This is a retreat for anyone feeling the call to community, creativity, and contemplation at this potent moment in history. Merging wilderness rites-of-passage, eco-depth psychology (dream work, imaginal explorations), embodiment/dance and writing, we will take these few days to connect to our bodies, each other, and the land to hear the voices of our own creative spirits. We strongly believe that art is a central component of personal and collective healing and transformation and that by offering our attention to our muses and the wider chorus of the earth, we can step beyond wounds and blockages to inhabit a larger, more alive sense of existence.
The actual dynamics of how this gathering will unfold are often determined by the group and the moment but this retreat will definitely include somatic/embodiment practices like Authentic Movement, dance, and meditation/yoga. Each day will also involve dream work, wandering on the land with contemplations/questions, lessons on poetry and writing, and a group sharing circle for witnessing and being witnessed.
Here in the springtime return to life, as snow gives way to rain, we stand among unknown futures. As so many people before us, we are tasked to listen to and create beyond the boundaries of the known, outside the web of culture. Putting our ears to the earth and turning our attention to dreams, griefs, synchronicities, and creative inspirations, we gather, slowing to the speed of embodiment to witness Earth and ourselves at this wild moment in history.
These days, we reckon with the long shadows of our times, inviting back the fullness of embodied feeling, audacious dreaming, and community care. Turning toward soul and the rhythms of the wild world, we’ll court the poems, movements, and intuitions that have been waiting for our attention beneath the noise. Drawing upon dreamwork, land-based eco-psychology explorations, group council, music/dance/rhythm and poetry & writing practice, we will weave a container of heart and trust, allowing tender truths to emerge.
By coming together to slow down and listen with Earth, we step toward our birthright of a participatory relationship with the natural world and our own artistic witnessing. Falling more deeply in love with life in all its dimensions and expressing our hearts through our artistry is the medicine that may offer a way through the coming decades of cultural and climactic decay toward possibilities of renewal.
In this gathering we will:
-Slow down into our bodies through somatic practices, wild contemplations on the land, and sacred talking circles
-Hold gentle space for the grief and fear we’ve been carrying around the direction of society and the natural world.
-Explore poetry, writing and dance as mediums of listening, healing and truth telling
-Work with dreams and learn how they connect us to our specific place and time and point us toward our own central meaning
-Explore the “imaginal realm” through the practice of “depth council”, wild wanders, art/collage, dreams, poetry, deep imagination journeys and more.
-Practice ceremony in community to claim your life and set intentions for what you really want
-Have supported solitude in nature to move slow and listen to your own inner voice
-Cultivate wholeness through being in co-regulated relationship with the wild world and community
Dates: May 16 – 19, 2024
This offering is limited to 16 people. There is an outhouse and a well on site, as well as a creek for washing and filtering water. The location is on private land in the Tobacco Ridge Mountains, an hour outside Bozeman, Montana.
Preparations
Registrants will receive a preparation package including practices to begin and recommended resources for review. Site is remote and shared when enrolled. Participants are responsible for bringing their own breakfasts and lunches and group dinners will be communally prepared by meal teams.