Let me introduce you to my dragon. His name is Cliffron. He has bright green scales that flicker when he moves. He has patches of silver on his back and fluorescent orange fins. 

Cliffron can fly and he can blow fire, but his most potent medicine are his teeth. Cliffrons teeth are made from the regrets of my past that I carry around with me. They are white and extremely sharp. 

Cliffron has always followed behind me, ensuring I move forward. His sharp teeth chomp at me every time I slow down. He chases me, just as my regrets haunt me. 

I recently faced Cliffron for the first time; that was an ordeal. Let me fill you in on my Dragon taming night. 

It was a regular Sunday night. I was resting and puttering around the house, not doing much, when I felt a pinch in my stomach. Off to the porcelain throne to “make peace” as we say in our house. 

I came out feeling a little lighter, a little better, a little unfinished. 

I went back to my Sunday wandering but, in a hour or so, I felt another pinch in my stomach, then another… I was familiar with these pinches having had a sensitive stomach most of my life. These same feeling would keep me from sleeping, wondering and worrying.

I, once again, allowed my system to clean and clear itself with peace. I drank plenty of water and did my best to stay calm. My body knows best. I committed to supporting it in its time of need. 

All seemed to pass and be well until the evening fell. I remember coming in from watching the stars, they were on fire that night. I felt another pinch, but this time it grew to a full on belly punch. I was taken back and rushed to my peace room. 

I was perched on my throne for a while when the cold sweats came rushing over me. I needed solid ground, I needed cool ground, I needed to let go of my muscles and put myself down. 

As I lay on the ground, cooling down, sweating and getting worried about loosing consciousness, I saw something move in the shower curtain. Maybe it was the detox my body was drowning in, maybe it was the shadow mixed with the sweat in my eyes, but I saw something move. 

I tried to find the source of the movement but I was not able to lift my head. I was just allowing my body to process when I heard the furnace kick on. The vent for the bathroom was pointed right at my belly. I was going from the cool floor to the heat of the dragon breath on my belly. 

That is when I met Cliffron. He came to me, as he had many times in the past, but this time I could not ignore him by running away. He was present and commanded my attention. My belly had been bitten with the sharp teeth of regret and I was wounded on the battlefield.

I could no longer run.

The dragon I had feared my entire life, the carrier of my regrets of my life, had commanded that I face him. I was weak and scared but those are no excuses for the dragon tamer that I have been training to be.

I pulled myself to my feet, swayed in the nausea, and said, “I see you. I am not running anymore. I see you. I will love you.”

Almost instantly the sweats stopped, my energy came back to me, my stomach stopped turning. Finally I had faced the dragon, I had stopped running, I stood up and claimed back my power. 

Then something happened that I really did not expect. Cliffron and I shared openly, like two old buddies having a beer. 

He told me he no longer wanted to run after me. He was tired. He wanted to blaze a path ahead of me and make my life easier, he was tired of biting me and trying to catch me with his teeth.

I asked what could we do with these teeth of regret. He told me, “Regret is only dangerous if it is behind you. If you face the regrets, they turn into lessons that can lead you.”

So I agreed to let go of my regrets, let go of whatever I think I owe others from my past and allow Cliffron to take the lead. 

When I got out of the bathroom, I was a new man. I was light, and happy and a little tired.

Cliffron is in front of me now. He blazes a path to make my life easier. It has only been a few weeks, but I see that Cliffron is showing me the lessons I have learned in my life and he is helping me break down obstacles with his sharp teeth. We are working together, building a future of peace. 

I choose to learn from my past missteps, and not hide from them, hold onto them and be indebted by them. 

I faced a huge dragon. I was never there to slay it, I was there to learn how to work with it, how to love it, how to build a bond with it. This is my master lesson in dragon taming. Befriend a dragon, give it honour, respect and talk to it. 

***

Home practice:

Ask your heart to reveal or connect you to a dragon that has a lesson of peace to gift you with. 

• What does this dragon look like, sound like, feel like?
• What is the dragon’s name?
• How can you honour this dragon’s lesson and put this reclaimed power/energy to use in your life?

So your summer romance has ended.  In some countries, “summer lovin'” can last the whole year.  Here in Canada we just have to face the music:  Summer was fun, and that doesn’t mean Winter can’t be just as great.  Winter can be a time for deep renewal; a time for playing in the snow, and yes, a time for falling in love.  We just have to make our peace with it.

