals, and guests are encouraged to bring their own food to share or enjoy at their leisure. Embrace nature’s beauty and nourish your soul in this inclusive and serene environment.

Interbeing 04 offers you a unique opportunity to recharge, explore, learn, and immerse yourself in the harmonious blend of music and nature. As you connect with like-minded souls, you’ll find yourself elevated in mind, body, and spirit, leaving with newfound energy and a sense of wholeness.

We take great pride in the feedback from our past attendees, who have described our event as “life-changing.” This testimonial is our greatest honor, inspiring us to continuously curate an experience that touches hearts and transforms lives.

Join us at Interbeing 04, where the essence of community, wellness, and interconnectedness awaits you. Together, let’s embark on a journey of self-discovery, healing, and collective growth that celebrates the beauty of being.

Ambient Immersion / Sound Bath
Hosted by Dendrotic

An exploration of the resonance between your inner nature and the natural world. An invitation into the harmony of mental + physical health. A vacation from stress and rumination wherein we allow ourselves to fully relax into the spaciousness of ambient soundscapes and gently welcome ourselves into the shared home we call the present moment. An opportunity to find your frequency and amplify your strength, intuition, and personal motivation. Drawing on my long history of live electronic music performance and interweaving the acoustic energy generation of melodic drums, crystal singing bowls, chimes, bells, and percussion I’ll be seeking to create and hold space for you to enter into a state of being highly conducive to restoring balance in both body and mind. My hope will be for participants to leave with the kind of physiological refreshment and psychological clarity that can serve as a foundation for deeply engaging with and contributing to the co-creation of the more beautiful and limitless world that awaits us…

What to bring: any pillows or blankets you’d like help find your cozy place; an open mind + a compassionate heart + curious ears

‘BETWEEN’ Sound Healing & Embodiment Journey
Hosted by Mama Rose

An hour-long sound healing & embodiment journey through collective listening to her self-produced album, ‘BETWEEN’. The music encourages both movement/dance as well as passive meditation and will bring listeners through a process of energy clearing, self-reflection and release. Following the listening, participants will be invited to journal and/or talk through their experience as a group. Mama Rose will also offer a lesson in Ableton production where participants are introduced to the creation process of the music and taught simple techniques to record, layer, blend and effect vocals. 

Album Description: BETWEEN  is the second studio album by Minneapolis based Artist, Psychic and Mother of three, Mama Rose. Bridging genres including Dance, Trance, Meditation, Jazz and Spoken Word, this self-produced album is an invitation for deep healing. Through the exploration of the four core tenets of embodiment as identified in Mama Rose’s healing practice, the listener moves through a 12 track journey inward toward the self. Each song is an opportunity to re-write the inner-talk, to move the body, thoughts, emotions and spirit and to re-orient oneself to personal and collective center. Along with collaborators, Thomas C Gorton, Michaelton of Digital Nap and Jason Faye, Mama Rose layers complex vocal stacks over soft beds of ambient nature sounds and trance inducing drums. “Think angelic meets unapologetic honesty, sweetness meets unbridled wildness, this music explores the entire spectrum of what it means to be human and restores the inner-voice.”

Collective Consciousness Workshop
Hosted by Phillip Saint John

This is a workshop based on grounding us in healing our separation wound with the collective consciousness. If you have been feeling disconnected or out of sync with the harmony of the people and even nature, I encourage you to join us in this experience.

The biggest struggle with living in today’s society I have seen is our need for connection. Today, technology has failed to integrate with our souls in a symbiotic way while also taking a front and center space in our human connections. There exists a network inside of us all that we can access once we are guided gently back to the path of light. Harmony is a key that unlocks our deepest need for connection and can be attained through healing modalities and crystal clear intention.

In this workshop we will explore how we can get back to our harmony points through three modes that will be the center focus of our experience:

• Guided Emotional Meditation 
• Harmonizing + Light Language 
• Seven Sacred Seals of Humanity Lesson + Journal Session

Through the GEM (Guided Emotional Meditation) Phillip will lead the class through a cosmic journey that can only be felt through deeply in order to connect to the greater whole. This practice is meant to strengthen our inner visualization as a tool to draw on when our light is low and we feel the furthest from one another.

Next, the students will be led in a harmonizing hive by humming together and exploring the meaning of collective consciousness through sound vibration, deviation, and understanding our great suffering at a more simple level. Light Language will be integrated by Phillip as a reiki healing experience during this session.

