Testimonials - Journeying Within Retreat

Some of our previous retreatants sharing their experience:

The Journeying Within Retreat has been life changing for me and can highly recommend to anyone who is considering it.

The personal growth I made in six days is amazing. My eyes, ears, and heart have all been opened to possibilities and opportunities that have previously been blocked for me.

The takeaway messages and tools are invaluable as I can call upon them at any time as I continue with my life journey.

I highly recommend the powerful use of silence; it was easier than I thought it was going to be.

Thank you, Bernie and Elizabeth, your passion and dedication is an inspiration.

Steph

This retreat was absolutely incredible, with the most amazing facilitators.

I never understood the importance of silence until I embarked on this journey. The care and coaching helped me release traumas which I had (unknowingly) been carrying for decades. The release enabled me to use tools to tap into that inner wisdom which has always been there.

Our wisdom and ability to love has not been lost with our ancestors, it’s inside every one of us, we just need to learn how to reconnect to it.

Thanks to Bernie, Elizabeth and Liz for a wonderful experience in a safe and loving environment.

I would highly recommend this incredible journey of connection to self and our higher power.

– From Miriam Vale

This was a transformative experience for me. As a therapist myself, I know so much about the power of reflection and space to breathe, but this retreat offered new insights and the opportunity to let go of the past in ways that I have not experienced before.

I feel unburdened in myself and that is worth it’s weight (quite literally) in gold!

Regardless of what you are looking for, you will not be disappointed in this retreat. It is incredible value and the companions are the most caring, grounded human beings you could meet.

Highly recommended – regardless of your age or spiritual beliefs.

Michelle

I highly recommend this retreat for anyone who is interested in becoming a better version of themselves.

Take this journey and do not just yourself a favour, but all of those around you.

A wonderful empowering, and uplifting, experience.

Robert

Attending the Retreat in March 2022 was a rather surreal experience for me and to be honest, I am still trying to put it into words. Before I came, I felt like I was on the roller coaster of life – just going with all the day to day grind and pressures, expectations and deadlines and I was feeling quite lost overall.

Sometimes we just forget how noisy and busy life gets.

My heart was emotionally shut down and I had pushed a lot of sadness, anger, grief, resentment, hurt and shame deep down in my soul. Attending this Retreat gave me the permission to make this time purely about “me”.

The experience was a game changer for me both emotionally and spiritually.

Feeling the authentic and genuine support and acceptance by Elizabeth, Bernie and Liz allowed me to walk this ‘within’ journey in a very safe space.

I am extremely grateful that I gave myself the gift to attend this Retreat.

– Kathy

Bernie and Elizabeth, I can’t express enough how grateful I am for you facilitating this incredible, life changing retreat!

I attended the retreat with an open heart and mind, willing to see what will unfold. It became one of the most profound experiences that left me with an acceptance for myself and a heart full of love for life.

The journaling activities was powerful and insightful. It was amazing that a pen, paper and an open heart gave me the opportunity to release, rediscover and connect to the pieces of me and my life that I have suppressed for so long. I didn’t realize how much my soul was craving the connection with myself!

Liz was my companion throughout this journey-I will always remember how she gracefully held space for all my emotions and made me feel heard and seen.

This retreat was a much-needed soul-soothing, rewarding experience that left me with a pure wonder of the world around me. I’m excited to discover and experience more sides of me.

The accommodation was peaceful and perfect for being quiet and reflective and the meals were made with love – please thank the chef.

Thank you so much Bernie and Elizabeth for creating an atmosphere where we can connect and find a deep love and acceptance of our inner selves again.

I feel empowered, uplifted, safe, connected, inspired and… really, really grateful. I loved it with all my heart.

While this is a retreat from the world it is a discovery of yourself.

It is one of my most profound experiences.

Sonnet Leighton

“This was a unique retreat that was about escaping a busy
life and over-stimulated mind, to focus on learning intensely about
yourself.

Prepare to spend your days reflecting on your life in tranquil
surroundings – I enjoyed spending time under a tree on a grassy hill with a
gentle off shore breeze or on the beautiful beach nearby that you always seem
to have to yourself.

Having always sought music, podcasts or distractions
to fill every minute of non-work time, I had never before considered becoming
comfortable with stillness and silence – concepts that I had never really
understood or felt comfortable with before.

Prior to arriving I felt
quite lost in terms of my life’s direction and my sense of identity and purpose
had been challenged.

