Yellowwood Tree Spirit Initiation:

Rise, and live like a forest

17-19 January 2025

THE INVITATION

Nature is the best teacher of harmonious living, and trees are the perfect mentors for growing leadership within ourselves and in community.

Outeniqua Yellowwood (Podocarpus falcatus) trees are powerful guardians and energetic architects of the ancient, biodiverse forests that span the Outeniqua mountains and southern coastlines of South Africa. These giant grandmothers rise gracefully above the forest canopy, literally seeing the bigger picture, while allowing space for the myriad species to thrive on and around them, bringing the whole forest to life. Their physical role in these rich ecosystems is crucial, but they are also deeply generous and gentle in how they create connection across different dimensions. It’s no wonder that this tree was chosen to be the national tree of South Africa!

In this weekend immersion, Saskia and Jenny will guide you in meeting these majestic beings through a series of experiential activities. Saskia will also guide you in an initiatory journey to meet and be with the eternal spirit of Yellowwood, to learn directly from this wise being. Visiting teacher Paul Martin Strode will also guide a workshop in working with an astral structure (Spiral Bridge) for clearer communication with Nature. Each participant will go home with a bottle of Yellowwood essence (an infusion of the tree’s vibration), to continue working with the tree’s teachings in daily life, both personal and professional. An online follow-up call one month after the immersion will allow for sharing, questions and further integration.

Leadership is a practice that is best lived from the inside out, and is most effective when guided by Nature, rather than driven by ego. So, the invitation is to ground yourself in the inner landscape of your heart through the wisdom of the Yellowwood trees, and find the skills, strength and grace to develop deep-rooted leadership in all aspects of your life.

Let this be an initiation by Yellowwood into planting yourself deep in the Earth, growing taller with inner confidence, and leading your life like a forest!

What’s included?

• Your choice of accommodation at the award-winning, eco-conscious Wild Spirit Lodge

• All meals and teas & coffees, made with mostly local ingredients, and freshly prepared on site

• Facilitation by Dr Saskia von Diest, founder of Ecofluency, and Jenny Lawrence, founder of Wild Spirit

• Astral structure (Spiral Bridge) workshop with special guest Paul Martin Strode

• Notes and a bottle of Yellowwood essence

• A 90min online follow-up call for integration, one month after the immersion

• Access to the new Ecofluency Alumni Hub, for asking questions, practicing with different exercises, and sharing with others to keeping growing your practice

THE SETTING

The exquisite Garden Route, or Eden District, is a region along the south coast of South Africa characterised by the Outeniqua mountain range, carved by deep canyons and vibrant rivers, pristine beaches and numerous natural lakes and lagoons, protected by various South African National Parks and marine protected areas.

Situated within the Cape Floristic Region (a protected World Heritage Site), the ancient Afromontane and dune forests, with stretches of fynbos inbetween, boasts the highest biodiversity of plants and trees in the world! In this rich biosphere, wild animals roam freely, including elephants, leopards, caracal, bush pigs, monkeys, baboons, porcupines, many species of buck, and an extraordinary number of native bird species, amphibians and reptiles. Whales, dolphins, sharks and other marine life are abundant along this thriving coastline.

Recent archeological evidence from caves along this coastline shows that this region is considered to be the birthplace of modern humans, and the Pinnacle Point Caves near Mossel Bay have recently been classified  a World Heritage Site.

This richly populated landscape is the perfect setting for rekindling your ancestral birthright for communing and communicating with all of Nature.

Extending your stay in the area is highly recommended! The Yellowwood Trail in Nature’s Valley is the perfect place to integrate the teachings from the trees during the immersion.

The venue

Wild Spirit Lodge sits on the land of Khoinania, on the western border of the Tsitsikamma National Park, near Nature’s Valley. Since its inception, Wild Spirit has been co-created with the consciousness of Nature as much as possible, towards living in harmony with life in all its forms.

With accommodation options to suit a wide range of budgets, exquisite views, a Magical Forest, waterfall, this thriving community hub has won awards for its hospitality.

The immersion includes your choice of accommodation, ranging from comfortable, en-suite rooms to BYO camping. All meals are also included and are served on the main deck of the lodge. Breakfast is a buffet, lunches and dinners are a choice of meat or vegetarian options.

You will also have time to relax and integrate at the pool during the day, in the forest, or around the fire in the evenings.

