Arrive at St Giles House.

Settle into your accommodation and explore the grounds.

Welcome drink

Gather in the Library, in the main house.

Welcome from our host, Nick Ashley-Cooper. Introduction to the weekend with Pippa Evans and Jonathan Rowson.

Dinner in the big tent.

Ceilidh in the big tent with The Ceilidh Tree

Early morning activities – yoga, running, wild swimming in the stream

Morning Yoga with Rowan Cobelli
These gentle movement sessions will explore the subtle in motion.  What is it to truly listen to the body?  We explore the art of availability, the gateway of non-effort in true meditation and meeting the body with kindness.  Suitable for all ages and capacities.

Breakfast

Rowan Williams – Passions of the Soul

Soul makes sense of our lives and surroundings, hence the negative connotations of “soulless”. Soul is also linked to having a story to tell and a song to sing. Soul speaks to why stuff and objects aren’t, ultimately, satisfying and also why a good life is not the same as one possessed or controlled. Without a sense of soul, the way we live will go astray. Rowan Williams will help us develop an awareness of this fundamental aspect of ourselves and the world in which we live.

Break

Q & A with Rowan Williams

Discoveries 

A variety of smaller pop-up events to dip into or attend in full. Details available in the morning. Take part as you wish!

The pop-ups on Friday and Saturday will include:

Mazviita Chirimuuta – Recovering the place of the soul in science

Ed Haddon – Discovering the maverick within: a coach advises

Ivo Mensch – A step into time: a practice approach

Elizabeth Oldfield – The role of virtues in being full alive

Benedict Pollard – Into the parkland with the oaks

Jonathan Rowson – A game of chess with a grand master

Nick Shaftesbury – Reflecting on life at St Giles House

Mark Vernon – Poetry and perceiving other worlds also here

Collect a picnic lunch from the big tent

A choice of workshop

Vanessa Brassey – Realising how you see
Drawing combined with some philosophy can untangle thoughts and show how the everyday act of seeing is laden with assumptions. Assuming no artistic experience, this workshop will explore how we can perceive the world through different lenses. This workshop also runs on Saturday.

Rowan Cobelli – Yoga as inquiry
What is it to be a self? Where do the boundaries between ourselves and others lie? How are we present in the world, to ourselves and others? Using movement as well as thought, this workshop will be an embodied exploration of the dimensions of our being.

Nat Wei – Making a difference in a fast changing world
How can society be transformed peacefully? What kind of power can be exercised more purposefully? Where might inspire servant leaders? Join a social and tech entrepreneur, and member of the House of Lords, to pursue these questions and more. This workshop also runs on Saturday.

Esmé Partridge – Staying human in an age of AI
AI is talked about as both a tremendous threat and holding great promise, so what wider narrative about ourselves can guide us through this fast evolving territory? An exploration of technology and the soul drawing on a variety of insights from the philosophy of Plato to the psychology of Iain McGilchrist. This workshop also runs on Saturday.

The Realisation Players – Let’s Make Beautiful Music
Music is a key to the soul. Join Christopher Ash and Jonathan Ainscough as they guide you through instant song creation, collectively writing the Realisation theme tune. All voices welcome.

Indra Adnan – Winter is Here. And So Is Spring
To move from the polycrisis to flourishing futures requires radical change. Yet like winter moving into spring, it can also be a natural phenomenon. What can we leave behind and what can be adopted anew to put ourselves back on track? 
More importantly, who do I need to be to achieve this act of metamorphosis? This workshop can be taken by itself or paired with a praxis workshop on Saturday.

Tea

Meet in Small Groups to reflect on the day

Dinner

After dinner entertainment – firepit, stargazing

Fireside chat with special guest, Bettany Hughes

Well known from her sparkling TV programmes, tracking down the greatest figures and locations of the ancient world, as well as her richly textured books on wonders and philosophers, Bettany Hughes will join us to explore what she has learnt about being human, then and now.

