Solstice Update
Hello friends,
June 21st at 1:24am brings us to the Summer Solstice. The official transition from spring to summer. The longest day of the year. The most light the northern hemisphere will receive. In the Pacific Northwest this is a thrilling time. Full of events, outdoor activities, and long beautiful sunsets over the Olympic mountain range. I invite you to take a few minutes to reflect on what that means to you this year. Does this bring you comfort, excitement, anticipation… what else? If you chase that sense of meaning where do your thoughts go? What is the origin? Why are these thoughts arising? Seasonal transitions are an excellent time to sit with thoughts and develop personal significance.
Over the past several months, Living Wisdom Project has been quietly and steadily using the stored energy from winter and the nurturing warmth and sunlight from spring to prepare for a fruitful summer. What began in January 2025 as a vision for creating meaningful spaces of retreat, connection, and personal growth is becoming a functioning community organization.
A Focus on Preventative Community Care
One idea has increasingly come to the forefront of the work: preventative care.
In this context, preventative care does not mean medical treatment. It means creating opportunities for people to strengthen their relationships with themselves, one another, and the living world before isolation, exhaustion, or challenging circumstances become a crisis.
My career in guiding people to include self-care through fitness, bodywork, and nature therapy has always been deeply seeded in this concept. I know well that when people can embrace prevention, goals become significantly easier to set and achieve.
To this point many people are carrying burdens they were never meant to carry alone. Our offerings of community circles, contemplative practice, time in nature, and honest human connection cannot solve every problem, but they can help people see their needs before they become dis-ease.
As LWP grows, we are placing particular emphasis on making this kind of support available within our local island community.
Programs Taking Shape
Our monthly Men’s Council Circle has successfully moved beyond its initial beta period and is now an established LWP program. Each gathering provides a structured and confidential space for men to slow down, connect somatically, spend time in nature, and speak openly with one another. The response has affirmed that there is a genuine need for spaces where people (especially men) can be witnessed without being judged, fixed, or asked to perform. Society is moving beyond the oppressive concept of binary gender to a more balanced understanding of what it means to be a person. Gatherings like this are an essential part of this “work.”
LWP has also welcomed the first recipient of our developing live-in Sanctuary offering: a man and his two children. They are taking time to reflect on what it means to be a family and bond with less distractions and obligations. Already, the father is finding ways to shed unnecessary burdens, integrate personal practice, and reestablish his spiritual path. The boys are flourishing too. There is no TV and no internet to “zone out” to, so they wander the forest and find Buddha statuettes left by the monks that once graced this land with their spirit.
At the same time, the concept of the Self Healing & Integration Retreat is developing a growing reputation as a destination for personal retreat. Several people are planning or have completed stays with us this spring and summer, coming to the land for solitude, reflection, rest, and reconnection. Whether it is planned months in advance or by calling me the day before they show up, the SHIRe has held these individuals through their need.
We are also preparing to host a Solstice Half-Day Retreat led by a facilitator located here in Friday Harbor. This gathering will offer an accessible introduction to retreat practice for the facilitator’s loyal clientele. Cassedy and her husband sense the significance of this land and its ability to heal. As such, they feel drawn to work on additional programming for future events. Be on the lookout for more offerings.
Building a Network of Facilitators
We are treating 2026 as an important year for relationship-building.
Rather than trying to fill the calendar too quickly, we are getting to know retreat leaders, educators, wellness practitioners, healers, and community facilitators whose work may align with LWP’s mission and values.
The long-term vision is for the SHIRe to become a supportive home for a diverse network of offerings and concurrently developing programs that can travel beyond the island and partner with existing community spaces.
This networking period gives us time to learn what facilitators need, identify responsible program models, and cultivate relationships based on trust.
New Board Leadership
I am very pleased to welcome Amy Hansen and Matt Wickey as new members of the Living Wisdom Project Board of Directors.
Their addition represents an important step in establishing responsible governance and building an organization that is larger than any one person. Together, we are beginning the work of clarifying board responsibilities, strengthening financial oversight, developing organizational policies, and preparing LWP for sustainable long-term growth.
We intend to continue expanding the board by adding approximately three to five additional directors with complementary skills, experience, and community relationships. In particular we are searching for an individual with leadership experience who can establish a healthy framework for succession. This will include recruiting a president with this experience and a vice president who has the desire to learn what leadership means and eventually move into the role as president.
Our 501(c)(3) Application
Another significant milestone is the submission of LWP’s application to the IRS for recognition as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Federal recognition will expand our ability to pursue grants, develop fundraising campaigns, receive tax-deductible contributions, and build the financial foundation necessary to make programs economically accessible.
What Comes Next
This summer, we plan to begin a weekly Sunday Open Meditation at SHIRe. These gatherings will offer a consistent and welcoming space for shared contemplative practice without feeling the need to conform to a specific methodology. These will be published on the website and through local advertising mediums.
We are also looking for people who may be interested in leading a guided meditation regularly or occasionally during an additional meditation period on those days. A wide range of contemplative traditions and secular approaches may be appropriate, provided the practice is accessible, respectful, and aligned with the inclusive values of LWP. If this is you or you know someone who fits the bill please do contact me.
We are also beginning to develop a seed-funding campaign to support early organizational expenses, program development, community access, and improvements that will help the retreat operate responsibly. We would especially appreciate hearing from people with experience in nonprofit fundraising, donor communications, grant development, campaign planning, or community-based philanthropy.
Finally, we are working to expand our community of Friends of Living Wisdom. Friends may help with events, outreach, work parties, program brainstorming, hospitality, administrative projects, or professional advising. Participation does not require a large or ongoing commitment. The goal is to cultivate a broad community of people who can contribute according to their interests, skills, and available capacity.
Ways to Participate
Please reply to this email if any of the following interests you:
Leading a regular or occasional Sunday meditation
Helping develop LWP’s seed-funding campaign
Joining Friends of Living Wisdom
Learning more about serving on the Board of Directors
Introducing us to a facilitator, advisor, donor, or potential board member
Thank you to everyone who has encouraged this project, attended an event, shared an introduction, offered advice, or simply taken the time to learn what we are building.
LWP is a second year sapling and the branches of our tree are growing with steadfast progress.
Warmly,
Tony Held
Founder and Executive Director
Living Wisdom Project
Self Healing & Integration Retreat
360.230.8561
tony@lw-project.org