Category: Conferences

Annual Gay Spirit Visions conferences.

GSV 2022 Fall Conference: Who do you think you are?

Fall Conference

GSVFallRetreat2022

Who do you think you are?

September 22 – 25, 2022

The Mountain Retreat and Learning Center, Highlands, NC

4 Day/3 Night Package (Thursday through Sunday)


Lodge (shared room) $315.00

Cabin (shared room) $315.00


Bunk House (shared room up to 4 people) $270.00


Register Now!

“Who you think you are each day, completely determines the universe you live in.”—Ram Dass

Dear Siblings,
Come together during the time of harvest. Celebrate your bounty; replenish your soul; examine your essence; acknowledge your gifts. Surrounded by loving siblings in a serene atmosphere, we will share time to reflect, inspire, and empower. Let us open the steamer trunk of who we are, see what is weighing us down, and what we can unload to enhance our journey through life.

Who we are and what we become are based on our thoughts! Thoughts are our ideas, opinions, and beliefs about ourselves and the world around us. They include perspectives we bring to any situation or experience that color our point of view. While thoughts are shaped by life experiences, genetics, and education, they can be brought under conscious control. In other words, if we are aware of our thoughts and attitudes, we can choose to change or discard them.

Let us first explore the experiences that formed our beliefs. By looking at our formative self, we can nurture our innocence and provide the encouragement we desire. We will then identify our created story and examine the constraints that may no longer serve us.

“Life is a journey, not a destination.”—Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Pack lite, throw it in the overhead, grab a window seat, and enjoy the ride.”—Bill Harris

Our 2022 Fall Conference keynote speaker will be David Ault. Known by many at Gay Spirit Visions as a spiritual teacher from Spiritual Living Center of Atlanta, David is also an award-winning author, leadership coach, and global education advocate. He loves leading through example and abides by the motto that people would rather “see a lesson than hear one.”

You are invited and encouraged to share your gifts during this conference by proposing a workshop. We are looking for persons with topic-related ideas who desire to provide an interactive and informative workshop experience. Contact me at [email protected] with your ideas, dreams, and questions, and we will be glad to support you in the creative process.

Financial assistance, in the form of scholarships, is available. The financial assistance application submission deadline is September 7. Our hope is that anyone who resonates with our mission and community, and who has a desire to attend, can join us at our gatherings. To that end, we offer financial assistance through the Raven Wolfdancer Financial Assistance Fund. Please go to the Financial Assistance page on the Gay Spirit Visions website for more information about financial assistance (scholarships) and for a link to the GSV financial assistance application form. Remember, the financial assistance application submission deadline is September 7.

Make plans to return home to The Mountain in September, as you have been missed. More information will be available in the coming weeks.

In gratitude,
Bill Harris
GSV 2022 Fall Conference Convener

Register Now!

GSV 2022 Spring Retreat: Last Call

Spring Retreat

Spring 2022

From Dirt to Dynamic


May 13 – 15, 2022*


The Mountain Retreat and Learning Center, Highlands, NC


3 Day/2 Night Package (Friday through Sunday)


Lodge (shared room) $210.00 plus tax


Cabin (shared room) $210.00 plus tax


Bunk House (shared room up to 4 people) $180.00 plus tax


Register now!


Registration closes Tuesday, May 10

Dear Siblings:

Soon we will gather at The Mountain and embrace the energies and entities conspiring for our continued joy. Breathe in deeply and take in the idea that you are worthy and loved in grace.

You have been told in the past that there are certain requirements for you to be loved. This is simply not true. You are loved simply because you exist.

You are a part of all that is, so to not accept love for yourself is the same as not loving everything. The reason it feels bad to love one thing and not love another is because that is not the truth about love.

We all have a decision to make. Do I exist in a universe that collaborates for my peace and joy or not? In one case you live as though everything is a miracle, in the other, nothing is a miracle. Which choice benefits you the most?