Participants are recommended to bring both warm and cool clothing, as temperatures can vary greatly, ranging from 10 to 35 degrees Celsius between day and night, even in January.

Please arrive by Thursday 16 January if you’re taking the shuttle from Cape Town, to avoid arriving late on the first day (accommodation for Thurs night is not included in the immersion rate). Check in is 15:00-16:30 on 17 January, and we start the immersion at 17:00 on that day. Check out is by 10:00 on 19 January, and we close our immersion at 16:00.

WHAT IS ECOFLUENCY?

This immersive tree spirit initiation is the first of its kind to be offered by Ecofluency, and will give you a different, more experiential taste of Ecofluency - the science, art, and magic of two-way communication with Nature using a wider range of senses and awareness.

It is for anybody interested in communing and communicating with Nature, including those who practise it already, although no previous experience is required. While we won’t cover Ecofluency theory, or step-by-step guidelines for Nature communication (please see other events for these workshops), this event is focused on the deep, embodied, magical experience of being immersed in the wisdom and spirit of the Yellowwood trees. It is designed to help you explore a unique way of connecting with trees that is still practical and relevant for everyday life, and can be applied with other tree and plant species.

All humans are born with the capacity to commune and communicate with any aspect of Nature, because we are Nature. This way of being exists beyond all languages, and has been known and practised by indigenous peoples worldwide for millennia. Although many have forgotten how to use this ancient ability, this immersion offers an opportunity to reclaim the power of this birth-right, allowing access to the deeper knowledge, wisdom and divinity of Nature that is not often available to our everyday human minds, to benefit all life.

Ecofluency is a critical skill for empowering physical, mental and emotional vitality, to grow beyond resilience into a dynamic state of thriving. It offers a key to unlocking greater joy and harmony in our relationships with ourselves, other humans, and the rest of Nature, and can be used within any faith or belief system.

On a practical level, communicating with Nature helps us make more holistic and efficient decisions in all aspects of our lives: growing food, choosing a place to live, understanding the behaviour of wild or domestic animals, creating rituals and ceremonies for inspiration and abundance, expanding your professional work in ecological alignment, or healing traumas to become whole and to spiritually evolve.

Human existence with other species depends on dialogue with them, as they call on us to co-evolve and create our future in alignment with all of Nature.

The world is waiting – join the conversation!

YOUR HOSTS

DR SASKIA VON DIEST

Saskia is the founder of Ecofluency, as well as consultant, educator, activist, and occasional researcher in the field of Nature communication.

Attending an animal communication workshop during her PhD (Plant Pathology) in 2012 sparked her interest in how farmers use intuitive communication with nature to inform practical management decisions. From 2014-2020, she held two postdoctoral fellowships, at Stellenbosch University, South Africa, and at Coventry University, UK, to investigate intuitive farming as part of a wider new field of subtle agroecology.

Throughout her postdoctoral years, she further developed her own understanding and practice in communicating with trees, animals, land, nature spirits and ancestors. She’s also trained as a Family Constellations facilitator, in Jikiden (Usui) Reiki, and in the Way of the Warrior Healer for energy field clearings and psychic surgery.

In 2021, she founded Ecofluency, to offer consulting, facilitation, teaching and coaching in Nature communication, and promote other human voices in this field. With 15 years of experience in teaching and facilitating through various forms and in many countries, her passion is creating opportunities for others to have their own experience of communicating with non-human Nature, and develop that for individual and the collective transformation.

JENNY LAWRENCE

Jenny was guided to take on the custodianship of an 18 hectare smallholding on the western boundary of the Tstitsikamma National Park, near Nature's Valley, thanks to a synchronistic meeting with a stranger in 1977.  Over many years, with the assistance of family and friends, it has evolved into a gathering place now known as Wild Spirit Lodge, which has won awards for its hospitality, and is home to the very popular Festival of Friends that happens over New Year’s.

In the wake of a vast mountain fire in 1998, Jenny felt called to rename the land Khoinania, in honour of the original people who knew how to live simply and in deep reverence for all of life.

Jenny's deep love and affinity with the natural world, and her commitment to inspire this in others, led her into the hosting and facilitation of a wide range of retreats over the next few decades, all with the core message of "Awakening to our life purpose".