I left the retreat with a new sense of love,
forgiveness and had come to terms with the grief and self-limiting beliefs that
had clouded my approach to each day.

The retreat, for me anyway, was
demanding and emotionally challenging, with a lot of reflecting, crying and
deep self-assessment, but the process meandered toward acceptance, forgiveness
and understanding.

It’s now a few weeks since the retreat finished and
I’m now equipped with some new strategies and confidence. I feel lighter
and happier than I’ve ever felt before, with improvements in my fitness, daily
mindset, sleep and general family life.

Thank you so much to the gracious
and warm-hearted Bernie, Elizabeth and Liz for supporting me through this
life-changing 6 days of “journeying within” which has rehabilitated
and enriched me in so many ways.” – Daniel

Recently I attended my second retreat and I found the silence to to be exactly what I needed to reconnect with my inner wisdom.

It’s easy to become unbalanced in life and this time out gives you the chance to slow down and really listen to your own guidance.

My companion Liz was kind and understanding and the journaling is a powerful healer.

Bernie and Elizabeth put their heart and souls into the retreats and you will come away feeling uplifted and free.

– Yvonne

If you have a lack of self-worth and if you have unresolved anger, trauma or grief,
it is well worth making an investment of money and time in this Retreat.

If you simply wish to make space to reconnect with your essential self, it is still well worth the money and time for yourself.

It is reasonably priced for what is offered and the value of the experience is enormous.

You will be well supported by a caring and experienced small team
who absolutely respect your private conversations with them.

-From the Callide Valley

Elizabeth and Bernie put on a wonderful retreat,
creating a special kind of magic with their loving and kind energy
in such a beautiful place on the coast.
I enjoyed my time there so much!
Following the retreat I found it easier to show up for myself and make decisions for me.

The gift of silence takes away the constant noise of life to allow you to reconnect with yourself;
your inner guidance and to trust you have all the answers within you.

I returned home feeling free to no longer be a victim of my environment or past choices
and learnt that by reconnecting with yourself you are empowered to create and build your own future.
Highly recommend this retreat to anyone at any stage of their lives.

The gift of silence is life altering!
– Jacki

" This retreat opened my heart to my inner wisdom. The healing power of journaling is miraculous and after confronting my fears I was able to move on with life, understanding that all of the answers are within. "

Yvonne

"The retreat was a wonderful experience. It has opened my heart and healed a lot of old wounds."

Mario

"Only good things to say. Keep up the wonderful work that you do. I feel very blessed to have been a participant in this retreat."

Shelley

I am a past retreat participant of this silent retreat and would like to make everyone aware of its wonderful work and the effect it had on myself.

I was having a lot of self doubt issues and this retreat has given me self worth and the tools to go forward in my life and to help me handle the challenges I face every day.

Amanda

Sometimes we just don’t know what we don’t know. Taking this time out in a facilitated way allowed me to access that untapped inner wisdom inside myself that knows beyond what I know (yes I wrote that correctly).

The art of forgiveness: of full expression; of living according to my inner guidance and trusting the wisdom of ‘ME’ are just some of the powerful things I’ll be taking along the journey of the rest of my life from this six days.

Kate

“I went along my brain non-functional and family life tenuous and the retreat was so amazingly liberating!

I feel free, optimistic and my brain uncluttered and freed and my creativity unleashed. I already used to spend a lot of time in silence thinking a lot, but the retreat taught me how to use silence constructively to spend time listening to the real inner me and deal with the large amount of hurt, anger and resentment baggage controlling me that I didn’t even know existed.

6 days in silence with the incredible natural beauty of The Haven was the best ever gift to myself – and my loved ones.

What an amazing journey of self-discovery.

This should be compulsory for everyone in their 20’s and certainly before marriage and kids – the benefits are far reaching and you’ve only got to explore within yourself.

My advice – DO IT!

John

“There are few moments when we have the opportunity to silence the busyness and reflect solely on the life we have already lived. Often we are so busy living for the future.

Recently I had a life changing opportunity; one which has changed not only the relationship with my husband, children, family and friends but changed my relationship with myself when I participated in a 6 day Journeying Within Silent Retreat.

Over 6 days I was immersed in “my story”.

I had the opportunity to turn back the clock and with the support of a companion I could reflect on events in my life which paved my life to today in the 40 minute reflection time each morning.

