https://thelotuscentre.ca/tree-of-life

Tree of Life, Tree of Life, Salmonier Line, Mount Pearl, NL (2026)

12/05/2025

Are you longing to be touched by something deeper? Do you sense that there is something more to life than what you’ve experienced so far? Most of us have heard people mention that they have found who they truly are, but what does that really mean?

It takes a certain wildness to slip beyond the surface of ordinary perception and touch the realms hidden beneath. To taste the deeper mystery moving through this world, we must be willing to step past the borders of comfort…beyond the teachings we inherited, beyond the maps we’ve trusted…into the luminous unknown. It is in these wild inner territories, untouched by convention, that the presence of spirit begins to shimmer through.

Most people enter this terrain when life cracks them open. We cling to our beliefs as if they were anchors, holding us steady in familiar waters. But when illness, heartbreak, or loss shakes the ground beneath us, a fissure appears in the mind’s certainty. Through that crack, something vast may pour in…a glimpse of majesty, a whisper from the deeper world, a sense of being held by something far greater than ourselves.

The mystery dwells in these hidden sanctuaries, along paths no one else can walk for us…quiet thresholds where the soul recognizes itself and steps forward.

Enlightenment Intensives open a doorway to that threshold: the meeting place between the known and the unknowable, where the veil thins and something ancient and alive touches the center of our being.

Join us to our Yule WINTER SOLSTICE Enlightenment Intensive coming up between December 18 to 22, 2025 at The Tree Of Life.

The retreat is nearly full now. We’re at 10 participants, with only two open spots if you feel called to join us.

To register, write us on : treeoflifenl11@gmail.com or call Johanne at: 709-697-2996

10/28/2025

We would like to describe our passion for Enlightenment Intensives (EI). We intend on writing a series of posts. We are driven to share with you this unbelievable approach that has truly helped our lives. Ian and Johanne have more recently both chosen to also co-master EI retreats to support you, seeing you through what keeps you locked into your stories and through your suffering.

So why should we be interested or attend an Enlightenment Intensive?

Who we think we are is the tip of an iceberg which is only 5 % of what is actually there. We don’t realize how we are responsible for much of the pain and suffering in our lives. We don’t know why we react to certain things like loud sounds, arguing, why we keep getting into the wrong relationships etc. What we see is truth veiled by our minds with its beliefs and conditioning.
What Enlightenment Intensives do, is help us see through the delusion of what we keep telling ourselves, of what we believe or what we identify with. It helps us see reality for what it actually is.

When we have direct contact with absolute Truth, we experience a shift from ourselves as a separate person to something greater that unifies us all. We shift from seeing ourselves as a limited, isolated, separated person, to realizing we are so much more.

Enlightenment Intensives offers us an invitation to live out the radiance that’s revealed when we have the courage to step beyond anything and everything that separates us.

Here is a list of dates for The Tree of Life Enlightenment Intensives in 2026:
May 14 to 18, 2026 - mastered by Meranda Squires
June 18 to22, 2026 - co-mastered by Johanne and Ian
July 23 to 31, 2026 - mastered by Meranda Squires
Sept 17 to 21, 2026 - co-mastered by Johanne and Ian
October 8 to 12, 2026 - mastered by Meranda Squires
December 18 to 21, 2026 - co-mastered by Johanne and Ian

09/30/2025

It takes some wildness and risk to pe*****te through the surface of our thoughts, emotions and beliefs and see beyond convention. It also takes courage to open to the unknown, far beyond what most people would allow themselves to go. 🙏
We are reaching out to invite you to two new Enlightenment Intensives all happening at the Tree Of Life this fall and winter.

- From October 16 to 20, 2025, a 4 day enlightenment Intensive led by Meranda Squires. The cost is $400 plus vegan meal contribution. If you are interested, you can reach Meranda by email at: merandasquires@thelocuscentre.ca; or by phone at: 709-739-4429; Her website is: www.thelotuscentre.ca.

- From Dec 18 to 22, a 4 day enlightenment Intensive on Yule, December Solstice, led by Ian and Johanne. We can be reached by phone or text at: 709-697-2996 for more details. We welcome a vegan meal contribution. Our website is: www.treeoflifenl.com;

Do you feel compelled to cross the edge of the unknown into a new~a real life, a life of vitality, a life of meaning-a life without certainty?
Society prepared us for the life it wanted us to lead; it prepared us for the role that it wanted us to have.
But the Spirit within, is compelling us to lead a true life, a significant life full of the vitality of Spirit.

Are you ready to know that you don’t know who, what you are, what life is or what another is?
Are you ready to truly know your true nature?

If you feel called for this journey, join any of these two retreats by emailing us at: merandasquires@thelotuscentre.ca or by text or phone to Johanne at: 709-697-2996.

