Fuse Urban Retreat

Hey everyone — not long now until Fuse goes live! We’re counting down the days and we love your interest and support 💛

If you haven’t already, you can now buy a ticket with €70 off!

~ Choose from 10 dynamic workshops over 2 days
~ gain a deeer understanding of yourself
~ find your ‘yes’ in a supportive space
~ discover new ways of being with others

Do we get to meet you as you meet yourself?

Knowing what we need in life can be one of the most powerful steps towards self acceptance and self love.

But often, we haven't been given the tools to tap into our innate desires, or perhaps there's shame around truly expressing our boundaries and what we want in this world.

Samantha Wraith is a dramatherapist, psychosomatic therapeutic artist and researcher who's passionate about the immense resources we have within us.

She'll be leading a workshop to help us tap into our deeper layers in the magic of collective experiencing.

Her practices explore the way we engage with life and creativity as a way to strengthen our relationship with ourselves and others.

Through movement and deep listening, Samantha will guide us as we discover worlds within our bodies and imagination. Why? To connect with, inhabit and trace a new felt sense of self and relationship.

That sounds mighty delicious to us, and we hope you too! There are still tickets left, and right now we're offering €70 off your ticket to Fuse! See our website for more.

Are you being a , and crushing it? Whatever the 'it' is that you need to obliterate or take control of?

How about another way? In our obsession to win and conquer - the mythical story we've been sold around 'survival of the fittest' - we forget that a different, gentler, and often more successful path is one of compassion and integration.

That rather than destroying or expelling the things we perceive as obstacles, we can also choose a practice of radical acceptance and love.

That by making space for our shadows, even 'making love' to them, we can set ourselves free. In finding our vulnerability and loving it, we find our ultimate strength. Scary, we know - but true.

Do you dare to dive into a brave new frontier together with us? We promise to make it fun and light along the way. Check out our website for more, and maybe we'll see you on October 16 in Amsterdam.

Rejoice! It's Friyay! TGIF! What a way to make a living, huh?

These memes and acronyms that permeate our culture are a collective way of saying, 'we want OUT!' of the stifling system keeps us small, that limits our joy.

But who are you really outside of the 9 to 5? And when was the last time you really took a step out of the every day to find your 'yes' at the center of it all? To discover new ways of being with other people from your community?

We're creating an experimental space on the 16-17 October to come together, connect, play and find another way. Of being, of doing - YOU.

Sound like just the thrill you're looking for? Look us up on the internet to find out more ;)

As autumn begins and the land turns inward, so too we enter a liminal space as we gently move forward with our own emergent transition process.

Where are you going? And what is moving inside you at this time?

We know of multiple groups working on the future iteration of human life on this planet. And individually, we are also called recognise that we, too, have a part to play in shaping the future that we all want on planet earth.

The collective effort is, at its heart, a personal effort. Being the change couldn't get any more real, and these time are also marked by a need for us all to step up, to step into our power, and to let go of the ties that bind.

Exactly how is something we can explore together this October in Amsterdam. With 10 workshops designed to help you see yourself from a different perspective, we'll delve into community, connection and how to turn your head towards - rather than your back on - the things that get in the way.

See our website for more, it's gonna be a juicy ride!

We couldn't think of a more seductive workshop title than Untame your Truest Nature. And a more qualified guide than Amanda MacRae to help you do it.

Amanda asks us to imagine what merging our inner and outer worlds effortlessly would feel like. And next month she'll be showing us how to do it as well.

Our inner world is where we meet our innate gifts, core values, felt experiences, desires, and uniqueness. It’s a delicious inner landscape that needs flow, nurturing, safety and curiosity but is often limited by our outside world – past experiences, culture, and family of origin to name a few.

The patterns we develop to stay ‘safe,’ over time can become automatic so we don't see new ways or all the options and freedoms we have. In this workshop we'll learn how to change that, and open doorways to new worlds.

Can't say more juicy or delicious than that! See you in October?

***an ***r ***rpride

Are you saying yes to an open heart as you walk through life?

After all, it's only when we crack open in this way that the light can begin to shine through.

Saying yes is about radical acceptance, surrendering to your experience, whatever it is. Wholeheartedly. It means feeling your body when you’re in strong emotional states, and letting whatever you find be there. It means coming back to your breath, again and again. It means noticing that thoughts and feelings and sensations come and go.

