A Brief Biography...

Russell is the creator and owner of True Source seminars. Previously for 11 years he was the owner and director of the Ecology Retreat Centre Ltd near Orangeville, Ontario, developing it as one of the most successful and respected retreat centres in Ontario. He has maintained a personal counselling practice for over 15 years in addition to facilitating over 100 self-actualization seminars. He is a gifted facilitator with extensive experience in many personal development modalities and spiritual paths. He has given over 25 Enlightenment Intensives and been involved in conducting, staffing or participating in over 50 of these including 2 week E.I.’s and one 6 week E.I. Through his commitment to ecology, over the past 9 years he has organized numerous courses in natural and sustainable living, such as Strawbale construction, Off Grid living, Permaculture design, etc. Through these courses a number of teachers in this field have established themselves as respected authors, builders and designers. Many beautiful homes and natural living environments have been established as a result. He has a creative side as an accomplished singer/song writer and recording artist. A sensitive, humourous and compassionate presenter and therapist, he is deeply committed to helping individuals live from their true nature and purpose in life.

A Personal Perspective:

I have always been interested in the Truth. From a young age it has been an on-going passion. It began when I was 16 years old with an innocent walk through the woods near Thunder Bay, Ontario. Being accustomed to spending a lot of time exploring and wandering through the bush, I had climbed a cliff to look over a vast beautiful landscape, which included a landform out in the bay called the Sleeping Giant. The local first nations people knew this landform as Nanibijou, the Great Spirit. As I was enjoying the panoramic view I felt my sense of self disappear into the landscape and experienced a union of myself with all of creation. I had never before experienced something so deeply fulfilling and satisfying. But because I did not completely comprehend what had happened to me and I felt no one else would understand, I kept the experience to myself. It eventually faded. But, I now knew there was more to life than just the physical. My exploration of the external natural world soon became an exploration of my inner nature. I became interested in finding out the deeper reality behind philosophy and religion and began to delve into these subjects. This was at a time when many of my co-horts were experimenting with mind altering drugs and alcohol. Fortunately I was not drawn into the dangers of this path. I had experienced that awakening could happen naturally. When I was 19, I joined the Rosicrucian order, a mystical order that promoted a deeper study of consciousness and the nature of the universe. When I was 23 during a group meditation, I fell into the experience that I had when I was 16 and went deeper. I experienced the nature of Life, its purpose and how each one of us was involved in fulfilling its dynamic. It was simple but very profound. Once again it was an exalted and transcendent experience. Once again it faded, because, as before, I kept the experience private, assuming that no one would understand, having no context in the group to communicate this. My mind denied the experience and I left the organization to begin a study of eastern and western philosophies, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sufism, metaphysics, etc. I continued a practice of daily meditation as well as exploring other forms of contemplative inquiry. But I became increasingly disillusioned with this study as I realized that many spiritual paths took very long to produce awakening and many students seemed satisfied with just accepting mental concepts… to the point of thinking that taking on the second-hand beliefs of a teacher was equivalent to enlightenment. I sadly realized that the new age was really all about exchanging the spiritual belief systems of the ambient western culture, for a different belief system of another culture. There was a shift, but individuals were still stuck in the same trap: thinking that thinking about self-realization was the same as the experience of self-realization. It was not; just as the menu i.e. a description of a meal, is not the same as the meal itself. In despair, I saw that our culture was in deep delusion: metaphorically eating the menu, in a phony act of pretending that it was delicious, denying that it wasn’t and totally unaware that there was something much more satisfying and fulfilling, called “food”. I gave up “concept gurus” and I resolved to find that deeper fulfillment for myself. This was a defining all-or-nothing moment in my life.

Soon after this decision, a friend told me about a modern retreat called the Enlightenment Intensive in which people contemplated questions such as “Who am I?” and “What is Life?” and came up with their own “answers”. The teacher only taught the inquiry technique, supported people through the barriers to doing it and offered no second-hand beliefs. I was intrigued. I accepted the job. I could not believe what I saw. I witnessed individuals transformed from beings trapped in limiting personalities to presenting their true selves authentically, naturally and uniquely. I decided to trade my wage for the next E.I.and enrolled in the next one. On the second day of the workshop, had an awakening experience of my true nature that totally freed me from the encapsulation and imprisonment of my social personality. In a paradoxical way, I became myself. I had already been myself but not aware of who I was. I became directly conscious and was able to communicate what I now knew to others. I had now found the context I had been searching for. The act of communicating my illumination to others in a non-judgemental open format, stabilized it. I could not believe that this realization occurred in such a short period of time when in the Zen literature I was reading, it had taken years. I took my second E.I. and the earlier experience of the nature of life and self returned, only this time, because the context and the structure was there to communicate this experience, the awakening was very deep. I was blown away in the ecstasy and the knowledge of what I had realized. There was total self-acceptance, a deep harmony with life, and compassion for others, profound peace and inner strength to face any obstacle in life. Enlightenment was not some far away unusable experience. It enriched the very foundation of life and in a very practical way gave me the courage to live and fulfill my life. This profound shift in consciousness jettisoned into me a deep study of my individual human condition and by extrapolation, the nature of human life.

