Summer Retreat 2011

We had our first planning retreat!  It touched me deeply and it has taken me weeks to sort out enough for myself to begin to work with it...  So here I go..  :-)

To Eric's thoughts: The love in this group is evident and deeply touching. Wherever we go in life it would be my wish that we stay connected with each other because this quality of the support and love seems to me, unequaled in "normal" life.

It seems clear to me that this group could form the foundation for a strong, supportive and gentle community. We each share the wish to be kind to ourselves, to each other, and especially to others. It is clear to me that this heart and clarity would get us through the ups and downs of living and working together.

So a bit of reporting from my perspective....

The Setting:
Eric and Jenny hosted the weekend in a very special setting. A beach house in Connecticut with the ocean sounds and smells, the beach, shells, osprey, sea gulls, sandpipers, hermit crabs, sea weed, oyster, sun shine, sea breeze... and a kayak..
The Shrine:
Our opening activity was to create a shrine together and each add whatever items we felt belonged on the representation of our spiritual aspirations or experiences. The shrine became a living and changing part of our weekend. It collected flowers, shells, feathers, incense, some artworks, pebbles, candles, a happy Chinese Buddha.  I think we all expected to meditate more than we actually did, but at the same time the weekend was filled with caring and mindfulness. Perhaps Eric will post a picture of the shrine? 
Wishes:
The first evening included a ceremony where we used juniper smoke to express our hopes and dreams for the situation. The creation of the shrine seemed to be pure harmony. Creating the charcoal bed for burning the juniper branches was much more full of the challenges that life normally gives us. We each had to work out how we differ in creating a burning coal and the activities we expected as contrasted with what we were actually experiencing. Control issues were experienced and released.. co-operation as a group actually began in these moments. As the sun set and the coals were finally hot, a miraculous stream of aspirations and wishes were carried to the heavens on the juniper smoke. We each added juniper to the coals as we expressed ourselves. We began to see each other as we are and to love.
Visioning:
We spent much of our time sharing out feelings, our visions, our hopes, our fears. Physically that took the form or drawings we worked on together. (The scans do not do them justice, but...)  Each of us started one and passed it to others; who added to them. The result follows; the credit is the initial artist....

Claudia:

John:

Eric:

Jenny:

Katica:

These drawings gave us a starting point for sharing and much was shared. I think we all will remember my stunned reaction to Katie suggesting income sharing as an organizing principle. I had never heard of such a thing, much less considered it for myself. We all learned from the ensuing discussion.


Joining Visions:
Claudia led a two day process where we all made short notes of ideas, feelings, wishes for a community. As we shared the notes Jenny made drawings which were intended to capture the main points, organize them and express them in a visual way. Much discussion ensued as to how to organize and capture all the notes. Here are the drawings:

This last drawing became the model for a large poster. The notes became leaves, flowers, fruit and birds on the poster. It captured the the spirit and the content of the weekend. (Sweet, sweet, sweet!!)

I promise to post a copy as soon as I can find someone who has a big enough scanner to capture it.

Closing Ceremony:
Another juniper smoke ceremony to burn our paper slips with the notes on them and carry the many wishes to the heavens. This time the fire was easily constructed, the juniper burned freely and we each read notes and added them to the fire..  We had become a settled, happy, unified and loving group.