Happy April Friend!
I remember the first retreat I ever attended. Decades ago, a good friend invited me to join her for a retreat with Judith Duerk in a beautiful cabin along a creek.
I had read Judith’s seminal book, Circle of Stones, and was excited to spend some time with her.
This was not the kind of retreat where you lay out in the sun, get a massage outdoors, and eat from a luscious buffet. I would consider that to be a vacation.
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This retreat was about going in deep into your inner self. Judith created a sacred space in the Sacred Feminine stillness and creativity. There you discovered who you really were, as you were held in the love and support of the women around you.
I went so deeply and healed so many of my wounds around sexual abuse that I did another retreat with her, attended her presentations, and for a brief and very special time—apprenticed with her.
Since then, I have attended or facilitated at least one retreat every year of my life.
I’ve been so inspired by retreats, I have even created my own personal retreats, and that’s what I want to talk about with you today.
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Retreats give you opportunities to step completely out of your ordinary routines and obligations so you can recognize what is truly important to you.
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In the most profound spiritual retreats, you enter the stillness to meet yourself.
That’s what I discovered in retreat with Judith. Everything began and ended in the stillness. And what emerged in the stillness was pure awareness.
So those are the kind of retreats I started creating for myself (and others too).
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Here is what I learned about powerful retreats. And you can create this for yourself!
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1. Set aside dedicated, undisturbed time. (No phone calls or obligations to anyone else.) This is all about you.
2. Choose a location where you can get plenty of stillness and lots of nature. These two elements facilitate personal revelations easily and quickly. If you are at home with family, I recommend sleeping in a separate room and alerting family members not to disturb you.
3. Plan your food ahead of time. You don’t want to leave your retreat to go shopping. Have it ready to prepare or heat up easily. Make sure it is healthy food. A spiritual retreat is not about indulgence. It is about becoming a pure vessel for Divine love and insights.
4. Choose what to drink with care. If you are meditating in your retreat, you can probably afford a little stimulation in your drinks, such as green tea. For some, a little coffee can help you remain present as you deepen into trance. But don’t overdo it, or you’ll be buzzing and feel uncomfortable.
Alcohol is not typically helpful in introspective, spiritual work. Herbal, nourishing teas and lots of water are often greatly appreciated.
5. You can do a personal retreat completely alone or with someone or individuals who can share sacred space with you. This is lovely if you like to do shared ceremony, movement or talking circles. You can invite people you care about and co-create your ideal space for introspection and support.
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6. Decide in advance how you want to spend your time. Are you going to be in silent meditation? Do you want to do some walking, swimming, dancing, movement, yoga, Qi Gong, or hiking, or any other physical activity? Do you want someone to come over to give you energy work or a massage? Do you intend to paint or write, or create in some way?
7. Do you want to do ceremony? If so, what kind for what purpose? (This is something I personally incorporate into all my retreats because if so beautifully opens doors to greater consciousness.) Do you want to include drumming, chanting, sounding, or energy healing?
8. Be safe. If you are renting a cabin somewhere or hiking, let loved ones know where you will be and when you will be returning so they know when to expect you to be home. If you are interested in using hallucinogenics such as ayawaska or peyote, make sure you do it with someone trained and qualified to support you.
These substances can expand consciousness quite rapidly, but they also can have serious side effects, so love yourself enough to make sure you are properly supported.
9. Take a journal with you. Writing about your experiences, dreams and insights reinforces the subtle, yet profound, changes you are experiencing. Put a date on your calendar, as soon as you return home, to read your journal entries.
Remind yourself about what you realized during your retreat and consider how you can now bring these insights into action in your daily life.
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Most of all, step out of your routine. Your retreat can be exactly what you need it to be.
Creating time for you to be in sacred sanctuary is a beautiful way to become clear about what is truly important for you at this time in your life.
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As you see and experience more of your true nature as a spiritual being, your entire life aligns with the Divine.
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Of course, the gift of going to a facilitated retreat is that an experienced facilitator will have powerful techniques to help you move through limits you developed through childhood trauma, karma, perceptions, and particularly, blocks you don’t even recognize.
In moving through those limits, you open to your true potential.
Much of spiritual awakening is about getting out of our own way so that our most loving and awake nature can be realized.
A spiritual retreat is powerful way to discover your joyful spiritual essence and what is most important for you to focus on in your life now.
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Holding you in my heart and songs as we give ourselves the precious gift of retreat, |
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Discover Gifts and Resources for Helping You Create Your Own Personal Spiritual Retreat
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Private and Semi-Private Retreats with Misa
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| If you could step out of the ordinary for several days and into sacred space, how would your life be different?
Over the years, Misa has facilitated retreats for hundreds of people, as they open to hidden aspects of themselves, like Dennis:
…for the first time I felt a spiritual connection to myself and everyone and everything around me. It was also the first time in my life others saw in me what I see in myself. It allowed me to embrace my potential. —Dennis Kot
Discover how a private or semi-private retreat with Misa could awaken your potential
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Discover the Gifts of the Sacred Feminine
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Take The Holding guided meditation in the Sacred Feminine into your personal retreat.
This ancient and proven meditation is used for releasing pain and stuckness, fulfilling your fundamental needs, as well as manifesting your most sacred desires.
For men and women.
And it's free.
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Uncover the Beliefs Limiting You |
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Take this powerful little booklet on your retreat so you can...
...discover 10 beliefs that could be interfering with your health.
End the pain and open the doorway to your wellness in this short, but compelling free PDF download.
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This Week's Favorite Prescription from Heaven
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Prescriptions from Heaven are free daily reminders that there is a power living inside you—Heavenly power—able to transform your challenges into health, happiness and prosperity.
Each weekday morning, Heaven will send you a digital postcard with a brief personalized inspirational message to start your day right.
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