Events
Our theme for 2012 is: Reconnecting with Spirit, the Earth and Your True Self
Registration for our year-long program for 2012 is now closed.
Please check back for other offerings throughout the year!
Has the busyness and complexity of life distanced you from your true self, a connection with Spirit and the calming energy of nature?
Make 2012 the year you find your voice, empower your authentic self and live with joy and clear intention.
We want 2012 to be about you.
- What are you hungry for in your life?
- What desires lay dormant, waiting to push through the soil and grow?
- What’s blossoming and bringing you joy?
- What’s out of control in your life?
- What are you hanging onto? What are you ready to let go of?
- How can you take a more active role in shaping your life and relationships?
True joy comes from knowing yourself and Spirit, and doing so in harmony with the Earth—with its seasons of change, energy, guidance and nourishment. That’s what the 2012 Inner Garden program is all about.
Tending Your Inner Garden speaks to the individual soul of every woman.
This program is unique in that it invites you to explore and develop your own relationship with Spirit. As a result, you can more fully understand …
- Your life purpose.
- What brings you joy.
- All the ways you can give and receive love.
- How you can feel at home in your own skin.
- How to more fully accept yourself and others.
- How you can experience happiness as the common thread of your life rather than as a series of fleeting moments.
- How you can express your unique gifts and creativity no matter what life stage you’re in.
- The ways you can live a more balanced life.
- How you can live each day as the fullest expression of who you came here to be.
Throughout the year, Tending Your Inner Garden will help you examine patterns of belief and behavior that either help you move forward or stand in your way. Because it takes place over an entire year, it uses the seasons as a model for change. Starting with the reflective time of winter and ending with the harvest time of fall, it gives you a chance to witness the gifts of each season in yourself and the world around you.
Nature teaches us how to rest, rejuvenate, open up to new possibilities, welcome growth, celebrate beauty and let go as we share the abundance of our lives with others.
By observing nature, we learn how to restore the hurts and losses of our lives. We learn how to respect the need for solitude and dormancy. We experience the excitement of seeds breaking open and sending new shoots of possibility through the rich soil of our lives.
When we grieve, nature comforts us. When we search for solutions, nature offers us a model of change and transformation. When Spirit stirs within us, nature echoes this movement by displaying the mysteries of the cosmos. Nature opens us up to wonder and awe. We feel a sense of belonging to something bigger than ourselves, while accepting we do not understand or control all that surrounds us. 
Spirit calls for change and transformation worldwide—leading us collectively to greater peace, diversity, and appreciation for the Earth’s resources. We connect with that Spirit by going within to listen to the still, small voice that speaks our own inner truth. We also connect with Spirit by coming together in community, knowing that each of us conveys unique gifts and perspectives that enlarge our own appreciation for the role we each play in shaping our lives and the well-being of the planet.
“If you’re looking for a group of women with varied ages,
experiences, and lifestyles who bring their kindred, supportive spirits,
you need to experience Inner Garden.”
—Barb Anderson
The year-long schedule truly is transformational, particularly because you spend the year with the same group of women. Participants find that the program helps them make different life choices based on a respect for creativity, joy, love in all its expressions—and a desire not just to better themselves, but to be change agents on the planet. This truly is a time when global consciousness is expanding, and every woman who participates in Tending Your Inner Garden will be prepared to take part in that expansion in her own way.
The program focuses on the process of listening and connecting to yourself and Spirit so you can find your own answers within. Because of this, it’s organic in nature. Just as each tree has its own color of leaves in the fall, and each flower possesses its own design of petals and stamens, you have within you your own piece of the universal pattern, your own unique design. By listening closely within the loving support of a community of women, you will be honored and uplifted as you make inner changes.
When you reconnect with Spirit, the Earth and your true self, you start asking different questions.
- Instead of “What’s the next step on my career path?” you might ask, “What will lead me to the greatest joy?”
- Instead of “How can I fix my relationships with my family?” you might ask, “How can I express love in every situation?”
- Instead of “Will I ever find my life purpose?” you might ask, “How can I appreciate beauty and abundance exactly where I am?”