Life is a gift. A miraculous gift that is given to us one moment at a time. Occasionally the wrapping paper the gift comes in is very unattractive. But there is a precious jewel enclosed in every moment of existence.

We will learn during our time together how we can take our past and reframe it to bring us new life. We have wisdom because of our past. What we have come through has given us the strength and knowledge to truly soar in the present and into the future.

Let us all come together as a family. Let us combine our grand wisdom. Let us empower ourselves through community and connection. It is our calling to love the world uniquely, to empower it, and to show it a new way so that everyone can find peace, joy, and love.

Love, Peace, Release,
“Angel” Pete Cossaboon
GSV 2022 Spring Retreat Convener

Register now!


Registration closes Tuesday, May 10

* May 13 — Registration starts at 3 PM and Program starts at 6 PM
May 15 — Program ends after noon lunch

GSV 2022 Spring Retreat: From Dirt to Dynamic

Spring Retreat

Spring 2022

From Dirt to Dynamic

May 13 – 15, 2022

The Mountain Retreat and Learning Center, Highlands, NC

3 Day/2 Night Package (Friday through Sunday)


Lodge (shared room) $210.00 plus tax


Cabin (shared room) $210.00 plus tax


Bunk House (shared room up to 4 people) $180.00 plus tax


Register now!


Hello GSV Family!

Well, spring is officially here, although I don’t know that Mother Nature got the message!

Our 2022 Spring Retreat will be here before you know it, and I am so excited for all of us to gather. This retreat will be an opportunity for us to learn from each other, to connect with the powerful forces at The Mountain, and to tap into our own wellness and wisdom.

Accommodations are filling up fast, and this will be a wonderful way to make 2022 a year of dynamic healing and growth. Conflict is a part of the natural order of the world, and we will be looking at how to take all the negative we are surrounded by every day and transform it into energy for the future. Think of it as energy recycling!

Mother Earth is a perfect teacher of how to take the discards of the past and transform them into resources for future growth. How can our pain, disappointments, and failures be our most prized possessions? We all have the opportunity to take wisdom from life’s lessons. Wisdom is priceless, since it cannot be purchased for any amount of money.

The Serenity Prayer asks us to know the difference between what we can and cannot change. Hidden in that message is our ability to change our relationship with what we can and what we cannot change. If we change our relationship with what bothers us to a point where it no longer bothers us, is it still a problem?

Each of us truly has the ability to make the decision of what we focus on and what the meaning of everything is. These two decisions either make us a powerful voice in our own life or powerless to outside forces.

Financial assistance, in the form of scholarships, is available. The financial assistance application submission deadline is April 29. Our hope is that anyone who resonates with our mission and community, and who has a desire to attend, can join us at our gatherings. To that end, we offer financial assistance through the Raven Wolfdancer Financial Assistance Fund. Please go to the Financial Assistance page on the Gay Spirit Visions website for more information about financial assistance (scholarships) and for a link to the GSV financial assistance application form. Remember, the financial assistance application submission deadline is April 29.

Please note! This retreat will fill up quickly. Register today and let us join together and create a whole new world starting with each of us.

Let us gather, recognize each other’s power, and tap into our own innate strength.

Love, Peace, Release,
“Angel” Pete Cossaboon
GSV 2022 Spring Retreat Convener

PS:
I made a video describing the retreat

GSV 2022 Spring Retreat: From Dirt to Dynamic

Spring Retreat

Spring 2022

From Dirt to Dynamic

May 13 – 15, 2022


The Mountain Retreat and Learning Center, Highlands, NC

3 Day/2 Night Package (Friday through Sunday)


Lodge (shared room) $210.00 plus tax


Cabin (shared room) $210.00 plus tax


Bunk House (shared room up to 4 people) $180.00 plus tax


Register Now


Hello GSV Family!

