The Hero/Heroine’s Journey: Integrating the Hero & the Shadow

Name: The Hero/Heroine’s Journey: Integrating the Hero & the Shadow
Start: 2026-05-22T17:30:00-04:00
End: 2026-05-24T15:30:00-04:00
Location: Sanctuary Farm

Schedule

Fri, 22 May, 2026 at 05:30 pm to Sun, 24 May, 2026 at 03:30 pm

UTC-04:00

Location

Sanctuary Farm | Chapel Hill, NC

A Rite of Passage for Transformation, Truth, and Aliveness
Sanctuary Farm, Chapel Hill, NC May 22–24
8519 Pickards Meadow Rd, Chapel Hill, NC 27516
Begins Friday at 5:30 PM | Ends Sunday at 3:30 PM
$950 Inclusive of meals, lodging, and workshop
Email [email protected] to RSVP or inquire…
Do you sense there could be more to your life than you are currently living? Is there a quiet or not so quiet yearning for something deeper, more alive, truer? This is where the journey begins. Inspired by the timeless map described by Joseph Campbell and brought to life through experiential practice, this immersive weekend invites you into your own Hero’s Journey. “A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of wonders and returns with a gift.” This is not just a story. It is a living process that unfolds within you.
At the heart of this journey, we encounter two essential forces: The Hero (or Heroine) — the part of you that says yes to life, growth, and possibility. The one who longs to move forward, to evolve, to live with courage and purpose. The Shadow (Resistance) — the part that holds you back. The fear, doubt, patterns, and protections that resist change and also hold immense untapped energy. Every meaningful transition in life activates both. This work is about bringing them into conscious relationship.
Over three powerful days, you will step into a modern rite of passage:
• Hearing and answering your Call to Adventure
• Leaving the known world of familiar roles and identities
• Encountering your inner resistance face-to-face • Moving through a dynamic process of expression, confrontation, and release
• Accessing deeper layers of truth, creativity, and life force
• Integrating these discoveries into a more whole and embodied self
This is a deeply experiential process, drawing from:
• Movement, breathwork, and embodied exploration
• Theatre and archetypal expression
• Music-guided journeys
• Gestalt-inspired processes
• Shadow work and emotional integration
• Ritual and transformation practices
• Authentic connection in a co-ed group container
This is not a workshop you watch. It is a journey you live.
The Boon — What You Carry Back As in every Hero’s Journey, you return with a gift: • A deeper sense of self and inner alignment • Greater freedom from limiting patterns • Renewed vitality and creative energy • Clarity in the face of life transitions • A stronger capacity to meet life fully Not as someone new, but as someone more fully yourself.
Sanctuary Farm 20 acres of quiet, natural beauty to support reflection, movement, and transformation
Investment: $950 Includes lodging, meals, and full workshop experience Spaces are limited.
David Boer is the founder of The Presence Project and a facilitator of transformational workshops
An Eckhart Tolle–influenced teacher of presence, an advanced polarity graduate in the lineage of David Deida, and a graduate of Tantra in the Joyful Moments within the Shamanic Theatre of Life (Polish School), David weaves together tantric, shamanistic, and Gestalt-based approaches into deeply immersive experiences. His work invites individual’s into embodied presence, authentic expression, and the courage to move through life’s inner thresholds with awareness and aliveness unknown. Meet your resistance. Reclaim your energy. Return with the gift. Give your gift to the world
Kristen Roberts Ward (Padma Om) is an interfaith chaplain, spiritual guide, and advanced yoga instructor devoted to the exploration of meaning, the practice of presence, and catalyzing personal transformation. Rooted in decades of practice of classical yoga, contemplative spirituality, and spiritual & emotional care, she supports individuals as they navigate the deeper passages of the human journey. Through her work with Sage Harbor and her training in clinical chaplaincy, Kristen holds spaces where consciousness, awakening, purpose, and authenticity can be explored with honesty, compassion, and safety. She invites participants into a deeper relationship with their inner life, so wisdom, resilience, and the sacred dimensions of human experience can grow into embodied experience.