A Fresh Start in Vancouver

The Lion's Gate Bridge from Stanley Park to North Vancouver 

My wife Jasmin and I moved to Vancouver near the end of August. For those who are less than expert in Canadian geography, Vancouver is a large city on the west coast of Canada, about 1,500 km north of San Francisco.  It's the third largest city in Canada (after Toronto and Montreal) and a beautiful place - overlooking the mountains and the Strait of Georgia, and surrounded by coastal rainforest.

We are now in the process of establishing a study group here. It has been an energizing and exciting experience so far.

Running the centre in Toronto (along with Jordan and the rest of the Toronto crew) was good preparation, but each city is still unique; it takes time to get to know ‘it', its people, places, and ways of doing things. And so starting a new group is a healthy challenge and a great learning experience.

Vancouver's a wonderful city, and I also think there is really a place here for what the Gnosticweb courses have to offer. I hope that by providing an opportunity for students to meet and learn, a lot of people will be able to experience things that they otherwise would have missed.

And when you think about it, in a city of several million, the possibilities for learning are enormous. It'll be interesting to see what lies ahead.

Enter our new friend Mike:

Mike is currently a Vancouver resident and has been training to be an instructor through the online courses.

It's been great coming here and finding someone else with a keen interest in gnosis. The three of us have been meeting several times a week to do practices, chat about spirituality, and to plan for the bigger and better things ahead. Our weekend walks and practices have also been wonderful opportunities to explore our new environment and gain a deeper experience of spirituality. (We've also seen some really big trees!)

With surprising speed, I feel we're coming together as a team, able to help each other and offer something of value to other interested people in this part of the world. As our efforts take root and the study group begin to grow, I am inspired to think of what will come of it - new people to meet, experiences to gain, things to learn, and difficulties to be overcome.

If you live in Vancouver, or find yourself here on a visit, please feel free to get in touch and find out what activities are going on. A full range of courses will be starting very soon.  You can find our contact info on this page:  http://www.gnosticweb.com/node/4186#centregroup

Here's some pictures of recent walks:

The Lions Mountains

Jasmin and a lily-covered lake.

In parts of the forest, everything was covered with this neat moss.

A fellow hiker.  

The top of a huge Douglas Fir tree.

The middle of a huge Douglas Fir tree.

The bottom of a huge Douglas Fir tree!

Tre Amigos.