Just in time for the winter season, here is our official 8 Step guide to being Wooed by Winter:

1. Your Eyes Meet Across the Room
It all starts with the first snow of the year.  The colour has been missing from the trees and plant life surrounding you, the gray and brown of the past week or two is suddenly spruced up with a bedding of white sparkling joy.  It’s the new smile from across the room after your break up from your summer romance.  This is new.  This is exciting.  Will it last?  Only one way to find out:

2.  Embrace a new Adventure
“I’ve tried this before,” you want to say, but really – this is a new winter.  That really cold winter last year was just one season: they can’t all be the same, right?  And you’re starting to feel it.  What would it be like to give yourself permission to enjoy winter? To explore the opportunities winter brings?  Snowshoeing, Cross-Country Skiing . . . You’ve heard of these activities before, maybe you’ve given them a try.  Maybe they are worth trying again.  Guided and fully-equipped ski and snowshoe day trips take the stress out of preparing for these journeys.

3.  Butterflies in your Stomach
It’s time to make a date.  You love cooking – well, at least you know you love eating.  Each season brings it’s own joyous bounty: winter can be home to comforting soups, chili, stews, savoury pies, walnut cookies, and more.  Soul food.  What sort of ingredients are available locally in your area?  Can something even be “in-season” during the winter?  You can learn to love cooking with grown-at-home sprouts & micro-greens, and nourish yourself even in the heart of winter.  Guests at the Edge learn how, through stories from Chef Gregor on his culinary process and local foodie connections.

4.  Timelessness & Late Night Conversations
We all know those timeless moments that happen on date night.  The nights you get so wrapped up in conversation that suddenly you are watching the sun rise together.  This evening, step out onto our lakefront skating rink.  Skate under a festival of stars, on a lake lit just by ice lanterns and the moon.  Once you’ve had enough (if you can possibly get enough,) wish upon a star then head inside to retire next to the fire with a good book and a mug of hot chocolate.

6.  Build Something Meaningful
Winter is a time for dreaming of the future.  What do you want your next year to be like?  What action steps can you take right now to make that happen?  Dare to Live Your Dreams this winter, and spend some time building outside too.  Build a snowman, a snow-tree, a snow-castle, a snow-dragon.  The possibilities are as endless as your imagination.

4.  Discover a Primal Connection
Ignite the wild soul within you.  Time to go out on a limb & try something brand new.  What winter experience have you always wanted to try, but haven’t yet had the chance?  How do you feel about dog-sledding?  Guests at the Edge have the opportunity to meet Ed and his fleet of Alaskan Huskies.  Learn the simple controls and head out on a 3 hour dog-sledding excursion, becoming one with the dogs and with winter along your journey.

5.  Get comfortable being Intimate and Silly
After a day of adventure in the snowy forest, it’s time to heat things up in the wood-fired sauna, rejuvenate yourself, and perhaps even cool down with a roll in the snow.  Recommended techniques include the “barrel roll,” the “pancake flop,” “the snow angel,” and of course the good old “pat on, wipe off.”  You can also start a light-hearted snowball fight to cool off your friends & loved ones. Let your joy shine through!

8.  All of Me
That’s it – that’s all it took, and you’re ready to commit to Winter.  The season may be almost over, but you know you’ll see each other again — and this time you’re looking forward to it.  First, you have to meet the whole family.  It’s time to meet Spring, Summer and Fall, and learn to love them as much as you now love Winter.

Experience it all at the Edge

Making Tracks: Winter Explorer is a 3 day cabin retreat that features every activity above.  Join us for a solo getaway to connect with winter, for a romantic getaway with a loved one, or just to have a good time with friends.

Our full winter calendar has other wonderful winter programs, including a New Years Restorative Yoga Retreat.

When Martha and Todd first dreamed of the Edge, they dreamed of a community that would be here to support each-other in our dreams, in our troubles.  Over the years, that community has been built:

From Greg Waters, who visited to build our stone floors in Points North, fell in love with the Edge, and never left, promising to be there to do whatever it is that needs to be done; today delighting guests with one-of-a-kind nourishment, and educating us all on the sources of our food;

to Gwenith Kikkawa, who first visited the Edge as a participant in a Basic Shamanism retreat, then again as an Advanced Two Year Shamanism program participant, many years later returning to pick up the reigns as the coordinator for the Canadian Centre for Shamanic Studies, and today is also coordinating and co-producing a variety of yoga retreats with Studios from around Canada . . .

Our community has slowly joined us and has grown over the years.