During the 1990's, she led a campaign to save this exquisite coastline from inappropriate commercial development under the banner of the Garden Route Trust for Community Development & the Environment, for which she won a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Western Cape Provincial Government. This subsequently led to the formation of the Barefoot University Foundation specifically focused on youth training.

Now, 45 years on, Jenny still delights in welcoming people from all over the world to experience the magical place she calls home at Khoinania and Wild Spirit. Ola, Jenny’s beloved daughter, is continuing Jenny’s legacy, bringing permaculture, biodynamic farming, and especially beekeeping to the land, ensuring that co-creation with Nature remains a guiding principle in Wild Spirit’s warm hospitality, for all forms of life.

OUTENIQUA YELLOWWOOD TREES

This immersion was called into being by the spirit of the giant Outeniqua Yellowwood trees, including the 1000+ year old Mama Yellowwood tree guardian on the Khoinania land, which houses Wild Spirit Lodge.

The programme for the immersion is co-designed with, and will be energetically held, by the consciousness of the Outeniqua Yellowwood trees.

SPECIAL GUEST: PAUL MARTIN STRODE

Over the past 25 years, Paul has developed a deeply intuitive connection with Nature through personal endeavours and healing work. His belief is that, since we originate from Nature and are a part of it, it makes sense to rekindle our connection to Nature, as surely It is at the heart of our healing.

Paul’s approach to healing is collaborative, and Nature spirit is always present. He uses Craniosacral Therapy (various trainings since 1997), his own British Wild Flower Essences established in 1999, and astral structures for remote shamanic healing. Since 2005, he’s specialised in working with newborn babies, children, and animals, particularly horses. He has also undertaken a Dolphin Assisted Bio Aquatic CST course for paediatrics with disabilities in Turkey 2010.

In addition to his healing work, he offers workshops and courses to enable clients to operate their own Spiral Bridge - the astral structure he developed co-creatively with Nature, as a tool to create a virtual safe space to communicate with Nature and receive healing from It.

With over 27 years of clinical experience, Paul’s intention is to bring warmth and enthusiasm to his healing work, and enjoys helping others find their path to wellness.

BOOKINGS

The immersion rate is inclusive of accommodation, all meals, teas & coffee, facilitation by Jenny, Saskia and Paul, and an online integration call.

Package rates depends on choice of accommodation, and except for camping, the number of rooms and safari tents are limited:

• Camping: R2900 pp

• Safari tent sharing (2 singles OR 1 double): R3000 pp

• Safari tent single occupancy: R3500 pp

• Dorm (8 single, non-bunk beds per room): R3100 pp

• Double room en-suite, 2 people sharing: R3200 pp

• Double room en-suite, single occupancy: R3900 pp

• Family room en-suite, 3 people sharing 1 dbl bed & 1 single: R3400 pp

• Family room en-suite, 2 people sharing 1 dbl bed: R3400 pp

• Family room en-suite, single occupancy in a dbl bed: R4200 pp

Please book directly with Saskia: saskia(at)ecofluency.org.

A 30% deposit is required to secure your booking and choice of accommodation.

The rate excludes travel to and from Wild Spirit (although affordable shuttle services to the area like Gecko and Baz Bus are available from Cape Town), comprehensive medical and travel insurance, gratuities, laundry, items of a personal nature, items not specified under Inclusions.

Any questions can be sent to Saskia at saskia(at)ecofluency.org.

Service policy

Cancellation and refund:

• If I cancel or postpone the event for any reason, ticket(s) will be refunded in full.

• Bookings are made on a first come, first served basis. A 30% deposit is required to secure your booking, and is only refundable until 19 December 2024. The remainder is due by 8 January 2025.

• If you wish to cancel your booking, I offer a partial refund or a ticket transfer:

  • A valid medical reason within a week before the event, with proof of hospitalisation, entitles you to a refund of your ticket amount minus the 30% deposit.

  • You may transfer your ticket(s) to a friend. To do this, please contact me to provide contact details of the new ticket holder(s) at least 3 working days before the event so that I can give them any necessary details about the workshop.

  • No-shows are not entitled to refunds, exchanges or transfers.

• Printed notes will be provided during the workshop. These are strictly for your own use, and may not be copied, edited or distributed in any form. All workshop content is copyright of Saskia von Diest and the other facilitators, all rights reserved.