Why come to the Inner Journey Intensive?
Many of us spend our time focused on our outer journey throughout our life, by seeking satisfaction and success through external sources: money, material things, jobs, relationships. While there is nothing wrong with having these things, and while we may experience feelings of achievement, they are often fleeting. A deeper part of ourselves remains unfulfilled. The Inner Journey is an opportunity to explore those deeper parts of ourselves, heal wounds of the past, learn to be present in the NOW, and create new possibilities for your future.
What is the Inner Journey?
The Inner Journey is a 3 1/2-day residential program designed to support you in powerfully and dramatically transforming the quality of your life. Drawn from years of experience and research into a wide range of personal development, philosophical, and spiritual practices, the Inner Journey is a modern-day response to the ancient search for truth and meaning in our lives.
The Inner Journey was created by Michael Schiesser, founder of Inner Journey Seminars.
How is Inner Journey different from other courses?
There are many courses available that are intended to create breakthroughs for us in our lives. Some have a focus on looking forward and creating possibility, while spending no time acknowledging wounds of the past. Some are designed around being silent, being with self and confronting our own inner world. Some programs are designed solely around emotional healing, and do very little around being in action and creating the life we want. Some are designed to “break down” the ego, stripping away the things we identify with in our lives. And other programs may be just quiet meditation to calm the mind. All of these can be valuable in their own way.
The uniqueness of the Inner Journey is its multi-dimensional approach. There is a balance and inclusivity built into the program, reflective of the ancient wisdom of the Five Element philosophy, and you will experience the aspects of many different kinds of transformational approaches. Often, we are inclined to participate in a certain type of program based solely on our personality type. What we find is that when people stretch themselves to experience something more unknown, or even a little uncomfortable, the opportunities for growth are expanded. You may arrive at a new perspective that can catapult you into a sense of inner fulfillment - feeling fully alive, self-expressed, and reconnected to your heart.
The design of the Inner Journey seminar has two "wings": self-awareness and love. These two qualities are rarely linked together in other transformational programs.
Awareness
During the course, participants have an opportunity to explore how their thought processes (Eckhart Tolle refers to this as the mind or “ego”) can sometimes create patterns in their life that hinder personal growth and create an existence that lacks passion and full self-expression. The course uses many techniques to foster self-awareness, including Jungian archetypes, meditative practices, journaling, sharing, and presencing techniques.
Love
Participants have a wonderful opportunity to explore their relationship to love, how it currently lives for them or doesn’t, and how they may have more access to it in their lives. Many of us have experienced emotional "wounding" at a very young age, and as a result have protective-coping mechanisms and emotional blockades. As adults, these coping mechanisms, created to protect us at an earlier time in life, can also cut us off from fully experiencing natural, human emotion and thus dampens our capacity to fully love and accept ourselves, our partners, our family, our friends, and very often our spiritual source. In Michael Schiesser’s original creation and ongoing updating of the Inner Journey seminar, he uses many cutting edge and ancient techniques from all over the world, including breath work, chanting, meditation, movement, and unique experiential processes that draw on his extensive experience and study of Western psychology and Eastern philosophy. This highly structured and intensive seminar supports participants in gaining greater conscious access to their hearts and the capacity to love, forgive and feel compassion.
How is the weekend organized?
During the first half of the program, you will have the opportunity to explore the common bonds that connect you with your own gender. In small gender-separated groups, the men and women participant explore their own personal concerns and also the common concerns faced by others of their gender. Through discussion, journaling and individual coaching, participants begin their journey inward and, through practicing self-awareness and presencing, you come to understand and appreciate the unique gifts of the masculine and feminine energies. In a safe and structured environment, you can heal wounds of the past and create possibility for your future. Participants report that this approach to the weekend provides a level of trust and connection unlike anything they have ever experienced. You will awaken your power, love, strength and passion!
This initial inner exploration prepares you for the second half of the program, when the men and women come together for a profound healing connection between the genders. You begin to dissolve the barriers that people often have with each other as a result of past experiences. As those dissolve, you will experience an opening to authentic self-expression of your desires, passion and commitments and open to deeper connection to yourself, others, and your spiritual source. This journey of love, truth and celebration will have an extraordinary impact on your relationships with yourself and with those who are most important in your life.
Where and when is the Inner Journey held?