In a current improvement project at the Edge, we have decided to light up our forest pathways and canvas cabin accommodations with a lovely style of light.  After deciding on the perfect light in Home Depot, we learned that it was not available to order online – and is only available in-stores.  We cleared out the North Bay and Huntsville stores, but still needed more lights.

Todd was looking for other options – trying to decide on similar lights that would be shipped from the U.S. at triple the cost, when I had an idea:

“Let’s put the call out to our community,” I said.  “The Edge has built a strong community, and we have people in cities all over Ontario.  Let’s ask them to stop at their local home depot and pick up the lights.”

I made a quick post on Facebook, with a photo of the light and a description of our dilemma.  I wrote what was needed.

Todd also reached out to family, and our first four lights were bought in Windsor just an hour after having the idea.

Within an hour and a half, we were shocked by the number of responses:  Past & current guests, friends of the Edge, past & current team members, all offering to visit their nearest Home Depot on behalf of the Edge.

Our Edge community was crowd-sourcing our new lights, searching stores in Windsor, Barrie, Toronto, Cambridge, Vaughan, Whitby, Oshawa, Bradford, Newmarket, Aurora, Kingston, Sault Ste Marie, Thunder Bay, and more.

Our community stepped forward, and the symbolism was not lost on us.  Our community brings the light to the Edge.  You light our pathway forward.  We learned that we are on the right path, and that the community we have built is strong.

I would like to take this time to thank every person who helped us with these lights.  Some stores were out of stock, (one, Chris Sheridan shared, had just been cleared out by somebody outfitting their Man-Cave that same day!) and once we reached the right number I even let some folks know we didn’t need anymore — but each offer to help and share was just as kind and helpful as the last.

THANK YOU to Salomeh Ghaffari, Chris Sheridan, Mackenzie Grenier, Snoovy Brown, Amanda Creighton, Andrew Kornacki, Chris Kelly, Alistair Cameron, Katherine McKenzie, Alannah Calomino, Carly Stong, Jerry Pfaff, Paul Loughran, Eileen Lucier, Linda Iler, Rodd Lucier, and Mark Lucier!

With you, we know that we have support.

The first light is up.  The rest should be up within the next week or two – I’ll add a photo of them all lit up at night once everything is ready.

Thank you!

Tim

By: Jane Large

What does it mean to lead, to be a leader? I believe that being a leader can take many shapes and that there are many different ways in which we may be called to be a leader and many understandings about what being a leader might look like.

What I am learning is that the most significant aspect of being a leader is discernment, being able to discern what is called for at any given moment by listening deeply from a Heart and Soul space and then being willing to take the action that is called for. It is knowing, are we being called to hold space, to offer encouragement, to offer advice or wisdom we have gathered from our own life experience, or are we called to share our gifts actively in what way or form that might arise? It is also being able to discern the difference between being triggered and reacting from a mind and ego place and being called to be leaders from a Heart and Soul place. Knowing how we are being called to be a leader is all about listening deeply from a Heart and Soul space, then taking the action that we are called to take at that moment, knowing also that from moment to moment that this may change, just as the Pace of Creation shifts and changes from moment to moment.

One of the ways in which I have been learning and practicing discernment is in my work as a secondary school teacher, a role which calls me to be a leader on a daily basis. No two moments are at a high school are the same and moments can shift very quickly when 1000 people sharing space each day for 8 hours a day. During any given teaching day, I not only plan and deliver curriculum, but am called to take on many leadership roles. Knowing which role I am being called to take and how I am being called to be a leader requires a great deal of discernment. During any given day I am an educator delivering curriculum, having to discern the best way to do so, so that my students are able to be successful learners. In addition to that leadership role, I may also be called to take on other leadership roles – a confidant to listen to a story or struggle, a ‘school mom’ as some students call me, the one ‘who gives the best hugs in the world’ to the kids who may never get a hug except from me (even though it is not recommended we have physical contact with students due to liabilities…sometimes I discern that breaking the rules is the best choice), a pep talk giver, a life-coach, the answerer of any question because if they ask they must really want or need to know the answer, the enforcer of rules, the “voice of reason”, the holder of space…. Sometimes I feel as though I ought to have a business card that lists my profession as Teaching and Social Services.  Sometimes in a day I may take on each of these leadership roles more than once, sometimes within span of minutes. Being able to do this successfully (most of the time) requires me to also hold space for myself so that I can discern how to take action, not from a place of being triggered, but from a Heart and Soul place, from a place guided from Spirit and my connection to the Divine Oneness we are all part of. It is one of the places where I bring my shamanic practice to life within my life.

