HOUSE OF BEAR

North Karelia with Heart and Nature

COURSES AND RETREATS * GUIDED JOURNEYS TO SACRED NATURe SITES * FINNISH SAUNA TREATMENTS

* MENTORING & CONSULTATIONS * CULTURE PRODUCTION * CULTURAL RESEARCH

Connecting your uniqueness. Trusting your nature. Being yourself.

Discover the beauty of yourself through the earth honoring methods. Learn about the local wisdom culture of North Karelia.

House of Bear is born from ancestral roots deep in the soil of the North Karelia. The basis of our work is both the Karelian and Finnish nature-based cultural heritage, and its time-tested practical methods of natural well-being and wisdom. We honor the cross-cultural and contemporary approaches to shamanic practice.

The purpose of House of the Bear is to offer courses, retreats, and other services in connection with nature and culture for well-being and inspiration. We have special expertise of North Karelia.

Sustainable Travel Finland Pledge

On my journey I pledge to appreciate nature, and this I will do with great pleasure.

The wilderness lets me relax and connect, I promise to treat it with the utmost respect.

Its forests and lakes should remain plastic-free, so I will not leave any rubbish behind me.

The cleanest tap water shall quench my thirst, because in my choices the climate comes first.

In nature, it’s our equal right to roam free. This should be enjoyed responsibly.

The berries and mushrooms are there to be eaten, but I’ll stick to the paths that are already beaten.

Long before humans the wildlife’s been there, so I won’t set up camp just anywhere.

I shall respect all those around me, letting everyone enjoy these surroundings equally.

In preserving our nature we all have a part to play, and this pledge I embrace will show us the way.

What is the ancient cultural tradition in North Karelia about?

According to the Finnish folklorists, the oldest form of Finnish culture and folklore is shamanistic, animistic wisdom culture. By studying rock paintings and carvings, we can travel back thousands of years in time. The latest evidence of the shamanistic practice is the 4,400-year-old shaman wand found in Humppila in June 2021 by the archeologists of University of Turku. It is a ritual artefact dating from the Neolithic Stone Age. North Karelia is an archaeologically significant area, and here you can find, for example, Heinävesi rock paintings, as well as numerous footsteps and table stones. The ancient power place of Koli mountain and the sacred lake of Pielinen offer world-renowed destinations of spiritual awakening and renewal.

Nature-mindedness means deep respect for nature. Each entity of nature has its own purpose, its own life, and its own soul. So has each human being. Finding one’s own nature and true essence is a process in which a human being experiences wholeness. Integrity is found and arises from respecting and nurturing the well-being of the body, emotional life, spirituality, and mind.

COURAGE TO BE YOURSELF

Have courage to laugh at yourself, expand yourself beyond your own self beliefs, patterns, and doubts. Have courage to look deeply down to your ancestral roots, and learn further where you come from, what is the lineage where you belong to. Some of this work is inspiring, some of it might feel uncomfortable, as you become aware, learn, and evolve: But it is worth it! We can liberate ourselves from our limiting conditions towards true happiness and sense of personal freedom. The purpose of our work is to appreciate this unique human life we get to live. The purpose of House of Bear is to support you on your self-discovery in your very own unique potential and purpose in this world.

TRUST YOUR NATURE

The practices and methods that we use here in House of Bear, are applicable to your local environment and culture. The purpose of our work is to inspire you to connect with your own natural power places, ancestral connections, and to awaken you to appreciate both who you are and where you live.

You guide in culture and nature, Helena Karhu

As the retreat guide serves a 44-years old Helena Karhu, M.Soc.Sc. (with advanced studies in Tourism Science), a North-Karelian retreat guide, culture producer and reasearcher. Helena’s life project is Karhun Talo (House of Bear), which aims to promote self-awareness through folk cultures and wisdom traditions. She is born in Joensuu, North Karelia, Finland, and both of her parental lineages have deep roots in North Karelian soil. For the travelers, she wishes to show the beauty and wisdom of her ancestral land and culture, and to invite to rest in nature.