By connecting to Spirit, the Earth and your true self, you experience life infused with the energy of grace and the sweetness of joy.
“I joined Tending Your Inner Garden, and Deb and Diane taught me that I had the power to manifest what I want in life, which had never occurred to me before! Then they gave me the tools, like a supportive environment in which to create a collage or drawing of what I wanted, despite my reluctance to be visually creative. Now I think of something I truly want that will enrich my life, then I ask the universe for it. Each day I believe it by envisioning myself in that life that I desire and looking at the picture I created of it. Then I wait and wait some more. Since joining Inner Garden in 2008, I have manifested a home, a family of pets, a community of friends, and a fulfilling job.”
—Rachel Regenold
Tending Your Inner Garden is designed to bring women together at the deepest level, so mutually rewarding friendships often spring up quickly. This is a rare opportunity for you to make life changes accompanied by an entire circle of women who will champion your growth even when you face roadblocks or challenges. It’s an entire year of gathering, reflecting and honoring one another. As a result, the way you view yourself and your life in December 2012 will be very different than it has ever been before. That’s because you’ll be coming home to yourself, Spirit, and the Earth with acceptance, comfort, understanding and love.
Monthly Themes for 2012
- January Who am I?
- February How can I grow?
- March How can I live out of love rather than fear?
Milestone: Establishing a daily spiritual practice - April How can I grow what I want in my life?
- May How can I nurture my emerging self?
- June How can I savor beauty?
Milestone: Living in harmony with nature and self - July How can I survive life’s storms?
- August Who am I becoming?
- September How am I being called to grow?
Milestone: Establishing resiliency and a sense of belonging - October What wisdom have I gained?
- November For what am I grateful?
- December What is being born in me?
Milestone: Being of service from your authentic self
“Tending Your Inner Garden gave me the time and
opportunity to explore my spirituality
and life circumstances.”
—Jane Tyler
Full-day retreats will be held:
• Saturday, January 28, 2012
• Saturday, April 21, 2012
• Saturday, July 14, 2012
• Saturday, October 20, 2012
Sessions will be facilitated by Deb and Diane and will feature nature-based activities for personal growth in a beautiful pastoral setting 20 minutes south of Des Moines, Iowa.
Monthly potluck suppers will be held in the homes of participants who volunteer to serve as hosts in February, March, May, June, August, September, November and December. Each evening will include a program led by co-founders Deb or Diane.
Bonus Offerings:
• One-on-one session with Deb or Diane twice during the year.
• Four special telecasses with guest speakers.
• Workbook and four seasonal books written by women reflecting on the lessons of the seasons and their own inner growth.
For the quarterly workshops, we’ll meet in a beautiful pastoral setting at the home of a Tending Your Inner Garden alum. Her home, 20 minutes south of Des Moines, Iowa, is perfectly designed for building community, experiencing nature and spending time in quiet and contemplation.
If there are seeds of potential within you that want to grow … if you have a voice that wants to be heard … if you know you’re here to make a difference … if you believe there’s more to you and your life than you’re experiencing now … if you’re hungry for greater connection with yourself and other women …we encourage you to join us for Tending Your Inner Garden 2012.
Registration for the year is $1,200 when you sign up before January 15.
After January 15, 2012, the fee will be $1,500.We’ve extended the discount through January 26! Flexible payment plans are available.
We realize that this fee is a commitment, and we ask you to consider it carefully. It includes 55 hours of in-person time with Deb and/or Diane throughout the year, as well as time with other experts in personal growth, spirituality and feminine wisdom. It also includes the Tending Your Inner Garden workbook, four seasonal books, four teleconferences with special guests, an ongoing curriculum of spiritual practice throughout the year…and the invaluable friendships you develop with other women and yourself.
Because women form a strong community in the year-long program, it’s important that you sign up only if you’re able to commit for the entire year and to be an integral part of that community. We ask only that you bring an intention and desire to be yourself, to come with an open heart, and to honor yourself and all other women in this sacred circle.
We hope you’ll join us for this life-changing program. If you have questions, please contact us.