I am the lead teacher for the Aboriginal Students Links student group at my school. It is a group for all First Nation’s, Metis and Intuit students, as well as any other student who wishes to learn about First Nation’s culture and teachings. For this group I organize, with the support of a colleague and community partners, a variety of activities – from monthly feasts, to attending Pow Wows, to learning circles with Elders, to hiking and canoe trips.

So far this year we have had 4 gatherings and our numbers have almost doubled since last year. We have about 15-20 new First Nation’s students at the school this year, most of them in grade 9, and many of them far from home, staying with billet families or their own extended family. For the students who I have been working with for 2 years there is already a natural rapport and level of trust between us. They know me and I know them. They know they can trust and count on me, and I know about them and how to best interact with each of them. For the new students and grade 9s, we are just getting to know each other, just beginning to develop that level of trust, rapport and comfort.

One of the newest students to our group is a young man who I will call Jay. He is a grade 9 student and he and his sister, Jade, both go to gathering by an educational assistant and initially they would not come into the room where we were gathering. Instead, they both hovered outside the door for almost the entire duration of our gathering. Eventually Jay snuck into the back of the room to grad a snack, but he would not join the circle and sat back by himself. Since then, a mere 4 weeks later, they have attended every gathering, though mostly they choose to sit outside of the room or outside the circle on their own. The next thing I noticed about Jay and Jade, which is striking, is that they almost never talk, and if they do it more of a grunt or mumble. When they do talk I sense that they feel they are taking a great risk to do so, as if someone at some time ‘stole’ their voice. The other thing you might notice about Jay and Jade are the scars that peak out from underneath their clothing from time to time, scars that tell stories of what they have experienced in their lives so far.

This is the story of how Jay taught me about what is to be a leader and how we can be called to lead in so many different ways, and what a profound affect we can have when we listen, discern and act. Today he taught me that sometimes a moment calls me to hold space and sometimes holding space is not enough and I am called to take a more active approach of leading while still holding the space I was holding initially. Today was one of those days, when I am called to hold space, but also to listen deeply from a Heart and Soul place and then take action based on what I hear.

Today we were at the YMCA to do a swim test and a canoe rescue activity to prep students for an upcoming day-long canoe excursion. As I waited for students to arrive and board the bus, Jay arrived with his signed permission form. This was miracle #1. I had given Jade the forms the day before and asked her to give one to him. The fact that he showed up at all spoke to my heart in profound ways. I had been holding space for him and Jade, that they might join us, because if they did not they would not be able to go on the upcoming canoe trip.

As other students boarded the bus Jay still stood by my side. I asked if he was ready to go, and he looked at the ground, shrugged his shoulders and mumbled that he didn’t know. As I listened with my Heart, something I was called to do many times with Jay today, I discerned that he might not be sure he was ready because he was afraid. So I offered that we might go together and get on the bus. He agreed. Miracles #2. When we got to the YMCA all the students went to get changed, everyone except Jay, who sat on a chair in the lobby. He does not have a swimsuit he tells me when I ask why he is not changing. When you are truly a leader, you learn to discern what is the correct response to have to what might be a challenging or potentially triggering situation. And so I listened deeply from my Heart and I knew the only appropriate response that was called for in this situation was, “Ok, let’s find you one then.” And so I did (fortunately my colleague had the foresight to bring a bunch of men’s bathing suits). Next Jay told me he needed a shirt to wear in the pool, which he also did not have. He said it had to be long-sleeved. I asked if the YMCA had any shirts for purchase or to borrow. The only option was to search in the Lost and Found bins to see if there was anything that would work. Jay and I went to the bins and he stood watching while I searched in the bins, which produced nothing by short-sleeve t-shirts. Without a word Jay headed for the change rooms, so I thought perhaps he might ask one of the other boys of they had a long-sleeved short he could borrow.

Ten minutes later I emerged from the change rooms with all the girls, ready to start the swim test. Everyone is ready and changed except Jay. He is sitting fully clothed on a ledge by the far end of the pool, swim trunks in his hand. At the moment I saw him sitting there, I realized that today simply holding space for this boy was not enough. I was being called to not only hold space, but also to take a more active role as a positive adult leader in his life. I realized that somewhere along his life path, he had forgotten how to lead himself, forgotten his worth, forgotten he was worthy of being part of a circle family. Today he was calling from his heart for someone to help him on a path of remembering. And since I am the only one he’d get on the bus with, I discerned that the person who was being called to support this young man to remember was me, at least for this moment. And I also realized that this situation called me to be a leader in many ways I had not yet been called to do, to bring so many of my medicines together at one time to be a leader for this person in this moment. Not only to hold space, but to lead by example, to lead by asking questions, to lead by listening deeply, to lead by taking action, to lead by being an adult that cared enough to take action so that this young man could complete this swim test and get to go on a canoe trip.