Finally, to ground the students, they will be given the chance to integrate their experience with a conscious look at how their feelings impact their relationships through the seven sacred seals of humanity. These seals at a larger scale can determine our societies structures, war, poverty, advances, improvement, and harmony when explored deeply. If we can integrate them at an individual level, we move closer to a unified vibration. Through journaling and sharing some bits and pieces with one another, we open our hearts to trust as well.

What to bring: Water For Humming, Pillow, Blanket/Yoga Mat to sit on, Journal, Pen/Pencil

Digital Nap: Wellness Music Production Workshop
Hosted by Michaelton

In this workshop, Michaelton will delve into the evolution of the eco soundscape – The natural sound bed within which our nervous systems evolved. He will highlight its shifts over time and the profound impact it has had on our mental health in recent centuries. He will demonstrate how serene sounds possess the unique capability to actively regulate our nervous systems in times of stress and as we wind down at the end of each day. As an Ambient Music aficionado, Michaelton will guide participants through a collaborative, Ableton-based production workshop, focusing on the modern techniques and concepts that are essential for creating this therapeutic genre of music.

DJing As A Way To Communicate With Your Audience
Hosted by

For millennia, our ancestral storytellers have used music to teach, to inspire, and to convey emotion.  In today’s world, music performance continues to achieve this while reaching new heights through the advent of technology.  Approaching a DJ set from this perspective creates a unique, engaging experience, bringing a “tribe” together in harmony and dance.

Whether you’re a seasoned DJ, or have never laid hands on DJ equipment before, you are invited to engage in exploring fundamentals of storytelling with music in the digital age.

This will be a hands-on, interactive opportunity for anyone of any experience level to participate and explore DJing with Native Instruments’ Traktor DJ software.

Earth Medicine Art Practice
Hosted by Amanda LaFrance

For hundreds of thousands of years, people all over the world have nourished life, found healing and honored the threshold moments of the human experience through ritualized Earth Art practices. Stonehenge in England. Nazca lines in Peru. Serpent Mounds in North America. Earth Medicine Art Practices are multisensory explorations that combine nature, art, meditation and meaning. Incorporating the natural world into our everyday intention encourages positive well-being and connection to and with the Earth, each other and ourselves. Come as you are. Create. Connect. 

Exploring Dialogue As A Way of Being – An Interactive Immersion
Hosted by Leon J & Travis Norman

How do you engage in Dialogue with others? What if we could create a “container” for open, inspired action, where trust, awareness and understanding create new realities?  Explore concepts of Dialogue as a way of being, where all perceptions are valid, acceptance is fundamental, and where being present and mindful opens powerful new pathways of understanding. 

Through this guided practice, we lay a foundation of basic principles to achieve connection that is more than just a discussion.  Discover shared meaning, confidence, and thought-provoking Dialogue, leading to “collective consciousness.”

Guided Forest Bathing
Hosted by Leigha Horton

Forest Bathing is a slow-moving, deeply sensory, mindful and bodyful walk in Nature that has shown to result in measurable physiological, cognitive, and emotional benefits – most importantly, a reconnection to Nature alongside our inner nature.  This late-Autumn session will be guided through the 30 acres of woods and meadows and past the ephemeral ponds along the trails of Silvae Spiritus. We find that rain heightens the senses and can make for truly magical experiences, and therefore the walk will take place outdoors rain or shine.

Nature in Hip-Hop
Hosted by Thomas C Gorton

Join hip-hop producer Thomas C Gorton for an exploration of nature sounds in hip-hop music. Take a look, listen, and feel the development of an inner world expressed through both live and digitally created sounds. Thomas will lead collaborative production with the intention to build a piece of music on the spot that shifts energies and creates and shapes spaces.

One to One Energy Healing, Psychic Reading & Mediumship
Hosted by Mama Rose

Mama Rose offers 1:1 sessions providing clients with the unique opportunity to experience the combination of energy work, psychic reading and mediumship. 

Whether you have a specific question or are simply broadly curious, Spirit works through me to meet you exactly where you are. We nourish the whole system by introducing new information and patterns, gifted to us by guides, loved ones and your own code. Healing may come in the form of words, energy clearing or rearrangement, light touch or tones and creates effects on all levels of being including physical, mental, emotional and relational. Through this work, we restore one’s ability to move in connection with the divine and live in the “flow-state”. 

