Spetses · 25–29 May 2026

Resilience in a
Stressed World.

An inaugural gathering with Dr. Gabor Maté and a faculty of remarkable minds. Five days on a Greek island, among people seeking the same thing.

Dates
25 – 29 May 2026
Venue
Poseidonion Grand Hotel
Location
Spetses, Greece
Places
Limited — by application
The Gathering

Five days in a place the modern world cannot quite reach.

A small circle, a whole hotel to ourselves, and a faculty chosen for depth — not volume.

We live in a time that produces exhausted, depleted, disconnected people — and then sells them the solution. One Sanctum is built for those who have tried the solutions and know something else is being asked of them.

Spetses 2026 is our inaugural gathering. Over five days, we will sit with questions that matter: what nervous-system truth tells us about the world we are living in, what it means to remain in relationship when everything is being atomised, and what becomes possible when thoughtful people stop consuming ideas and begin thinking together.

This is not a conference. There are no breakout rooms, no badges, no panels. What happens in this room happens because of the room — the island, the faculty, the people who have chosen to be there. We have held it small on purpose.

The Theme

What resilience is — and what it is not.

Resilience has become a corporate word, a yoga word, a self-optimisation word. We mean something else by it.

We mean the capacity to remain whole in a world that rewards fragmentation. To stay in relationship when isolation is easier. To feel what is happening — in ourselves, in our bodies, in our communities, on our planet — and not turn away.

The work of our time is not to become stronger against the world. It is to stop being so alone in it.

Over five days, we will approach this through the clinical, the somatic, the philosophical, and the communal. The intellectual interweaves with the felt. The group itself becomes a resource.

The Five Days

A progression, not a schedule.

Each day opens a different door. You do not need to prepare — you need only to arrive.

Day one
Monday 25 May

Arrival & the Opening Circle

Arrive across the afternoon. Settle into the house. An opening circle at dusk — the first meeting of the people who will be in this together. A slow dinner. Early rest.

Day two
Tuesday 26 May

Unleashing the Dragon

Loss, grief & letting go — the rhythms of life.

Day three
Wednesday 27 May

Doorway to Connection

Day four
Thursday 28 May

Rooted in the Common Ground

Day five
Friday 29 May

Healing the World

Taking action from inside our paths. A closing circle, a slow morning, and departures from 2pm — carrying what we have found back into the wider world.

The shape of each day is held. The content breathes. We build in integration time because the work asks for it.

The Faculty

A company of remarkable minds.

Chosen not for their reach, but for the depth they bring to the room.

Dr. Gabor Maté
Anchor Faculty Physician · Author

Dr. Gabor Maté

Physician, author of The Myth of Normal, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, and When the Body Says No. For four decades, Gabor has worked at the intersection of trauma, addiction, stress, and childhood development — reframing how we understand illness, behaviour, and the cost of our cultural arrangements.

At Spetses he will lead two full days of teaching and dialogue, and remain present across the full retreat.

"Safety is not the absence of threat. It is the presence of connection."

Dr. Rosalind Watts
Dr. Rosalind Watts
Clinical Psychologist · ACER Integration
Former clinical lead on the Imperial College psilocybin-for-depression trial.
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Dr. Michael Ryoshin Sapiro
Dr. Michael Ryoshin Sapiro
Psychologist · Zen Monk · Author
Fellow at the Institute of Noetic Sciences, bridging contemplation and science.
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Apostolia Papadamaki
Apostolia Papadamaki
Hellenic Wisdom Carrier · Anamnesis
Greek choreographer at the edge of performance, somatics, and ritual.
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Ashira Darwish
Ashira Darwish
Sound Healer · Activist
Palestinian-Jordanian human-rights worker and sound practitioner.
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Dr. Jonathan Leighton
Dr. Jonathan Leighton
Philosopher · OPIS
Author of The Battle for Compassion; founder of OPIS.
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The Burrells
The Burrells
Rewilders · Authors
Charlie & Isabella Burrell, pioneers of the Knepp rewilding project.
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Ioanna Soulioti
Ioanna Soulioti
Wellness Coordinator
Holding the rhythm of the days — body, breath, and embodied attention.
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Patty Petropoulou
Patty Petropoulou
Body Intelligence Instructor
Teacher of embodied attention, drawing on decades of somatic practice.
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Poseidonion Grand Hotel at dusk, Spetses
The Venue

A landmark of the Aegean,
for 110 years.

The Poseidonion Grand Hotel has stood on the Spetses waterfront since 1914 — the vision of Sotirios Anargyros, a benefactor who wanted his island to have a house fit for cosmopolitan life.

The island of Spetses is car-free, pine-scented, and accessible only by sea. Horse-drawn carriages, a handful of motorbikes, footpaths through umbrella pines. Ordinary life cannot follow you here.

We have taken the whole house for our gathering.

Practicalities

Everything you need to know.

Details that matter, laid out plainly.

Getting to Spetses

From AthensFly into Athens International Airport (ATH). From Piraeus port, a Flying Dolphin or catamaran reaches Spetses in approximately 2.5 hours. We assist with bookings and private transfer options on request.

Accommodation

All-inclusiveYour place includes five nights at the Poseidonion Grand Hotel, all meals and refreshments, all programme elements, and use of the hotel's amenities including pool and spa.

Food & wellbeing

Thoughtful, seasonalMenus honour the Aegean — fresh, seasonal, Mediterranean. Dietary requirements (vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, allergies) are accommodated with care. Please tell us in advance.

What to bring

LittleComfortable clothes for movement and circle work. Something for the evenings. A swimsuit. A notebook. No laptop required — we ask that you leave phones on "do not disturb" during programme hours.

Language

EnglishThe entire programme is conducted in English.

Who this is for

By applicationLeaders, clinicians, creatives, educators, parents — people in demanding lives who feel something deeper is being asked of them. We hold the circle small so the room can do its work.

Investment

A considered commitment.

Three room categories, all with the full retreat programme included.

Tier One
Classic Room
Single or double occupancy, traditional hotel rooms in the main building. Full retreat programme included.
Tier Two
Superior Sea-View
Larger rooms with views over the Aegean. Full retreat programme included.
Tier Three
Suite
Generous suites with separate sitting areas. A small number available. Full retreat programme included.

Pricing is shared by application. A small number of partial scholarships are available for those for whom cost is the only barrier — please mention in your application.

One Last Word

Places are limited, and by application.

If you feel called to be there, we encourage you not to wait.

Reserve Your Place →