You say yes to your pride, your stupidity, your murderous rage. Whether you act on your murderous rage and how is another question altogether, but the point is: you allow it all to be true within you. Saying yes is a very inclusive practice. Nothing is ever left out. Especially our deepest selves, our deepest longings.

If you're learning to lean into your yes more, or even getting acquainted with it for the first time. We've created an incredible program of workshops which are all about finding your YES at the centre of it all.

Check out our website where right now we're offering €70 off all tickets. Say yes to trying something different this autumn.

"I CAN'T BREATHE!"

The three devastating, and final words of George Floyd. These words created a hurricane that wrapped itself around the planet and gave birth to the movement. Radical social justice and change.

And as with so many things in life, the micro is a reflection of the macro, and vice vera. George Floyed couldn't breathe, and together, as a collective, we are currently struggling to breathe, both in a literal and figurative sense.

An unlikely teacher, a devastating respiratory virus has prevented millions of people bringing enough oxygen into their bodies.

Every day we're suffocated with the increasing demands of capital on our time, personal resources and energy.

While COVID-19 has caused immense suffering, it has also raised awareness about our precarious relationship with Earth’s life-sustaining system—the biosphere.

Something had to give.

The pandemic has reminded us that this is not some isolated health crisis, but rather, the cumulative effect of our prolonged alienation from the planet.

Human civilisation is in a deep spiritual crisis. We think we're separate from the natural world rather than part of it. In this place of separation, we have become lost and are now desperately searching for meaning, connection, and solid ground.

Next month we invite you to a playful urban retreat to find some of that ground. To connect in more meaningful ways with your community. And to reconnect with your breath, and begin or deepen your process of collective healing.

Tickets are still available. See our website for more and we look forward to stepping towards a more sustainable future with you.

Pure, unadulterated joy is our birthright. And with everything that's happening in the world these days, it's easy to lose sight of it.

Life is filled with suffering, yes, but it is also filled with many wonders. We're fortunate enough to be born with the spirit of happiness - just think *happy baby* and you may even turn a little smile yourself, or be enveloped by a feeling of delicious warmth.

So the seeds of joy are in each of us. Joy is an active principle, not something that 'happens' to us through passivity. All experience comes to us in waves, whether it's joy or sadness. And it's worth remembering that no one can 'steal' our joy, either.

But the state of joy is something that must be cultivated from within.

If you'd like to discover a different, more joyful, playful side of yourself, come join us this October in Amsterdam. We've got 2 days of incredible workshops about play, movement and authentic relating.

To help you find your 'yes' at the centre of it all. Check out our website fore more; tickets are still available.

What lies beneath? Where there is light, there is also dark. One can't be without the other. In fact, the light and dark of our beings define each other and cannot be considered on their own.

Shadow work is the name often given to any practice that allows us to access and integrate disowned, denied, or unseen parts of ourselves.

It's often something we shy away from, as our shadow side comes full of pain and trauma. But next month at Fuse, Miriam will offer a workshop that explores our shadow side in a playful, creative way.

Using the magical format of the Pantoum poem, Miriam will facilitate a creative writing experience in which we wil gently explore a theme that's relevant to us.

Through her work, Miriam has discovered that many of the stories we have about ourselves are simply untrue. Her work helps participants bypass the thinking mind to discover what she calls ‘subconscious beauty.’

Sound intriguing? See the full Fuse program on our website now. Tickets are still available, we hope to see you there!

If you’re trying to find real connections online then you’re probably wasting your time…

That’s not to say that real connections aren’t possible online ... it’s just that apps commodify the human relational experience, and reduce the complex process of connecting to others to its most basic aspects.

We’re encouraged to transact with others based on the their 'value' to us, to treat others as objects for consumption. To 'swipe' when we've had enough or when things get a little more challenging.

Not to mention how authentic we are in our profiles. All those posts, that thin veneer we often share represents so much less than the totality of who we are as beings, yet it's accepted as all of us. Glossy, well-dressed, travelling the world or partying wrinkle-free.

Social media amplifies the best and worst aspects of us humans.

But it is possible to engage differently online. And it starts with the relationship we have to ourselves.