So I took a deep breath into my Heart, anchoring my awareness there, and headed over to sit with Jay on that ledge. Jay told me he needed a long-sleeve shirt to cover his scars. That sharing was miracle #3. There was nothing for me to say at that moment, but, ‘Ok, I’m going to find one for you.’ And so back to the Lost and Found bins I went again and dug deeper this time. I found a blue sweatshirt, a hoodie and a thick fleece jacket – those were the only long-sleeved options. Now it was up to Jay to take action, to decide if he was willing enough to wear one of these, even though they were not really ideal swim apparel. Jay chose the blue sweatshirt and headed into the change room. Ten minutes passed. Then 20 minutes. As time was passing I notice his friend, Dawson, going into the change room periodically and emerging alone. So I asked Dawson if Jay is coming out. He said he didn’t know but that Jay has changed into this swim suit. The fact that Jay is changed is miracle #4.

By this point we have been in the pool for over 40 minutes and all the other students have completed their swim test and are now doing the canoe rescue sequence. Something tells me that if Jay didn’t want to get on the bus alone, he isn’t going to want to do the swim test alone either. So I ask Dawson to tell Jay that I will swim with him while he does the swim test. I hold space because I know I can’t go into that change room and force Jay out, that this is also partly up to him to take action. However, I do imagine myself reaching out my hand and say in my head, “Come on, Jay, you can do it. I’ll swim with you.” Then in my vision his Soul self joined me. His Soul self stood tall with a smile on his face, not like the stooped and glum boy I see in the halls at school. My heart begins to warm up, and out of the corner of my eye I see the change room door crack up and Jay peak his head out momentarily. Now we only have about 20 minutes left of pool time to complete the test. Jay continues to stand at the threshold of the change room, just behind the doors, his head peaking out periodically. Another 5 minutes pass and he has not yet crossed the threshold. Dawson has gone back and forth a number of times also, but Jay still won’t come out.

Again as I breath and anchor in my Heart, I discern I am being called to take action again. Both Jay and I am standing at a threshold, being called to go deeper in our own spiral paths of learning. I stood at that door with Jay for 10 minutes. In that 10 minutes I learned a great deal about him – that he was afraid people would judge him for wearing a sweatshirt to swim, that his scars might show and that someone might see them. In that 10 minutes I also delivered the best pep talk of my teaching career. I spoke from a deep Heart and Soul place, speaking of how I see our circle as a big family who come together to support and care for each other and that he is a sacred part of that circle family. I spoke of the fact that we all were so glad that he came and that we were proud of him for having found the courage to do that. And then I asked him if he was willing to find the courage at that moment, knowing all of us cared for him and were willing to support him, to cross the threshold and get into the pool. By that time many of the boys we waving to him, encouraging him to get in (four of the boys had already told me they would swim with Jay if he wanted and do the canoe rescue with him). I said, “You have been so brave so far. The test only takes 5 minutes and then you can change back into your regular clothes. I’ll swim with you. Let’s do this together.” I took a step back to give Jay space because now it was all up to him.

And then he looked around tentatively, took a step out of the doorway and we got into the pool together. I swam with him the whole way, for 50 meters, then taught him how to tread water which he had never done before (and had to do for a whole minute without stopping to pass the test!). Then, with almost a smile on his face, he clambered into one of the canoes and completed the canoe rescue with the support of 4 amazing young men who showed their own ability to be compassionate leaders today. And then the biggest miracle of the day – Jay was having so much fun that he didn’t want to get out of the pool and stayed long after everyone else had gone to shower. Jay was the second last person to get on the bus, not because he was reluctant but because he and Dawson were still swimming and lounging in the hot tub only minutes before the bus arrived to pick us up. And when he got on the bus he was smiling and joking around with Dawson…and he didn’t need me to go with him.

