Coming Back to Life: October 2026 - June 2027
About this Event
Coming Back to Life is an arts and nature based 9-month in-person programme to support you in your journey towards deeper joy, healing and awakened response to this time of global crisis.
We live in a time of the most enormous challenges humanity has ever faced. Acknowledging that our bodies are inextricably entangled with the Earth (and cosmos) is to recognise that the Earth's pain also runs through our nervous systems. And so it no longer seems clear how to keep ourselves healthy: individual health was a myth sold to us by modernity and now our planet is sick, and so are we. So how do we come back to life together?
Perhaps it has never been so important to ask this question, and yet, it can be so difficult to find answers through the noise and overwhelm of modern life.
I invite you on a transformational, embodied journey with me through the seasons, accompanied by the other-than-human world and inspirational guest artists, to come back to life. Limited to 12 participants, we gather on one Sunday a month (October to June) in a beautiful woodland in Tallaght, Dublin, fusing forgotten ancestral skills with creative arts and somatics to awaken our inner wisdom and fire. Practices include holding space for each other and ourselves, deep listening and observation, meeting with grief, crafting with plants, body movement and breathwork, working with fire, our Irish langauge, singing, visual arts, foraging/herbalism, storytelling and writing.
We will lovingly release limitations that modernity has instilled in us, and experience greater freedom and pathways illuminated. We will practise experiencing the universe as a connected entity of dynamic energy instead of elements in isolation, allowing our mindsets to shift and new possibilities to emerge.
The programme, named after Joanna Macy's book 'Coming Back to Life' is based on The Work That Reconnects and the work of Joanna Macy. Other material in the programme comes from my own professional Life Coaching and Forest School experience and trainings, the work of artist collaborators and direct wisdom from the natural world. Others whose work I draw on in the programme include Lucy Ní hAodhagáin, Vanessa Andreotti, Bayo Akomolafe, Alexandra Derwen, Martín Prechtel and the Plum Village community.
The programme must be booked in full, so check you are available for all 9 dates before booking:
(all 9.45am until 4.45pm):
Sunday 18 October
Sunday 22 November
Sunday 20 December
Sunday 17 January
Sunday 14 February
Sunday 14 March
Sunday 11 April
Sunday 9 May
Sunday 6 June
Venue:
All 9 sessions will take place in the beautiful Dominican Retreat Centre, Tallaght, Dublin 24, in the heart of Tallaght village, accessibe by buses and Luas.
Cost:
The program currently has no external finding, so it is funded by participants only. Recognising the inequality in people's income, family situations and the social inequalities that modernity has imposed on us, I am offering three pay-what-you-can options of €75, €100 or €125 per month. Please choose an amount per month according to your social and economic resourcing, and pay this amount for the booking deposit. The deposit will cover the first month and after that you can pay the full balance, or monthly, whatever payment method works for you. If your financial circumstances change throughout the year, come chat with me and we can discuss a higher/lower amount.
If your employer or oganisation can fund this for you, I am happy to provide invoices and fill out necessary forms. If you are not in a financial position to pay the lowest suggested amount but would like to participate, please email me at [email protected].
What's included:
- Teas throughout the day
- Art materials and tools
- Study materials to accompany each session (1 - 2 hours per month in your own time)
- Partner practice between sessions (1 hour per month)
- A co-created lunch
Lunches
In the spirit of 'The Great Turning' (Joanna Macy's term for how we come back to life together), lunches will be co-organised and co-created. Each person (if you wish) will help prepare lunch for either one or two sessions over the 9 months: you may choose to do one lunch as main chef, or two as support. Lunch on the first day, 18th October, will be provided by me, and after that we will organise a system together:) All dietary requirements will be met. The cost of ingredients will be deducted from your payment for that month.
Testimonials from past participants:
"'Coming Back to Life' has awoken something in me I could not previously access. Through the variety of artistic practices ... I've been able to access both joy and grief and, in doing so, gained creative clarity in what's called for next in my life."
Sarah-Jane
"Through the practices, teachings and experiences we shared, I developed a much deeper appreciation for slowing down, connecting with nature, and creating space for reflection and presence. I learned to trust the process, unlearn some deeply ingrained habits, and discover a different way of being.
I genuinely believe this journey has already helped me become a better husband, a better father, and a more present person. Perhaps most importantly, it has helped me appreciate life more and given me a clearer sense of the direction I want to keep moving in.
Thank you, Róisín, for the care, wisdom and guidance you brought to the journey. It has been a privilege to be part of it, and I will carry much of what I've learned with me long into the future."
Omar
"I was going through a transition time when I started this program wondering what the next ten years of life would bring. The program resulted in an emerging clarity which is now ongoing in guiding me to a sustainable answer to this question."
Raymond
"Róisín so authentically lives deep ecology and our celtic knowing and it was formative to be able to be led by her and her artist peers this year, offering a pathway of active hope for us to continue down after the programme ends. I highly recommend Roisin - her facilitation, wisdom and warmth."
Heidi
"After a cancer diagnosis and treatment, I came across 'Coming Back to Life'. During the programme, I was invited to explore my creativity and self-expression. I experienced reduced stress and anxiety, improved mood and happiness, and enhanced cognitive function. My well-being has improved. We need healers like Roisin, and her passion about the Irish language, culture, and heritage encourages a connection to the land and people."
Arantza
"Having the opportunity to be creative with clay and natural inks and understanding how these materials are formed and created has made me more nature conscious and really changed my outlook in terms of seeing how I can create with all of the resources around me. Róisín is a very skilled facilitator and her immersion in the natural world and her ability to weave that with the arts is something that is desperately needed in these times. She could just make you fall in love with the world around you once again if you’ve lost sight of that a little."
Caitríona
"I feel this work is really relevent and needed right now, to help people find an anchor in themselves, and from there, work on new ways to heal and live more consciously. Over the nine months I have been on 'Coming back to life', I feel that I am connecting with a courage inside to say 'yes' to change and 'yes' to living more compassionately with others."
Angela
About Róisín -
I am a life coach (RMT, AC), biologist (BA) and multi-disciplinary creative with a background in teaching (H.Dip.Ed) and music (Lyon Conservatoire). In response to a period in my life of despair and burn-out, I began studying Joanna Macy's Active Hope in 2019, and subsequently trained in 'The Work That Reconnects' with Anna Swisher, a former student of Macy's. I studied ancestral skills with Lucy Ní hAodhagáin, and use these skills in my daily life with my family and in my creative practices. Other trainings that contribute to my work include permaculature, mindfulness, Non-Violent Communication, art therapy, grief work, and trauma-informed practice. I am a certified Forest School leader and an active member of the Climate Coaching Alliance, the Work That Reconnects Network and the Natural Voice Network. I work as a Climate Coach, a Creativity Consultant in schools for the Arts Council, and facilitate wellbeing sessions for organisations. At the core of my life is my family and our shared land in north Co. Westmeath which abundantly inspire and nourish me.
For any questions, please email me at [email protected] or phone/whatsapp/text 085 1910841.
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
EUR 75.00 to EUR 125.00