“I have found in my years of practice that I am a student of Spirit and each session is a classroom.” – Mama Rose

Solfeggio frequencies | Sound Design & Sampling in partnership with the land at Silvae Spiritus
Hosted by

Solfeggio frequencies are a set of ancient musical tones believed to have profound effects on the human body and mind. Advocates of Solfeggio frequencies claim that each specific frequency corresponds to a different aspect of human consciousness and can bring about various therapeutic benefits. For instance, the 396 Hz frequency is associated with liberating fear and guilt, while the 528 Hz frequency is referred to as the “Miracle Tone” and is believed to facilitate healing and transformation. These frequencies are said to work by resonating with the natural vibrational patterns of the body, promoting a sense of balance and harmony within.

Listening to these tones can result in numerous positive effects, such as reducing stress, improving sleep, enhancing focus, and even supporting spiritual growth. The idea is that by aligning the body’s energy centers and chakras with these frequencies, individuals can experience a greater sense of well-being and alignment with the universe. While scientific evidence on the direct effects of Solfeggio frequencies remains limited, many people report experiencing subjective benefits from listening to this music, finding it a helpful tool for relaxation, meditation, and overall mental and emotional well-being.

Retreat Agenda:

Friday:

2:30 pm – Guests arrive; set up campsites

5 – 5:15 pm  – Welcome + Orientation (The Lounge)

5:15 – 6 pm  – Opening Circle  (The Lounge)

6:15 – 7:30 pm – Dinner – grilling (Patio)

7:45 – 8:45 pm – Collective Consciousness Workshop (Guesthouse)

9 – Midnight – Wood-fired Sauna + Cold Plunge + Wood-fired Hot Tub (Thermic Oasis)

Saturday:

10 – 11:30 am – Brunch for Camping Guests (Guesthouse)

11:45 am – 1:15 pm – Movement, Meditation & Earth Art Medicine Practice (Outdoors)

1:30 – 2:30 pm – Dialogue Circle (Outdoor or Guesthouse)

2:45 – 4:45 pm – Forest Bathing (Outdoors – rain or shine!)

2:45 – 4:15 pm ‘BETWEEN’ Sound Healing & Embodiment Journey (The Lounge)

4:15 – 5:15 pm  –  Nature in Hiphop (The Lounge)

5:30 – 6:30 pm – Meditative Sound Immersion (The Lounge) 

6:30 – 7:45 pm – Dinner for Camping AND Day Pass Guests – taco bar (Guesthouse) 

7:45 – 8:45 pm – The State of the Digital DJ in 2023, An Interactive Exploration (The Lounge)

9:15 pm – 1 am – Dance Party with Leon J & Dendrotic (Woodland DJ booth)

Sunday:  

10 – 11:30 am – Brunch (Guesthouse)

11:30 – 12:45 pm – Solfeggio Frequencies | Sound Design & Sampling in partnership with the land at Silvae Spiritus (The Lounge)

1 – 2 pm –  Wellness Music Production Workshop (The Lounge)

2 – 2:45 pm – Closing Circle

3 pm – Event Close

Facilitators:

Amanda LaFrance
Amanda P La France is a Lifelong Student, Nature Lover, Yoga Sharer, Healing Energy Practitioner, Certified Morning Altars Teacher, Certified Wild Mushroom Harvester, Advanced Practice Skin Support Therapist, Thermal Cycling Enthusiast and Retreat Host. She aims to hold sacred space as folks curate self care healing tool boxes and light the fire of their own Hero’s/Heroine’s Journey.

Dendrotic
Dendrotic, aka event host Travis Norman, is a co-founder of Silvae Spiritus, sound sculptor & musical explorer committed to staying curious and helping others deepen their relationship with our living world. A certified Nature & Forest Therapy Guide and purveyor of ways in which sound and frequency can help welcome us into the home we call the present moment. instagram.com/dendrotic

Leigha Horton
Silvae Spiritus co-founder, ANFT-Certified Forest Therapy Guide since 2018, and a communicator by training and by trade, she has spent over 24 years as a professional voiceover, screen, and stage actor – the past 17 years specializing in voiceovers for national television and radio commercials, film trailers, museum exhibits, documentaries, training films, educational games, animation, and audio books. Leigha also has over a decade of experience in the museum field – developing and delivering programming about science, history, and arts to tens of thousands of visitors at the Walker Art Center, The Science Museum of Minnesota, and the Minnesota History Center.  It wasn’t until 2016, however, when her near-death experience in the remote wilderness became the catalyst for sweeping change in her life, that she realized her calling to immerse herself in a deeper understanding of, respect for, and connection with the healing, creative, and destructive power of nature. Leigha is now honored to introduce and inspire others to step into their own reconnection with the natural world, believing that what we love and enjoy, we protect; and nature needs all the love, enjoyment, and protection it can get.

