why retreat?
hours to enter a "liminal state & exteriorized mysticism"
I’ve been enjoying the New York Time’s Sunday edition: Believing written by Lauren Jackson. Last Sunday she wrote a bit about pilgrimages. I really loved this part…
A pilgrimage is a trip with a spiritual intention. The 20th-century British anthropologists Victor and Edith Turner argued that a pilgrimage puts people in a “liminal state,” on a threshold: A pilgrim leaves behind ordinary life, status and social position, which makes transformation possible. “If mysticism is an interior pilgrimage, pilgrimage is exteriorized mysticism,” the Turners wrote in 1978.
We can’t always pack our bags and head to Iona, Scotland or walk the Camino de Santiago in Spain (though it’s on my bucket list). Or, even head to a national park on a regular basis (though we’re pretty lucky here in East Tennessee being so close to the Smoky Mountains).
I’ve learned to take a quick walk here or deep breaths in the sunshine there. Swim some laps with a big blue sky above or simply listen to rain fall. Connecting with nature does have a way of drawing us into greater alignment with our soul and the Oneness of Creation, the breath of the Spirit within and around us.
One of the many reasons I like to offer retreats from time to time is to allow people to get some of the benefits of “exteriorized mysticism.” Leaving your home and ordinary life, status and social position and responsibilities behind (if even for a few hours) can renew the soul and create greater alignment. Alignment that connects us with the Mystery once again.
Years ago I attended a wonderful day retreat led by Brenda Rasch. I was stunned by how much my nervous system benefited from one simple Saturday down the road. I didn’t have to travel too far or make extravagant plans for my children to be cared for while I was gone (since it was only a day retreat). We each made a little nest on the ground with these wonderful large, plush Feldenkrais® mats. We ate healthy food. Brenda led us in meditation, Feldenkrais® exercises, walking meditation outside close to water, and processing aloud a bit.
Again, as the day came to a close, I was stunned. I couldn’t believe how much my nervous system had settled, how peaceful I felt, how content and still my mind, body and soul were. It made me realize how activated I had started the day and frankly how stressed I was day in and day out. (Brenda is offering a 4 day retreat this November @ WellBeing Retreat Center. If you can go, go!)
Since that first retreat, I’ve been fortunate enough to do many of Brenda’s retreats and silent retreats in other states for my Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Training with Brown University. The time away (whether down the road or states away) always offers my soul, mind and body respite. With each one, I restored an alignment within my being and with the Divine. Some of the longer silent retreats proved to be challenging at times. And, I gained from that too. The Spirit kept moving, and I had no where to go, nothing to do, nothing even to become- simply be with the Spirit’s presence within and around me.
If your soul needs a respite, your spirit yearns for connection with The Spirit, and your nervous system craves an extended period of regulation, drive over to Grace Point Camp and Retreat Center on Sunday, August 30th for an afternoon of spiritual practices. From noon to 4pm, we’ll engage mindfulness meditation practices close to water- sitting meditation, walking meditation, gentle movement meditations, loving kindness meditations. All meditations will either intentionally drop us into the love of God already within you and/or encourage breathing with the Spirit.
You can learn more and register on my website:
To learn a bit about mindfulness meditation, check out the podcast recently released w/ Courtney Pinkerton, a friend from div school. We discussed Mindfulness and Meditation for Real Humans on her podcast Inner Ecology. You can learn more and listen here:
