Wisdom Retreat Reflections

Saturday, January 27, 2007

Last night the retreat concluded with a special Emergence Ceremony around a fire at the Green Valley labyrinth. As each participant reached inside their personal wisdom bag they found the items and cards they chose and received during the week that held wisdom for them. There were pleasant surprises and mostly affirmations of what they had discovered, explored and experienced during the retreat. As we said our good-byes there were lots of hugs and appreciation for the wisdom shared and discovered together. All the participants had a personal journey, a beginning to a continuing journey after they return home from the retreat. They now have the what and the how for expanding their wisdom and most importantly living their lives from their wisdom. They left with the concepts, tools, and strategies to continue discovering, exploring, and experiencing the amazing power they have to create anything they desire. It was a full, fun, and powerful experience for us all. The whole week was what I had imagined, intended, and knew was possible. I am grateful to the participants who came open to possibilities and left knowing they had discovered them. They were so supportive of what I presented to them and ask them to do. And they are not done. We will conclude with individual phone coaching sessions and then we will join together in about 60 days on a telephone bridgeline to catch up and hear how their wisdom is being experienced in every part of their lives. I look forward to hearing their very familiar voices, laughter, and energy once again.

That wonderful ending for the retreat began with our longest and most difficult hike on Friday morning. Our destination was a wide open place overlooking much of St. George and continuing to the mountains of Nevada and Arizona. There with a window in the red rock we discussed how we were passing through in our emergence to a wise life with wise power. We spent time in reverence and quiet as we wrote intentions and recalled the insights gained during the week. It was the perfect ending hike for our week of personal wisdom.

In the afternoon we talked about the wise life and how the Wisdom Essentials had guided us and provided us the tools to now know that a life of balance, alignment, and integrity was not just possible but probable when you accessed your personal wisdom. Our session concluded with clear directions for how to take the retreat home and to change the lives waiting there to the powerful life experiences that matched the experiences they had here at Green Valley. This last day was our day of emerging, "to bring into the light" what had always been waiting to be revealed.

The retreat was the experiencing of what had been a ten year period of discovery and exploration for me. I couldn't be more pleased and affirmed by how it all went. I am looking forward to the next retreat and expanding the experiences for the next participants. After consulting with Green Valley, I will be announcing the dates of the next retreat (probably March.) If you are thinking about it, don't hesitate or wait. The Spring is a great time to come to Green Valley.

Thanks for reading my reflections on the retreat. A special thanks to Green Valley and their staff that have helped us make the retreat successful and possible. Thanks to Diane Marius who helped with the logistics each day and to Sue Baker, our intrepid hiking guide who took us to the beautiful places we hiked in safety.

I hope to see you soon to share the discovery, exploration and experiencing of your personal wisdom. What an adventure we will have!

Friday, January 26, 2007

Thursday was a turning point for the retreat participants, as we transitioned from discovering and exploring wisdom to expanding it. Our day was about knowing and truths. To know truth is know what is possible for us and everyone else. It is moving from the beliefs and responses of our ego-minds to the spiritual place where truth becomes our most powerful guidance system. We experienced this in the morning as we hiked to a beautiful overlook where we could sit in a bright sun with a vivid blue sky surrounding us. As we looked out over the red rock formations and the cities beyond, we considered what was true for us, at least what we believed was true.

We also considered where we hear messages of wisdom in our bodies. The afternoon session allowed us to explore our truths, beliefs and what could be called the universal truths. The most important truth we discussed was our power to create and choose that is available to all of us in every moment. This gave us a chance to further our discussion of the ego-mind and beliefs. The ego has been such a prominent part of our discussions that we have used the word "ego" in our group photos instead of the traditional "cheese." That has produced some great smiles and some great pictures.

The day had an affirming ending as we were joined by Dr. Gordon Reynolds, the wellness director, and Green Valley spa physician. He has practiced medicine for 55 years which garners a lot of wisdom and he he shared some of it with us. It was interesting how he went from the traditional way of practicing medicine to a more holistic approach as he learned that each person was a mind, body and spirit, not just a body. He told us of the scientific research and findings on the importance of touch and listening to our bodies. This body wisdom is centered in the heart and has the awareness of every cell and organ in the body. He was a real treat for us and his wisdom was shared with such kindness and openness that it was a magical experience.

Friday is the last day of the retreat and we have some special activities planned for the day. It is the conclusion of our journey together in one place, but I suspect not the end of the journey together to discover, explore and experience wisdom. Some powerful sharing, caring, and exploring has brought the participants together in some connections that are going to last for the rest of their lives.

