An annual retreat comes highly recommended by me and I take them myself. I find that it keeps me freshly inspired and clear about my own goals and successes. Here is how I craft them and please feel free to use my three steps to create one for yourself. It's a truly remarkable experience.
First, I plan ahead. What location will heighten my experience? For me, it's the Oregon Coast. My long time readers know that I am fascinated by oceans and coastlines; perhaps my Midwest youth left me yearning for their scents and physical pull. I've written about the magic of the Hawaiian, Mexican, Caribbean and Jersey shores.
The Oregon coast pries a piece of my heart open and makes me feel alive. Time spent in my mother's assisted-living home teaches me it's vital that we devote time to open our hearts in our fast-paced world. Otherwise, it's quite possible to harden it for good.
If an ocean is not at hand, how else can you open your heart? The laughter of children playing in a swimming pool; being in the presence of the love of your life; ; reveling in the glorious natural beauty all around you; seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time. Stimulants are all around you. You can decide what unlocks your soul.
Second, I plan the materials that will support this process. I select books, my journal, a side tablet, books on CD, soft clothing, a favorite blanket and pillow. Now I am ready.
From the moment I slide behind the wheel, I love to create an environment rich in the support of just me. No radio, news, DJ humor or loud music. There is time elsewhere in my life for this.
I find it fascinating that on the way to my destination, it's fun to enjoy an intriguing book on CD - something pertaining to my current quest. On the way home, I enjoy utter silence. I have no desire for outside influence in any form.
Because I set up the environment to support me, because I am honoring my mind-expanding values, by the time I arrive at the retreat location, I'm totally relaxed. Traffic or weather challenges have no power over my essence. I am in charge.
Third - Prior to reaching my destination, I've picked up weekend essentialssimple foods, beverages and, of course, flowers to brighten my room. The journey doesn't begin now; it began the moment I left my home.
I can enjoy the balance of the weekend as I prefer. As the day moves along, I can decide if I want to walk on the beach, or if I want to write in my journal, read inspirational writings or bury myself into a book that's called to me.
The side tablet is for anything that consumes my mind yet doesn't belong in my journallists of items, business ideas. I believe it important to have that side tablet for anything that distracts me from enjoying the moments I am creating.
The results speak for themselves: tranquility, keen insights, and a clear focus on what you consider most important. I urge you to schedule a silent retreat in any form, even if it's for an afternoon. There is nothing like it to gain perspective and release anything that does not honor your existence. Inspire yourself. Schedule it today. Let me know how it goes.
Enjoy your discoveries.
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I am writing a book. Below is an excerpt, looking for opinions and advice.
Given A Choice
I have often tried to imagine what my life would have been like if I could have picked my parents and circumstances in advance. If given a choice before birth I am sure I would have chosen a wealthy, high profile, investment banker father with a mother who spent her entire days planning fundraising soirées for the benefit of underprivileged kids.
My childhood would have been filled with lavish vacations, shopping sprees and summers studying abroad. All of my friends would line up for the chance to stay over at my five story one hundred and fifty room mansion located somewhere off the west coast where the sun was always shining and the olympic size pool was always inviting. My nanny, obviously from some foreign country, would take care of all the daily chores that would have helped me to grow into a responsible adult. My teenage bedroom would have been the size of a normal ranch style house with a closet the size of a three car garage. I would have been the envy of every teenage girl and the crush of every teenage and preteen boy.
I imagine I would have sailed through adolescence and breezed through young adulthood without any obstacles to help shape my moral values. I envision me selecting Civil Law as my profession and the standard successful husband and two and a half kids. My children would grow to become successful adults with professions in the medical, legal and political fields.
After spoiling tons of grandchildren and leaving my mark on the world, I would have died somewhere around the age of ninety-five, quietly in my home under the care of a most wonderful and loving Hospice worker. My life?s achievements and my husband?s pension would ensure that my children and their children would be set financially for life. I am sure that I am not alone in my thoughts of what would have made the perfect atmosphere for the perfect childhood. Some may have chosen more exotic locations, more wealth or maybe more high profile, celebutant parents. I envision that just enough for whatever I wanted would have been perfect enough.
Similar to how infertile couples pick out sperm at a sperm bank I use to think it would have been nice to review the details of what I was being born into. Looking back now I know that choice is not always a good thing. Most children born into the scenario I described above end up killing thirty of their peers in a school yard shooting, after which suicide seems to become their only way out. I believe that there is a higher power that does review the blueprints of families and has a keen sense for why you are placed where you are. Still, when I think back to the sperm analogy used above, I see my parents picking ?purple sperm? and I came out ?green?.
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