I realised there were moments of hurt and sadness which for whatever reason were put into the vault never to be seen again but I suspect many of these have contributed to illness and to many of the patterns I chose to create over time. As someone who has experienced some dark times in depression I could so clearly see how I found myself there. The silence brought clarity and resolution and enabled me to connect to that little person inside the one who lived happily before choosing the story of her life. In reconnecting to her, I could purposefully commit to a new way of living. A way of living with purpose.”

Anita

“Journeying within is exactly what it sounds and can bring feelings of worry or scepticism. For me it certainly did. However, I could not be more thankful that this is something I pushed past…..I have learnt things about myself and my life which has allowed me to be the best version of myself. It helped me make positive changes in myself that have truly benefited my life that I came back to, and my loved ones around me. It certainly is an amazing experience I’m so very thankful to have had.”

Jessica

“I was first made aware of the retreat via a close friend whom had taken up the retreat after an endorsement from another close friend of his. When initially describing it, the first words “leap of faith” comes to mind. However, this implies some form of chance.

I did hold some strong initial reservations about attending the retreat and when I sought answers, the response was invariably, “Well it’s different things to different people,” which to be fair is not overly helpful, but I guess for me, the proof was in the results and positive visible change within my friend. It was amazing.

So I did it, and the results for me were life changing.

At the time of attending the program, I was seeing a psychologist, whom would just sit there and ask a few questions and then just listen, without providing any real answers. There was nothing wrong with the psychologist, it was just me and I was impatient. I realised that the issue was with me, and the Journeying Within Retreat then became more appealing.

In short, I am convinced that I have achieved more in the six day program rather than years of expensive therapy.

For me this was a life-changing and extremely beneficial gift to myself. My wife and family remain pleased with the results as it’s had such a positive impact on me. I can wholeheartedly recommend this program without reservation. So once you have said yes, then be prepared to challenge yourself and stick to the program in order to reap the long lasting rewards.

The setting was fantastic and the team were caring, professional, respectful and passionate.
Invest in yourself and give it a go.”

– From Brisbane

“Before I went on the retreat, my biggest burden to myself was spending too much time getting angry and bottling up all the little things in life.

I had low self esteem and a lot of insecurities.

I would constantly over think and not deal with the stress and hurt in my life. The retreat brought up hurt I experienced over 10 years ago that I never knew I had. My companion helped me work through it along with many other problems, so that I was able to move forward.

Before the retreat, I was always trying to make other people change their ways that I may have disagreed with, but at the retreat I learnt that I really couldn’t control other people and their choices, but what I could do was deal with my own; make the right choices for myself.

The retreat not only taught me how to deal with my problems in a positive way it has taught me again how important love is.”

– From Bundaberg

If you want to get to know yourself, this is the place to go. I have just come back from the March retreat and what a marvelous time I had.
The setting is just beautiful; Bernie and Elizabeth are a wonderful couple and of course the lovely Marie who was with them.

I got to know me and I came to the realization that I am not broken or defective.

I just had a lot of rubbish in my life and I had let my past define me. Well no more.

So I would recommend the retreat to anyone and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I love the silence, so do yourself a favour and just do it.

– From Yeppoon

Before coming to the retreat, I was anxious, stressed, overwhelmed and confused. I was my worst critic, constantly battling in my own mind, I had begun to lose all confidence and didn’t know who I was anymore.

Leading up to the retreat Elizabeth was very supportive. I was scared and excited to arrive and when I did I was flooded with all sorts of emotions, and greeted with Love and warm faces. That evening in our first Focus session I was amazed at the handout material and thought yep this is what I need.

My time Journeying Within was a very Powerful experience filled with Love, Understanding, Acceptance and Support.

The peace and quiet and quality time spent about ‘me’ following the well structured program, really helped me put things into perspective, and quieted my mind. I’m much more mindful now after my time at the retreat.

Since I’ve been back I’ve had /having lessons, and I’ve had /having realizations and I have built bridges, and will continue to do so. It’s all a journey and only I can create what I want. I don’t feel regret and anger when I think about the things that bothered me, which is freeing as I always just squashed them down, but I do actually feel like I’m forgiving and accepting things. There’s areas in my life that will always require work but I feel revived to continue on.

Bernie, Elizabeth and Anita are beautiful, kind, caring and warm people. I will forever be grateful for my time spent at this amazing place, the materials I received and tools that I was taught.

Thank you so very much.

-Tamika .