Join us on an immersive journey towards Personal and Planetary wellbeing. By connecting with the elements of Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, and Metal, and exploring the latest science of happiness, we will learn how to improve our physical and mental health and how this relates to everything and everyone around us. We will discover ancient theories and practices such as Buddhism, meditation, yoga and Qi Gong; learn about the incredible history of our world; experiment with art, craft, music and play; learn from and about each other and ourselves; and look forward to what is in store for our amazing planet and all its myriad beings, including us. These sessions will be held in different places in our beautiful landscape so that we can also learn about our own special place in the world.
Each session will contain:
• An exploration of the physical and emotional aspects of specific Elements
• Investigation into the history of the Element, including deep time
• Meditation
• Element-themed exercise
• Personal reflection and journaling
• Group reflection and discussion
• Nature connection activities
• A creative or group activity
The weeks will build on one another and work consecutively, but they will also be designed so that you can drop in for one or as many as you feel will be useful.
Workshops will run every Saturday for three weeks in August. Locations in Torbay will be confirmed shortly.
Our Journey with Fire – Summer 2026
Fire is the Element of summer, joy, and connection. It governs the Heart, Pericardium, Small Intestine, and Triple Burner, and it speaks to our deep human need for warmth, belonging, and expression.
🔥 Session One: Igniting the Spark – 15th August – Walls Hill & St Annes Hall, Babbacombe
Our first gathering introduces the Fire element and the many ways it lives within us and the world around us. Together we will begin to build a community of care, creating a safe and supportive space where everyone is free to participate in whatever way feels right for them. We will explore ideas such as edge emotions and the window of tolerance, helping us gently expand our capacity for connection, curiosity and joy.
Drawing on Western science and Traditional Chinese Medicine, we will discover how Fire relates to the heart and the qualities of warmth, vitality and relationship. As we journey back into deep time, we will reflect on the story of fire, from the birth of the stars to the warmth of our sun, and consider the role it has played in making life on Earth possible. Through meditation, discussion and creating a naturally scented candle, we will explore what it means to live from the heart and honour the unique light each of us brings.
Fire is also the element of play. Through creative activities and time spent in nature, we will rediscover play as a powerful way of nurturing wellbeing, imagination and connection with both one another and the more-than-human world.
The day concludes with an invitation to begin imagining the being you might choose to represent at the Council of All Beings in our final gathering.
🔥 Session Two: Nourishing the Flame – 22th August – Tessier Gardens and Furrough Cross Church Hall, St Marychurch
In our second gathering, we will explore the emotional landscape of the Fire element, discovering both the light and the shadow. Together we will reflect on how joy, lack of joy, perfectionism, shame, empathy and vulnerability shape our relationships with ourselves and others, drawing on insights from psychology, Buddhism and Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Through meditation, movement, storytelling and shared experiences of collective joy, we will explore what it means to cultivate an open and compassionate heart. We will also continue our journey into deep time, discovering how our relationship with fire shaped human evolution, community and culture.
Again time spent in nature and playful, creative activities will invite us to reconnect with ourselves, one another and the living world. Together we will begin making the masks for our Council of All Beings and imagine the stories our chosen beings might tell.
The day closes with an opportunity to reflect on a simple but powerful question: What brings me joy and makes my heart sing?
🔥 Session Three: Rekindling the Hearth – 29th August – Rekindling the Hearth – Shekina Grow, Paignton
In our final Fire gathering, we will explore what the Fire element means for our world today. Together we will reflect on how the same force that once gathered people around the hearth now powers our modern world, inviting us to consider both the gifts and challenges that Fire has brought to humanity. Through systems thinking, we will explore the patterns that can keep us disconnected and discover how qualities such as honesty, creativity and vulnerability can help us create new possibilities.
As we continue our journey through time, we will reflect on humanity’s changing relationship with Fire, energy and the Earth. We will then enter the Council of All Beings, a powerful practice of imagination and empathy where we step beyond our human perspective and speak on behalf of another being from the living world. Through this ceremony, we will listen deeply to the wisdom, needs and gifts of the more-than-human world, exploring what it might mean to rekindle a fire that connects rather than consumes.
Through heart-focused meditation and gratitude journaling, we will pause to reflect on our journey and the connections we have formed with ourselves, each other and the wider living world. We will create natural floral perfumes and nature-inspired headdresses, using scent, plants and creativity as a way to honour the beauty and abundance of the Earth.
We will finish our Fire journey by celebrating together through food, music, movement and dance, sharing our gifts and carrying the warmth of our collective hearth forward into the world.
Cost: It is our heartfelt wish to offer this course as authentically as we can and to anyone who is drawn to it. Therefore, we are offering it based on Dana. Dana is an ancient Pali word meaning generosity or giving and comes from the Buddhist tradition.
In practice, it means that at the end of the course, you will be asked to consider the value of the experience and teachings you have received and give what you can to ensure that courses can continue for others. There is no set price – just like all other aspects of our lives, each of our financial circumstances is unique. In the Dana tradition, the amount is less significant than the intention to enhance the lives of others. This is an intention which has kept the Buddhist tradition alive for the last 2,500 years, it is a commitment to our Collective well-being.
More details to follow soon …
See all courses here
Open to the Elements A Quest for Personal & Planetary Well-being