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Wednesday took us to a quite a different view for our morning hike. We traveled to one of the largest groups of petroglyphs in the St. George area. These panels dated back over 1000 years, providing us a rare opportunity to connect with the people who created them. Our discussions for the day were about connections and the wisdom of our relationships, and pure love. We haf a lively discussion about levels of relationships and our interactions within them. When relationships are viewed as connections, the dynamics and especially how we show up in them, changes a lot.

We concluded last night with a demonstration of Byron Katie's process for digging into our thoughts and how they set up the feelings and choices, especially when we blame others for how we feel. This process is called the Work and is very powerful. One of the participants was courageous in doing the Work with our guest speaker, Jonelle Reynolds. It was a illuminating experience for all of us as we considered what we thought was happening in our relationships, with the emphasis on "what we thought."

"The Work reveals that what you think shouldn't have happened should have happened. It should have happened because it did, and no thinking in the world can change it." - Byron Katie (Loving What Is)

Today, we are considering truth and knowing and the importance of our Being. These three are the foundation for living our personal wisdom each day with love and joy. The discussions have come at the perfect time for the retreat as we focus on embracing the power we have to create and choose. The truth and the message of our Being leads us to using our accessed wisdom to emerge into who we really are. This is the last area we will cover tomorrow on the last day of the retreat, concluding with a special Emerging into Wisdom ceremony.

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Yesterday started earlier with our trip to Zion's National Park. The 45 minute ride to the park provided a perfect opportunity to discuss what we had covered the first three days especially in how to apply the concepts of the Personal Wisdom Program. I created this program because over and over I heard from people that they intellectually understood so much of the concepts but were having difficulty living them. This retreat and the seven day focus is the best way to experience the concepts in the most supportive and beautiful environment available. That is happening and I can hear the application expanding through the questions and statements of the participants. I am really enjoying watching the ah-ha's and realizations that are occurring. It is the willingness of the participants to experience a new perspective and to be open to thinking and acting differently, as they discover the power they have within. It will make a profound difference for some of the participants.

Zion's National Park at this time is in its winter dress. That means cold yet crisp views and amazing frozen waterfalls everywhere. This park is one of the heaviest visited parks in the United States, but on this day we shared this large park with maybe twenty people. Wow, it was the perfect situation for exploring reverence and the wisdom of respect and honoring. Nature provided many opportunities for us to do so. We only wished we could have stayed longer.

The day continued back at Green Valley with more discussion on personal standards and egoic needs. Both were the last components of the personal life plan we explored on Monday. Last night concluded with our guest wisdom sharer Mike Rice. The leader of our meditation program at Green Valley, he led us in experiencing a useful three-step meditation that could be used anywhere at any time. He shared the importance of being still and quieting the mind for honoring the moment and our power in the moment. The evening "wisdom shares" are proving to be the perfect conclusion each day to our discussions and experiences.

Tonight we will welcome Jonelle Reynolds who provides heart-centered therapy at the Spa as well as taking guests through the "Work" process of Byron Katie for getting to sources of thoughts that cause us so much suffering in life and especially relationships. That too will be the perfect conclusion to our day of exploring connections, relationships, and love. Everyday has been powerful and enlightening, this one could be the most powerful for some of the participants. Relationships are the number one topic that I am asked about by guests I meet with at the Spa. That has provided me with valuable insights that I look forward to sharing with the Retreat participants. It should lead to some spirited and illuminating discussions.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Monday began with time again in the red rocks of Snow Canyon, except today we explored those rocks as we considered what guides our lies and how we navigate daily living. In the afternoon we began to discover and explore the most important information for any person to know, their life plan. It was my own pursuit of this information about my life that started me on the path I now follow. It took fifteen years of glimpses and wandering, more glimpses and more wandering, before I realized there was a plan and it was clearer than I ever thought possible. As I discovered the components of my life plan and most importantly how anyone could discover them, it all came together. I shared that with the participants yesterday and they dove full steam into to discovering their plans. I had forgotten how frustrating the process can be the first time out. Probably, because I did it over years, including a lot of wasted wandering, and I am now leading the process in a day. It wasn't enough time and after we return today from our hike in Zion National Park, we will return to the process to get the components of their live plans at least drafted out. They will then take home the materials and continue on their journey to discovering the amazing plan for their lives.

I wish everyone knew their plan and the sooner the better. If more people knew, the world would be a much better place and relationships and work would have the passion they were intended to have. Knowing our life plan changes every thing in our lives, clarifies the power we have to choose from the field of possibilities, and most importantly shows us how the live each day aligned with that plan in love and with joy. I am looking forward to sharing this with as many people as possible in the next few months in a new book. For now sharing this process with the retreat participants has been fun and I know they are going to be delighted to know who they really are, instead of what the world has been telling they are.

