On a mid September dawn even the sunrise seems half asleep, urging light on a somnolent sky as we rise and attempt to shine. There’s way too much to do to stay in bed.

Below the pinkening clouds, at the rim of the ocean, an early bird is stretching her arms in what I suspect may be a Yoga position. She looks like the same swimmer we saw in yesterday’s twilight, although it’s hard to recognize her in clothes.

It’s 6:45 when we leave our beachfront sanctuary and sleepwalk toward the lodge and a few organic jolts of freshly brewed java before Yoga in the Kiakum, one of two circular session houses in the forest.

Had we managed to get up even earlier, we could have enjoyed 45 minutes of silent sitting meditation practice in the sanctuary, a unique circular cob spiritual space located even deeper in Hollyhock’s 45 verdant acres.

Maybe there’s something in the incredible food that Kitchen Manager Moreka Jolar creates that makes early morning rising not quite so formidable because it seems most of the guests are already up. Some have gone off on a guided morning row, stocked with tea and fresh muffins, others are signing up for the afternoon naturalist excursion - a guided walk to discover mushrooms - or are heading out on a garden tour to inspect its early autumn cornucopia led by Nori Fletcher. "She created our garden 25 years ago", CEO and Board Chair Dana Bass Solomon points out. "Nori is extremely interested in French intensive biodynamic gardening. We use produce from the garden 9 months of the year."

When breakfast is presented in the airy and spacious lodge, it feels like the universe is unfolding as it should. The vegetarian food is A+, a feast for all the senses. You just know that whoever served up food like this has done it with love and passion so it’s not surprising to find that Moreka has been with Hollyhock for 9 years.

The retreat is also known for its diversified and delicious menu of workshops, from writing, art and singing to Dr. Andrew Weil’s famous Integrative Medicine series, from Celtic Voice to Animal Communication. Often the courses fill to capacity with Hollyhock bursting with up to 110 guests. In 2007, a total of 109 sessions were offered yet amazingly, marketing manager Greg Osoba says that only about 10% of courses needed to be canceled – an enviable record.

While three quarters of the guests have come for these offerings, the rest arrive solely for rejuvenation. As Dana puts it, they’re here to take care of themselves, to savor the fresh air, the nourishing natural food, and to say an intimate hello to nature.

My companion, Cathy, and I belong to this group, but rejuvenation doesn’t translate into idleness. A pre-dinner beachfront oyster barbecue has enough appeal to lure us out of the hot tub to slurp raw mollusks and barbecued ‘free trade, shade grown oysters’, as the shucking naturalists Brian Fryer and Bill Ophoff banter. Fryer has worked here for 15 years and Ophoff for 13.

A succulent dinner follows, then in turn, is proceeded by offerings in the session houses, ensuring both body and soul receive nourishment. First, we attempt Tibetan Buddhist chanting and meditation, and then we wind our way by flashlight to the Raven house where 60 of us gather in thrall to Dr. Gabor Maté, whose informed and passionate presentation on addiction is surprisingly riveting.

The story of Hollyhock’s birth 25 years ago is as magical as the place itself. One of the founders, Rex Weyler (also a founder of Greenpeace International) was visiting his good friends, Lee and Shivon Robinsong, another founder, at their new Cortes Island home, when they passed the deserted buildings of what used to be the Cold Mountain Institute, a Gestalt Therapy center that had been prominent in the 1970s. Weyler was amazed to view a huge overgrown garden rife with gigantic red hollyhocks.

Why he was amazed was that shortly before this visit, in the summer of 1981, he had had his fortune told by a Hungarian fortuneteller, who had whispered into his ear. "Red Hollyhocks growing above the hedge. Look for them. They will be very important to you."

Don’t you love stories like this?
From its inception, even before “minimizing one’s footprint” was in our vocabulary, Hollyhock has tried to co-exist gently with the diverse plants and creatures that also call Cortes home.

In every aspect there’s always been a green initiative, Dana points out, and goes on to passionately urge: "The mission of Hollyhock is to be a place where people can come and think their best thoughts and communicate in the best ways and learn their best skills and take all that out into the world and make a positive difference. It’s important; we’ve got to do it now."

The retreat’s 45 partners, who are donating all of their ownership back into Hollyhock, obviously all agree, as Dana explains: "Hollyhock has applied for charitable status. We want to set a new model where the bottom line isn’t necessarily the top priority."

Why does the world need Hollyhock? I asked the marketing manager, Greg Osoba, who has been here for 19 years.

"Because it provides a refuge and a sanctuary from the high paced, frantic consumer-oriented world that civilization finds itself in. Things are simplified here. There’s something about the land. It’s a nebulous feeling."

Cathy and I are winding up the brimming day with coffee on our beachfront deck. I’ve finally put my finger on the feeling of déjà vu I’ve been experiencing. You remember that feeling that everything is possible? The heady joy of those Friday campus pub nights when we all shared our plans to change the world?

You’re right, Dana, it IS about rejuvenation.

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Sidebar:
Website. Go to www.hollyhock.ca for instructions on how to get there, for course details and contact info.

Got kids? Hollyhock is 100 per cent child friendly. Hollyhock is very family friendly, Dana points out. One of our programmes is called Family Time: A Nature Experience. There’s so much the children thrive on here. Info on the site.

A little history. The island was named and mapped by Spanish explorers in the late 1700s but well before this it was the winter campground of the Klahoose First Nation, who have since settled permanently in Squirrel Cove on Cortes. Nine hundred people now live on Cortes.