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As the car begins its ascent along the mountain road, the
smell of the Redwoods and the surrounding forest become fresh and inviting. The
beginning of another Body Electric journey begins and I’m feeling keen yet slightly
apprehensive. As we arrive at Wildwood Retreat, set high on a mountain top in
northern California, we are greeted by the sounds of arrival as cars are
unpacked, men splash in the pool and the shouts of recognition as men call out to
each other.
Situated 2 hours north of San Francisco on the Russian
River, Wildwood Retreat consists of more than 200 acres of unspoiled forest,
meadows and streams. The retreat itself has cabin style accommodation or
permanently erected tents for those wanting a more rustic experience. The common
areas include the temple, pool, spa, dining facility and beautiful gardens to
wander in. As you walk around the grounds you’re met with stunning vistas of
the magnificent landscape with its rolling hills, Redwood groves, fir trees and
giant oaks.
I’ve come to Wildwood to further progress my Body Electric
education. After completing Dear Love of
Comrades, at Bamarang on the Shoalhaven River in February, there was much
talk of what was available next. So five Australians and a New Zealander have
made the trek to California, and Body Electric’s beautiful Wildwood Retreat, to
continue the journey with two courses: Healing
the Wounded Healer and Sacred
Intimacy.
 The Australian flag flies at Wildwood.
You need to have undertaken Dear Love of Comrades before you can attend this course, just as
you have to do Wounded Healer before
you can participate in Sacred Intimacy.
The second course, Sacred
Intimacy, is also set over six days and expands on what is learnt in Wounded Healer, providing students with
the opportunity to continue to work on themselves while also learning how to
apply this to other people. Indeed, after taking the course you are on the road
to becoming a Sacred Intimate, which is a profession in the United States and
one which those of us who have now been to Wildwood are bringing to Australia.
 During the week long course of Healing the Wounded Healer I had the opportunity to work through
many personal issues in a very safe and loving environment. As with anything
BE, different people experience different levels of intensity with what they encounter
and there are always several surprises in store. While the week is generally
relaxed and the processes not too taxing, the opportunity to work on yourself
always provides for interesting and unknown outcomes.
Each course had a different daily routine, although
journaling was an important characteristic of both. As the courses unfolded, it
became clear through writing thoughts down in my journal that I gained a
greater understanding of myself and what I was going through. Indeed, I’ve
continued journaling since my return and found it a valuable tool to retain the
special feeling of the courses.
The Sacred Intimate
course built on the learning from Healing
the Wounded Healer by continuing work on ourselves and also learning how to
apply the teachings to a “client”, thus building the framework to carry this
work of healing out into the world. This very intensive course also provided
time for contemplation, with there being no conversation between the participants
before the first morning session.
 Looking out from Julie Andrews point
 Because Body Electric work takes us beyond the intellectual
and emotional analysis of our issues, we have the opportunity to delve deep
down to the core nature of what it is we’re experiencing. For me, this involved
understanding behavioural patterns I now exhibit and the primal cause of these
right from my birth. I’ve never had an experience which allowed me to comprehend
this primal nature of my existence and its impact in my world. Indeed, to
understand my core in such a way – not just intellectually or emotionally, but
spiritually, physically and erotically as well – has opened new windows to my
view of the world.
The capacity to then apply this learning, to know our own
wounds so we can understand others, became very apparent during Sacred Intimacy. It is difficult to
describe in words the process of intuition that is developed and nurtured which
allows a Sacred Intimate to grasp a client’s need and then tend to it. The
beauty in learning the many different ways in which this may be done is to
understand the spontaneous nature of a Sacred Intimate’s work.  While there is
no “magic” as we might understand the term, the process of a Sacred Intimate’s
session is magical to the point that the results become apparent, without the
detail being fully clear, as we might traditionally expect it to be.
Body Electric teaches many powerful things about who we are
as men and our role in the world as gay men. These two courses provide an
opportunity for further exploration of that from which I am truly transformed.
Understanding the nature of our wounds, the issues that we have and learning
techniques to heal and deal with them is an invaluable resource. To then be
able to assist our brothers through the work of a Sacred Intimate is a gift to
be cherished.
About the Courses
Dear Love of Comrades is held each year at Wildwood Retreat
in June, Easton Mountain (in New York state) in August and every year in
February at Rainbows Reach Retreat in NSW.
Healing the Wounded Healer and Sacred Intimacy are held each
year in July/August at Wildwood Retreat.
A follow on course from Sacred Intimacy, In the Garden of
Life, is held every August.
For more information, visit
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