Today Jay taught me in 2 hours more about being a leader than I had ever learned in 39 years of being alive. He taught me not only about how I am being called to be a leader, but that sometimes when we take the lead for someone they eventually remember to lead themselves again. They remember their hearts and the courage that resides there. Jay taught me that sometimes when we step up as a leader we also inspire others to be leaders in their own right, like the 4 boys who did the canoe rescue with him, not because I asked but because they were inspired in their own Hearts to do so. He taught me that many miracles and many layers of growth are possible if we are willing to be brave, and if someone is willing to give us a helping hand now and again to remind us of our potential.

Today was a miraculous day, a life changing day. Not only for Jay, but also for me. However, Jay may never know how much he taught me and supported me in my spiral path of learning and in learning how to use discernment to be the best leader I can be in any moment, and how grateful I am for these opportunities to learn. And that’s ok, because another aspect of being a leader is knowing that sometimes it is not about me but about someone else. Today was about Jay and being the leader that he needed so he could find the courage in his own heart to cross a new threshold and remember a bit more of his potential and that he is part of a loving circle family.

Home Practice

Discernment is a skill that we are being called to practice as we are being called to be leaders. So how is it that we discern we are being called to be leader? How do we know we are being called to act from a Heart and Soul place as opposed to simply reacting from our mind and ego to being triggered? One way of using discernment is to deeply tune into our senses – How do we feel when we are being called to act from a Heart and Soul place? How do we feel when we are reacting from our mind and ego when we are triggered? How do we hold space for ourselves in each moment so that we might be able to discern the difference between these two?

Think back to a time when you felt triggered and reacted to that from a mind and ego place. Tap into your body and connect to all the sensations you experienced. Note your own subtle ways of reacting when triggered.

Next, think back to a time when you felt called to act as a leader that came from a Heart and Soul place. How did you know you were being called from a Heart and Soul place? What did you feel with all of your senses? What differences are there between this feeling and reacting from being triggered?

Throughout your day, take notice of how you hold space for yourself and how you hold space for others. Do you take a moment to anchor into your Heart before you speak and act (because sometimes to act means to take not action at all, but rather simply to be and continue to hold space)?

Do you find yourself asking, “What would it look like for me to bring my family on a guided canoe trip in Algonquin Park?”

While many parents want to get their kids out into nature, sometimes it can be hard to know exactly how.

• What do we pack for this type of trip?
• Will the kids be okay without technology?
• How can I ensure it will be an enriching experience?

Just ask Debbie Buehler, a mother who recently made the decision to bring her family on a canoe trip into Algonquin Park with Northern Edge.

This September, Debbie shared a wonderful blog post all about her empowering canoe trip experience with us.  Check it out to get a sense of what a canoe trip could look like for your family.

When you book a canoe trip with the Edge, we take care of everything: the equipment, the food, choosing an experienced guide.  All you have to worry about is packing your clothes.

Custom and scheduled dates are available now for Summer 2016!

Designed and hosted for a group of women with WildWomen Expeditions the article which features a top ten list of things to experience at Algonquin Park.  I wonder how many of our guests would agree with Laura’s top ten things to experience at Algonquin Park (found at the end of the article).  Looking for an inspiring read?  Check out the Algonquin Park adventure story by Laura Mitchell

Since 1995, Northern Edge Algonquin has been offering guests the opportunity to learn about the world of the wolf from naturalist guides in small groups of 8 or less guests on overnight canoe trips and up to a dozen guests on Explorer’s Cabin escapes staying overnight at the nature retreat.

These small groups venture into Algonquin Park near Nahma Lake here the local wolf pack was originally studied by the Theberges late in the 20th century.

Nothing makes the back of your neck tingle like earning a response from a local Algonquin Park wolf pack in the silence of the night.  Responses are never guaranteed, but the small group adventurers are often greeted with additional wildlife mammal sightings which often include moose, foxes and occasionally bears.  In addition, small groups get personal attention from their naturalist guides who help guests understand the ecology of the wolf and other mammals while participating in these nighttime excursions.

Back at the 130 year-old log cabin, guests also go hands-on with wildlife artifacts including antlers, skulls and bones of all manner of Algonquin Park wildlife.

In contrast to these up-close and personal wildlife experiences, Algonquin Park has offered public wolf howls that sometimes involve thousands of attendees getting in vehicles and driving down the highway 60 corridor and parking vehicles in lines on roadside shoulders many miles long.  As part of the event, naturalists howl into the woods along the main highway that runs through the central Ontario provincial park, and members of the public listen for the response of eastern wolves – yipping and yapping from the pups, and deeper, longer howls from the adults

But for the past two years, those hoping to take part in a public wolf howl have been disappointed, as the events have been cancelled.

