The International Holistic Centers Gathering serves as the principal meeting point for centers both well established and new that address holistic consciousness as it continues to emerge worldwide.
It includes rural retreat centers, urban learning centers, and accredited and non-accredited organizations that work toward the goal of transforming individual lives and fostering a culture of greater holistic, ecological and spiritual awareness and practice.
Gatherings are usually hosted yearly at one of the network’s participating centers. They are characterized by a spirit of openness, warmth, candor and mutual support and aim to benefit attending centers through both the exchange of information, best practices and successful strategies on the one hand, and the cultivation of spiritual connection, mutual support and inspiration on the other.
Most centers are devoted to the creation of transformational experiences for their participants. This Gathering addresses the needs of those who run these organizations for their own nourishment, community of peers and sense of participation in a larger, global movement of positive change.
After its initial formation in North America in the 80s, the Gathering moved to both Western and Eastern Europe in the 90s, and returned to the United States and Canada in the 2000s. As the chronology demonstrates, the Gathering has been held at points as far West as Hawaii and as far East as Moscow. Although most participants have come from the United States, Canada and Europe, the Gathering has also attracted centers from as far afield as Australia, New Zealand, Brazil and Japan. Ultimately, the Gathering aims to include centers on all continents and serve as a valuable instrument of planetary awakening.
The Holistic Centers’ Network emerged organically out of these annual Gatherings. It hosts monthly online conversations on Zoom and maintains the sense of solidarity and connection between centers in between in-person meetings.
In the words of Ralph White, founder of the Centers Gathering, co-creator of the New York Open Center and now president of The New Center for Holistic Learning NY:
“The heart of the International Holistic Centers Gathering is the meeting of so many diverse groups in a spirit of love, mutual support and unity. Whether they come from Australia or Siberia, Scotland or Santa Cruz, a similar noble vision lives at the core of most centers and changes for the better the lives of the many thousands who attend their programs. Holistic centers always take courage, inspiration and insight from each other’s work. Ultimately, they know that their very existence worldwide is powerful evidence that the awakening for which we all yearn is alive and well, and probably living in a center near you.”
