it's about inclusion

 

When people ask me why I started the Be Present Retreats, I usually explain my deep desire to create community and a belief that spending a few days away from your daily life immersed in creativity and being present to the world around you will change your life in very good ways. I also talk about noticing that creative retreats are sometimes so filled with activities and "doing" that participants and teachers don't always have the opportunity to slow down, recharge, and listen.

Today, I want to share that over the last few years my reason for hosting these retreats has begun to come down to one thing: 

It's about inclusion.

It's about creating space for people who are longing for a deeper connection with themselves and like-minded souls but don't know where to begin to find this community, don't have this community where they live, or simply want to connect in person in a small group environment. 

It's about working with teachers who are really collaborators who show up as mentors and guides open to new friendships. Then as the retreat begins they sit side by side with retreat participants sharing their stories, giving of their time, and inviting us all to remember we are not alone.

It's about a safe space that invites you to sit in the quiet long enough that you can hear the whispers of truth that have been trying to get your attention for years.

It's about being surrounded by others who say, "me too, me too" and invite you into their lives.

Your Story Retreat 2012 (photo by Vivienne McMaster)

It's not about needing to be cool enough or creative enough or courageous enough or skinny enough or funny enough.

It's about beginning to trust
that you already are enough
when you show up as you.

The photo above, taken by my friend Vivienne McMaster after she attended the first Be Present Retreat a few years ago, represents the gathering of women who will encircle you when you arrive at a Be Present Retreat. 

In this moment, as you sit in your corner of the world, I want you to invite you to hear these words:

A community of kindreds is waiting for you.

Join us this April for Feast.

Frog Creek Lodge (photo by me)

At the Feast Retreat, we will gather at Frog Creek Lodge in the Pacific Northwest woods outside Seattle and spend time sharing, playing, resting, cooking, creating, and dreaming. Through conversations and creative self-care adventures, we will explore the ebb and flow of life and experience ways we can, as Derek Walcott says in his poem “Love After Love”

Feast on your life.

During this five-day soul care gathering, Kelly Barton and Hannah Marcotti will join me in being your guides. As a group, we will cook meals together, play in journals, make necklace and bracelet talismans to take home with us, explore ways to practice self-care, and circle to share stories and make deep connections.

Your Story 2012 (photo by Vivienne McMaster)

When you arrive at this beautiful cabin in the woods, you will find a place where you can: lean into trust and your inner wisdom, open your heart to kindred spirits, and spend time playing, resting, and sitting in the quiet.

AND I am thrilled to announce that Persephone Brown will be joining us as our kitchen guide and chef! She will help us nourish our bodies and souls through food and inspiration during Feast.

This retreat is going to be so good.

Learn more about Feast and register here. (Updated 2/18: Only 4 spots left!)

The Spring 2013 Be Present Retreat

Feast: A Soul Care Gathering
April 10-14, 2013

At the Feast Retreat, we will gather at Frog Creek Lodge in the Pacific Northwest woods and spend time sharing, playing, resting, cooking, creating, and dreaming. Through conversations and creative self-care adventures, we will explore the ebb and flow of life and experience ways we can, as Derek Walcott says in his poem “Love After Love”

Feast on your life.

Joemma Beach near Frog Creek Lodge

During this five-day soul care gathering, Kelly Barton, Hannah Marcotti, and Liz Lamoreux will be your guides as they create a safe space where you can show up as you. As a group, we will cook meals together, make necklace and bracelet talismans to take home with us, explore ways to practice self-care, and circle to share stories and make deep connections. 

When you arrive at this beautiful cabin in the Pacific Northwest woods, you will find a place when you can: lean into trust and your inner wisdom, open your heart to kindred spirits, and spend time playing, resting, and sitting in the quiet.