It is finally here! The Gay Spirit Visions 2022 Spring Retreat is just around the corner and we could not be more excited. The title for the spring retreat this year is From Dirt to Dynamic. First, I want to ask you a couple of questions. Are you able to experience joy in the darkest hours of your life? Do you feel empowered or completely overwhelmed by the world situation? Well, I am here to tell you that joy is available to you in every moment and that you get to decide how the world affects you.

How do we find joy and empowerment in this crazy world full of pain and dismay? I am so glad you asked, because that is exactly what we will be exploring! Are you ready to take the negative from yesterday and use it for growth and expansion? I am too. From within ourselves, we will be utilizing tools and resources that help us change our relationship with the outside. It isn’t about that which is coming at you, it is about how you interpret it. Let’s learn the language of divine joy and start singing the song of peace and fulfillment with the uni-verse (one-song).

Oh, one more thing. I need your assistance! I am looking for workshop leaders with tools and resources that facilitate positive change. Some ideas for these workshops could include, but certainly aren’t limited to:

  • Ho’oponopono — Hawaiian technique of forgiveness and release
  • The Work of Byron Katie
  • Cutting cords
  • Journaling your dream life
  • Breathwork
  • Release through dance or body movement
  • Body work of any kind
  • The power of the mind
  • How emotions fuel our future
  • You and the quantum field

Do you have an idea for a workshop that helps our brothers and siblings to experience positive change? Please let me know by contacting me at
[email protected]. Thank you!

Financial assistance, in the form of scholarships, is available. The financial assistance application submission deadline is April 29. Our hope is that anyone who resonates with our mission and community, and who has a desire to attend, can join us at our gatherings. To that end, we offer financial assistance through the Raven Wolfdancer Financial Assistance Fund. Please go to the Financial Assistance page on the Gay Spirit Visions website for more information about financial assistance (scholarships) and for a link to the GSV financial assistance application form. Remember, the financial assistance application submission deadline is April 29.

Please note! This retreat will fill up quickly. Register today and let us join together and create a whole new world starting with each of us.

Love, Peace, Release,
Pete Cossaboon “Angel Pete”
Convener, GSV 2022 Spring Retreat

PS: I made a video describing the retreat

Last Call—GSV 2022 Winter Meditation: Working with your Locus of Control

Winter Meditation

2022 Winter Meditation

Working with your Locus of Control


January 14 -16, 2022


Virtual


Registration Closes Tuesday, January 11

Dear GSV Siblings and Brothers,

There is still time to register for the Gay Spirit Visions 2022 Winter Meditation. Registration closes Tuesday, January 11. Click here to register.

Even though we all ache to be together in person again, we are excited to share through Zoom a powerful, sacred, and heart-connected experience with people all over the world — many of whom could not attend were it an in-person gathering.

In 2021 we focused on resilience and hope. This winter’s gathering will focus on working with our locus of control, connecting more deeply in relationship with self, our perception of self, and sacred cosmos. A locus of control orientation delves into our beliefs about whether the outcomes of our actions are contingent on what we do (internal control orientation) or on events outside our personal control (external control orientation). Note that on Saturday there will be a homework assignment, so you may want to have a lunch pre-prepared at home so you will have more time for both.

We will also have the opportunity to explore our community’s relationship to each of us as individuals and as part of a collective organism. Breathwork, poetry, and dialogue will help us embody and live into these relationships. We have some wonderful speakers and facilitators with us this year, sharing their journeys of hope and reconnection. To go a little deeper into the practice of mindfulness and what our keynote presenter, Darren Main, will offer, you may wish to examine this link:
darrenmain.thinkific.com/courses/mindfulness-for-busy-minds

If you decide to attend, we encourage you to participate as much as possible to create the most powerful experience for you and all others. Remember, every person who comes to the gathering brings just as much as they receive from it! There will also be a designated Zoom room for informal socializing, including during mealtimes, throughout the gathering.

We look forward to seeing you!

Sincerely,
The Council of Trusted Elders of Gay Spirit Visions
Conveners of the GSV 2022 Winter Meditation

Register Now