Every year something magical happens in Lakeside when a group of special women gather for The Indigo Connection’s retreat. It’s always the weekend after Mother’s Day. What a huge responsibility it is to entertain, inspire, house and feed a group of diverse and sensitive women for 3 days. There are some elements that are part of each and every year, yet there are also many unknowns. Those unknowns have to do with the specifics of what our talented presenters bring as well as what each women needs from the weekend. Going into this big event with so much uncertainty used to freak me out. Each year I relax a bit more into the process. I have learned to plan as much as I can and leave the details to God.
Weather is always one of those things beyond my control. God handled that beautifully, providing sun and warmth for our weekend. The gardens of Lakeside were filled with blooms and luscious aromas of spring. How appropriate it was as the weekend began with lessons from the wisdom of Saint Hildegard, including foods, recipes, plants, meditation and outdoor exploration. Sixteen women attended this Friday segment and absorbed the day with pure joy. Portraying St. Hildegard in costume for a whole day was not as difficult as I had feared. It was exhilarating!
By 5 pm on Friday, most of the 31 women registered for the weekend had arrived. We gathered for a special tradition, our Innkeeper’s delightful high tea with salad, soup and dessert too. Joan goes all out with delicious appetizers and a beautiful plated presentation of each course. The china tea cups clinking and lively conversation build in volume as the ladies meet, reconnect and savor the food. It was heartwarming. I am very grateful for Joan’s loving contribution to our opening and hope she has the energy to do it again next year.
The 2013 weekend theme was “Pause and Play”, chosen to convey the healing power of reclaiming the playful little child within each of us. Play means having fun, following some rules and involving each other in the process. The rules I share and ask the participants to agree to during our opening ceremony create the structure for respect, love, communication and acceptance throughout the weekend. They work like a charm in this magical setting.
Somehow that call to the little girl in each of us brought the playful presence of a child to our retreat for the first time – our innkeeper Joan’s 6 year old great granddaughter Amelia. She was staying with Joan because of a tragedy in her family. We included her in our activities and she participated with glee.
Our experts conveyed beautiful messages related to our theme. Gloria O’Neil- Savage playfully gave us deep experiences with sacred oils to activate the energy centers, accompanied by the power of vocal toning. Many experienced some very powerful feelings that were hard to put into words because her program touched so many levels of our being. Julie Norman showed us how to move in the flow of yoga and to face our feelings about our bodies so that we might love ourselves more. Roseann Heinrich shared a variety of activities to help us recognize our intuitive gifts. Hearty laughter filled the room throughout the exercise where we performed readings on baby pictures. On Sunday, even those who hardly think of themselves as artistic, relaxed and created beautiful watercolor paintings of poppies under the guidance of talented artist Bobbie Dorr. We played with all of our senses this weekend, adding to the mix a light-hearted song-fest where our ladies sang the blues. We also brought back a retreat favorite – the movie Shirley Valentine.
There were many moments of pure joy. I was particularly struck the group as they spontaneously broke into song and dance when “Build Me a Buttercup” emerged from my playlist on the speakers Saturday morning. Their voices and movements cleared some negative energy I had sensed in the room and could not clear with sage due to a rule about matches and fire. This song and the lively response created the energy we needed. It became the theme song for our playtime this weekend. I also marvel at how our presenters connected so well with one another and found their own paths to healing during this retreat. It is the reason I insist that presenters stay the entire weekend as part of their paid speaking agreement.
I am usually immediately on the keyboard blogging about the retreat after returning home. This year I felt the need to process things a bit more. Clearly a success, yet what really happened? It was perhaps the most diverse group we had ever attracted, which had presented some challenges. One of our participants had not joined us for our Sunday activities and I remained worried about her. Things didn’t go as well as I had hoped for the catering of our Saturday evening meal and I allowed myself to become quite flustered by that. There were also problems using the video equipment in our meeting room on Saturday evening, yet nobody on the Lakeside staff seemed available or able to help us. I kept my cool and decided to let things settle. As it turned out, both the caterer and the Lakeside events coordinator reached out to offer apology and financial settlements. I also heard from the gal who missed Sunday and learned that she chose to take care of herself by indulging in solitude. All was well in her world! It is affirming to know that problems can be settled without drama.
I plan on posting a video montage of the weekend very soon, so watch for it!
Join us next year, May 16-18 when we gather again at Lakeside. If you want to hold a room with a refundable deposit, just go to this link on the events calendar
http://avalon.websitewelcome.com/~theindig/webcal/view_entry.php?id=684&date=20140516
