A Not So Silent Retreat
There are all kinds of retreats: silent retreats, retreats of solitude, & meditation retreats, for people who need time by themselves on one end of the spectrum. Then there are adventure + activity-based retreats, such as writing, photography, music, art, & sports, where people are wanting to immerse themselves in a deeper level of engagement with the interest of choice at the other end of the spectrum. This retreat will be about experiencing yourself as you experience our group excursions, discussions, and creative processes. It is the “both/and.”
Weaving Heaven and Earth is a retreat for people from around the world who are like-minded and like-hearted in their desire to know themselves more intimately through participating and experiencing the earthly life that surrounds them. Communities like this validate and reflect the solidarity of truth, and at the same time can allow us to see the contrasts in how each of us live into the interpretation of these truths.
Distancing oneself from the routines and environment of everyday life allows space for more introspection, fascination, and curiosity. It creates an opportunity to cultivate the practice of presence: mindfully presenting ourselves within the activity or environment within which we be. It’s an opportunity to distinguish our reactive, habitual, patterned impulses from what is intuitive, truth-bearing, and heartfelt knowing. This is a big practice that can be done in the comfort of your home. However, unless we are truly dedicated to creating Heaven on Earth, we will be ceaselessly distracted by what we consider necessary activities.
Fun! At a Retreat!
What is missing in life for so many people is FUN! And yet, without fun, our lives become more stressful, dull, usually more sedentary, and solitary. Plus, without fun, learning anything new is far more challenging and, well, not fun! It has been scientifically proven that play helps us learn!
Personally, I imagine life in Heaven to be fun and beautiful, delightful and playful. So Weaving Heaven
and Earth, of course, includes fun and playfulness, creativity and delight in the natural wonders that surround us on the exquisitely beautiful island of Bali. Each of our planned excursions will bring you opportunities to experience innocence, wonder, and awe, perhaps even Magic and Miracles! The group conversations that follow our outings will allow each of us to share what it is like to be – like BE – playful and fun-filled, and what it’s like to experience breath-taking beauty that is everywhere and in everything.
Creative Expression
A potential participant from Prague asked if this retreat included anything else beside excursions and discussions. This person has obviously been to numerous retreats, and understands that there is more to retreats than activities and talking about activities. What about our bodies and our need to express our experience in ways other than talking and walking?
Ruby Hernandez, from California, is a wonderful and exuberant master of somatic expression. She will be facilitating Yoga by the Sea plus some ecstatic creative movement, and will bring to this retreat her love for embodied dance and playfulness for those who like to play this way.
We will also offer to participants many opportunities to express themselves through clay, weaving, drawing, painting, voicing, photography and a community project. Weaving Heaven and Earth is a full-bodied retreat that invites each of you to discover your natural expression of being you. This is a huge element of our retreat that empowers and supports the integration of experiences into every fiber of our being. And, it’s fun!
Taking it Home
An element of any retreat that is tantamount to its value is the degree to which it inspires and assists each participant in taking the material home and living these new practices while immersed again in everyday life. In truth, within a few short weeks, most people leave behind much of what they experience and learn in a retreat. They forget, and life returns to the “normal” they had so desired to transform into “authentic and fully expressed.”
We’ve designed every day of Weaving Heaven and Earth to give you a full-bodied experience that you can proudly wear home as your new “skin,” taking into consideration all the elements I’ve mentioned above. We will weave together opportunities to experience, directly and personally, life within this bubble called a retreat, with opportunities to integrate the learnings and knowings deeply into your whole being, while having fun of course! Even while in the depths of the deep immersion processes that each of us will experience on this retreat, we will discover the resilience of compassion for oneself and for others, and the serenity and tranquility of resting our hearts in these sacred moments.
Are you here yet?!
Bali is calling you. This retreat is calling you. I’m calling you, back home to your fullest expression of who you know yourself to be. It’s happening March 11-18, 2018. Join us in co-creating Heaven on Earth.