09/25/2025

Our enlightenment Intensive last weekend was powerful, intimate and deep! We were seeking direct contact with absolute Truth, all together, sitting in Dyads (groups of two’s). Like two guitars in resonance, the sound waves moving through the air causing the strings to vibrate on the second guitar.
We surrendered, our minds emptied and our hearts opened.
In sacred communion, Divine transmission takes place.
When spirit fills you, you see the reality of your true Being. You no longer identify yourself with who you thought you were in your struggles and challenges of every day life. You realize you are divine Being. This is what Enlightenment Intensive retreats are all about and it’s “au naturel”.
Come join us at The Tree Of Life, for our next retreat on YULE, also known as the winter solstice from Dec 18 to 21st, 2025.

09/15/2025

“After a chaotic summer on the island, many of us are craving stillness.

The Nourished Soul Retreat is a three-day, intimate experience for just six people a chance to slow down, connect, and nourish yourself on every level.

Each morning begins with meditation to guide us into the stillness of fall and winter. Between our hands-on time in the kitchen learning the art of sourdough& spulful cooking, we’ll ground into nature and into the sacred space of Tree of Life, left untouched this summer, still lush and beautiful, connecting us back to a season of healing for our island.

We’ll close each evening with yoga nidra and sound baths to calm the nervous system and help us reset after a long season.

Now offering a personal Spinal energetics session for each participant. This is a beautiful modality that resets the nervous system and releases stress and trauma held in the body.

Today, only three spots remain, and registration closes September 22nd.
This is your invitation to come home to yourself — will one of those spots be yours?”

09/08/2025

The universe has aligned and Johanne and Ian are freshly back from Spirithorse in Wales where they completed their Enlightenment Intensive Masters Training. They both have a long ~20 year history as participants in Enlightenment Intensives as well as monitors and support staff to EIs under other masters.

In 1968, Charles Berner, a spiritual teacher in California, had a vision of a technique to combine eastern Zen teachings with western psychology that resulted in a format that vastly increases the possibility of participants having direct experiences of Absolute Truth. Truth can also be termed the Divine or God, and can only be experienced directly. In this format, that we call au naturel, we attain direct union with That. All spiritual and religious practices are serving this end. Enlightenment Intensives have since expanded all over the world.

Ian and Johanne have decided to co-master their first Enlightenment Intensive. Its a huge commitment for them. Many of you, may be new to this type of spiritual work, which is great because it is recommended that their first intensive have a high proportion of newcomers. May you become troopers like us because experiences of Truth are infinite, and bring us as close to freedom as is possible in this earthly form!
September 18 to 22, 2025

An Invitation to Join Us

As this is our first Enlightenment Intensive, participation is offered on a donation basis. You are welcome to contribute what you can, and each participant is also asked to bring a vegetarian meal or food item to share.
Come celebrate the Fall Equinox at Tree of Life

We are offering a 3.5 Day Enlightenment Intensive Retreat to mark the Fall Equinox:
Dates: September 18–22, 2025
Arrival: Thursday, September 18 by 5:30 PM
Conclusion: Monday, September 22 by noon. A lunch will be served from 12:30pm to 1:30pm for the people that would like to stay a little longer.

TO REGISTER
Please email Johanne at johannerobitaille@live.ca or Ian at treeoflifenl11@gmail.com.
For more details, please visit our website: treeoflifenl.com

07/18/2025

Come join Charlie and Johanne for this amazing deep retreat called: “THE NOURISHED SOUL” from September 26 to 28, 2025.
Have you often wondered how you could make your own sourdough bread, and didn’t dare to do it by yourself? Would you like to learn how to create fresh meals that feel like medicine for your body and spirit?
Have you ever wondered what is the SOUL? Have you noticed how soul is missing in today’s modern culture? Did you know that soul is the glue of the world and it’s absent when people move away from each other? Soul is what links us back together…all it wants is to make life into an act of love, into a deep song, into a creative dance!
Come, come, let’s rekindle SOUL together!
To register, please write to Charlie at: shadowmoon0101@outlook.com
Don’t forget to look up our website at: treeoflifenl.com

06/09/2025

Ready to exhale the stress and inhale a new STORY?

Join Shivam O’Brien at Tree of Life for a one-of-a-kind weekend retreat: Storytelling & Breathing Exercises from July 4 to 7, 2025.

Shivam is a master Irish storyteller and a global teacher of conscious breathwork. His voice carries wisdom; his breathwork opens space for healing. This is not your average retreat.

Expect ancient tales that stir your heart and guided breathing practices that reset your nervous system. You will laugh, release, remember what it means to be fully alive.