If you're looking to deepen your relationship to yourself and your community offline before online, come join us this October in Amsterdam.

Fuse is a 2 day urban retreat with workshops about play, movement and authentic relating. We'll get to explore a new way of being with others, and ourselves. In all that messy, juicy, contradictory detail.

Check our website for more and drop any questions in the comments. See you there?

Fuse Urban Retreat is now on WhatsApp.

Have you ever been to a cuddle puddle before? We remember our first time ... with some trepidation!

The idea of people getting cozy next to each other in a non-sexual way has grown in popularity over the years. I mean, as humanimals, we *crave* physical connection - especially after the last 12 months.

Science has shown that the act of touch is essential to our emotional, mental, and physical well-being. We can, quite literally, go insane from a lack of it.

And we're in such good hands for the cuddle puddle we're hosting. is one of our favourite embodiment practitioners, and we're so excited to have him on board.

An expert at creating and holding space, for Fuse he's going to open a guided cuddle session where we'll be able to safely explore our own needs and desires in connection with others in a structured and supported way. Sadhu will be accompanied with live music by Elena - more on her later 😉

How can we get out of your own way and set free the extraordinary power that resides within us? The extraordinary power to be conscious creators, realising our dreams and living the vision we have for our lives.

The key is a sense of play.

So often as adults we shut down our need for play. But play gives us space to try out ways of being in the world. Animals and children play - testing out ways to be.

We have a lot of judgement on play as adults which creates a contraction around who we can be. We know that creativity is the basis of everything; conversations, changing the world, how we deal with ourselves. Without play, creativity is not possible.

The essence of how we are in the world is through our bodies - we move through space. But we restrict ourselves, and our bodies become patterned in the same way that our minds do. Play helps us bring ourselves more fully to situations and in a way that acknowledges whats truly alive for us in a given moment.

By being consciously playful, we gain control of ourselves, and our creative potential. It's one step towards taking responsibility for our place in the world.

And another step closer to living the life that we truly want.

Return to that child-like sense of play this October. Join us for 2 days of workshops about play, movement and authentic relating.

Tickets on sale now.

Something's stirring deep - can you feel it? A distant rumbling, now louder, long overdue. It's been welling up for what seems like centuries, but the swelling is getting harder to ignore.

We've been so good at suppressing it for so long, pretending it's not there, but it's time. Time for things to change. On this planet, in our lives; change that's lasting, epic in proportions, and wholly needed. Change that creates a future that we all want.

It's time to talk less about self-care and more about community-care.

Time to integrate those with mental illness and who are neurodivergent into our communities for their uniqueness.

Time to amplify the voices of those challenging the status quo.

Time to get messy with each other, to go to difficult places and confront our own shadows, privilege and power.

Time to stop reaching for some unattainable standard of perfection.

Time to stop buying crap to fill the void.

Time to grow and evolve as a collective, as a civilisation.

And it begins with you. This October. Come join us for a special journey of personal change and transformation.

The need to belong is a deeply-rooted human emotional need to be surrounded by and accepted by members of a group. This could be a peer group at school, co-workers, a sports team, or social group.

And as members of the LGBTI+ community, this is often where a lot of our trauma resides. Whether now or growing up, the school yard, workplaces and social situations are frequently places where we didn't or don't feel welcome, or a sense of belonging. So much so, that we may not know how it actually feels to truly belong, to be able to show up without a mask as our true selves.

That's why we're so thrilled to have Adé on board for Fuse. In his experiential session, Adé will help us explore ‘belonging’ from three perspectives - Self, Other, Community.

It's an opportunity for us to dive into your stories of belonging and experience authentic witnessing from others. What does it look and feel like to belong to ourselves?

Like a lot of us, Adé's experienced most of his life in surroundings where he felt ‘different’ because he was ‘the only one’ or in the minority.

He is passionate about creating sacred spaces where everyone feels included and brave enough to bring more of themselves. Won't you join us for this special journey?

See our website for the full program.

***an ***r ***rpride

There's nothing quite as delicious as breaking free from a pattern that has held us captive for way too long. It could be a person, a situation, a habit that just had you stuck and thinking you couldn't do any better.

And all the feelings that clutter up and spiral around it - worthlessness, depression, limitation, inertia.

