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Garden hamlets: a sane response to crazy times

Book blog: At Work in the Ruins, by Dougald Hine

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Current Events

Inner strength for stormy times: how soul resilience helps | November 25

Wednesday, November 25 7.00 – 8.00pm UK time: free webinar with Alan Heeks This interactive workshop will help you explore what soul resilience could mean for you: what your spirit or higher self wants for you, how to find some steadiness and clarity amid the climate crisis and digital overwhelm, and ways to nourish your inner self. Alan has been exploring this issue for 30 years, and the webinar draws on his forthcoming book: Soul Resilience: inner strength for climate anxiety and digital overwhelm. Free, but advance booking essential. Group size limited to 24 people. To apply for your free place, follow this link.

Light in the Darkness | November 13–15

A men’s peer group in the Welsh hills 13–15 November 2026 | Trwyn Tal, Llanthony Valley, Wales This weekend is a chance to find your light and nourish it, in the face of the darkening season and the worries of the world. We will draw support from the fellowship of the group and the magical landscapes of the Llanthony Valley. This will be a peer group for a maximum of six men, enabled by Alan Heeks and Mark Smalley. The weekend may include group processes, walking, meditation, solo time and enjoying each other’s company over shared meals. We hope to gather younger and older men so that we can share insights and support across generations. Our venue: Trwyn Tal in the Llanthony Valley, Wales Accommodation: £190 for men aged over 35 or on a higher income; £90 for men under 35 or on a low income. Food purchases and cooking will be shared. Travel: Pick-up may be available from Bristol, Abergavenny or Hay-on-Wye. For more information or to book, contact Mark Smalley: or 07764 335 688 DOWNLOAD FULL DETAILS

A Sufi Garden – Monthly Online Group

Wednesday, November 4, 2026 7.30 – 9pm: free online event The Sufi Garden is a life-affirming evening of meditation, body prayer and poems, led by Alan Heeks and Karim Hadden. No previous experience needed. Information on our theme for November 4 will appear here soon. For more information and registration, see here.

Featured Blog

Book blog: The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett

Book blog: The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett You’re unlikely to find this delightful, uplifting book in lists of Thrutopian fiction, but it deserves a place. Unlike most Thrutopian novels, which paint a detailed picture of an imagined future, The Secret Garden teaches us a vital skill, showing how carrying a positive vision can manifest a better future, whereas worried thoughts often just produce more worry. Three of the main characters in this book are sour, lonely and despairing at the start of the story: Mary, whose parents have just died; her widowed uncle and guardian; and his invalid son, Colin. The idea of magic is central to this book, here meaning the way that positive beliefs, and actively caring for Nature and other people, can transform a bleak life into a joyful one. The Secret Garden itself is a beautiful symbol and allegory for this process. Frances Hodgson Burnett had a hard life, including poverty, bereavement, and depression, so we have to hope that the transformations to happiness that she gives us in this delightful book happened for her too. Colin’s journey from a neurotic invalid to a cheerful, healthy boy is one of the delights of the story, and magic is key to this. With help from his young friends and the garden, he stops obsessing about his frailty, and starts asserting that he will be well. As the author puts it: “Much more surprising things can happen to anyone who, when a disagreeable or discouraged thought comes into his mind, just has the sense to remember in time and push it out by putting in an agreeable, determinedly courageous one. Two things cannot be in one place. Where you tend a rose, my lad,A thistle cannot grow.”

Related posts:

Garden hamlets: a sane response to crazy times

Book blog: At Work in the Ruins, by Dougald Hine

Tailored Workshops and Coaching