Unfortunately, Algonquin Park cancelled all five of its potential public wolf howls this year (for the second year in a row) because no suitable wolf pack was located for the events.

Typically, according to Algonquin Park naturalists, around five packs of wolves live along Highway 60. When a wolf howl is planned, naturalists go out earlier in the week to do some test howling along the highway. If wolves howl back, it usually indicates that a pack has chosen a “rendez-vous” or regrouping site near the highway.   If a highway location is found that is convenient for the parking of hundreds of vehicles on roadsides then the public wolf howl is scheduled.

In general it can take hours for the many vehicles to be escorted in a miles-long queue to the howling location for these public wolf howls.  Once every vehicle is safely parked, the thousand-plus participants stand in silence waiting for the naturalists to howl, and await the return howls of wolves.

Finding a location where hundreds of cars can park near a known denning site can be a challenge for Public Wolf Howl planners.  Because the event draws hundreds of cars, the events need to take place along stretches of the highway that can accommodate them. Not only does there need to be space for 1.5 kilometres of cars parked bumper to bumper on both sides of the highway, but there can’t be rock cuts or hills in the vicinity that could block some of the participants from hearing the wolves’ responses as they stand beside their cars. Nor can there be wind or rain that makes it harder to hear.

Because public wolf howls draw hundreds of cars, they can only take place along stretches of the highway that can accommodate them.

While Algonquin Park proudly says the public wolf howl may be the biggest naturalist-led interpretive program in the entire world — each one can draw more than 2,000 people, guests to Algonquin Park can be much better served by a smaller excursions like those offered by Northern Edge Algonquin.   

Learn more about Wolf Howl Canoe Trips and Explorer’s Cabin Packages that include hands-on naturalist learning and guided wolf howl experiences.

Carly Stong, facilitator of this fall’s Restore & Breathe Yoga Retreat, shares the value of retreat…

This past month has been one of the busiest of my entire life as I prepared to open a second Life Yoga location while running on less and less sleep. This was not the week to check out, but I had already booked myself for four days off the grid at Northern Edge Algonquin, a retreat centre six hours away.

Leading up to my departure, I was caught up in a flurry of planning, coordination and productivity. Once I was on site in Algonquin, being nourished by organic and locally-raised food, inspired by handcrafted surroundings designed in harmony with nature, and completely cut off from email and phone, I realized just how rundown I was. I don’t think we have the language to adequately express how much sensory stimulation we are exposed to. With marketing campaigns designed to infiltrate our consciousness and so many competing forces clamouring for our attention, we are bathed in an information soup that we are ill equipped to constantly handle. Is it any wonder why we have difficulty connecting deeply with ourselves and others, being alone, or even being still and quiet? Retreating this weekend taught me the power that comes from time away spent in quiet reflection; time away to concentrate on those things that you know are so important and time away to connect with your deeper self. Bombarded with sound, the modern woman is unaccustomed to the sound of silence and her own spirit whispering to her.

By Jane Large (CCSS Collective Member)

In preparation for our recent Soul Journey gathering at Northern Edge Algonquin, our sister Sandi called us to bring a stone to connect with during our 7 hours of solo journeying. During my solo journeying, I felt called to pick up my stone and began to dip it into the lake and draw with it on the flat stone I was sitting on. The symbol I drew was an equilateral triangle with a circle connecting all 3 points of the triangle.

I began to draw this symbol using the stone dipped in the lake water on the face of my drum, my staff and a piece of wood that is to become a rainbow serpent. At this time I did not understand what this symbol represented, but felt a deep calling to draw this symbol. The next day I was called by my ancestors to do a mud ceremony at the ancestor staircase by the lake. As part of this ceremony I collected 3 heart-shaped stones. I lay the stones down next to my drum, my staff and my serpent stick, which I then covered in black mud after I had covered myself so that ‘only the whites of my eyes were showing’. Later that day, as part of our gathering we made a membrane of love, a mixture of ingredients we brought to nourish ourselves and our skin after the clearing of the solo journeying. The next morning I was called again to the ancestor staircase to rinse my drum, my staff, my stick and the stones of the mud that had covered them and then coat them in the membrane of love. Later that day I went down to the lake to rinse everything off. When I picked up the stones I felt called to place them in the sand at the water’s edge, each one as the point of an equilateral triangle. I then drew a circle in the sand to connect all 3 points of the triangle. It was then that the significance of this symbol was shared with me. I was told that in star language this symbol represented wholeness, and later, as my understanding evolved that it means Whole Humanness. 