Our trip to Zion this morning will be inspiring and affirming of the power of creation. We have some in the group who have never been there, so I know they are in for a treat. I have no doubt that the powerful presence of this magnificent creation will humble us all but empower us all at the same time. For now, a Chinese saying says, "Grand adventures await those who are willing to turn the corner." Today is the halfway point in the retreat and some corners have already been turned. Around the corner is always magic!

Monday, January 22, 2007

It is Monday morning the second day of the retreat. Yesterday, Sunday, was the first full day of our discovery, exploration, and experiencing awareness and presence. Our morning hike challenged us to be fully present as St. George was having a very cold and windy day. It was appropriate as we practiced levels of awareness in the beautiful red cliffs. The environment demonstrated very clearly that we could give our focus to what the ego saw as missing, warmth and comfort; or we could give our focus the gift of weather in the flow of nature. I think that was a lot easier to contemplate later as we sat comfortably in a warm room. The ego mind is always looking for what is missing or lacking as it interprets our current experience. In doing so we miss what is present, keeping us from appreciating it with our awareness and focus.

Discussing the importance of awareness and presence to the creation of flow and experiencing of what is called in sports, the Zone, I was able to share with them how important it is to know our natural state, which is presence. Without presence all that is intended for us cannot manifest in our experience. Instead we will have a representation of "reality" presented by the ego, a false presence where the past is dragged into the present and the present is catapulted into the future. Lost to the ego and to us is the power of the present. This was the setup for every day of the retreat and that was enhanced in the evening, by the presence of Gwen Moon, a Native American, who shared the importance of going inside to know our true self's. She pointed out that we can never see ourselves totally in a mirror or in any other way, unless we are totally present and aware physically. Her wisdom about this journey was inspirational and gave us a captivating experience in being present in our bodies as she shared a drum meditation using our heartbeats. It was a powerful day and only the beginning of even more amazing discoveries, exploring and experiencing.

Today we are exploring our personal life plans and I know that every participant is going to discover what had been hidden from them through their plans. They are going to get some glimpses of the power given to them to create and share with the world. When we know this plan, everything changes as what matters most comes clearly into focus and choices become simple, yet powerful. More on how the day went tomorrow. The group is also looking forward to our trip to Zion National Park tomorrow to see the towering cliffs "breathe." More on that later. As Buddha said, "Only those who go where few have gone can see what few have seen." That is what we will see today and tomorrow.

Saturday, January 20, 2007

The Personal Wisdom Program Retreat begins today. I know how I arrived at this moment and am interested to see what is next. After ten years of discovering, exploring, and experiencing personal wisdom, I think I have some unique and useful perspectives about how we come to know who we truly are human beans. I would like to think that everyone wants to know who they truly are, but have met too many people who were afraid to know. Our society does a masterful job of convincing us that if we knew the truth about ourselves we would be devastated. So we are afraid. Don't be, if you knew the truth about you, you would be thrilled. You would know your have wings and can fly. I am convinced that discovering these truths is the only way we can fly. Yet, it is a very personal journey that each of us must and can only take to spread those wings. That is what started me on the journey and I have no doubt, it is the journey for each of us.

It has been a journey with a lot of inspiring moments combined with wandering and then an inspiring moment of realization to see how something fits. That moment is like being knocked over the head, followed by asking myself, "why didn't I know this?" The more I learned about myself, the more I learned what wasn't true about myself. Now I can clearly tell when I am being true to who I am and when I am being that other self, the untrue one. That awareness makes all the other components of the personal wisdom journey not only sensible, but absolutely amazing. What I have found I will share. "Losing an illusion makes you wiser than finding a truth." - Ludwig Borne. That is where we begin today with illusions. How will we find the truth by the end of the week if we don't start there?

I know this is a personal journey and one that each of the participants will have to take. I am grateful that they have let me be their guide to show them the shortcuts and the easiest and richest paths. I know I am going to learn a lot from them too. So it is an adventure; that is why it is called a retreat and not a workshop or seminar. There won't be any retreating however. There will be a lot of exploring, discovering, sharing, and mutual experiencing.

Tonight we meet our journeys' companions and introduce the program, including its very important components, the Wisdom Essentials and the Wisdom "I" Tools. We will also cover some important areas that will be a part of the journey from principles to illusions. An important symbolic part of our first session will be the receiving of the wisdom bags. These beautiful wool bags were made by a Native American for this retreat. The wisdom bag will be the carrier of each participants symbolic wisdom, journal, and pearls of wisdom for remembering their wisdom. I am very pleased with how it has come together and hope they enjoy the bags as much as I am enjoying mine.

Let the adventure begin!

Tomorrow we will begin our journey with awareness and presence. First thing in he morning we will be in a beautiful red rock canyon to hear the birds, see nature's creation, and feel the presence of it all. Check back on Monday morning and read what happened on Sunday.

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