It involves deep listening, and a willingness to drop our agenda and focus on what is needed.
As leaders, how do we allow our natural aliveness to be our guide? How do we stay grounded and in integrity in ways that are organic, relaxed, and effortless? How do we step through any self-imposed limits or ceilings? How do we embody inner authority and deep presence?
Retreats vary in length. Coming up: February 20-24, 2025 Koh Phangan, Thailand 2024.
Check Here for a list of all upcoming events.
The focus will be on practical tools for awakening
and leading from the heart.
During this retreat, you will:
Increase your capacity for leadership
Welcome and integrate shadow parts of yourself
Uncover and enhance your unique genius
Deepen self-love, love of others
You will also receive:
Facilitation and coaching tips, including how to work with challenging participants
Communication techniques for resolving conflict
Front-of-the-room skills & practices
A toolkit of strategies for continuing to welcome yourself and others more deeply
A road map for increasing your business and service in the world
Sample 7-day retreat schedule
Morning/Afternoon Sessions are:
Tools/technique sharing
Group interaction and games
Solo/pair communication activities
Lecture, application, integration processes
Front of the room practice and guidance
Group sharings
Q&A sessions
Morning Movement Practices include:
Yoga
Dance
Movement Meditation
Optional Evening Activities include:
Small Group Connection Games
Nurture Pods
Dance / Movement
Excursions (in Bali)
This retreat includes a half-day excursion to a Balinese Purification Ceremony at a Water Temple
Sample teaching from ALR: “Holding Space Without Holding”
Testimonials
"The Awakened Leadership retreat was truly life-changing. Rick's mastery in communication and expertise in teaching were apparent from the very start, and his ability to guide us through a transformational experience was nothing short of remarkable.”
-Manish Plaha, MD
“One of my biggest takeaways from this retreat,
from Rick’s guidance and coaching, is that I can be afraid
to lead... and still lead powerfully.”
“The single most revealing and transformational retreat I have been on. Each session and day expertly built on the previous - stripping away years of conditioning and revealing layers of truth. Rick facilitates the retreat with humility, grace, and aliveness. As an additional benefit, I depart the retreat with the foundations of deep and meaningful life-long friendships!”
-Matt Laing, Executive Coach
"Someone just cranked up the volume on humanity. This is what community building and loving ourselves exactly as we are looks like."
-Anu Azrael
“I think in leadership as a woman, we need to move
beyond just leading teams and leading tasks. We need
to actually understand the bodies we’ve inhabited.”
Here, we embrace the innocence
and wholeness of our tender hearts. Through carefully crafted practices, we bring unconditional love to the conditions of our lives, allowing
our unique genius to manifest.
The Space and the People
Retreat venues will vary. Unless otherwise noted, all retreats in Bali will be held within commute distance of Ubud, in Koh Phangan in the Sri Thanu area.
This green paradise is divided by deep jungle ravines and majestic waterfalls, and speckled with intricate stone temples. It is easy to see why it is known as “The Island of the Gods”.
Ubud is a special town in many ways. It has historically been a great source of inspiration for people tapping into their creative and spiritual potential. Many come here with a passion for healthy living and drawn by the abundance of vegan/vegetarian/raw food cafes. And more still come for the art galleries, local culture, and dance/yoga workshops around Ubud.
Sample Past Venue: The Ark Retreat Center
The Ark is a stunning property on the edge of an undisturbed valley, fringed by rice fields and lush gardens. Our retreat sessions will take place in an open-air yoga shala which overlooks the jungle, with plenty of room for speeches, movement, dance, and small group sessions. It is made of gorgeous hardwood floors and traditional Balinese thatched roof, and is equipped with a high end sound system.
In addition to the shala we will use for the Awakened Leadership Retreat, the center has facilities which include a beautiful pool, massage, infrared sauna, and walking gardens.
Meals + Lodging
Meals will be provided by the retreat center’s kitchen. Healthy vegetarian dishes (with vegan and gluten-free options) are prepared with local ingredients. Our Balinese chefs share their love for healthy eating and living with our attendees throughout each retreat.
Lodging will not be provided by the Awakened Leadership Retreat. The Ubud, Bali venue has some rooms available on-site and many nearby.
A safe space for people to explore themselves.
Open minded & open-hearted community to learn and grow beside.
Retreat Pricing
Next retreat: February 20-24, 2025,
9:30am - 6:30pm each day in Koh Phangan, Thailand.
General: $625USD which includes all meals
Early Bird Price (By February 12) $575USD
Super Early Bird (By January 25) $525USD
Awakened Leadership Facilitator: Rick Smith
“I’ve been a classroom teacher, an education consultant, and over the past twenty years, have spoken to over 100,000 people in fifteen countries on five continents.
My best-selling book Conscious Classroom Management has now sold over a quarter million copies, and continues to touch the lives of teachers and their students (www.consciousteaching.com)
Through years of working with students and then with teachers, I discovered simple principles for connection, aliveness, and kindness.
The same internal muscle that allows a teacher to stay calm in a chaotic classroom, and that allows her to see the best in her students, regardless of what they look or act like, is the same muscle that allows us to awaken, to lead, to stand up, and to move mountains in the world.
These principles and approaches are at the core in my current workshops and retreats. When I teach and facilitate, I offer practical ways for participants to know and love themselves, and remember their own innocence, wholeness, and “enough-ness,” especially in all the tight corners of their inner and outer worlds. I live and share tools and skills that assist us all on the pathway back to unconditional self-love and acceptance.
I currently live and teach in Bali, Indonesia.”
MESSAGE FROM RICK
“Business as usual” isn’t working. We need a new way of orienting, which necessitates at first, a conscious disorientation from business as usual. Thus, you are invited to arrive with an open mind and heart, and a willingness to suspend your assumptions about what it means to lead and lead effectively.
Though some techniques and approaches to use in leadership situations will be shared, this is not a standard workshop on how to be a leader. The focus is more on self-inquiry; discovering who we are beneath patterns of limitation and performance. Leading ourselves well, with kindness, clarity, and humility, is the key to leading others well. As we navigate our own apparent imperfections, we open up avenues for guiding others through theirs. One key is listening- to ourselves and to others. However good a listener you are, there is always more to learn. We will explore listening from the practical to the mystical, providing you with an experiential road map for situations in your own personal and/or professional life.
Though you are encouraged to participate with an open mind and heart, this will not be the “Vulnerability Olympics.” You are invited to move at the speed of love...
ARE WE A MATCH?
There is an application for the retreat. Filling it out can give you a better sense if the retreat is for you. Clicking on the “Register Now” button above will bring you to the application.
In addition, here are some questions to consider. Don’t worry- You don’t need to answer them clearly, and you certainly don’t need to have all “yeses.” Just looking at the questions can help you orient around some of the depths that might be explored during the retreat, and give you a better sense if you want to join.
Humility
• Are you interested in letting go of your perspectives and assumptions, to bring curiosity to your world?
• Are there times in your life when you would rather know yourself than defend yourself?
• Are you open to uncertainty being a source of nurturing, rather than a problem?
Discomfort and shadow
• Are you able to listen and sense, without initially trying to fix or solve?
• Are you open to welcoming discomfort, knowing that it is a step toward expanding your comfort zone?
• Are you interested in focusing on, welcoming, and embodying parts of yourself that haven’t yet been welcomed?
Self-resourcing
• Are you able to notice when your system needs down-shifting and nurturing?
• Do you have practices for grounding, relaxing, and resourcing yourself?