TESTIMONIALS
My week at Blue Spirit with Annette was life-changing and being with her is a gift. Sitting with Annette every day and receiving her compassionate teachings on meditation was just what I needed -- a balm to my over-active mind and wise guidance on how to heal the wounds of the past through body and mind practice. Annette has a truly unique and special ability to listen deeply, be real, show up in humor and integrity, and heal through a range of modalities that feel like they must be second nature to her. Cutting through the noise of life, for the first time in a very long time, I was able to sink more deeply into myself and connect with the ground of being.
Melissa W, Boston, MA.
How wonderful to find a teacher who is so experienced, knowledgeable and elegant in guiding one back to being. Annette’s retreat skillfully utilizes yoga and movement to facilitate and support deep inquiry and meditation that is truly transformative. As a teacher, Annette is humble, kind and brilliant. Her retreats are a unique opportunity to go deep, to learn, and to support one another in living openly and lovingly, in truth, as being.
Anita M., New York
I really appreciated the 6 week 'offering' - bringing together working with trauma, the central nervous system and awakening to Heart-Mind. I found it landed so gently in my being - like seeds blown by the wind - yet each seed, though so gently sown, has, if I tend it regularly, the potential for transformation.”
C. Harper, UK - Online Course "Cutting Through Our Trances"
Annette will walk you home to your non-dual realization. For those parts of you that need attention, compassion and healing, Annette will meet them with what they need to relax, unburden themselves and reconnect. Annette helped me during my time of great need. She was a facilitator, guide and friend. She having been familiar within herself with most of the spaces in me that I found most challenging, she offered her breadth and depth of healing and non-dual practices and they worked. In Annette, you’ll find someone who has collected a vast skillset to meet us (client/friend) wherever we might be stuck along the way. Lastly, infused throughout all of that, is a loving kindness that touches, heals and inspires from her very essence.
In gratitude, Sid F., Internal Family Systems Facilitator & Attorney Mediator
Annette’s teaching style is direct, clear and simple. She does an incredible job of weaving both the liberation path and the healing path in a very comprehensive, yet easy to comprehend way. She teaches from her own unique and extensive background and training and she is very embodied. I would encourage anyone looking to go deeper into an embodied approach to join her meditation retreats which also offer yoga, space for integration, self-inquiry, discussion and silence.
Sandra Vanatko, Yoga Teacher and Healer
This week has not only consolidated my practices, but taken them to another level. Annette’s multi-facetted approach has expanded my perception of what I could discover within me.
Her teachings are solid and come from a seemingly endless source of knowledge, practice, study and reflection. I have profited deeply from the practices, lectures and the silence suggested to us – a silence I learned to appreciate so very much. Annette is fun, frank, totally open, without disguise and pride and guides you with her acquired wisdom and a remarkable inner intelligence. If you seek chatter, lightness, “meeting people”, this is not your place. If you really wish to touch your own ground of being and sense the depth of “what is”, explore some of your true essence, this is the place for you. Joy, love, caring, understanding of “selves”, compassion towards yourself and life’s beings will grow immensely. This week is all about you.
“My” life’s path has solidified it’s grounding. Thank you Annette for all the work you have done during your life and sharing this wealth with us.
Angelika B. - Returning to the Open Ground of Being Retreat, Feb. 2020
If you are fortunate enough to work with Annette, you will discover a masterful guide who brings a deep and steady state of loving Presence to her work with clients. She is also a skilled practitioner who knows how to help others navigate the inner landscape. A while ago, I was experiencing one of the most bewildering periods of my life. As a practitioner myself, I had many tools at my disposal, yet none of the ways I had known to work with my own experience was…working. During my first session with Annette, things started moving. The work was not always easy, but it was always magical, with unexpected gifts at every turn. Through Annette’s presence, I was always reminded that, even at the darkest of times, all experience is sacred.
Peggy McAllister, Executive Coach, US
I wanted to thank you for designing and running an exceptional program. I found Return to the Ground of Being to be an ideal way to evolve from a baseline practice of mindful meditation (or any mind-body practice) and deepen that experience profoundly. You possess an intuitive quality as a teacher that enables you to “tune in” to your individual students, and draw out questions, barriers or shared experiences that further enhance the program’s value. I would highly recommend Return to the Ground of Being to anyone- male or female, looking to expand their current mind body practice, and discover new depths of awareness.
John U.
I expected a silent meditation retreat and this was so much more! Annette created a safe container, held with precision while allowing for the natural flow of what emerged in the moment. There was plenty of opportunity for questions and individual attention. The teaching component was clearly structured and complemented by guided meditations and experiential exercises. For context I'll say that I have explored and practiced quite a bit both on the spiritual path as well as personal growth/psychological healing modalities. In fact, I didn't hear much that I hadn't heard before, but it was like Annette took all these "familiar-looking" puzzle pieces and put them together so that I finally could see a whole picture and experience (!) a taste of the Ground of Being. The overall experience feels transformational.
S.B.
I feel blessed to know Annette as a spiritual guide, counselor, and friend. She supported and worked with me during a very challenging period of my life. Her quality of being non-judgmental is very healing. All is equally welcomed and looked at. I can inquire and find my own answers, without any agenda or preference on her side. No ideas of right or wrong or where it should go. That gives me the freedom to really inquire and let the truth of each moment appear in front of my inner sky. Her compassionate and giving heart and presence made me feel safe and loved. With the help of her clarity, I learned to rest in presence without denying what appears in form. She brings me back to THAT which always is and does not change.
Deva Suma – Cologne, Germany
I arrived at Blue Spirit totally depleted. Over the past few months as I have said YES to more patients and projects and committees, I have begun to realize that this lifestyle was not the because I was “a busy (and important) doctor,” but because I was creating an escape from my own self, from living my own life. Externally I have enjoyed success, but internally I have been disappearing; buried under sadness and unforgiven traumas and bitterness and relationship struggles and sickness and extra weight. Stuck. Through the week with grace and compassion Annette helped me to start the journey of reconnecting with myself; separating from the many roles I live...mother, doctor, friend, daughter, lover, community servant. Annette creates a safe space and our group dug deep. We arrive as strangers and leave with deep connectivity. I have brought home the tools I learned to continue the work of forgiving myself, to sit with myself with love and kindness, and to open up to the freedom of letting go. This retreat is a gift of healing. I recommend it to all.
Dr. Maya Hambright
Annette's deep spiritual practice has given her to the ability to deliver complex spiritual ideas and concepts in a clear, simple, yet profound way. During the retreat, I had many realizations, healed my heart from some old chronic pain, made amazing friends, learned new skills for grounding myself in a present moment, and much, much more.
Yuliya K. - Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Working with Annette is an absolute pleasure. She has helped me accept myself and simultaneously given me tools to work with the difficulties and complexities I experience in my daily life. She approaches life from a variety of lenses ranging from psychotherapy to Shamanism and mindfulness. Her patience, adaptability, and clarity as a practitioner and human are deeply effective and healing. To this day, I am this using tools I have learned from her and feel empowered to stand on my own two feet in moving through life.
Sim D., Health Coach & Laughter Yoga Teacher - US
Annette has been a complete blessing in my life over the past few years. Our work together has been deeply healing and transformative. With her guidance, I have journeyed into some of the most tender parts of my being and learned to offer loving attention rather than shutting down or judging those parts. My life looks completely different and I am certain I wouldn’t have been to create this new life without her assistance. The wisdom Annette shares transcends any book or workshop, it goes straight to your soul and asks you to be present to this precious life.
A. Williams - US