Live While You’re Online?

By Rachel Davey. This article originally appeared in the Times Colonist Learning for Life February 3 2015.

“Every minute spent online is a minute of face-to-face time lost.” Daniel H Wilson

If New York Times bestselling author Daniel H Wilson is right, we are losing increasing amounts of face-to-face time. A study done in 2011 by the Internet marketing research company comScore found that Canadians are spending more time online than users in other countries. Canadians spent an average of 45.3 hours on the Internet in the fourth quarter of 2011, much of it spent on social media sites.

At The Haven we don’t think that being personal and being online is an either/or, and our newest program, Living Alive Phase I Integrative offers the opportunity to blend both the virtual and face-to-face experience. This may come as a surprise, given that since 1983 The Haven on Gabriola Island has specialized in bringing people together, in person, in groups to experience programs in the art and science of living well, together. Our world is changing, however, and we believe it is vital to offer opportunities to live while you’re online.

Living Alive Phase I has been offered at The Haven for the past 30+ years in an intensive, 26-day program format. Over the years, program participants have developed insights and skills to transform patterns of behavior and thought, discover their own personal resources and improve their communication skills. For this reason, we want as many people as possible to have the opportunity to take the program. It is not always easy to take 26 days away from home and work, so for the first time in 2015 we are offering the program in both as a 26-day Intensive and in the Integrative format, at The Haven and at home, onsite and online over 8 months.
Living Alive Phase I Integrative is designed to maintain a high level of integrity to the core components of the Living Alive Phase I program while bringing in new ways of delivering the experience through virtual learning and community. It provides a unique opportunity to practice being personal in the virtual world as well as face-to-face. It also enables participants to apply, challenge and integrate the program content, allowing for a sustained learning period while minimizing the time away from home.

To find out more about Living Alive Phase I Integrative and other Haven programs, go to the Haven web site or call The Haven registrars at 1 800 222 9211 x1.