I was drawn to explore experientially many modalities of self-development and spiritual growth: all the major religions and their methods of meditation and spiritual unfoldment, ancient mystical traditions, native spirituality, yoga, Creation spirituality, etc. I studied, trained and engaged in many forms of psychotherapy to clear myself of past trauma and neurosis: Jungian therapy, Cognitive psychotherapy, Neuro-Linguistic-Programing, the Silva method, DynaMind, Psychodrama, Psychodramatic Bodywork, Psychosynthesis, Mind Clearing, Gestalt, Clinical hypnotherapy, childhood and past-life Regression, Breath therapy, Psychodynamic counselling, Massage, Polarity therapy, Dream work, Emotional trauma release, Beyond Stress, Addiction counselling, Inner Child work, men’s and women’s studies, and many forms of physical therapy such as, Herbalism and nutritional therapy, and many more. I completed extensive training to master Enlightenment Intensives by participating in numerous E.I.’s including 2 two week intensives, staffing (including a 6 week E.I.) and completing the Enlightenment Intensive Masters’ training Course in 1983. (I have participated or staffed in over 50 of these) The personal inner work translated into external success. During this time I got married to a wonderful woman (Linda Scott) who is my life partner and was blessed with 3 children. I became a husband and a father with all the human challenges of parenting and making a marriage work. I was hired by a National Scholarship foundation advancing within 6 months to Enrollment Director for North Western Ontario and was frequently one of the top 10 enrollment agents in the country in monthly sales. I trained in a form of individual and couples psychotherapy called Clearing, based on communication principles that made Enlightenment intensives so effective. In the late 80’s and early 90’s I facilitated E.I.’s, ran a private counselling practice and worked as a counsellor and a workshop facilitator for an agency that ran a residential treatment centre and provided on-site addictions programs in First Nations communities in Northern Ontario.

In 1997, I moved with my wife and three children to Orangeville to be a partner in running the Ecology Retreat Centre near Orangeville, Ontario, becoming the sole owner a few years later. In the 11years as owner I increased the business earnings 3 fold and developed the centre to be one of the most respected and successful centres in Eastern Canada. I continued giving workshops and individual sessions and I pioneered the organization of many ecology workshops such as Strawbale construction, Off Grid Living and Permaculture Design, etc which became the spring board for many authors, teachers, builders and designers as well as the inspiration for the building of many “green” homes in Ontario. In 2001 I accomplished a life long dream of recording a CD of original songs called “Masterkey” with producer Reinier de Smit of Brilliant Eye / No Walls Music. The CD received playing time on CBC and many local radio stations. All the while I was blessed in working with hundreds of groups involved in personal, spiritual and ecological awareness that used the centre. I witnessed many modalities of spiritual growth and developed a keen sense of methods that were genuine and effective in liberating individuals struggling in the human condition and ones that were not. This experience has proven invaluable in designing and facilitating the programs I have created and will be developing. The many testimonials on this website are an indication of this success.

There have been many blessings for me in this life. The most important is the deep knowing that we are more than our minds think we are. We are much much more and we are called everyday of our lives to live from and fulfill our True Nature and purpose in this life.

When we look inside we know that there is a greater life for us to live, one that does not just skim the surface but is lived from the depth of who we really are in a way that utilizes our God given gifts to make a real meaningful contribution to this world.

It is simply stated but it is not easy. The true seeker must navigate his/her own way past “concept” systems and “Belief teachers” to find “Technique teachers” who are in essence, spiritual guides who present advanced processes, modern methods and techniques that bring the seeker to the very same source of ultimate truth from which the great wisdom teachers of the ages have quenched their thirst to:

1. Awaken to our True Nature
2. Stabilize the Awakening
3. Create and live a new and fulfilling life that expresses our real self.
4. Live in harmony with others and our environment

We have to do this by ourselves but we can’t do it alone.

This is my story. It is not over yet.

I can quite confidently say that I have lived a deep and rewarding life. If this is what you yearn for, I can take you there. I understand the Mind intimately and I know how to get through it. I know how to create and maintain satisfying relationships. I know how to be successful in work and business. I know how to work with Life rather than against it. I know how to awaken and live from True prescence. I have demonstrated this.

I have worked with hundreds of people to find greater satisfaction in their lives. I am persistent. I will not give up on you. I know you want real fulfillment in your life.

If not now, then when?

For some reason you have been drawn to this website and are reading this. There is an opportunity right now to find out if what I have to offer is what you need. I challenge you to take just 5 minutes of your time to call or e-mail me with any questions about any of the programs that interest you. Then you can judge for yourself. Find out if your intuition was leading you in the right direction. It could be the one small action that makes a big difference to everything else. Contact me now at:

Call me - 519-942-8339

Or email me at : info@TrueSourceSeminars.com

Be You to Fullness,
Russell