Being quiet
The retreat will encourage a sense of quiet rather than silence – though individuals can choose to be silent for some or all of the time if they prefer. The aim is to enable participants to withdraw from their busy daily lives and, by cutting out extraneous noise, to experience a calmer and less ‘busy’ way to be…
Being reflective
We all do a lot of thinking and processing of our experiences and feelings. Becoming more reflective is an invitation to still our chattering minds and see what emerges when we give space for deepening awareness of ourselves and our surroundings so that a more spontaneous and intuitive response can emerge…
Being present
It typically takes participants between 12 and 24 hours to ‘arrive’ at the retreat – to let go of what they have come from and what they will go back to when the retreat is over. Slowly the experience of living in the moment and ‘going with the flow’ becomes the norm and is itself refreshing and therapeutic…
Being creative
Some of us are effortlessly creative, but for many there is a level of anxiety about expressing ourselves in unfamiliar ways. Participants to date have often been surprised at what they have created in words or images during the retreat… you will see some examples dotted around this site…
Being together
Whilst we emphasise the opportunities for being quiet and for making individual choices about how to spend time during the retreat, those involved (both participants and facilitator) also form a kind of temporary community. Learning how to be with others, enjoying and appreciating the rich diversity within the group whilst giving each other space is a reminder that we are social beings with roles and responsibilities to others so the retreat is also outward as well as inward looking…
Sensing the Wind
Warming or cooling
Making things rustle, move, sway
And sometimes
Break
Working invisibly
With visible impact
Blowing through, when it can
And around, when it can’t
Spreading seeds, pollen, moisture
Helping birds, boats, parachutes
Carrying sound
Clearing the air
And being the never-ending
Breath
That connects
Our world
Ros – May 2019