Weekend Workshop
October 24-25, 2026

Co-Facilitated by John Ruskell, Founder of the Awareness Institute

Level One: “Initiation”

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Accelerate your journey of self-transformation with an immersive retreat that will change the way you experience yourself and your world.

Throughout human history, across cultures and traditions, the rite of passage known as “initiation” has signified a transformation – or rebirth – into a new beginning.

Whether you’re in a major transition or simply ready to explore a life of greater depth, this Initiation Workshop weekend will serve as a powerful turning point in your understanding of who you are and how you choose to live.

Program Overview: Guided by facilitators with decades of workshop facilitation experience, and with the support of dedicated volunteers, this experiential workshop incorporates integrative tools and practices, including:

  • Astrology

  • Breathwork

  • Movement

  • Music

  • Guided one-on-one and group sharing

Over the course of a weekend, you will:

  • Discover the roots of recurring blocks around trust and intimacy.

  • Shine a light on your experience of receptivity, vulnerability, and your feeling nature.

  • Heal with mother, women, and the feminine, to integrate defenses and open your heart to love.

Seeing and acknowledging your unique version of the "house that fear built" is a powerful next step on the road to a life of freedom. This essential understanding, and your willingness to take responsibility for the situations and circumstances of your life, form the foundation of an inspiring and rewarding new life.

Wherever you are in your life, this weekend can open up a deeply transforming experience of boundless joy and openhearted loving.

“You can’t put a price tag on the experience — it’s worth a thousand times more than what I paid. The openness and freedom I feel are beyond description!” – Nick

What does “Initiation” offer?

  • A life-changing, in-person weekend workshop.

    More than 16 hours of self-awareness processes that will help you to break free from conditioned beliefs and self-limiting behaviors.

    Introduction of new tools that can help foster enduring behavioral changes and life perspectives.

  • Profound and accelerated insights, growth, and transformation – without the use of mind-altering substances.

    Support to honestly assess and take responsibility for the life you’ve lived.

    Opportunities to integrate and release trauma stored in your body through breathwork, movement, and sharing.

  • Pre- and post-workshop integration support with experienced team members.

    Authentic connection with yourself and others as you actualize new ways of being in your life.

    The support of a warm and open-minded community.

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This workshop is for you if:

  • You’re drawn to symbolic languages like astrology, myth, archetypes, and dream interpretation.

  • You've explored meditation, yoga, or spiritual practices and want to more deeply integrate and apply awareness principles into your daily life.

  • You've experienced loss or grief and want to expand your capacity for love, receptivity, and connection.

  • The complexity of modern life, especially since Covid, has left you feeling overwhelmed or disconnected, and you're seeking tools to better integrate.

  • You’re a parent (or aunt, uncle, grandparent, friend, teacher, neighbor) who wants to break generational patterns.

  • You’re ready to nurture real connections and create more depth in your relationships.

Workshop Investment

$525 if paid in full by October 19, 2026
$550 after October 19th (space permitting)

Discounts:

  • Series discount: register for both Level 1 and Level 2 for $957 (regular price $1190)

  • Former team (contact Colleen)

Your retreat price includes:

  • More than 16 hours of self-awareness processes that will help you to break free from conditioned beliefs and fearful, limiting behaviors that no longer serve who you are today.

  • Introduction of new tools that can help foster enduring behavioral changes and life perspectives.

  • Family-style meals and lodging for two days, one night.

  • A pre-workshop orientation call with an experienced Awareness Institute team member, guiding you through what to expect at the weekend retreat and an intention-setting exercise for the immersive experience.

  • Two post-workshop integration calls with Awareness Institute team members to support your integration as you actualize new ways of being in your life.

  • BONUS: Join three Wednesday Community Classes FREE!

ENROLL

To register, please fill out and submit the enrollment form and then pay for your workshop below. Your spot in the retreat is not guaranteed until payment has been received. Payments are non-refundable, though may under certain circumstances be transferable to the next scheduled retreat or workshop, minus an administrative fee of at least 10%.

STEP 1: SUBMIT ENROLLMENT FORM:

STEP 2: PAY TUITION:

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What “Initiation” participants are saying:

  • “I can’t recommend this workshop enough. I will say you’ll need to find your courage and be brave, but you’ll have more support than you can imagine. If you want to make a real, fundamental change – this workshop has all the potential to rock your world!” – Sara M

  • “I blamed my mom for so much of my trauma. But I see now she gave me everything she had. It really transformed my perception. I walked out of the workshop and really wanted to hug my mom. And that’s not something I’d wanted to do before. I realized that my mind was filled with personal turmoil. And I was finally able to release so much of that pressure that I’d been holding onto for so many years. Sunday was the happiest I’ve ever been in my life. I didn’t want to leave. It was life changing. I’m so glad I went.” – Justin

  • “I’d been covering myself with all of the positivity I’d been hiding behind. And I got to drop beneath that to face what was really going on underneath. I got to drop in and start to own more of my life and my experience. I’m so grateful to this space and everyone here to help me discover and allow more of myself.” – Chris

  • “I experienced myself in a whole new way. Like a piece of my child self is now okay to come out and love the world. I AM. I haven’t felt this light, peaceful and less distracted in over 20 years. I have been the recipient of tools to now work with in my daily life, allowing my ego and mind to be quiet. I feel loved, I feel worthy of love and I am open to giving love like no other time in my adult life. I am humbled and grateful for my workshop experience, the love and support that I have been afforded and the ability to bring what I have learned and will continue to learn in all my relationships, especially those with myself, my wife and children.” – Lorne

  • “If you are craving a complete shift in your body, mind and emotions, you must try this work.” – Jen 

  • “I felt like I really let my mom off the hook. I’m ready to take responsibility for my life. I saw the patterns of the generations before me and really let them go.” – Elena

  • “This is what I’ve been searching for all my adult life. I have worked so hard to get where I am…therapy, chanting, yoga, self help books, meditation, church, and in 48 hours I am free of the chatter, my heart is open to love, and I am able to create and maintain clear boundaries.” – Terri

FAQ’s

  • Each weekend is different, so we encourage you to come in with an open mind. Our workshops are experiential, which means that we provide a platform where organic reactions and responses can arise, so you see yourself more clearly. We will be going beyond a conceptual discourse into an experience where ideas are blended with feeling and emotion, providing a more holistic experience. The workshop uses a variety of modalities: one-on-one and group sharing, movement, breathing, music, release work, etc. Strong emotions may surface and that could look like crying, anger, grief, etc. People will be coming to the workshop who are ready to change old patterns and begin trusting in the flow of life. This requires an objective look at why and how we shut down. For many of us, coping has become so normalized, that we don’t see it until we’re in this kind of workshop setting.

  • We have found that participants benefit most when they stop using recreational drugs and alcohol a few days prior to (and of course during) the workshop.

    We also encourage daily journaling and provide a list of optional supplemental reading after you register for the workshop. This isn’t required reading, but the book list provides a good primer for better understanding your personal makeup and what it takes to break free from your conditioning. These books are also helpful to read after the retreat to help integrate what you learned.

  • Although workshop registration payments are non-refundable, under certain circumstances the funds may be transferable to the next scheduled retreat or workshop, minus an administrative fee of at least 10%.

  • If you have any questions, please contact us at info@awarenessinstitute.org.