The candles are lit. 

There is a place at the table just for you. 

The owls and the moon and your own inner voice are calling you here…

We are inviting a small group of practitioners to join us at the land called Axladitsa to deepen your practice and apprentice to the artistry of your systems leadership, hosted by Maria and Vanessa.

WHY THIS AND WHY NOW?

The world and our work is asking us to pay attention in new (or very old) ways and to deepen our capacity and skills to navigate these times. The climate crisis is urging us to learn and be in relationship with its power and messages. Some of us have lived through acute climate catastrophes and are still recovering, as we did last year at Axladitsa with Storm Daniel. Others have been living the ongoingness of water shortages, ecosystem loss, climate conflict and have been adapting, re-shaping and innovating. And some are right on the precipice, living in places that are on the edges of the unpredictable in anticipation. How is catastrophe (καταστροφή) which means "turning" in Greek the teacher we need ....

This residency is a time to explore, expand and come into relationship with embodying systems leadership. A space to feel the relationship between our inner worlds, the soul and ecology of the land, and the larger systems in which we are living and working.

What Maria and Vanessa have been sensing that a space of depth and nuanced learning is needed for practitioners who already have experience but want to go to the next level of their understanding, expression and application. And so we invite you into a depth container on the land known as Axladitsa, and in a rhythm of days with the human and more-than-human worlds. This container allows us to work regeneratively with context, emergence and complexity – it works with the chaordic, is fluid, nuanced and relationship-based – and deeply, deeply hospitable.  

WHAT IS A PLACE-BASED SYSTEMS LEARNING RESIDENCY?

This is not a programme or workshop. Rather, it is an invitation to live into and come into relationship with the land, our own selves and each other, and the practices and wisdom that comes from living in resonance with place. We will create just enough structure in the rhythm of our days for this to be an emergent experience, tracked and guided by Maria and Vanessa.

Our days and evenings will allow for a multiplicity of ways of being and ways of learning. We will be in conversation, exploration, contemplation. We will meet the local region of Promyiri, and the impacts of last September’s Storm Daniel which shifted the entire morphology of the land and waters. We’ll hear stories, meet neighbours and wisdom holders like Panayiotis, whose knowledge of the land, seasons and culture live in his daily practice. There will be food and stories and walks, quiet time and dreamtime - and collective sensemaking. The land is our host and guide, it is a working olive farm, the home of Maria, the birthplace of the living wholeness practice and a place of wild beauty. A core part of depth learning at Axalditsa is looking after the space and caring for each other. Chop wood, carry water.

There is an art to this kind of living, and hosting.

YOUR GUIDES

Maria and Vanessa are calling us together from their field of friendship, work and inquiry which spans 16 years of adventures and co-creations. We are calling this residency as we have been deeply touched and changed by the impact of place as core to systems learning and have been hearing the call to host residencies for people who are in systems leadership, no matter their context. We ourselves have been immersed in cross-cultural contexts across Turtle Island (Canada), Europe, the Middle East and in virtual place-based learning spaces. We have been unraveled and inspired by what is emerging in these spaces and wish to host others in their own quests and questions.

YOU!

This is a by-invitation gathering and those who are invited are those with whom we are in deep relationship and practitioners who we sense might be called to this kind of collective learning. We took the time to think of the people we would wish to invite into this space and we are inviting you because we have worked or lived together and sense a mutual readiness in you in your own pathway and where we are in our returning pathway.

Economy - Gifting- Honouring

Money can be tricky but it’s also practical. We like to think in terms of economy (oikos- nomy: nurturing the hearth) and to create a sustainable, abundant, just and joyful container for our learning and hosting. Money should never be a barrier to learning and community, and our principle is offer what you can and a little bit more. Let us know!

To reserve your spot, we invite you to pre-pay 300€ . This covers your Food and our land preparations for 4 nights and 5 days.

An offering to the land, hosting, and the programme is gifted after the programme from your hearts. This is based on your economy. You can offer this in a one-time payment or installments.

At a Glance

• 5 days and 4 nights / June 20-25

• 300 € deposit to reserve your spot (this covers your food for 5 days and pre-pays our chef, Stella Scordialos!)

• A € honouring from your heart for the hosting and the programme which you can pay post-programme

• Accommodation is off-site (we will book for you!)

• Accommodation will be between 25-50 € /night depending on if you are in a single, double or triple room. Bring cash to cover your costs.

• Flights and travel is yours to take care of

• Home-made Greek food (allergies and preferences noted) and you’re invited to bring what else you might need (gluten free snacks etc)

• Reflective Questions to come (your price of admission!)

Contact:

Vanessa Reid: vannyreid@gmail.com Maria Scordialos: mariascordialos@gmail.com