Gay Travel - Authentic Eros for Men

Come and play in a group of erotic explorers and open up the amazing potential that lives within your erotic self. Identify and cultivate the spark that stirs inside you, trusting it to lead you to your erotic fire.

Interrupt the patterns of habit, judgment, or comparison that block your sexual freedom. Practice surrender and spontaneity. Be real. Have fun. Step fearlessly into the ecstasy that lives inside your body and soul. Can you imagine that?

At Authentic Eros, we will use breath, touch, movement, sound and sensual experience as doorways to a freer and more fulfilling sexuality. We will work with the desires and growth of each man, emphasizing individual freedom of choice and accountability. Authentic Eros offers a safe and supportive environment for each participant to explore his own erotic development in the company of others with a similar commitment.

Much of this retreat will be clothes off and interactive. We will work with ourselves, with partners, and with the group as a whole. No prior experience is required. However, each participant will be asked to bring a sincere willingness to go deep, to be truthful, and to play in the energies of creativity, arousal, and embodiment.

AUTHENTIC = real, spontaneous, organic, fun
EROS = sex, love, intimacy, connection

The goal of this workshop is to help you get INTO your body and get OUT of your habits 
that lead to sexual boredom and dissatisfaction.

To expand your ability to create intimate, 
erotic self-expression, you will:

• Dive deeply into full-body sensory awareness and energy work: Waking up your body and increasing its range of responses to pleasure/sensual interaction are key pieces of Authentic Eros. We will use breath, movement, and hands-on experiences to charge up our joy-bodies. From there we will practice entering into unpredictable, flowing encounters with a partner. 
   
• Be proactive about creating the sex/intimate life of your dreams: Some of the juicy questions we will focus on are: What do I want more of in my life, erotically, physically, emotionally? What do I want less of? What are the obstacles that keep me from moving toward what I want? 
   
• Explore the shadow side of sexual attraction: Without being aware of it, much of our daily energy is wrapped up in projections. Parts of ourselves that we don’t like or that we can’t tolerate get projected onto an “other” person creating a negative or positive projection. Shadow work serves to “call back” these disowned aspects of ourselves and to integrate them. This frees up a lot of energy, which then can be used to fuel the positive connections you want to make with yourself and others.

About your facilitators:

Kai Ehrhardt (left), MBT, was trained by the Middendorf Breath Institutes of San Francisco and Berlin and has studied extensively with the Body Electric School and various holistic teachers. He has been a therapist and teacher in the areas of breath, massage and sexual healing since 1996 and works in NYC and Berlin, Germany.  You can learn more about Kai at www.authenticeros.com/sessions/english/index.html.

Don Shewey (right) is a writer and pleasure activist in New York City. He is a Body Electric School-trained masseur and sacred intimate as well as a certified gestalt therapist, and his private practice specializes in sex and intimacy coaching. His work as a teacher and community health activist revolves around healing through pleasure, adult sex education and grounded daily spiritual practice. For more information about Don and his work visit www.bodyandsoulwork.com.

About the Bodhi Manda Zen Center:

The Zen Center is situated at an altitude of 6,300 feet with natural hot springs on premises. The hot spring pools are accessible twenty-four hours a day and become a wonderful gathering place for day or night soaks, conversation and pure relaxation. In the evening hours the hot springs are clothing optional. There are three pools ranging from cool to warm and hot with a cold rushing river just steps away for refreshing dips. Participants frequently enjoy relaxing in these hot springs, especially at night under the heavenly New Mexico star-studded sky.

Watch a video from the Bodhi Manda Zen Center

Lodging at the Zen Center is simple, rustic, and quaint - each bedroom accommodates two to four persons with several bathrooms throughout the center. There are enough sleeping areas for everyone to spread-out and be comfortable. The Zen Center recently renovated some of the bedrooms, bath facilities, and completed a new central meditation hall. The Center follows a vegetarian diet. Feel free to learn more about the Zen Center by visiting their web site at www.bmzc.org.

The Authentic Eros Retreat begins at 5:00pm on Wednesday, August 18. If you are flying in and renting a car to drive to the retreat, please arrive into Albuquerque Airport by 1:00pm. This should give you plenty of time to arrive at the Zen Center by 4:30pm and get settled-in. The retreat ends at 1:00pm on Saturday, August 21. Please book your return flight for 4:30pm or later.

Jemez Springs is located 60 miles from Albuquerque Airport. There is no public transportation from Albuquerque Airport to Jemez Springs. The Zen Center will be providing round-trip airport transfers at specific times, see below for transfer details. Jemez Springs is 1 and ½ hours drive from Santa Fe. The temperature in Northern New Mexico mid-August is delightful, days in the 80's and nights in the 50-60's, making this an ideal time of year for our retreat.

AIRPORT TRANSFERS:
The Zen Center will be providing round-trip airport transfers for a cost of $30 per person. The pickup times on August 18 at the Albuquerque Airport, going to the Zen Center, are 12:00pm and 3:00pm.  The return departure time on August 21 from the Zen Center to the Airport is 1:30pm. Please book your return flight for 4:30pm or later.  Or stay longer in beautiful and very gay friendly Santa Fe.

Have questions?
Contact us at 800-754-1875 or info@spiritjourneys.com

A deposit of $300.00 is required to reserve space for this Retreat.  To register, use the "Register for this Retreat" button at the top or bottom of this page.  Payment in full is requested by June 18, 2010. Registrations are gladly accepted after June 18, 2010 based on availability.

