TANTRA SCHOOL OF
FASCINATING WONDERMENT
The Erotic Heart of the Mystics
A journey into Spiritual Eroticism
with valentina leo
Upcoming International Retreat
Limited to only 16 partecipants
When: -5-11/13 June 2024
6 days Retreat+ 2 optional nights for integration
& community living
Where: Kayaköy, Anatolia -Turkey
Investment: TBC
inclusive of facilitation, 3 meals p/day
and shared accommodation in Luxury Yurts
Registration opens on 15 Jan 2024
BY APPLICATION
Enquiries: info@fascinatingwonderment.com
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THE INSPIRATION
I was in Turkey in May , presenting at a Tantra Festival. When the festival ended a bunch of us facilitators, assistants, musicians and participants decided to stayed on at a nearby venue. We were about 16 people and therefore booked out the whole venue. What came from it was the most rich and inspiring time for me. Full of deep love, simplicity and growing friendships. I felt so open and inspired by this loving space that without hesitations I’ve book the venue
to run this retreat in September !
I had it already in mind to retreat with my advanced students somewhere is South Africa,
for 5 day of dropping deep into the Heart of Reality. Together. With the practices that we know and love:
Tandava, Blissdance, the Yoga of Touch and KamaYoga . Because together we go deeper, and we expand more.
I’ve been holding this heart desire from the beginning of the year, and the venue magically manifested itself in this beautiful ancient village in Anatolia, southern Turkey. It’s only a 15 minutes drive to the most beautiful beaches,
an abandoned monastery, a ghost greek village that is now Unesco heritage site, and ancient temples sites.
This land is truly charged !
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THE VENUE
Our magnificent venue is called YOL GLAMPING .
It’s absolutely exquisite in its simplicity.
In September will still be hot, but not too much. We will practice in an outdoor hall, surrounded by mountains.
The accommodation is in Yurts, that are built in a circle around a salt water pool. Perfection.
A basin of salt water in the heart of our gathering.
The venue has a restaurant beautifully nestled under the shade of a loving tree. It's very popular in the village
because the food is exceptionally good and the location is just full of wonder.
( and to add to the magic ...when her shift is over, the mother of the kitchen turns into a night time singer! )
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THE VISION
The group will be small, only 12 participants and 4 team members. 16 people in total.
We will have the honour to have in our team a very talented Turkish Sufi musician that will accompany
our sessions with live music. He will transport us in the evocative landscape of Sufi music day & night.
During our sessions, and our outing to the beach and the monastery. It’s a real treat!
My heart desire is to fill up the retreat with my beloved students that keep inspiring my journey of learning.
We are not gathering in a retreat where I am the teacher and you are the student passively receiving my classes.
This is a gathering of well seasoned students, and my desire is that we will play and pray with full intensity,
without holding anything back. You have been on the path of self discovery for a while already,
and you are a Lover of Truth like me.
It would be my delight to support you in going deeper into your personal enquiry with the
support of a group of brave lovers. What I ask of You is that you bring all of yourself.
Your beauty, your shadow, your truth and your divine chaos. We will dive deep into the realms of the Mystery.
The more we all bring, the greater the intensity of this journey.
Together we can go deeper. And expand more.
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THE FORMAT
The Retreat starts at 3pm on Wed 5 June and ends after lunch on Tuesday 11 June.
My invitation is for you to stay on for 2 more nights until the morning of
Thursday 13 June. In these 2 days there will be no organised facilitation, nor a set schedule.
This is the time to navigate the emptiness of our expansion.
The Yoga of living the teachings in our ordinary Life.
The group will have reached a delightful space of honest and true intimacy by this time, and to stay together in spontaneous expression will be the best way to practice what we came here to learn. The space will be open for you to move in any way that feels appropriate to your desires. You can just rest by the pool, go for walks, make love, watch movies, explore the beaches, the local restaurants or visit some sacred sites. This is the Sacred Space of doing Nothing. Together. After 20 years of teaching in this field I come to realise that the space of doing nothing is actually the most important medicine . Because even participating in Retreat is a ‘doing’ but all the spiritual traditions talk about the non-doing as the true pearl of Self-realisation.
By paradox the richness of non-doing is often birthed by the intensity of great doing.
It’s a unique opportunity to culture comunity with likeminded people. If you have ever wondered how would it feel and what would it look like to spend community time with lovers of truth like you, this is your opportunity to find out. Three days is not a lot, I know, but it’s a start… and of course you are welcome to stay longer!
(And I am pretty confident that once you are there ,you would want to stay on - because I’ve done this many times before!)
After we close the retreat container, the venue’s restaurant will open up to other clients which will bring added movements to our space, more local musicians, beautiful visitors and perhaps even new inspiring friends.
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THE SUPPORT TEAM
Leela Stephanie - Organizer
With over 10 years of teaching & performing in Sensual Arts, she uniquely combines body wisdom with her academic, yogic and temple arts training background.
Leela is a certified Sensual Arts, Yoga, Meditation & Mantra teacher, Reiki Master, PNL & Holistic Coach and graduated from the Level 3 of the International School of Temple Arts (ISTA).
Known for creating safe and playful transformational containers, she creates individual and collective journeys based on ancestral innovation practices.
As a medicine woman, she helps people to heal, explore and embody their soul’s gifts and humanness - their free, authentic, wild, empowered sexy unique self in harmony and within unity. This is for Leela the most impactful change one can be and contribute to earth consciousness and authentic living.
Leela speaks English, French, Portuguese, German, Italian, (Spanish & Swiss German).
Hello, I am Ayhan, the Founder of the YOL Glamping, your venue .
The YOL means ‘the Path’ and it symbolises the journey towards our higher self.
To realise our essence, to be able to hear it and to be one with it in order to complete our own evolutionary process.
In Turkish the whole of life that is walked and lived, is called YOL-the Path.
We have 4 pillars in our community:
1-I exist.
2- We are one.
3-What you give you get back.
4-Everything changes except this 3 statements.
Here we support intimate studies for change and transformation. Me and my team, who have experienced the miracle of this transformation, look forward to meeting you in this special work.
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THE DREAM
In my encounter with Sufi music, and Umtu- our musician in particular,
I felt my soul rise into a deeper love for the Love that loves to love . The heart of the Mystics.
Turkey is the land where Rumi lived and loved, and sufism is still vibrating with aliveness here.
My Persian friend told me that Turkey is holding the Sufi flame alive for Persia,
that at this time cannot celebrate the spiritual freedom that sufism brings.
I feel deeply moved and passionately motivated to join this Sufi current in Turkey
and create a sacred alliance with the hearts of the Tantrikās.
Together celebrating Love as a romantic conversation with God.
Will you join me in this spiritual adventure ?
** If you are unsure of your 'level of experience' but feel an attraction to this work, please get in touch: info@fascinatingwonderment.com
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HOW TO GET THERE
The nearest airport is Dalaman. You might find some direct flights from Europe and London. Alternatively fly to Istanbul and take a connection fly to Dalaman.
It’s a short 1.30hr flight, and there are many options.
Once in Dalaman you can take a Taxi directly to the venue.
It’s about 1 hr drive, and cost approx Euro 50 if you travel alone, Euro 90 up to 5 people.
Closer to the time we will create a WhatsApp group so that you can connect and share the Taxi drive.
Please check your VISA requirements at https://www.evisa.gov.tr/en/