What People Are Saying About Our Retreats
Thank you for all you gave, my heart is so full - I haven't experienced this much joy in a long, long time... TP
I enjoyed it immensely and have been feeling better, stronger and more positive... RP
I have integrated the practices into my life and am aware of a calm and peacefulness I have not experienced in a long time. I am forever grateful... CFZ
Thanks for everything you gave me, the experience of the weekend was exceptional and I will never forget it... DV
"This is so much more than I expected... The first time in a very long time that I've felt comfortable & trusting enough to really open my heart." AW
Here I am, sitting in the airport in Los Angeles, waiting for the shuttle for Phoenix to start boarding. What was I doing here? It had been a long two weeks already... the big health show, the extraordinary meetings, the painful emotions of shifting a significate relationship, and most heavy on my heart, missing my sons and yearning so deeply to be home, holding them again. It was just two more days in Phoenix, but there was so much resistance in going. Yet, there were so many "coincidences" pulling me there that I acquiesced.
I took a deep breath and began my journey to a women's weekend for rest and renewal. My friend, Dinah Eng, happend to be in town that same weekend doing a story for this issue of Holistic Health Journal. She picked me up from the airport and delivered me to the Franciscan Center in Tempe, a very sweet, restful retreat outside of town.
As I rushed to make the opening session, I wondered what was ahead. I'd experienced so many wonderful things through the years... sweat lodges, women's circles, conferences, workshops... yet never a full weekend retreat focused solely on renewal and solely on women. I laughed as I held a version of Kathy Bates in the movie, "Fried Green Tomatoes" when she attended a workshop for women which involved mirrors and loving our female bodies (for everyone who has seen the movie, they know the scene).
I sat down to a quick dinner and began to meet some of the participants. My dear friend Deborah Mitchell, who had persuaded me to come to this event, introduced me to Sedena Cappanelli, the event coordinator and facilitator. We shifted to the conference room and found a seat in the circle. Sedena opened with a meditation to ground everyone and we proceeded to introduce ourselves
and expose our "intention" for the weekend. It was so moving to look into the eyes of each woman there and to see a reflection of myself. Each touched me deeply and I felt a resonance with every woman's words. I began to feel "there" for the first time since setting foot in Phoenix.
I REALIZED THAT
THIS WEEKEND WAS
ABOUT EMBRACING
THE STRENGTH OF
THE FEMININE AND
BRINGING IT TOGETHER
IN A WAY THAT WOULD
NURTURE AND REPLENISH
THE SOUL... AND PERHAPS
THE WORLD.Then, Victoria Benoit, a practitioner and teacher of Holotrophic Repatterning, took us on a magical journey of discovery that was just too powerful for words. It was at that moment that the women of the group became one, in resoance and intention. One of the experiences involved placing my hand over the heart chakra of another, and her placing her hand on my heart. We stood across from each other, breathing deeply, closing our eyes and experiencing the heart of a sister. Wow! I felt myself drift into a deep state of bliss which filled my soul with such joy. Such a simple exercise, yet such a powerful impact on all present. The evening was filled with such amazing insights.
By seven o'clock the next morning, we were out on the lawn and doing Quigong.
Again, simplicity invoked such powerful release... we could all feel it, physically and emotionally. by breakfast, all of the tears and pain that I'd been carrying inside of me began to leak out...something I've always been quite uncomfortable showing in my life. Deborah sensed it and asked me to please express myself and not to feel uncomfortable. As I did, tears began to fall and each woman understood.. it was a such a strange realization for me.. they had all felt this pain and they all felt total compassion for what I was going through.
Suddenly, as one of the women held me, I realized what strength I was feeling in this tribal connection of women. The visions of women through the centuries came pouring into my thoughts, visions of women in circle, helping each other, caring for children together, holding hands in sisterhood as then struggled through the burdens of life... the vision of women as they nurtured not only their families, but each other. I began to see the greater picture. Ironically enough, I had just finished helping Deborah give birth to a women's circle publication (a few days earlier) called Spheres. I realized that this weekend was about embracing the strength of the femine and bringing it together in a way that would nurture and replenish the soul... and perhaps the world.
The workshops continued to be insightful and renewing and as I left for my present home in Buffalo, I breathed a hugh sigh of relief... relief for following my intuition and in knowing that I was returning home with a peaceful sould and a renewed heart and mind.
Catherine Miller is the publisher of Holistic Health Journal. Those interested in the self-enhancement retreat for women can go to www.aboutlifeinc.com
