HEDONIC ENCOUNTERS - Information

A series of workshops over six months

exploring a deeply embodied awakening

igniting an ecstatic experience to LIFE

I was inspired to create an experience that would integrate all the somatic and movement work that I love and offer it in a much deeper space. This entire program was a complete download. What began to transpire in a recent entheogen journey continued in dream after dream through the night, the contents written down in spidery middle-of-the-night handwriting.

After much mulling over and careful crafting, I am thrilled to extend an invitation to you to participate in this transformative program called Hedonic Encounters. This immersive journey is designed to explore the depths of our embodied experience and connection to life, through dance, sensuality, and where relevant include the option of entheogens. A series of workshops over the next five months based on Biodanza and other somatic practices will culminate in a breathtaking retreat in December that promises to leave us all inspired and rejuvenated. 

Hedonic Encounters refer to experiences or interaction that is primarily focused on pleasure, enjoyment, and the pursuit of positive emotions. Hedonism is a concept that promotes pleasure and happiness as the ultimate goals of human life. As with everything, there is always the shadow which is also included.

Hedonic Encounters has been created as a series of workshops and experiences that will guide you through an enchanting exploration and connection to your body as a place of deep wisdom, healing, and self-mastery. The workshops take place in the VisVIta studio, the heated pool and nature – as indicated in the program below.

For more details on THE CONCEPT, please scroll down

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PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Over the next six months, the following program includes

• BIOtantra - Four monthly self contained dance-centered workshops (July – October)
• Aqua Ecstatica – a one-day workshop in the heated pool (November)
• AWE retreat – Weekend retreat at Sky Terrace in Magaliesburg. (December)

Each workshop is self-contained; there is no obligation to attend the full program. However as with anything we do, the more we invest in something, the greater the rewards!

For the year-end AWE retreat, priority will be given to people who have attended the preceding one-day workshops.

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PROGRAM DETAILS

BIOtantra is a series of four monthly standalone, one-day workshops that explore DESIRE, PLEASURE, PRESENCE, and FUSION through the lenses of movement and dance. These body-centered experiences draw their inspiration from texts and teaching from various sources including Biodanza and Tantra.

BIOtantra 1: DESIRE ~ 

Desire is one of our life forces that serve our instincts by directing us toward life-affirming actions and experiences, and away from destructive ones. These two forces of desire are a continuous flow of energy moving us toward life. When we are cut off from desire we move towards death, cutting off the vitality of life.

BIOtantra 2: PLEASURE ~  

The more disconnected we are from our bodies, the more intensity we seek and expect so that we can feel alive. We are able to enjoy simple pleasures when we decondition and release ourselves from sensory stupor and disconnection to the act of living a pleasurable life.

BIOtantra 3: PRESENCE ~ 

We hold onto our identity with a violence that belies the fragility of our constructed Ego. When we move into a state of pure presence, being willing to accept that we are both nothing and everything, we gain the word. We find pleasure in pure presence free of any dependency, expectations, or outcomes.

BIOtantra 4: FUSION  ~  

We come into the world in a state of undifferentiated Eros. As we separate from our mother and start to relate to the world we lose sight of this primary state of being – an epoch of bliss. The Oceanic Experience is a return to a deep connection with life where separation and aloneness do not exist.

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AQUA ECSTATICA ~ 

Accompanied by 0.5g of psilocybin, we will be able to experience deep levels of letting go through an inner journey, while floating in the heated water. This will be followed by a sensual touch and movement experience in the water bringing us back into our bodies and in profound connection with each other. This is a deep and transcendent healing experience accessed through an open heart.

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AWE retreat ~ 

The shaman’s path is to connect with nature, to be in awe of all that is. Being in awe is part of our evolution. Opening up to the strangeness of life is the doorway into the unknown and ultimately to wisdom and knowledge. Awe precedes growth and if we can stand in awe of our dance – we will learn and grow from it. In this weekend retreat, we will integrate all five tools, Breathwork, Dance, Music, Entheogens, and Sensuality into a deep and transformative experience.

