Ruskin Apothecary

Practical details for those attending courses:

Accommodation suggestions can be found on the ‘contact’ page on this website. The address and map link can also be found here. Parking is tricky, so please allow extra time if it’s your first visit so as not to rush. If there is space, you can park at Horsely Mill (<1km further along the valley from Ruskin Mill) and enjoy the lovely walk back down the valley.

This page is in two sections (1) Practical things (2) Psychic and emotional discipline

Practical things:

These details are for courses run at the Apothecary. Other venues will have their own details.

Most courses start on the Wednesday evening at 5-5.30. The evening, which runs until around 7.30-8.00 is a time for us to meet, have a shared meal, check in and start to create the space for the course. A key part of this is a shared meal, and there is a ritual intent with this to share each other’s energy through the food we bring. For this reason, it’s great if you can bring some food that you have made yourself and put your consciousness into so as to help start creating the space for the deeper work we will be doing.

The following days (either 2 days or 3 days) start at 9.30, but you are free to arrive anytime from 9.00. I really encourage you to come a little before 9.30 so that you can take some time to walk in the valley and ground yourself. Tea and lunchbreaks happen with the flow of the day, and if you feel a short break is due, do say so!

We generally finish around 5.00, but sometimes we all feel quite saturated earlier and finish 4.00ish. Equally, if we’re on a roll with something, we may go on to 6.00!

Food: There is a cafe at Ruskin Mill is you wish to buy lunch here. This can sometimes (though not often) be a busy place, in which case you might wish to bring your own food to avoid engaging with too many energies when in a more open and sensitised state. There’s a kettle and tea’s at the Apothecary so make yourself at home the rest of the day. Apart from the shared meal, which has something of a ritual quality, I prefer people not to eat in the Apothecary since the smell of food can interfere with the work with herbs later.

What to bring: The Apothecary is a small and very full space, so it’s great if you can bring with you the minimum that you need. This would most likely be drawing pad/notebook and if you have it a shawl and sheepskin are useful for the journeying work. If you like working with colour, do bring oils/watercolours with you – I have pastels and pencils at the Apothecary.

Psychic and emotional discipline in the work

Most people find the Apothecary and the group a safe space to grow intuitive awareness. However, it is important to recognise that developing intuition requires quite deep self-examination and increasing self-awareness. It asks for the development of emotional intelligence and the willingness to grow and confront oneself with one’s own sabotage mechanisms. For this reason, it is important that you are both physically and emotionally in reasonably robust health – or if not that you have a adequate support system in place. By physically and emotionally robust, I specifically mean:

– Physically able to stay reasonably focused for three days

– Emotionally able to stay reasonably focused for three days. It is not unusual for the herbs to being up some painful feelings within us. If this happens it is important that you are willing to own these feelings, and willing to try and me aware of any tendency to project! Easier said than done, but as long as the will is there that is all that matters.

Honouring the space: From the start of each course we create a sacred circle for the work that we do here. The work can only be as deep as the circle is strong. Another way to say this is that if someone does not feel comfortable, they are unlikely to open up the parts of themselves that will be the most potent for the work! For this reason I keep numbers small and really encourage you to speak to me if there’s anything you need that is not being recognised. Everything that is said within this space remains confidential, and as members of a group we must respect this.

It is common for the work to unlock some quite profound healing processes in people, and we honour this by witnessing with an open heart and maintaining the confidentiality of the space. I expect every person to hold the space for every other person – we are all holding the space together.

Checking in with me: I encourage everyone as much as possible to share their experiences within the group or with each other (in pair work exercises). However, if for any reason you feel unable to do this, ask me for a moment at a break or lunch (or after class) to speak 1:1. It is important for me that you know I am available to support you as much as I am able through any emotions that may arise. If you need a de-brief after the class, we can check in on the phone or in person, though if you want further support after this it would be on a normal client attending sessions basis.

Assumption of self-responsibility: As a starting point I assume that people attending are well and self-aware enough to be able to ask for and find any support they may need working on their inner process. The vast majority of the time, the level of unfolding and increasing awareness/sensitivity that happens in classes is within most people’s capacity to work with by themselves afterwards. Sometimes you may need some additional support in the form of counselling or bodywork etc if the work touches issues you find difficult to navigate.

Though some of that may sound quite intense and heavy – 90% of the time people experience a fairly steady deepening of awareness, and the richness and joy that goes with that!

I also recommend you read the pages related to intuition as well as my personal reflection on spiritual practice and healing