It takes special courage to set free from what ultimately are self-imposed prisons. Elaborate stories we tell ourselves in our head about why this or that isn't possible or available to us, holding ourselves hostage to nothing more than a thought form. Kind of silly, huh?

To take that step is actually about stepping into the unknown, walking a path that we haven't walked before. It's anxiety-inducing and let's face it, enough to keep you back where you were.

But change is possible. Developing that confidence in your body, in your system, that trust in life is something that can be nurtured, regardless of your experiences of background.

Small steps now, bigger steps later. But start somewhere; a brave place to explore what it would be like for you to try a different way. Do you feel the call?

Check our our website for more.

The importance of q***r embodiment — some easy Sunday morning reading (we promise)!

If you want to find out a bit more about our motivation for creating Fuse, this feature will explain.

Thanks for the profile Collaborative Motion!

https://www.collaborativemotion.com/blog/fuse-amsterdam-lgbtqia-retreat-the-importance-of-q***r-embodiment

FUSE Amsterdam LGBTQIA+ Retreat - The importance of q***r embodiment Interview with Simon Magnus, Sasha Noad and Skylar Haven about FUSE - an urban retreat in Amsterdam for the q***r community focusing on q***r embodiment and play.

When was the last time you came face-to-face with your dark side? You own biases, trauma and blind spots? Your shadow? Yeah, it’s not a place we venture willingly. That’s when The Work gets hard and it’s often easier to run away, fight, or create conflict.

It’s hard to look into your shadow. It’s painful to suddenly have to face the parts of yourself easier buried or unacknowledged.

But there’s incredible power in being able to hold space for your own shame.

Our work as individuals and a collective is to heal our trauma and begin to create more space for shadow work. We need to make our mistakes acceptable, to be able to admit our biases, to own up to the ways in which we cause harm because of our trauma and social conditioning.

This October, Fuse will be a place where you can peer into your shadows, and trust that, even if you run away, you’re still welcome back in the room. Because when people come back to meet themselves in the circle, that’s when the real healing happens. Check out our website for more.

Holding and being held by another is one of the most primal memories we can have as humans; it's a gesture that offers a powerful imprint of safety, trust, connection and belonging.

In Western cultures, when adults hold each other it often has romantic connotations and is largely viewed as an activity exclusively for couples. But not in Nadja's book!

Nadja runs trainings in leadership and communication, and has been facilitating groups about connection, simplicity and focus since 1996.

At Fuse she’ll support us as we explore the depths and possibilities of holding and being held. Nadja is passionate about this practice because it encourages bodily communication, flow and peace.

In this space, she says, "we’re able to relax into being without doing."

"As holders, we can experience deep silence and appreciation for our own generosity and heart. When held, we can feel safe enough to give space to emotions that might normally remain hidden, allowing ourselves to grow and become more whole."

Nadja's is one of 12 incredible workshops we're offering this October. For the full program, see our website for more, and drop any questions in the comments here.

www.fuseurbanretreat.com

What is a healthy nervous system?

The nervous system is the part of our bodies that enables us to interact with the world around us, including the environment and other people.

We can divide the nervous system's functions into three phases: receiving, processing and expressing. When we do all three, we fall into attuned connection with life, leading to a much deeper and more enduring sense of wellbeing, even amid life’s ups and downs.

Receiving is about taking life in through our senses; seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and feeling the life around and within us.

Processing is about transforming the information that pours in through our senses. This includes metabolising our emotions, hearing our intuitions and forming harmonious intentions, coherent thoughts and well-guided attitudes.

Expressing is about turning what we received and processed into speech and actions. This includes moving from will, with firm intention and autonomy. It also includes dancing to the mystery - using our lives as vessels for expression of intuition, soul and spirit.

Attuned connection is the state that we experience when we bring receiving, processing and expressing into union. We fall into flow with our people, our communities and our land. We form meaningful and resilient relationships. We give and receive offers of support and coregulation. We harmonise. We make better choices. We feel a sense of 'right relationship' with place and people.

How do you cultivate a healthy nervous system? There are many things you can do, and we know a very good place to start. See our website for more; drop questions or comments below.

Imagine a world where we weren't afraid of the power of our own voice. Where we could let it come straight from the heart and into the world.