Prefer not to register on-line?
Click here to download and print a registration form.
Simply fill out the form and then mail it to us.

Cancellations made prior to June 18, 2010 (60 days) are subject to $100 cancellation fee. Reservations cancelled between June 19, 2010 and July 17, 2010 (31-59 days) are subject to a cancellation fee in the amount of 50% of the journey cost. Reservations cancelled on or after July 18, 2010 (30 days) are non-refundable. Please contact Spirit Journeys for additional information about trip insurance or go to our Travel Insurance page.

Guaranteed Departures:
Departures are guaranteed, subject to a minimum number of participants to operate (excepting only in cases of major world events that adversely affects international travel patterns and other circumstances beyond our control). Should the minimum number of participants not be met we will offer two options:
1. Continuation of the Journey at an increased cost.
2. A full refund of all monies paid.

AUTHENTIC EROS
 An interview with Kai Ehrhardt and Don Shewey

Q: What is Authentic Eros about?

Kai Ehrhardt: “Authentic Eros” is a workshop for gay men that I’ve been teaching with various colleagues, including Don, all over Europe and the United States for the last few years. The basic idea is to create an opportunity for participants to explore their untapped potential as erotic beings. There are two major questions we address.  First, what are the patterns or habits that dominate, flatten or inhibit your sexual and intimate life? These patterns can show up in all kinds of ways. They can be subtle or right in one’s face. They can be driven by fear or shame, by upbringing or expectations, or a multitude of other factors. Second, what would it be like to inhabit a pattern-free state-of-being? To do so means “emptying” ourselves out and bringing all of our attention to this moment, just as it is, with this person. That takes practice. It’s not only a mental process but one that involves the whole body. If two men can do that with each other, something incredibly beautiful starts to emerge. The feeling in the room shifts palpably. Nothing needs to happen anymore, yet everything can. Exploring these two questions in a communal setting with other men can be very liberating and healing in and of itself. We learn from each other and we do it in a fun and diversified way.

Q: What goes on during this workshop?

KE: Our intention is to expand people’s ideas and perceptions of sex as an exchange that is emotional and energetic as well as physical. For example, the more exquisite attention I bring to my partner’s whole being, the more trust and surrender becomes possible for him.. When the body follows that, the exchange is infinitely more powerful. We will introduce a lot of delicious and sensual touch exercises but to make it safe for everyone we refrain from overt sex.

Q: Most people already know how to have sex. Why would they want to take a workshop about it?

Don Shewey: You’d be surprised how many gay men secretly feel inept or limited in their sexual expression and long for opportunities to grow, to feel more pleasure, and to connect with other guys in more satisfying ways. A lot of us know there’s more to sex than just getting your rocks off – but what? It’s not so much about sexual practices per se but more about how we show up in sexual or intimate encounters. Creativity, authenticity, presence and listening are all skills that can be learned. In the “Authentic Eros” workshop, we not only teach those skills but provide a playful laboratory to practice them. It’s not like there’s one “right way.” For each participant what’s authentic and what’s erotic will look a little different. We want to facilitate individual growth.

Q: Who is it for? Who is it not for?

KE: Anyone who is interested in learning more about their sexuality and their capacity for intimacy is welcome to join. Typically, the workshop attracts men of all sizes, shapes, and ages and from all walks of life. It’s probably not ideal for celibate monks taking their first steps toward life in a body – it helps to have had some sexual experiences to expand upon. If you’re curious about the workshop but you’re not sure if you’re ready for it, we suggest that you have a conversation with one of us or come for an individual session beforehand.

Q: Stepping back and looking at the big picture, how would you say the culture of the internet has affected the ways gay men have sex?

KE: On one hand, the internet has introduced a multitude of new possibilities to connect and to exchange information. That is absolutely amazing and unprecedented. The shadow side of that is its disembodied aspect. If communication takes place based on visual/mental processing of pixilated slices about you and me, slices that are then distorted by the filters of our perception, we can lose the full spectrum of reality. I have found myself encountering someone in real life and wanting to end that connection as quickly as closing a chat window. Just hit “control W” and go, NEXT. There’s a certain kind of social interaction that you only learn by meeting people face-to-face and feeling the whole range of unpredictable emotions that come up when you’re not controlling every second. Online chatting and cruising can get very codifying.

DS: And the wide availability of porn images online can set up very unreasonable ideas about what is a normal, natural, acceptable male body. Part of the “Authentic Eros” workshop is unlearning some of the bad habits and tired scripts we pick up from watching porn videos.

Q: In a workshop, isn't it scary to get naked and share touch with strangers?

DS: “Authentic Eros” is all about getting in touch with the true needs of this moment. That can mean, I want to be naked, I want to be barefoot or sit in my underwear or covered by a blanket. The same is true for touch. It’s about options, options, options. It’s about doing what feels right and recognizing how that constantly shifts and changes.

Q: What do people get out of taking the workshop?

KE: Some get clear about the obstacles they put in the way of getting what they want. Becoming conscious of such a thing enables them to make different choices in the future. Some find it a revelation to just “be” in their erotic bodies without having to “do” something in particular. Others just thrive on being in a safe and playful setting with other men.

Q: Who are you guys?

KE: We are experienced bodyworkers, pleasure activists, and group facilitators with an interest in sexological growth and body-mind-soul development.

DS: We love sex and we love to be alive in our bodies. We want to empower other men to do the same.

More info about Kai Ehrhardt is at http://authenticeros.com.
More info about Don is at http://bodyandsoulwork.com.