✨ Reconnect to yourself
✨ Shift long-held patterns
✨ Leave lighter, clearer, inspired

Limited spots. Join us: ⁦https://treeoflifenl.com/retreats/story-telling-and-breathing-exercises/⁩

06/07/2025

For me, MATURE love is very different than being in love. It’s the practise of making the other, yourself, your friend, your partner, your spouse, your children, your animals, nature, the OBJECT of LOVING ATTENTION. In this sense, love is the act and art of becoming fully vulnerable with another who also commits to do the same with you and in that process something deep develops that teaches the two of you how to love. Everything hinges on relationship. EVERYTHING MATTERS. Being in love is unconscious. The decision to love is conscious and it is perhaps the most important work and it is an ongoing work. Come join me NEXT weekend, June 13 to 15 at Tree Of Life. Come learn a new way of relating with yourself and others.
This workshop is for anyone who longs to improve his or her ways of relating. Cost is $100. A contribution of a vegan meal is appreciated. For more information, visit our website: treeoflifenl.com. To register, please contact Johanne by email: johannerobitaille@live.ca

06/05/2025

Meet Ian, the founder of Tree Of Life:
From SOIL TO SOUL
At Tree of Life, nourishment is a full-body experience.
Watch as Ian, the heart behind the land, gathers food straight from the garden,no middleman, no shortcuts.
Just fresh, intentional ingredients, handpicked with care. Then? He turns it into a meal that feels like medicine.
This is what retreat living looks like when it’s rooted in connection:
🌱 To the land
🔥 To the process
🍲 To the nourishment your body actually craves
Come experience the kind of care that starts before you even arrive.
🎥 Watch the full clip and learn more about a very special Retreat coming up fromJuly 4 to 7, 2025:
👉 https://treeoflifenl.com/retreats/story-telling-and-breathing-exercises/

06/01/2025

Come join Charlie and Amy on this beautiful retreat from August 8 to 10, 2025 at Tree Of Life. Through a diversity of activities, Charlie and Amy will both guide you to a place of deep remembering of how we are divinely connected with nature, ourselves and others.
Ready to come home to yourself?
Visit our website: treeoflifenl.com or email Charlie and Amy at: shadowmoon0101@outlook.com to register.
Tag a friend you’d bring. Share this with someone who needs to feel alive again! 💖
This will be a weekend of deep connection to self, to Mama Gaia, to the deep releasing energies of the Sturgeon Moon🌚
Over these beautiful 3 days you will
✨️ hike the magical fog forrest
✨️swim in the waterfalls
✨️wake & retire with sunrise/sunset yoga & meditation. Both kundalini & restoreative yoga will be offered
✨️release by the light of the full moon in a fire ceremony with sacred rituals
✨️bath in the healing vibrations of sound
✨️take part in a Moon cycles class designed to help you start using the moons energy to bring more flow into your life
✨️ gather in a reiki & breathwork session
✨️ you will connect to like minded, supportive community that is sure to create lasting friendships.
✨️All beautifully nutrious meals are provided for this 2 night/ 3 day Retreat and the Tree of Life, a place truly magical and full of history... Charlie and Amie can’t wait to have you join them on this amazing adventure.💞

05/29/2025

Come join Meranda for her Laya Yoga Meditation Teacher Training at Tree Of Life from June 29 to July 4, 2025.
Deepen your physical asana, Kriyas, spiritual understanding and experience in Laya Yoga, the root in Kundalini Yoga.

Contact merandasquires@thelotuscentre.ca

This 300 hour (plus) Lotus Centre Laya Yoga and Meditation Teacher training is open to anyone interested in developing the deep practical and scientific approach to Yoga and Meditation. This training is most specifically for Meditation Teachers, Yoga Teachers, Meditation Practitioners, and Yoga students. You do not need a 200 hour certification to do this training. Any one can join this training for their personal transformation journey.

Go deeper with Laya Yoga: Mudras, Pranayama, Chakras, Nadis, Bandhas, Kriyas, Advanced Hatha yoga postures, Patanjali and Non-dual Yoga Sutras, Kriya Anatomy, Kundalini Bhakti Yoga, Mantra, Enlightenment Experiences, Surrender Meditation, Somatic Assist and Release.

⇒FIVE 5 DAY TRAININGS AT THE TREE OF LIFE = 200 HRS over a couple of years: $3500 in a payment plan.

To register for each training this summer 2025:
$650 per 6 day training

June 29-July 4, 2025:
https://live.vcita.com/site/thelotuscentre/online-scheduling?service=vkvmrx6rce8ooizr

July 27-August 4, 2025
https://live.vcita.com/site/thelotuscentre/online-scheduling?service=p2wv2vsa8ldgq6a7

September 7-12, 2025
https://live.vcita.com/site/thelotuscentre/online-scheduling?service=dhe1cw64qr95d2a8

Tree of Life