I am posting to give a two thumbs up to a three-day personal growth course called Arete. It’s put on by a number of friends of mine, and they have been at it for about eight years now. They’ve gotten to be all super ninja at it.
I took it about three years ago, and have helped do production ten or twelve weekends since. Fifty days of my life is probably a pretty clear endorsement of how positively I think of it. Many, maybe most, of my friends have taken the course at some point. Many also have gotten their Depeche Mode on, and “just can’t get enough”, and so come back to help on the production/source team.
Some of the main intentions of the course, in my words, are to get to the deepest heart of who we are, to have that be seen and celebrated in a community setting, to be aware of what stands between us and being connected to people and to help melt that, and to clear ourselves for getting on with whatever it is that we most want in life.
I think that what sets the Arete Experience off from other weekend personal growth courses is the personal attention, and, more than that, the emphasis on heart and love. Not “heart” and “love” in a way that is sentimental, unbalanced, or unreliable. I would say it’s, instead, deep and powerful – like it gets so thick in the air it feels like you’re walking through a swimming pool full of it.
If you are interested in this, or have questions about it, I can put you in touch with my some of my friends who lead the course. They also have regular Q&A events that I can connect you to if you would like.