Helena is currently writing a Ph.D. research on Cultural Anthropology at the University of Eastern Finland. She is a chairwoman of a local association called Pielisen Tietäjäkeskus ry., which aims to promote, strengthen, and live the ancestral wisdom traditions of North Karelia. Helena has about 15 years of experience of meditation and mindfulness practices, and she has guided meditation for groups about 10 years. She has experience of cultural production for over 20 years.

Helena has vast international experience, as her international career took her to live over 13 years in Denmark. Besides her long-time residence in Copenhagen, her world journeys have taken her across the Northern and Arctic regions in her quest for life. She has lived in Greenland and in Fairbanks, Alaska. Helena’s passion is to bring forth the light-increasing, co-operative, and empowering aspects of the ancestral practice, where everyone can rest as they are, yet have freedom to become who they are. Helena is known for her inspiring and positive guidance, where simplicity and naturalness of life are the key focus.

Where is the House of Bear located?

I am currently working as a nomadic teacher around North Karelia and Finland, offering my services in beautiful local guest houses and retreat centers. I am based in Joensuu, Finland.

House of the Bear is official partner of Koli National Park.

TESTIMONIALS OF OUR WORK:

“I am grateful for the work you do, it is valuable and wildly inspiring. Things suddenly start to fall into place and I feel like I'm on the verge of something bigger and amazing in life. For the first time, I dare and trust more than ever before. Thank you for your warm and authentic way of dealing with people, as well as your wisdom and courage.” - A Finnish participant for a retreat

More feedback for the work of House of Bear:

“I still haven’t sent you feedback about the Summer Retreat. It is hard to put into words all that it meant to me. The weekend brewed for a long time in my mind and body afterwards. And I still feel it. It was great and gentle program. I was impressed with the tasks and everything we did. It was wonderful, and really important to be able to see and experience how attentively and with gentleness and at the same time comfortably you guided the course and what we did. I enjoyed how different traditions came together over the weekend. I found it really empowering to be among two sensitive and powerful sages. I am happy and grateful that I found you. Thank you for being there and doing your valuable work. ”

“The retreat weekend gave me more than I could have expected. Clearly I was supposed to be involved in this and right now! My self - knowledge and also my self - esteem got a completely huge boost and this has brought big things into my own life right now. Also my life mission and what I want to do got more confirmation. That's the way I am, but now that too was further confirmed and reassured that I am on the right road. I'm not in the goal, but now I enjoy this trip and whatever it brings to me. :) It felt like the forces and energies in us moving over the weekend could have even move the mountains! Now I feel liberated and grateful as well as happy! thanks thanks thank you!"

“We were like flying in the air the whole return trip to Helsinki, we were in such wonderful feelings and sensations. Thanks for a memorable weekend! This will continue to live in our hearts and lives forward. Grateful. Thank you both, wonderful shaman women. It was lucky to be involved, I really hope the roads still meet. ”

RESPONSIBILITY AND SUSTAINABILITY

House of the Bear operates in an equal and hospitable manner. We welcome all customers, and we have taken into account the special needs of different customers.

House of the Bear is ethically committed to a diverse, sustainable, nature-oriented society. This is why our courses and retreats only have vegetarian food and are pet-friendly.

We hope that together we could reduce traffic emissions. We prefer public transport and carpooling.

We use products and services that are as organic as possible in everything. We prefer local, private operators, such as private small guest houses.

In our information and writings, we aim to promote nature-centric values, for example regarding the protection of forests and waterways, as well as animals.

We donate part of our income to suitable donation destinations. We have previously supported e.g. Finnish Nature Conservation Association, WWF, and local hedgehog protection association (Tuupassiilit ry).

House of the Bear has applied for the Sustainable Travel Finland label for its operations (at the application stage). Karhun Talo is also committed to STF requirements as part of cooperation with Koli National Park / Finnish Forest Services.

Invitation for you

You are welcome to tell others that House of the Bear is a responsible choice in relation to local nature and culture.

Feel free to participate again in our courses, events and retreats if you have had a positive experience. Please tell others about your good experiences.

Take care of your own responsibility, e.g. regarding the possibility of recycling, carpooling and ecological compensation.

CONTACT

Helena Karhu

+358 (0)40 5148788

info@karhuntalo.com

Based in Joensuu, Finland.