Entheogen use in AQUA ECTATICA and the AWE retreat are optional

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DETAILS

BIOtantra Workshops take place on a Sunday (refer to program)
At the VisVita studio, in Johannesburg
2pm – 7pm
R650 (includes refreshments)
R550 – if you book and pay for all four workshops. 

Non-attendance at any of the workshops, and subsequent 

requests for any credit means that the fee reverts to R650 per workshop

AQUA ECSTATICA takes place on a Saturday
At the VisVita indoor heated pool, in Johannesburg
2pm – 9pm
R850 (includes a light supper)

AWE retreat takes place over the weekend 
At Sky Terrace, Sima Kade, Magaliesburg
Friday 5pm – Sunday 3.30pm
R4400 per person sharing (includes meals)

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FACILITATOR

Christos Daskalakos

Christos has been dancing for 45 years.  As an architect he makes no distinction when it comes to his mission to create beauty in the world - be it a building or in the heart of another.  As part of his journey, he has studied psychology and published papers on the role of dance in human development.  Currently, he is one of the Directors of the Johannesburg Central School of Biodanza and offers a variety of body-centered classes and events at his bespoke VisVita Centre.  He has also dedicated 23 years to working with plant medicines and has created a unique entheogenic dance journey that offers a deeply embodied experience of self.

CONTACT for more information or to make a booking

visvitacentre@gmail.com

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THE CONCEPT

In his book Recapture the Rapture, James Wheal pushes back against the myth we have been fed and led to believe, that the world is broken and we need to find something out there to fix it. Increasingly we are encouraged to seek the “quick fix” that will solve our problems and resolve any blockages we have to lead a fulfilled life. In this way, we have lost control of our own life stories. We live in reaction to the events that shape our lives, instead of being the storytellers that creatively shape the futures we desire.

The body has a natural knowing of what is good for us that includes our emotional and spiritual well-being. Increasingly people have become dissociated from their bodies assuming that numbing down any feeling is an indication of a healthy life. Nothing could be further from the truth. Interception is the capacity of our bodies to be in constant communication. Accessing a state of deep awareness opens up access to the wonder of our bodies. When we connect beyond the surface of physical sensation we open up and become immersed in the mystery of life - connecting to a profound state of what is natural and available for our health and well-being. We don’t need a Guru to become enlightened to these expanded ways of being. We do it by embracing our humanity through our body and ecstatic states that catapult us out of what Tim Freke author of Soul Story calls “the numbness of being normal”.

Life is a mystery. The paradox is that as we become more fully connected to ourselves so do we experience the oneness of being. In essence, this is the tantric path. A path that leads to awe – and is available to everyone – including you!

It becomes vital to claim back our humanity, our sovereign right to our own agency. Starting from the premise that we are perfect, just the way we are, we can deepen and broaden our experience of life. It begins with connecting to ourselves and remembering our deepest inspiration and wisdom. To connect to others in ways that are free from the shackles of fear, hostility, and competition - to embrace the cosmic wonder and mystery of life.

We get there through an ecstatic connection with the instrument of our existence, this beautiful body. According to the Kabbalah, the human form “provides a model in which the worlds are enclothed”. These bodies are not just glorified machines that “house” our souls (our experience) but rather the physical manifestation of infinite intelligence. When we free ourselves from the tyranny of the mind and drop into the body we encounter the soul. The tools we have at our disposal on this journey are:

• BREATHWORK
• DANCE
• ENTHEOGENS
• MUSIC
• SENSUALITY

Daniel Odier, a Tantric teacher and author, points out that there are many cultural taboos and misinformation that inform our relationship to these tools – especially anything related to our bodies, sexuality, and entheogens. Yet these five tools are so central to human biology and consciousness that even the gentlest of interventions can lead to substantial gains. By focusing on our bodies we have immediate access to the means of crafting a life full of meaning. As we master the techniques that work for us we expand our resilience. We become the masters of our own destiny – something no one can ever take away.