Diving into the word: "Retreat"
Hello Retreat Community, We wanted to share a few thoughts on what "retreat" truly means to us. In a world that constantly demands us to be "doers," the desire to pause and simply "be" has made retreats more popular than ever. For our team, a true retreat requires intentionality across four pillars: Space, Guides/Protectors, Container and Philosophy
We believe that "retreat" can happen any place these four pillars are honored. Retreating from our normal lives requires intention and planning. We hope this is an interesting read for you, and helps you create a little bit of retreat in your own day-to-day living. - The Space: Whether on a beach or within your own home, a retreat space must be a dedicated space or time, carefully curated and lovingly built to allow your mind, body, and heart to recover, pause, and heal. - The Guides/Protectors: If you create a retreat space at home, you must guide and protect what that looks like so it stays sacred. For our retreats, we hold a safe, grounded space for a retreat journey through deep expertise and years of dedicated training. Combining master's degrees with specialized backgrounds in trauma-informed care, psychedelic facilitation, Contemplative Psychology, and Yoga Philosophy, we offer an experience rooted in skill and compassion. If you are your own protector for a retreat space, you don't need all that education, but you do need a sense of protection and intention to guide its energy so it can stay a special place to "retreat". - The Container: A container is built on mutually agreed-upon guidelines for how we treat ourselves and others while in that space. While we create the outline, our participants help hold this safety bubble of confidentiality, allowing everyone to be vulnerable and practice new skills without judgment. - The Philosophy: A cohesive successful retreat requires that the space, guides, and container align with a shared set of values and practices by the users of the retreat space. When these elements are congruent, true healing and connection can happen. Whether you're creating more retreat space in your everyday life or planning to join us on a retreat in the future, we are so grateful to have you as part of our community. Warmly, Angela and Cristen
Photo: Cristen on the sacred grounds of Hawaii Island Retreat Center from May Retreat
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