The Inner Journey Seminar is a 3.5-day residential workshop, beginning at 7 p.m. on a Thursday evening and ending before 6 p.m. on Sunday evening. It is held at a peaceful, spacious and fully accessible retreat site on the beautiful shores of the Big Rideau Lake near Perth, Ontario – about a 1 h 25 drive from Ottawa.
What is the cost for the Inner Journey Intensive?
The cost is $995 per person, or $1890 per couple. This includes all tuition, meals, accommodation and a follow-up Reunion that takes place about 10 days after course completion.
We offer a discount of $70 for registrations received up to six weeks in advance of the seminar. A deposit of $250 is required to register.
To register, please contact our Registrar or Register Online.
Who participates in the Inner Journey?
Anyone 18 years of age or older who wants an extraordinary, loving, passionate and successful life. The Inner Journey welcomes people of all races, religions, ages and sexual orientation. Our retreat site can accommodate people with disabilities. Our chef, who provides healthy and delicious meals, can accommodate most dietary requirements and preferences.
Who presents the Inner Journey Intensive?
The Inner Journey is a non-profit educational organization and is led by highly trained and experienced facilitators. Following extensive formal training, our facilitators undertake many years of apprenticeship prior to taking a lead role as a full facilitator in the program. A team of facilitators creates the space and structure for your journey and, with a staff of volunteers, supports participants in a ratio of 2 to 1.
What are the benefits of participating in the Inner Journey?
The IJ weekend is dynamic, joyful and heart-opening, as well as very deep and peaceful. A new perspective is gained – one that opens your heart and mind to a deeper understanding of yourself and others. This profound awakening can catapult you into a new dimension of living: feeling fully alive, self-expressed and acknowledged for who you truly are.
Your experience at the Inner Journey will have you connect to intellectual, physical, emotional, and spiritual parts of yourself that you may never have experienced before, including:
For Men:
For Women:
What is the Inner Journey?
The Inner Journey is a 3 1/2-day residential program designed to support you in powerfully and dramatically transforming the quality of your life. Drawn from years of experience and research into a wide range of personal development, philosophical, and spiritual practices, the Inner Journey is a modern-day response to the ancient search for truth and meaning in our lives.
The Inner Journey was created by Michael Schiesser, founder of Inner Journey Seminars.
How is Inner Journey different from other courses?
There are many courses available that are intended to create breakthroughs for us in our lives. Some have a focus on looking forward and creating possibility, while spending no time acknowledging wounds of the past. Some are designed around being silent, being with self and confronting our own inner world. Some programs are designed solely around emotional healing, and do very little around being in action and creating the life we want. Some are designed to “break down” the ego, stripping away the things we identify with in our lives. And other programs may be just quiet meditation to calm the mind. All of these can be valuable in their own way.
The uniqueness of the Inner Journey is its multi-dimensional approach. There is a balance and inclusivity built into the program, reflective of the ancient wisdom of the Five Element philosophy, and you will experience the aspects of many different kinds of transformational approaches. Often, we are inclined to participate in a certain type of program based solely on our personality type. What we find is that when people stretch themselves to experience something more unknown, or even a little uncomfortable, the opportunities for growth are expanded. You may arrive at a new perspective that can catapult you into a sense of inner fulfillment - feeling fully alive, self-expressed, and reconnected to your heart.
The design of the Inner Journey seminar has two "wings": self-awareness and love. These two qualities are rarely linked together in other transformational programs.
Awareness
During the course, participants have an opportunity to explore how their thought processes (Eckhart Tolle refers to this as the mind or “ego”) can sometimes create patterns in their life that hinder personal growth and create an existence that lacks passion and full self-expression. The course uses many techniques to foster self-awareness, including Jungian archetypes, meditative practices, journaling, sharing, and presencing techniques.
Love
Participants have a wonderful opportunity to explore their relationship to love, how it currently lives for them or doesn’t, and how they may have more access to it in their lives. Many of us have experienced emotional "wounding" at a very young age, and as a result have protective-coping mechanisms and emotional blockades. As adults, these coping mechanisms, created to protect us at an earlier time in life, can also cut us off from fully experiencing natural, human emotion and thus dampens our capacity to fully love and accept ourselves, our partners, our family, our friends, and very often our spiritual source. In Michael Schiesser’s original creation and ongoing updating of the Inner Journey seminar, he uses many cutting edge and ancient techniques from all over the world, including breath work, chanting, meditation, movement, and unique experiential processes that draw on his extensive experience and study of Western psychology and Eastern philosophy. This highly structured and intensive seminar supports participants in gaining greater conscious access to their hearts and the capacity to love, forgive and feel compassion.
