Venus Bay Retreat Centre - Ravens Nest Retreat Space

Can you escape & “DO NOTHING” for a whole weekend?!

“DOING NOTHING” is a nature-based weekend experience.

Held at Raven’s Nest Retreat Space in Venus Bay, 2 hours from the city nestled into the sand dunes of the South Gippsland coast - Gunai/Bunurong Country.

The weekend is perfect for:

😞 Stressed humans, exhausted from living in a culture of constant doing.

😴 Tired people wanting to escape and rest within a forested sanctuary.

👀 Distracted humans that recognise they’re addicted to “all the things” and it’s costing them.

🌿 People needing a break, some care, guidance & time with nature.

🌈 Peoply wanting more energy, creativity and to remember what’s truly important.

Your “doing nothing” weekend…

Alex White, as caretaker of the land and facilitator of relaxation, has designed experiences for overloaded people who need to remember the value of deep rest.

✅ All inclusive retreat on nature’s doorstep including jacuzzi, cold dip and 270-degree views.

✅ Unique situations that promote deep relaxation and reflection

✅ Time for solitude, napping and wandering …

✅ Putting your phone to rest, going offline for the weekend 🗝

✅ Facilitated on private, waterfront land curated to be calm, soft and slow.

✅ For only 9 people, ensuring spaciousness and individual attention.

✅ Everything is arranged for you… nourishing food, drinks, bedding, facilities and facilitation.

🕑 Friday 2pm to Sunday 4pm with an option to stay until sunset.

🦄 $690 per person, by application only.

[5% of profits go to local wombat conservation and Gunai/Bunurong country projects & elders]

Apply to Attend

Alex White
Caretaker, Custodian and Curator

“Doing nothing on purpose transports your distracted mind, beyond boredom, to where rest, realisation and creativity effortlessly reside.”

Who is this for & how does it help me?

Your nervous system has become fried… you endure restless nights and endure through the signs of burnout.

YOU’RE FEELING LOST IN YOUR OWN MIND

We are so caught up in our minds, that we have lost our senses.

Deep rest in a natural setting, moving out of our numbness, with bare feet and wide eyes allows our senses to return, and with that, the world makes more sense.

YOU HAVEN’T GOT TIME OR SPACE

It’s impossible to deeply rest in a distracted, fear-based world.

Distracted by negative news, screens with infinite options, relationship demands, never-ending todo lists, the hamster wheel of maintaining a household… all within a “culture of doing”.

Without this distraction, you’ll remember what is truly important to you and where to devote your time.

YOU’VE GOT SCRAMBLED BRAINS

You can’t listen to yourself when the world is screaming at you! It’s ALL NOISE, NO SIGNAL.

A noisy world deafens your presence to life, others and yourself… when you listen to the messages of your body and mind within a natural setting, things become very clear, very quickly.

Dates Throughout 2023

Friday 2pm to Sunday 4pm with an option to stay until sunset.

Raven’s Nest Retreat Space - Venus Bay, 2 hrs from Melbourne

$690 Per Person - 9 People Only

Includes:

Food - Breakfasts, Lunches, Dinners (Vegetarian and Flexitarian)
2 Nights Accommodation (Comfortable Single Bed) & Bedding
Access to all Facilities and Facilitation

Due to limited participants, nature of the activities and location this retreat is by application.

When, Where, How Much?

Apply to Attend

What does it look like?

“Doing Nothing” aka, resting, being idle, reducing distractions and courting boredom… allows you to become more focussed, less erratic, increases creativity and allows you to self-guide your one precious life.

This is made easier in the wilderness, far away from the influences of culture, family and city life.

We explore unique (optional) ways to “do nothing” including:

Digital Detachment & Detox
Forest Wandering
Solo Sitting and Laying in Nature
Bathing - Jacuzzi and Cold Dip
Long Lunches and Afternoon Siesta Naps
Basic Breathing & Mindfulness Practices
Sound & Rhythm Healing
Moving Meditation (Non-Linear Movement Method™)
Fire Making & Star Gazing
Sleep & Dream Preparation
Making Things with Natural Materials
Mushroom Extracts for Expansion and Relaxation (Lions Mane, Cordyceps & Reishi)
Gut Health assistance with Kombucha Vinegars from “Extremely Alive”

Great weekend checklist:

✅ Healthy Catering & Supplements

✅ Experienced, Non-imposing Facilitation

✅ Comfy Bed & Bedding

✅ 14 Acres of Private, Curated Bushland

✅ Sunrise to Sunset Views

🚫 Cars, bikes, crowds, phones, interuptions

✅ Jacuzzi and Cold Dip

✅ Direct Access to Inlet, Ocean & National Park

Join this small group and receive the healthy, nature-based reset and recharge that you need, and deserve.

Meet your facilitator and land caretaker…

I have been busily “doing” and distracting myself since a young age… the calming addictions of lego and cartoons were a good way to avoid the reality of a hectic and ever-changing household. Luckily I lived on nature’s doorstep and relaxed by playing in rivers, building with nature and riding the hills and valleys of the Mornington Peninsula.

It wasn’t until a 10-day silent retreat in my early 30’s, when I experienced the power of “doing nothing”. The body-based meditation process was difficult, revealing and empowering.

Since then, I have spent over a decade finding ways to heal, feel and relax.

Traveling extensively and working with world-class teachers, I have experienced a wide range of embodiment modalities aiming to increase sensitivity and the capacity to feel, with a focus on residing in a flexible and healthy body. I have also attended many wild and overwhelming intensives that pushed my body through a super-powered conveyer belt of mildly traumatic exercises, disguised as “personal growth” fix-alls… many of which revealed themselves to be short lasting and hazardous.

Although I was introduced to Tibetan Buddhism by my mum when I was 12, self-inquiry was formally introduced to me by my main teachers of the last 6 years, Michaela Boehm and Steve James who teach deep layers of embodiment, meditation, intimacy and generally feeling whatever there is to be felt.

Education

Diploma of Education (Monash University)
Bachelor of Multimedia – Design & Business (Monash University)
Intimacy & Polarity Training Level 1 & 2 - Certified Teacher (Michaela Boehm)
Embodiment “Non Linear Movement Method” Training Level 1 - Certified Teacher (Michaela Boehm)
Master Coaching Program & Meta Dynamics (NLP) – Levels I and II (The Coaching Institute)
Mankind Australia – Staff Training & Facilitation Training – Levels 1 & 2
Phoenix Institute – Workshop Facilitation Training