This week Adytum, (www.adytumsanctuary.com) has the great pleasure of hosting Philip Folsom and Leo VanWarmerdam from Santa Monica, CA. Philip is co partner in www.fulcrumadventures.com, and Leo works with him in this international adventure company that has trained over a half a million people with the goal of realizing their full potential. What a worthwhile career… who wouldn’t want to wake up and put a smile on a face and a spring in a step every day, knowing the investments made in the human spirit live on and affect other lives as well.
Philip and Leo are in Mossyrock this week doing a group team building training focusing on adults who work with kids in the after school program. This particular program is specifically targeted for the children who may not be enrolled in after school sports, but they also serve those that are. So many of us just weren’t sports minded…but we would have grown tremendously in self esteem, discipline, self determination and confidence through the experiences Fulcrum Adventures charts out. I’d be willing to say hands down it would have changed the course of my young life had I had this program available.
Philip and Leo are two fun loving guys, with quick witted humor, a casual and relaxed style, and exude fitness, confidence and an “I can do anything” attitude themselves. They are walking examples for the “Do, Risk, Grow” which is Fulcrum Adventure’s motto – an invitation to cultivate potential greatness within by meeting challenges head on- and they supply the helmets- literally.
How do they accomplish it? The idea is to use the challenges they present to realize full potential. We are all so much greater than we believe, and they prove it to us through conquering high rope courses, rock wall climbing and the invitation to take the leap of faith off an outrageously tall phone pole, grabbing life by the horns with white knuckles clinging for dear life to a trapeze bar. At some point, evidentially you think, “Bring it on!” You’re completely transformed…They’re not just fostering adrenalin junkies but fueling people with indomitable confidence and empowerment that will transform their whole lives…
They don’t stop short with their far reaching vision; they’re out to impact the whole world by transforming and expanding the potential of everyone they train which in turn affects the entire planet. If you caught the run up on gold this year, you know how awesome it feels to pull off a winning investment. Imagine repeating that feeling every day with kids, adults…anyone who breaks through and discovers the true reality; that we are powerful beyond measure…making those kinds of investments – aiding in self enrichment in others - are how I imagine they’d spend their dying hour.
We were invited to join in support of this wonderful program when other leaders from the program came to Adytum with Philip and Leo for a tour. Donn and I met two members of the National Guard, Timothy Allan Brown and Le’Juan O’bryan. The National Guard partners with Fulcrum Adventures for the after school program. Erin Riffe, Director of Afterschool and Summer Programs for Educational Service District #113, as well as Miss Washington, Jacquie Brown. Jacquie has as her focus “youth mentoring”. Erin and Jacquie had many ideas for Adytum including fund raising events hosted here and at our suggestion, exposing kids to fine art of which Adytum has a small, museum quality collection. Also receiving actual classes and talks with artists who visit Adytum.
Check out the gallery link on www.fulcrumadventures.com to get a sense of the work they do, some in the form of games. Other types of training provide wilderness skills, increased in mental strength and self determination. Since our character is the only thing we’re taking with us when we end our time on earth, making self investments to increase character makes perfect sense. They are here to help.
They use the BOLD method which creates team synergy through integration of different leadership styles. Who doesn’t need that? “Plays well with others” is a nice statement at any age. Figuring out where you fit into that equation is nothing short of a gift. A short behavior assessment is followed by “facilitated experiential activities”- a nice way of saying get ready to confront some fear – that is if the ropes challenge course is on the agenda. These exercises allow participants to discover the strengths and challenges of their own leadership style as well as how to partner with team members of different styles to create a high performing organization. Their work takes different forms. One way is to work with heights…ropes…trapeze bars…zip lines…think of all the tightrope, high wire amazing Circ Du Soliel acts and then visualize yourself doing them- and loving it- once you realized it was in you all along, anyway! Other methods are games from the Crate that enlarge those who participate.
At Adytum, when they see our giant fir trees, they are thinking “zip line opportunity!” This isn’t the first time we’ve heard that from other adventurous souls. Our retreat acreage is just the kind they create high rope courses on to take participants to the edge of their comfort zone…then beyond. In the strangest way, it dovetails so perfectly with Adytum’s desire to bring healing, peace and wholeness at deep levels although I’m not sure our insurance agent would be excited to hear it…Philip and Leo go right to the source to create wholeness: the mind and emotions, working their transformative magic. The mind is the center of true health, wellness and wholeness. They are psychologists, psychiatrists and healers of another order…get rid of the obstacles and the real self will emerge in all its glory and wholeness.
Adytum keeps evolving in ways we never foresaw. Like the visit last year from Napa, California renowned Impressionist artist Don Hatfield (www.hatfieldfineart.com) Don has a disc golf course on his 15 acres and people come from all over to use it. He got us so excited about it when he was here doing a photo shoot for a commissioned painting that we stocked up on discs for our alpine course. Not only did Don leave his amazing impressionist paintings for everyone to enjoy in the house, but left his commitment to creating relaxed playfulness around exercise with the disc golf. He is one of the possible guest artists that will support the program by holding workshops at Adytum when his busy schedule permits.
Philip and Leo found the discs on the Orion Courtyard, alongside some Bocce balls. Apparently their adventure doesn’t stop when the sun goes down. They were playing bocce ball in the moonlight…on unfamiliar hillside terrain with sharp drop offs. The next night was disc golf over 16 acres before coming in to invent new games for the program until well after midnight.
It makes me so exceptionally happy to see the visions I have for life here at Adytum coming into reality. I love to create space for others to enjoy, creating different vignettes and scenarios and then watching the “actors”- in this case Leo and Philip- enter the stage and go for it, laughing and playing, sucking the marrow out of life like Thoreau said. They caught the spirit- the sense of retreat, relaxation and play- that we know as a vital aspect of this sacred space; the attitudes that foster the creation of wholeness, inside and out.
We’ll see about the ropes course, zip line and fitness course they suggested; bringing more play and personal “metal testing” for personal growth to our mountain. They have shared how much they’ve enjoyed what we’ve created here, and we now possess a new sense of how Adytum lands can to evolve to expand human potential and build character. Maybe we can rope them in (no pun intended) to coming on a regular basis, holding retreats designed to enlarge the human spirit by facing our fear and personality obstacles.
Each guest of Adytum brings valuable gifts that increase and expand the spirit, build health and wholeness in the mind. They come as guests needing a place to stay for a few nights, but Adytum is never the same when each one leaves a bit of their special interests, talents and desires for future development imprinted on this house and land. We all benefit from these investments. We hope you check out these amazing programs Philip and Leo facilitate. Since our businesses aren’t large enough to fall under their group teaching, we plan to look them up when we’re in Southern California next month and try it as a couple.
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” Marianne Williamson
“Philip and Leo were both amazing, and we had wonderful time learning from their devotion to make the world a better place. I know personally I will use the training I received to make the Mossyrock Jumpstart Program a better success! Our program does reach out to all students, even those in sports. We have many students who attend after their practice is over.” Jamie Wilkinson