How is the weekend organized?
During the first half of the program, you will have the opportunity to explore the common bonds that connect you with your own gender. In small gender-separated groups, the men and women participant explore their own personal concerns and also the common concerns faced by others of their gender. Through discussion, journaling and individual coaching, participants begin their journey inward and, through practicing self-awareness and presencing, you come to understand and appreciate the unique gifts of the masculine and feminine energies. In a safe and structured environment, you can heal wounds of the past and create possibility for your future. Participants report that this approach to the weekend provides a level of trust and connection unlike anything they have ever experienced. You will awaken your power, love, strength and passion!
This initial inner exploration prepares you for the second half of the program, when the men and women come together for a profound healing connection between the genders. You begin to dissolve the barriers that people often have with each other as a result of past experiences. As those dissolve, you will experience an opening to authentic self-expression of your desires, passion and commitments and open to deeper connection to yourself, others, and your spiritual source. This journey of love, truth and celebration will have an extraordinary impact on your relationships with yourself and with those who are most important in your life.
Where and when is the Inner Journey held?
The Inner Journey Seminar is a 3.5-day residential workshop, beginning at 7 p.m. on a Thursday evening and ending before 6 p.m. on Sunday evening. It is held at a peaceful, spacious and fully accessible retreat site on the beautiful shores of the Big Rideau Lake near Perth, Ontario – about a 1 h 25 drive from Ottawa.
What is the cost for the Inner Journey Intensive?
The cost is $995 per person, or $1890 per couple. This includes all tuition, meals, accommodation and a follow-up Reunion that takes place about 10 days after course completion.
We offer a discount of $70 for registrations received up to six weeks in advance of the seminar. A deposit of $250 is required to register.
To register, please contact our Registrar or Register Online.
Who participates in the Inner Journey?
Anyone 18 years of age or older who wants an extraordinary, loving, passionate and successful life. The Inner Journey welcomes people of all races, religions, ages and sexual orientation. Our retreat site can accommodate people with disabilities. Our chef, who provides healthy and delicious meals, can accommodate most dietary requirements and preferences.
Who presents the Inner Journey Intensive?
The Inner Journey is a non-profit educational organization and is led by highly trained and experienced facilitators. Following extensive formal training, our facilitators undertake many years of apprenticeship prior to taking a lead role as a full facilitator in the program. A team of facilitators creates the space and structure for your journey and, with a staff of volunteers, supports participants in a ratio of 2 to 1.
What are the benefits of participating in the Inner Journey?
The IJ weekend is dynamic, joyful and heart-opening, as well as very deep and peaceful. A new perspective is gained – one that opens your heart and mind to a deeper understanding of yourself and others. This profound awakening can catapult you into a new dimension of living: feeling fully alive, self-expressed and acknowledged for who you truly are.
Your experience at the Inner Journey will have you connect to intellectual, physical, emotional, and spiritual parts of yourself that you may never have experienced before, including:
- Newfound depth of connection to your loved ones
- Greater openness and honesty in relating to others
- Self acceptance and inner peace
- Expanded awareness and sense of balance
- Learning around the essentials of life: mindfulness, love, awareness, men, women, aging, death, sexuality, spirituality
- An expanded sense of your unique gifts and talents
- Strength, willingness and direction to move forward in areas of your life that have been stagnant
- Opening to a passionate and fulfilling life in which you are fully self-expressed
- The connection of mind and body
For Men:
- A new sense of PURPOSE in life
- Deeper connection with your sexual energy
- Revitalized ENGAGEMENT in life
- Taking ACTION, overcoming procrastination
- Deeper senses of BEING A MAN
- APPRECIATION of women
- SELF-RESPECT as a man
- Connecting to the BROTHERHOOD of men
- Reconnecting to or awakening your POWER
- Courage to face life’s decisions
- If you have children, your own “FATHER PRESENCE” will be more POWERFUL and LOVING
For Women:
- Connection to the sisterhood of women
- Understanding men more deeply
- Appreciation of your essential qualities
- Expansion of your feminine radiance and essence
- Healing wounds of the heart
- Joy and “juiceness”
- Feeling connected to your body and how it responds to emotion
- More balance between your feminine and masculine energies
- Expansion of your ability to express love and receive love
- Celebration of all the phases of life
- Your outer and inner beauty will shine even more
- If you have children, a revitalization of your care and love