Note: Only 15 participant spots are available at this intimate retreat.

a peek into Frog Creek Lodge (taken at Unearth 2012 by Beth Hutson) 

Your retreat experience includes: 

• A safe environment that holds space for truth, laughter, moments of quiet, and the opportunity to share your story.
• A heart-opening five-day experience that begins with a welcome dinner and opening ceremony on Wednesday evening and ends with a closing ceremony Saturday evening and farewell breakfast Sunday morning.
• Daily group gatherings that will include creative self-care adventures in photography + writing, cooking meals together, jewelry making, and a few other good things.
• Space to connect with Liz, Hannah, and Kelly as your companions as they participate in the entire retreat alongside you.
• Time in community to explore meditation, ritual, and everyday sacredness as ways to be more present in your daily life.
• Daily meals and snacks that will nourish you and invite you to see food as a form of soul care.
• The opportunity to connect with kindred spirits who might just become life-long friends.
• Time away from your day-to-day roles where you can just show up as you.
• An invitation to come home to yourself.

Your tuition also includes: 

• Four nights of lodging, shared rooms (twin beds throughout the bedrooms with 2 to 3 people per room)
• All meals (except one dinner as the schedule includes free time one evening to explore the surrounding areas at your own pace)
• Snacks and hot tea/coffee/water provided daily
• All group gatherings led by Liz, Kelly, and Hannah
• Evening activities: Opening and closing gatherings, an art & soul brunch (which will provide the opportunity for mentors + participants to share, trade, and sell their artwork), and other activities
• Surprises and treats throughout our time together

When you come to Feast, you will want to have room in your suitcase because we will be sharing some of our favorite soul care goodies with you throughout the retreat and you’ll need some space to take them home.

Learn more about Feast, your guides, Frog Creek Lodge, and register here.

unearth 2012

Kelly on the pier at Joemma Beach

Whenever I return from hosting one of my retreats, I have a hard time trying to capture it here in this space. I take very few photos because I'm experiencing more than documenting. And then the re-entry time after the retreat is intense as I go from this one contained experience where I play one role back to this other real-life experience where I play so many roles in a given day (just like you).

And then by the time I have some mental space to share, the weeks have passed and I feel silly going back in time. This happens to me often...this time moving on and me wanting to share here and then stopping myself from doing it.

Things don't happen on a real schedule when you have a two year old. I put things on a schedule and it just kind of laughs at me. I planned to share several other blog posts this week. A poem I wrote. That you can now get "The Gift of This Moment" in a three-month subscription. A story about how I went to an event last week where they sent a car for me. Crazy! And a story about how I found myself sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor holding a little girl in my lap as she cried and I couldn't fix it so I cried too.

Today, I want to share this handful of photos from the Unearth Retreat. It really was magic as we painted with Mindy and Kelly and shared stories and wrote poems that we read aloud and then walked along Puget Sound with the most gorgeous light I'd seen this year. Frog Creek Lodge just invites in laughter and healing. When I think about it all, I want to tell you this most of all:

There is so much beauty, magic, and truth found in those in-between spaces when someone shares her story and you breathe in and out as you listen and then sit in the quiet and then you give her the gift of saying, "Me too. Yes. Me too."

 

(Hoping to share more about the Spring 2013 Retreat next week.)

why retreat (with kimberly kalil)

Today, I am sharing another post in a new series of guest posts from a few of the ladies who have attended my retreats over the last few years. My hope is that these posts will give you a glimpse into the Be Present Retreats and invite you to realize the importance of taking time away from your daily life to recharge, connect with your kindreds, and rekindle your creativity.

Please welcome my kindred Kimberly today. She saved the day at the first Your Story Retreat when she literally put out a kitchen fire. But more than being a superhero in the true sense, she is also a wise, real person willing to share her story so that others will learn they are not alone. I am honored to share her words with you today.

***

She screams.
Spinning, a fiery top, out of control.
She gasps.
Unable to breath. Smothered by the anger.
She melts.
Fear and sorrow oozing from her feverish abyss.
She hopes.
Palms raised, she reaches out
She believes.
Grasping for light, reverie bound.
She screams.

-She Screams, by Kimberly Kalil
Written post retreat

At the start of 2011, I didn’t eat organic.

I didn’t do yoga.

I didn’t meditate.

I couldn’t write a poem to save my life.   

I wouldn’t even call myself creative.

