Parents, Grandparents, Carers…
I’d like to extend an invitation to join a small group of us for something deeply personal and quietly radical: an in-person Ongo retreat—the first in 14 years. It is to be held in Bali near where the authors of Ongo, Catherine and Jesse, have been living these past few years.
We’re four guides holding this retreat, and between us, we bring a whole tapestry of real life.
Two of us are parents of young children, learning to weave work and practice into the noise and beauty of family life.
One of us is both a mother of adult children and a grandmother, and caring for an ageing parent with dementia.
And one of us is working with balancing a passionate life working in the human field and replenishing through creativity, simplicity and connection to the more than human world.
Each of us is doing the work of showing up in the middle of real life, not outside of it. That’s the spirit we’ll be bringing to the retreat. No ideal conditions. Just presence, honesty, and care.
Whether you have been in an Ongo group online, in person, or just dipped your toes into this practice of everyday nonviolence, you already know how simple and transformative it can be.
This retreat is for people navigating parenting, ageing, work choices, grief, or burnout… for people who want space to breathe, to remember, and to root their practice in real life.
We’re calling it a Remembering. A Renewal. A space to return to what matters most. You’re warmly invited to join us if you’re longing to:
Find steady ground in a shifting world
To meet uncertainty with breath, presence, and compassion. Learn how to hold grief, beauty and mourning all at once.
Transform knowledge into embodiment
Beyond concepts… integrating the practices into your body and your nervous system.
Say the brave thing, with clarity and compassion.
Practice honest, kind communication in real-life role plays and circle sharing.
Be held in stillness and ritual
Experience the deep nourishment of silence, presence, and ceremony.
Come home with tools that simply work
These practices travel well. You’ll leave with tools to bring home to your relationships, your community, your everyday life.
Be in good company
No fixing, no performing, just honest companionship with kindred spirits.
Each day will be shaped by what’s alive in the circle—your questions, your stories, your longings. We’ll move at the pace of presence, with enough space to stay with what matters.
If something in you is drawn to this, even quietly, you’re welcome. This might be your time.
There’s a 30% early bird special if you register before 1st July and please email me for information on the ONGO BUDDY discount! (wendy@wendyhaynes.com)’
Click here for more details 23rd to 28th September 2025 in Bali.
If you have questions or feel a quiet yes but want to talk it through, I’d love to hear from you.
Drawing and Photo: Wendy Haynes, Ongo notes