Leon J
Producer | Performer | Ableton Certified Trainer

Minneapolis-based producer, performer and educator Leon J brings inspired action and devotion to every engagement. Leon J’s technical prowess, musical intuition and groove-driven style are apparent in each live performance.  Known for his charismatic stage presence, Leon J’s passion is clear; every appearance leaves an unforgettable impression.  Recognizing music’s ability to transcend barriers, Leon J approaches performance as a storyteller, creating unique, engaging experiences that bring a “tribe” together in harmony and dance.

He maintains a finely honed edge as a producer, mixing and mastering engineer and performing artist, while his dynamism, energy and musical evolution continue to inspire audiences from studio to stage.

With over two decades of professional experience, Leon J has produced both remixed and original music featured on Beatport, iTunes, and major streaming platforms.  An Ableton Certified Trainer and Ableton Product Specialist, Leon J is a former faculty member of the Minneapolis Media Institute and a former partner and faculty member of a Minneapolis-based music education center.  Leon J continues to offer private instruction both remotely and in person.

Instagram: @leonjmusicofficial
www.soundcloud.com/leon-j
www.facebook.com/leonjmusic
www.ableton.com/en/certified-training/leon-j/

Mama Rose
Mama Rose is an Artist, Psychic & Mother of three exploring the intersection of motherhood, sexual energy, spirituality, and nature through sonic creation and dance. Her vocal focused, self-produced music and fingerpicking style guitar and ukulele combine as tangible proof that sound is medicine. Known for her vulnerable storytelling, rich lows and tender highs, poetic lyricism and emotionally evocative performance, Mama Rose is a reminder of what it feels like to live in the flowstate and return to personal power. Her words bring the mystical and magical back into focus and restore resonance between mind & body, individual & community, you & the spirit of Mother Earth.
Social Media: @dearmamarose

Michaelton
Michael Johnson (AKA Michaelton, Digital Nap) is a Sound Artist and educator dedicated to promoting the intersection of art, technology, and wellness. He provides instruction in the fields of Music Production and Music Business, both in academic settings and through consulting services. Michaelton’s artistic ventures explore the realms of experimental lo-fi and ambient music. His passion lies in empowering creators by facilitating industry education, offering resources, and building equitable structures within the music industry.

Phillip Saint John
Phillip is a mystic and healer who has been in the process of independent esoteric spiritual study for the last 11 years. Through his music he has learned to master the art of transmutation, specifically turning the hardships in his life into positives while successfully releasing intergenerational trauma from himself. Through meditations, light language, tarot readings, introspection, astrology, and his holy fire reiki attunement certification he has found his home in healing arts and community centered around growth.

Thomas C Gorton
Thomas C Gorton is a multi-instrumentalist, wordsmith and genre-bending producer expanding the definition of Hip-Hop music. Based in Minneapolis Minnesota, his first self-produced album, ‘Years Old’, changed the local landscape in 2021 and began a cascade of intentional creation both in studio and through his live events. Thomas hosts workshops, open-mics and more as a part of the four member healing arts collective, PACT.    

Tunnel
With an emphasis on broken rhythms and unconventional sound design, Tunnel is best described as a sound sculptor. His compositional forms and structure combine elements of ambient, idm, drone, sub bass, and techno into a sonic tapestry, resting somewhere between fervor and séance, chaos and artistry. Tunnel launched their record label [ webuildmachines ] in 2013. His steady output of releases over the last several years have garnered high praise and charted recognition from the industrial and experimental electronic music community. They created their first album, “Emergence” in 2016 and expects to release a follow-up, focused on the convergence of cinematic sound design, industrial soundscapes, techno, and drum and bass in late 2022/23.