Looking over the Your Story Retreat description the idea of “daily group gatherings that explore meditation, ritual, and everyday sacredness as ways to be more present in your daily life,” seemed absolutely foreign to me. In fact, it seemed downright nutty. I was raised by staunchly Republican, highly religious and ultra-conservative parents. My dad hunts. He slaughters the cows he raises. And there is never any talk of Zen, Buddha or anything equally as exotic or hippie-esque.

Though I’m many years removed from my parents’ home, my upbringing colors many of the decisions I make as an adult. I’d like to think of myself as somewhat progressive and open-minded, but there are times I’m downright small-town. You can take the girl out of the conservative, but you can’t take the conservative out of the girl.

 

Signing up for the Your Story Retreat was a leap of faith. I’m not sure what prompted me to do so, other than a desperate need to find a place in the world where I could unload my aching heart. My marriage was on the rocks. Not kind of sort on the rocks, but moments away from imploding. There was rarely a day that went by that I didn’t cry. I was turning into an angry, bitter person. I had no patience and the anger I had for my husband was seeping into every aspect of my life. I was a ticking time bomb often exploding at the most inopportune times and at people who didn’t deserve my wrath, namely my children.

On the opening night of my first Your Story Retreat I broke down in tears. Liz asked us to share a bit about ourselves and why we were there. I couldn’t articulate why I was there. I couldn’t tell the group the shame, anger and isolation I felt. All I could do was cry -- big, gulping, messy tears. My whole body shook as I let go and with tears streaming down my cheeks the most amazing thing happened:  around the circle arms opened, hearts reached for me and nurturing began. I was welcomed into a tribe of amazing, strong and loving women.

My tribe told me I was awesome. They told me I was brave. The convinced me I was strong enough to make the changes that really mattered. Each word spoken was folded up and placed in the sacred space around my heart.

Over the course of the weekend my soul was fed. At some point, I heard the following words:

“We always have a choice. It’s easy to believe we are stuck. But we all have choices … It’s your story. You can write your own story. ”

I went home a different person. I was still angry. My marriage was still in jeopardy. I still felt like a major failure. But I realized that I had to take charge of my life. There was only one way for me to get better -- if I wanted to fix my family, fix my husband or fix my life -- I had to fix me.

I became a runner.

I changed my diet.

I lost 35 pounds.

I started writing more and taking on creative projects that made me happy.

I started saying no.

I moved on and left behind the things that didn’t bring me joy. At one point that included the idea of being married and making “things” work.

Magically, being the change I wanted in the world worked to bring change not just to me, but to my husband, my family and others around me.

My marriage isn’t on the rocks anymore. My relationship with my husband is better than it’s ever been.

I yell at my children less and enjoy the benefits of greater patience.

I laugh more. A lot more.

I still don’t eat organic, though I’d like to try.

I don’t do yoga, though I’m sure it would help me.

I try to mediate, though I haven’t made it a daily practice.

Sometimes I write poetry, but it still feels less me and more forced.

But, what I am is someone in charge of her own story. Each day, I wake up and I decide how my day will unfold; I decided how to react to my challenges; I decide if I will seek joy; and I decided what matters.  Before I met Liz, I felt hopeless and out of control. Today, I know I’m at the helm of my life and my story.

This is why I retreat. 

Kimberly Kalil is a mom to two precious kiddos; wife to one cool dude; busy traveling consultant; crafter; digital memory keeper; and seeker of all things creative. She and her family make their home in Southern Arizona amid the cacti and javalinas. She’s all about the hot, dry weather of the desert – the hotter the better. 

Kimberly blogs regularly about her life, memory keeping endeavors, and creative projects at www.kimberlykalil.com. Each Monday she shares a piece of digital art she created and you can download it for free in 2012.

Read other posts in the Why Retreat series here.

***

A note from Liz: This September, Mindy Lacefield, Kelly Barton, and I are working together to create an incredible adventure in the Pacific Northwest. Kelly and Mindy will be co-teaching a three-day juicy, soulful painting workshop, and I will share some of my favorite creative self-care practices through mini creative adventures in topics like poetry, self-portraiture, meditation, and a few other good things. Find out more about the Unearth Retreat over here.

::yes::

artwork by the fantastic and lovely jessica woodford . photo by the delightfully wise and kind sarah
your story retreat . 2012