Winter Wellness Series:
Photography as Meditation
January 7th-9th
With Kristopher Grunert, Photographer,
Donald Currie, RP + Clinical Director - Dimensions,
and Miriam Echeverria, Executive Chef
Embark on a transformative journey with Dimensions Algonquin Highlands' Winter Wellness Series, featuring the eminent photographer, Kristopher Grunert. Renowned globally, Grunert unveils his intuitive approach and unveils a compelling framework that transforms photography into a profound meditation practice.
Join us at Dimensions Retreats as we proudly collaborate with Kristopher to unveil We Are Journey, an unparalleled photographic experience designed to elevate participants' consciousness and forge a connection with their higher selves and the planet. Immerse yourself in this groundbreaking two-night program led by Grunert, where mindfulness, exploration, and creation converge. Engaging all five senses, we use our cameras to traverse and unite our external and internal landscapes, fostering connection, reflection, and collaborative creation.
Step into the extraordinary - we invite you to be a part of this unique photographic odyssey.
No photographic experience is required to participate.
Cameras ranging from point-and-shoot, medium-format, DSLR, instant, digital, iphone to android are all welcome.
Photography as Meditation (PM) is a contemplative + creative process that when practiced, will increase self-awareness and reduce anxiety, leading to joy, fulfillment, and a deeper connection to yourself and those around you. When employing The Six Tenets of Photography as Meditation, you lock into presence and enter a state of flow. You will inevitably slow your nervous system, shut out the chattering mind, and unleash your creative genius.
The Six Tenets of Photography as Meditation
I
Explore without expectation
Replace the limited experience of expectations with the unlimited intention to explore
II
Observe with curiosity
Gain new perspective through the power of asking questions while learning to answer them with our camera.
III
Employ all 5 senses
Consciously engage each of our senses in order to heighten awareness and root ourselves in the present moment.
IV
Revere light/ acknowledge shadow
Recognizing light as energy and the camera as an extension of you. It's the conscious perception of light that allows us to dissolve time.
V
Enter the zone / Go with the flow
Our bodies and subject are now in sync. Feel the connection and don't question the ease. You deserve this!
VI
Give thanks
You will inevitably feel gratitude, give thanks. This is what locks the experience into our bodies and inspires these feelings to surface in other areas or moments of our life.
Dimensions Algonquin Highlands’ five-star environment is a groundbreaking opportunity to leave the everyday behind. Dimensions’ 17 cabin Retreat destination was designed by internationally renowned creative studio DesignAgency to provide guests with peace and seclusion and an appreciation of the surrounding natural beauty of Northern Ontario. Pause, reflect, and connect to an enhanced sense of purpose.
Stays are based on a two-night minimum and the all-inclusive rates begin at $500 CDN per night, solo and $900 CDN per night, duo.
WHAT’S INCLUDED:
All inclusions are optional and based on individual preferences:
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Pre-arrival activities and wellness treatments consult
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Private luxury cabin accommodation with ensuite bathroom (soaker tub + walk-in shower)
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All meals and snacks (healthy + organic)
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Daily group Forest Bathing and guided outdoor photographic excursion with Kris Grunert
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One group Sound Bath and guided photographic meditation
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One outdoor Cold-Plunge Therapy (Maple Lake)
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One BioSound therapy table session (biofeedback) or one indoor Floatation Therapy (sensory deprivation float tank)
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Winter season outdoor activities on Maple Lake (snow shoeing, hiking, skating, cross-country skiing, bon fires)
- All guests will receive complimentary access to the 6-week Photography as Meditation program + Lifetime membership to the Conscious Creators Community.
About the Leaders
Kristopher Grunert, Photographer
Kristopher Grunert is a visionary Canadian artist using photography to lift the veil, revealing what seems to be a spiritual realm here on Earth. His lens is a conduit that channels wisdom, wonder, and spirituality. By deciphering his own intuitive process, he developed a program called Photography As Meditation, which he teaches others so that they can find presence while bridging their internal and external worlds.
Donald Currie, RP + Clinical Director - Dimensions
A registered psychotherapist and integrative mental health provider with over 20 years of experience running a private practice. Donald was a key member of the clinical team at Helix Healthcare Group, a treatment facility for mental health and addiction. Donald now leads Retreat programming at Dimensions Algonquin Highlands. His clinical work focuses on healing through somatic and trauma therapies that are evidence-based and supported by neuroscience research. To guide Dimensions guests in the process of preparing and integrating their ceremonial experiences, he integrates relational somatic psychotherapy, sensorimotor psychotherapy, EMDR, Acceptance and commitment therapy, and internal family systems therapy with complementary wellness practices. He has received training and certification in psychedelic guiding, psychedelic assisted psychotherapy, Somatic Psychedelic Psychotherapy, and ethical right relationship in psychedelic therapy.
Miriam Echeverria, Executive Chef
“Our connection to the earth and ourselves is strengthened when we eat with mindfulness and reflect on the experience,” says Chef Echeverria. Born and raised in Veracruz, Mexico, Miriam moved to Canada in 2008 and swiftly made her entrance into the Toronto culinary scene. Miriam was named “one of the reasons to love Toronto” by Toronto Life magazine and one of the 16 best female chefs in the city.
As founder of Cheffing 4 Good, a non-profit organization in support of women in need, she hosts charitable, plant-based dinners in collaboration with other women in the industry.
How to get here
Dimensions Algonquin Highlands can be reached from Toronto by car, helicopter or private air. Driving from Toronto via Highway 400 North, to Highway 11 North, with a connection to Highway 118 West brings guests to our door in under three hours. If travelling by private air or charter, flight time is one hour from Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport or Toronto Pearson International airport to our nearby Stanhope Municipal Airport (CND4).
Located nearly 3 hours from Toronto by car, the 40-acre lakeside setting edged by canopied forests draws on the therapeutic power of nature.
Your stay in a private cabin includes all programmed wellness activities, and meals prepared daily to suit all dietary needs by Dimensions Algonquin Highlands’ Executive Chef Miriam Echeverria.
Dimensions is a dog-friendly premises
Dimensions Algonquin Highlands
1218 Canopy Lane Algonquin Highlands, ON K0M 1J1
1-888-884-4222
NEAREST AIRPORTS
Stanhope Municipal Airport (CND4) 5 minutes drive
Muskoka Reginal Airport (CYQA) 55 minutes drive
Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) 3 hrs drive
Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (YTZ) 3 hrs drive
PRIVATE CAR SERVICE
