Mystery and Magic
Wednesday, October 10, 2012 at 04:35PM 
It must be difficult to make a decision to register for our March 2013 retreat when, quite frankly, the description of our offerings is ever so slightly vague. I mean, OK, we have a list of Invitation Promises, and one of them says we promise to provide “Experiences, tools, stories, support and resources to further the work we know you are already doing to deeply, creatively and intuitively clarify your life's vision, purpose and legacy...” but I imagine some of you are wondering what, exactly, those “tools and resources” are going to look like.
Are we going to do group exercises?
Will there be one-on-one discussions and guidance?
Are there going to be journal exercises?
Will everyone be required to “share”?
What the heck does it mean when the schedule says “We Gather”?
Here’s the scoop – our retreat has a fairly detailed itinerary. We will gather at different times on each of the five days we are at Esalen. We have planned activities for the times we are together which involve writing, discussion, poetry, prepared worksheets, large rolls of blank paper, flower essences, animal spirits, silence, gratitude, good food, observation and much laughter. We worked out a program through much discussion and experience, including our inaugural August 2012 gathering. Our “program” evolved from each of us following our intuition, trusting in the process, and leaving our egos out of it. Our “itinerary” came to be because we let it reveal itself to us.
We were equally – if not more – vague with our very first circle of adventurous spirits who trusted us when we said, “Come – we’ll take care of you” and not much more beyond that. Honestly, it was even challenging for me to answer the question, “What is your retreat about?” when another Esalen visitor came by our registration table feeling curious. Believe it or not, we were still figuring it out that week; we were there to see how our ideas and visions would work in three dimensions.
Our intention in leaving many of the specifics out of our descriptors is not to keep secrets, but to invite our participants to savor the mystery of a new adventure. We ourselves weren’t quite sure what would happen when we brought together 18 sisters to our very first circle, and that uncertainty gave us all an added layer of freedom to let the experience carry us where it wanted. This March, we are just as excited to see where our next circle is going to lead us, what it is going to teach us, and how it is going to change us. Yes, we have a plan. Yes, each facet of our plan has a purpose. Yes, the entire experience was created to take us all on a journey. But we believe that by revealing all these details ahead of time, we would deny you – our guests – that much-needed sense of mystery and magic. We’re inundated with facts, figures, information and data all day, everyday, and we believe there is more to be savored with a little less information.
It’s actually pretty simple: We want you to come. We will take care of you. That is our promise, our passion, our joy.
Blessings…Christine
Reader Comments (2)
That was perfectly beautiful! Thank you for sharing and I love the simplicity... it goes with the word "flow" nicely! I can't wait to be there!!
Oh, I so want to go but the retreat is at the same time as the AWP Conference in Boston. I will keep my eyes open and hope that you have another. It's so costly coming down from Alaska, but your retreat sounds like an opportunity for so much growth. I bet it will be wonderful!