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There are as many reasons to go on retreat as there are individuals and life experiences.
Sometimes you are called to a retreat and your mind has its reasons, but something unexpected and even more profound shows up in the process.
Retreats traditionally had a spiritual purpose and still today are undertaken for purposes of spiritual study and emersion. All great spiritual teachers spent time in solitude and prayer and advised their followers to do likewise.
At the Earthwalk Center a retreat will often focus on what Bill Plotkin calls the two spiritual longings. He describes it this way in his book SoulCraft: Crossing into the Mysteries of Nature and Psyche.
" We long to discover the secrets and mysteries of our individual lives, to find our unique way of belonging to this world, to recover the never-before-seen treasure we were born to bring to our communities. To carry this treasure to others is half of our spiritual longing. The other half is to experience our oneness with the universe, with all of creation."
At the Earthwalk Center both sides of our spiritual longing are supported, often in combination, since they work synergistically. Eco-Contemplative Retreats tend to focus more on the communion experience. Wilderness Retreats or Passages, are more focused on soul discovery and unfoldment. Pathwork Intensives are an intensive retreat process that is undertaken for healing on all levels and for transformation of that within us that no longer serves us.
Even if you have no particular spiritual interest or orientation, time can be set aside and it will turn into self discovery, which is really the essence of all spiritual work. We are much vaster, and more amazing than we know.
Below are some other ways of thinking about retreat.
Refuge suggests a place of peace from a time of trials; a place to go for protection from onslaught; a time for resting and nourishing ourselves. The forest here has a deep quality of refuge and nurturing. There are many practices that can help one recharge.
Relaxation is a term often associated with vacations and entertaing ourselves with pleasurable distractons. This is only the surface of relaxation. To really learn how to relax and "be" is an art, a therapy and a meditation that is truly life changing. All healing boils down to this and breathing. Ever try to breath when your tense, stressed and holding. All dis-ease arises from the constrictions and contractions in our muscles. Core Energetics is a study of these blocks and holding patterns, how to free them and open the breathing so the life force and natural balance of the system can restore health. At the Earthwalk Center, you will learn this deeper level of relaxation, freeing your breathing, and bringing peace to your soul.
Self Renewal, at one end of the spectrum might be simple re-charging, and the other end it can be a profound experience of transformation, metanoia, or healing. I have experienced these deep shifts and life changing revelations on my own journey and have witnessed countless others transform themselves through this work. We are ripe for such experiences often when we find oursleves in the midst of crises or significant life transistions and events. This is the unseen shaping of the cosmos acting for us, leading us where we are not wont to go of our own inclinations, but go we must. The potential of such times is tremendous.
Please return to the top of the page task bar to read more about the retreat formats offered at the Earthwalk Center.
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