Here you can read in detail what happens in our workshops.
During a Radical Honesty weekend workshop, we learn the difference between noticing and imagining. What we notice about each other, what we notice in our own bodies, and what we notice going through our minds. We also pay attention attention to the stories and judgements we create from our noticings.
We use the weekend workshop as a space where we can experiment with a different way of being—allowing ourselves to be who we are and expressing aloud what is going on in our minds and bodies.
Program
A weekend workshop begins on Friday evening (usually at around 18:00 or 18:30) and concludes on Sunday afternoon (usually at 17:00).
On Friday evening, we start to get to know each other by sharing the things that we pretend to do or that we’re afraid of or are worried about. We also make some agreements about how we will work together during the weekend.
On Saturday, we do paired and group exercises, directed conversations, some teaching (arising from the exercises and conversations), some body movement and we introduce the hot seat work. We also get into the language of resentments and appreciations and focus on the difference between noticing and imagining.
On Sunday, we continue with more exercises, autogenic relaxation meditation, clarifying any unfinished issues between participants (including anger and appreciation). We do hot seat work and couples work (if so desired). We discuss how to complete incomplete business in our lives. We then finish the day with a round resentments and appreciations.
After the workshop, to continue the practice and keep the community going, we have online group to share, receive/give support, ask questions and ask for advice.
At our retreats, the group is together day and night, which allows us to dive a bit deeper into our work. We organize our retreats in beautiful locations to enhance the experience.
At our retreats, we generally start the morning at 8:00 with conscious body movement or yoga followed by a guided meditation. Then, after eating breakfast, we have a group session for about four hours. Then we eat lunch and have a longer afternoon break. At about 17:00, we meet again for a group session and work until dinner time. After dinner, we sometimes watch a movie, organize a dance party or just hang out together in smaller groups or on our own.
We currently organize four- or five-day retreats in Finland and The Netherlands. At our retreats, lodging and meals are available (usually as part of the workshop price) and we have more time to get to know one another, hang out and connect spontaneously as we spend the morning, afternoon and evening together.
Experience Finnish Sauna and Cabin Life
Every year, we host several RH retreats in our traditional Finnish cabins and as a latest addition a yurt by a lake surrounded by a lush pine forest. The location is rather secluded (we rarely see other people during our stay). During the breaks, participants can enjoy walking in the forests, swimming in the lake, lazying in hammocks, rowing a boat and/or connecting with other participants.
Our menus include Finnish foods like Karelian pies, jams made from wild blueberries (picked from the nearby blueberry patches) and risotto made with wild black chanterelles (picked from the surrounding forests). Each evening, our traditional, wood-heated sauna—large enough to accommodate our entire group—will be heated for our usage. The sauna sits just a few meters from the lake making plunging into the lake water rather convenient. See more of our place here.
Couples Retreats and Workshops
Once a year, we lead our popular Couples Retreat in our cabins in Finland. At this retreat, everyone joins with their partner or partners. We have especially designed exercises for couples which you can do together in the forest or in your cabin. We will share the experiences in the group and also do hot seat work with couples.
At times, we also lead online Couples Workshop and Groups where you similarly do exercises with your partner and share in the group.
Couples Retreats and Workshops offer hands on tips and exercises on how to begin and maintain honesty in a romantic relationship and oftentimes a great deal can be learned by witnessing other couples doing their work.
Family & Friends Retreat
On many requests we established Family & Friends retreat, the first and only one in the Radical Honesty world. You join this retreat with your adult child, parent, or another family member, friend, or loved one. Exercises are geared towards establishing greater understanding and connection between the two. We will coach and support both to express any unfinished issues from the past to get to a place forgiveness, care and love. We will also have time and space to do hot seat work in pairs.
You can either share a lodging with your parent, friend or family member or share it with someone else. The Family & Friends Retreat can be a very powerful experience and opportunity to fully express yourself while owning your emotions and leaving the past hurts and anger behind.
The ultimate Radical Honesty experience is the 8-day Intensive Retreat. We call this retreat a transformational workshop, as real intimacy and connection happens when we share our fears and worries, tell the story of our lives and talk about our sexual history and what we like and don’t like about our bodies.
We will begin each day with about 30 minutes of body movement and 20 minutes of meditation, followed by breakfast and a morning session of teaching, group conversations and paired exercises. We will then have a healthy lunch and an afternoon break. After the break, we will continue working with “hot seat” work, teaching, meditation, movement or dancing, and more paired and small group exercises. At around 20:00, we’ll eat dinner.
After dinner, one by one, each person will spend about 45 minutes telling the whole story of his or her life. By the time the workshop has ended, each participant will have heard everyone else’s life story and will have told their own. Each person will also receive a copy of the video recording of them telling their story to use later to start conversations with parents, (ex-)spouses, siblings, lovers and friends with whom they have unfinished business in life.
On about the fifth day, we’ll all get naked. One at a time we’ll stand in front of the group and talk about what we like and don’t like about our body. We’ll also tell our sexual histories: when we first discovered we were a sexual being, when we first masturbated, whether we prefer doing it with men or women or vegetables or minerals, how many partners of each gender we’ve had sex with, our favorite and least favorite sexual experiences and so on. Though we’ll probably get embarrassed, with good coaching and complete sharing of the truth and support from the group we will face our shame/fears/taboos—and get over them.
People often presume this will be some sort of “sexy” experience. Usually, the experience is anything but sexy. Mostly it’s about embarrassment and shame and suffering more than pleasure—and about how avoidance of all those aspects often controls our lives. (And quite often, the participants who were the most frightened of this exercise are the very ones who benefit the most from it!)
Then, together, we’ll review the videos of our naked work. Each person will take a turn sitting next to the screen and observing his/her video and receiving feedback about it. The process of watching oneself on television, naked, while talking about his/her sex life can be a more confrontational process for some people than the original experience of standing naked before the group. Again, the willingness to face the experience and live through it provides a decrease in the intensity of the sensations related to shame and a change in perspective on their own life in the direction of compassion for themselves as well as others. And then, most likely, we’ll appreciate ourselves and others for doing this work and live more fulfilling lives with less shame about ourselves.
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