This star language symbol has come to us at this time to remind us that we are inherently whole. Wholeness is our birthright. It stands for unity of all parts that make the whole, in general within the whole of humanity and within each of us as human beings. The symbol represents the core sacred truth that each Being in Creation is an integral part of the whole, just as each aspect of humanness is integral to the whole, both within an individual and also how each person is an integral part of the whole of humanity on Earth.

Each point and corresponding side of the triangle represents one of 3 sacred aspects of humanness: mind/emotion, body, Soul. As the points are joined to make the sides of the triangle this represents how each of these aspects is important to maintain the integrity of the structure. Without one point and corresponding side to the triangle, the structure of the triangle is incomplete, just as if one aspect within our humanness is ignored, repressed, misused or uncared for we are not complete, we are not standing in our wholeness as a human. The circle that connects each point of the triangle represents how each aspect of our humanness is important and meant to work together in unison and harmony to support the greater whole of our being-ness. Essentially, for each individual human being, this symbol represents the sacred truth that we are whole and that we are meant to live a life where our mind/emotions, body and Soul are in harmony and working together in unison, as one.

On a greater scale in humanity, this symbol represents humans standing together holding hands, joined as brother and sisters on Earth. Imagine each point of the triangle is an individual and the sides of the triangle are our arms reaching out to each other to connect. This demonstrates how integral each person is to the structure and integrity of the greater structure of humanity. It recognizes that each one of us has a purpose and is able to contribute to the greater good of all of humanity if we stand first in our individual wholeness and then share the gifts and talents we have cultivated to support the highest purpose and growth of the whole. 

The circle connecting all points of the triangle of the Whole Humanness star symbol demonstrate how we are being called to cooperate and work together towards greater unity and harmony among all human beings. This symbol represents the ‘big picture’ learning that we are being called to do as human beings. We are mind/emotions, body and Soul together in one package as human beings. So, while we are here to cultivate and express our gifts and talents, we are being called to do so in such a way that supports the highest purpose for the whole, for all of humanity.

Just as we are being called to care for our body and our mind, we are also being called to tend to our spiritual growth, developing the awareness within our mind that we are Soul embodied. That we, as whole Soul Beings, came here for a purpose, to live as whole humans and remember just how important we are in fulfilling the wholeness of humanity. 

Although my life was already full and rich, since integrating the medicine of the Whole Humanness star symbol my life has changed significantly in positive ways. I realized that I was being called to come into a deeper level of harmony with my own Being-ness; to appreciate, honour and respect my whole self, and to tend to any aspect of my human being-ness that I had yet to accept fully. For example, even though my overall relationship with my body has improved significantly in the past 5 years, I still felt detached from my body sometimes, as if my head was not attached to it. After integrating the medicine of the Whole Humanness star symbol I have developed a deeper peace with my body, and have experienced spontaneous healing of nagging dis-eases. When I walk I feel like I am walking as all of myself. I feel more confident and at peace within. I feel a greater sense of overall abundance in my life and a greater desire to share this abundance with others. My family has also experienced miraculous healing and long-held ill feelings seem to have evaporated into the ethers. And when I move around in my daily life, I feel a deeper kinship with my Earthly brothers and sisters. I feel this link between our hearts, and understand the beauty and power that is human to human interaction. I understand more deeply the beauty and power that manifests when we stand in our own wholeness while standing together in the circle of humanity to which we all belong.

Home Practice

Part 1:

If possible, sit or lay under the stars. As you gaze at the stars, or alternatively, gaze into the Whole Humanness star symbol, use your breathing to also connect with your heart centre and all of your senses. As you do so, ask yourself these guiding questions:

• What aspect of my wholeness am I being called to tend to at this time?
• What simple action can I take to tend to my individual wholeness?
• What gifts or talents am I being called to cultivate at this time? How am I being called to share my gifts and talents in support of the whole of humanity?
• Knowing each of us is an integral part of the whole, are there any connections I am being called to tend to within my family, work place, greater community?

Part 2:

The painting that I shared with you is my individual representation of my whole humanness using the star language symbol for wholeness/human. Gather a sheet of paper and some pens, pencils or other art supplies you feel called to use. When you are ready to begin connect with your heart centre using your breathing. Using your imagination and all of your senses become aware of what your wholeness looks like. Using the basic star symbol of an equilateral triangle with point joined by a circle, create your individual representation of your own wholeness using whatever colours, textures and media you feel called to use.