One of the best things I appreciate most about my adolescence is the time given to cultivating the spirit and mind.  Between my catholic high school and my involvement in our church and the community, there were opportunities for retreat and meditation regularly.  Something about stepping away from life to reflect and turn one’s attention completely inward and upward on a semi yearly basis helped me turn off the outside world and connect with what was currently brewing in my head and heart.  No judgement, just trusting in my truth.  Now, it is possible, that my ‘truth’ during those times was either a) my fear that my bickering parents were going to separate or b) B for BOYS … what else can you expect from a straight girl going through puberty?  I often came home from multi day retreats and full day recollections with my head spinning and always so happy.  The life I left behind on day 1, was still the life I came back to on day 4 or 5, but I was different, my mind was clearer and my heart fuller, and in turn, the small changes within me shaped things anew around me.  I like retreats.  To me, they work.

Lately all I could think of was wanting to go on a retreat.  I have been feeling unsure.  Doubt and anxiety is breathing down my neck.  I have not been having issues in my marriage (thankfully) and I think my friendships and family ties are in shipshape.  But the thing that has been most on my mind is knowing how I really felt about the direction my life is going in and if I am making the right choices to keep me on track and get to where I need to go.  Professionally, I have just been “working,” but I haven’t had true ambition or set my sights on change in my career for a long time.   I question where I can put my creative energy and if that energy is enough to fuel something that will matter.  I just wanted to be in a remote environment under the guidance of dedicated facilitators, and surrounded by positive female energy.  Teacher A agreed, we needed to plan a girls’ day in(ward).

I felt most constricted in my solar plexus

Writing, sharing, music & resting space

So after numerous emails back and forth, scheduling conflicts, and venue hunting, Teacher A’s yogi/ healer friend, Tanya, and the lovely Kate, set up our small group at the EarthRise Retreat Center in Petaluma.  Our mission:  to have a day for meditation,  getting in touch with those nagging feelings, and finding a way to get centered by accessing the power of our chakras in the presence of supportive girls just like us!

Our headquarters for the day:  Oak View Room

Morning yoga under the trees

The Labyrinth.   Photo from here.

“One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time“