Early morning activities – yoga, running, wild swimming in the stream

Morning Yoga with Rowan Cobelli
These gentle movement sessions will explore the subtle in motion.  What is it to truly listen to the body?  We explore the art of availability, the gateway of non-effort in true meditation and meeting the body with kindness.  Suitable for all ages and capacities.

Breakfast

Ayisha Siddiqa – Poetry as Protest

Drawing on insights from her upbringing in Pakistan, and her reflections as a speaker on the global stage, Ayisha Siddiqa will help us connect the soul with matters of immense, pressing importance. Feeling in a time of floods. “Art makes life worth living, and in my opinion, it’s what makes humans worth the fight,” Ayisha has said. “I was raised with the idea that the earth is a living being, that she gives life to you and in return, you have a responsibility.”

Break

Q & A with Ayisha Siddiqa

Discoveries 

A variety of smaller pop-up events to dip into or attend in full. Details available in the morning. Take part as you wish!

The pop-ups on Friday and Saturday will include:

Mazviita Chirimuuta – Recovering the place of the soul in science

Ed Haddon – Discovering the maverick within: a coach advises

Ivo Mensch – A step into time: a practice approach

Elizabeth Oldfield – The role of virtues in being full alive

Benedict Pollard – Into the parkland with the oaks

Jonathan Rowson – A game of chess with a grand master

Nick Shaftesbury – Reflecting on life at St Giles House

Mark Vernon – Poetry and perceiving other worlds also here

Collect a picnic lunch from the big tent

A choice of workshop

Vanessa Brassey – Realising how you see
Drawing combined with some philosophy can untangle thoughts and show how the everyday act of seeing is laden with assumptions. Assuming no artistic experience, this workshop will explore how we can perceive the world through different lenses. This workshop also runs on Friday.

Rowan Cobelli – Revealing the hidden – a practice workshop
How can we use activations and triggers in the body, as invitations to integrate more of ourselves into ourselves?  Are the things we fight for and defend, mainly part of our own inner processes? We explore shadow, projection, and the wisdom and limitations of repression, within the path of love and self-honesty.

Nat Wei – Making a difference in a fast changing world
How can society be transformed peacefully? What kind of power can be exercised more purposefully? Where might inspire servant leaders? Join a social and tech entrepreneur, and member of the House of Lords, to pursue these questions and more. This workshop also runs on Friday.

Esmé Partridge – Staying human in an age of AI
AI is talked about as both a tremendous threat and holding great promise, so what wider narrative about ourselves can guide us through this fast evolving territory? An exploration of technology and the soul drawing on a variety of insights from the philosophy of Plato to the psychology of Iain McGilchrist. This workshop also runs on Friday.

Indra Adnan, Pippa Evans & Susan Harrison – Realising Spring
Pippa and Susan will use improvisation to spark us all back to life, whilst in dialogue with Indra. The basic mantra of improvisation – Who are you? Where are you? What are you doing? – will resonate as we explore the praxis of “Yes And”. A defibrillator of a workshop.

Perspectiva – The Antidebate
Note: This workshop will start at 1.30pm and last 3 hours

Tea

Meet in Small Groups to reflect on the day

Dinner

After dinner entertainment: Music Improvisation followed by Dance Party in the Bat Cave

Early morning activities – yoga, running, wild swimming in the stream

Morning Yoga with Rowan Cobelli
These gentle movement sessions will explore the subtle in motion.  What is it to truly listen to the body?  We explore the art of availability, the gateway of non-effort in true meditation and meeting the body with kindness.  Suitable for all ages and capacities.

Breakfast

Pack up rooms and tents.

Open Space

An invitation to co-create short talks with those wishing to, raising topics for discussion and possibilities for the future. Gathering thoughts and experiences. Making time to connect with others.

Meet in Small Groups

Realisation Chorus & Ending Ceremony

Followed by Lunch (optional) and Departure from St Giles