Additional Considerations:

• Arrival: When you arrive (event opens at 2:30 pm on Friday) you’ll be greeted and have a chance to choose a campsite and get settled in.
  
• Amenities: You will have 24 hour access to “The Lounge” which includes an indoor restroom, plenty of power outlets you may charge things in, and a hot tea + coffee preparation station. 
  
• Comfort + Safety: Please bring a flashlight for navigating at night, and clothing to accommodate all types of weather.
  
• Food: We will be providing dinners on Friday & Saturday as well as brunch on Sunday; vegetarian options will be on the menu (please inform us if you have any allergies or other considerations); please bring your own mid-day snacks and lunches. Any treats and beverages you’d like to share with the group are very much welcome.
  
• Trash + Recycling: Please plan to pack out any trash & recycling as you would at a state campground.
  
• Prepare: We will be relaxing together in the sauna, cold plunge tubs, and wood-fired hot tub; please bring a swimsuit, flip flops or other easy on/off sandals, and towel. Forest Bathing and Earth Art Medicine Practice will take place outdoors, rain or shine – and the weather is often quickly changeable – dress accordingly for comfort.
  
• Cell Service: Verizon cell service here is excellent; other providers sometimes have a weak signal. Limited Wi-Fi available, but subject to event usage load.

Registration:

All are welcome (ages 18+), registration required no less than 24 hours prior to event start.
Full weekend + camping passes – $222 per person
Saturday only day passes – $111 per person

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ABOUT INTERBEING EVENTS AT SILVAE SPIRITUS

We focus on the wisdom at the center of the circle:

At Silvae Spiritus, we embrace a philosophy of personal awakening and development within a context of “progress, not perfection” – an attempt to meet people wherever they are on their journey, and an acknowledgement that each step along that path is necessary and can be offered spaciousness.

Our Interbeing Events give participants an opportunity to slow down, shift from your everyday routine, and re-focus your attention toward yourself in relation to community. In contrast to the vast majority of wellness events, ours are a more interactive experience: rather than solely absorbing what we and our guest facilitators offer, participants are invited to contribute their own insights and unique gifts, thereby co-creating a more richly nuanced and memorable experience for everyone.

One of our foundational beliefs is that when we come together to immerse ourselves in shared authenticity, a deep wisdom may be accessed; one which emanates not from any particular individual, but arises from the center of the circle: the point of intersection which joins each perspective and coalesces into something greater than, and more true than, any individual would be capable of on our own. We don’t come with any answers or prescriptions for how to best navigate these complicated times, but we are honored to hold space for the conversation to unfold.

We believe effective ecology starts with love:

One of the most simple and accurate definitions of the word “love” is the expansion of self to include another. Within the context of deep ecology, the term “ecological self” describes how a natural maturation of the human is toward ever-widening fields of relevance and caring, as your self-interest expands from being just what affects you (constrained by long embedded notions of yourself as a discrete and isolated entity) to encompass your family or community or country, to eventually include what happens to Earth.

People protect what they love.

The levels of energy, buoyancy, optimism, and compassion available to a person actively enraptured in the process of falling in love are unequaled in the vast scope of human experience. This abundance is just what we will need to meet the challenges ahead. Join us at an Interbeing Event as we remember how to fall in love with Earth.

We encourage nourishment for body + mind:

All Interbeing Events at Silvae Spiritus include Nature as an active participant, not just a setting. Whether Forest Bathing, thermic cycling through the practice of Sauna + Cold Plunge, Star-gazing, Bonfire-sitting, or immersing in an ambient sound exploration, we believe an embodied interaction with the community of flora and fauna are what supports full, grounded wellness.

What to expect when you arrive at an Interbeing Event:

Whether you’re new to the practices and modalities on offer, or an experienced enthusiast, and whether the totality of your experience with nature is a houseplant or you’re a lifelong wilderness backpacker, we believe that nature is for everyone and all are welcome here.

Upon arrival you will be greeted, checked-in, and given an agenda and an overview of the land and available facilities. Coffee, tea, water, and healthy snacks are always provided.

We’ll fully communicate with you to ensure you arrive prepared and have anything you might need to comfortably participate.

Questions? Contact us anytime.

“In ecology, we understand that the wellbeing of one is inseparable from the wellbeing of all… In the story of Interbeing, life is a gift. The world and everything in it is a gift.” 

— Charles Eisenstein