In this world we’d elevate the voices of those saying challenging and meaningful things rather than those who have the shiniest social media presence or who promote aspirational but empty ideas.

There would be space for those pushed to the margins to be heard.

We would learn to be in messy conversations with each other. We’d learn the transformational potential of conflict and we’d resist the urge to run away from it. We would listen to each other even when that meant we’d need to be confronted with our own mistakes and biases.

This world is possible, and for many it's happening. And it begins with you. Are you brave, bold or maybe just crazy enough to find your true voice? Come join us in October. See our website for more, drop your questions in the comments.

When was the last time you experienced true freedom and deep rest?

From this place of rest, we can connect more intimately with ourselves in the present moment. This allows us to springboard into living courageously from a place of inner balance.

Sound good? Get back in touch with this part of yourself this October, in a special workshop facilitated by Skylar. Skylar is a q***r, trans non-binary coach and yoga therapist with 20 years of coaching and organisational leadership experience, blending science and wisdom traditions.

In their session, you'll be invited to explore ways to calm your nervous system, and come into kind contact with your bodies in deep rest. Mmmm we're blissing out already at the thought!

See our full program on the website for details of this workshop and more.

What would it be like if we could talk about grief and trauma just as much as we do about joy and desire?

What if we brought these feelings to the surface more often instead of burying them, or letting them come out only in private moments with ourselves?

Imagine if we could let go of harmful ideas about how 'positive thoughts attract positive things?'

And could we - wait for it - put grief on an equal footing with joy so that we open up to the full breadth of human experience? Wouldn't life be richer and fuller?

Bold thoughts for a Monday, huh? Well, we like exploring the edges. And we know just the place to do it. Check our website for more, and maybe we'll see you this October?

When it all comes together, harmony erupts.

We're so good at compartmentalising in our lives! Keeping things discrete, separated, black and white. Or trying to. It appeals to our scientistic culture, which *loves* to categorise and name, as if that makes things easier to contain.

But in doing so we skip over exactly how interrelated things are. The web of connection in our lives is vast and so often unseen. And we're starting to see that in abundance. Environmental degradation, anyone? What we do in one part of the world has consequences for other parts of the world. What we do to others, we do to ourselves.

But when things start to come together...to fuse, dare we say...that's when the magic can start to happen. When we recognise and start living as though we're part of a greater whole.

Connecting with, and listening to, people.

Radiating the connection outwards.

Enabling people to ground themselves in their wider community.

Activating the senses and living from the heart.

All of these are the perfect antidotes to a wider world that would rather have us disconnected, where connection becomes transactional and empty.

Would you like to tap into a different side of yourself? Join us this October for a special journey. See our website for more.

Love is easy! ...right?! And this October at Fuse, Ligia Ramos is going to prove to us exactly how easy!

Ligia’s a master coach, entrepreneur and author who for the last 20+ years has specialised in performance improvement.

Her workshop is for those of us who are seeking fulfilling love and are curious about how it actually happens. Ligia will take us on a body and mind journey, sharing new ideas and provocations to challenge and support us in stepping towards our best self -- just like love does.

Share the love this October - more details of this and others workshops on our website now.

Sometimes you have to get smaller before you get bigger.

Sometimes you have to contract before you expand.

Sometimes – despite your thirst to rush into the next big thing – The Work has its own timing and asks you to slow down and wait, to spend time in reflection. To learn a few more critical things, and accept a pace that you’ll only have the capacity to understand in retrospect and not in that moment.

Know what we mean? Yeah, we've all been there. And because we believe that we become what we practice, we created a space this October for you to check out of the fast lane, if only for two days. To get back to play, innocence, joy and connection. With yourself, and with others.

Check out our website for more. Tickets on sale now.

Sunday juicy delicious! Can't beat that Sunday feeling, and yeah we don't wanna get out of bed right now either ... but what if we could bring more of that Sunday vibe into our lives? Make it a bit more ... permanent?

What if we could connect to that sense of casual cool on tap, easy as a Sunday morning...?

It's a state of mind. And we've pulled together an awesome program to help you tap into more of it in yourself. It's all there, you just need to give yourself permission. Would you like to try?

Join us this October in Amsterdam for the start of a journey. Registrations now open; some early bird tickets still available!