Being, Longing, and Belonging: A Circle of Trust® Retreat

“Belonging is not merely shelter from being separate and different. Its more profound intention is the awakening of the Great Belonging which embraces everything. Our hunger to belong is the desire to awaken this hidden affinity. Then we know that we are not outsiders cut off from everything, but rather participants at the heart of creation. Each of us brings something alive in the world that no one else can.” – John O’Donohue from Eternal Echoes

What are you longing for in the growing intensity of our times? Where are you experiencing that you truly belong? How does being with Mother Earth and her beings support the way we listen to our inner teachers and to one another? What does Gaia whisper to us that flows into our circle, creating a space, a field, where all are welcome? If any of these questions resonate with you, please join us at Kirkridge, where the forest welcomes each of us, transmuting our longing into a sense of belonging.

We are calling an intergenerational, diverse group of people, longing to savor these questions and renew hope, heart-strength, and wholeness. In this retreat, based on the work of Parker J. Palmer and the Center for Courage & Renewal, we will explore how being in the forest and the land around Kirkridge transforms our longing and expands our sense of belonging. We are part of a tapestry of “interbeing,” as Thich Nhat Hahn named it, including the invisible world of nature and of the universe, where our ancestors and spirit guides are present for us if we turn to them. The Kirkridge forest and its neighbor Columcille Megalith Park are perfect places to experience the mystery of being alive as evolving human beings.

Guided by the Courage & Renewal^® approach, we create a sacred, confidential space in which to do our own inner work in a very unique way. Flowing between times of solitude and community, we’ll listen generously to our inner teacher (soul, spirit, still small voice, inner guidance) and to one another. There will be individual reflective time, small groups, and whole group sessions. We will explore our themes of being, longing, and belonging while listening deeply to ourselves and others, speaking from the heart, and learning to ask open, honest questions instead of fixing, saving, advising, or correcting.

This retreat will include Clearness Committees, a powerful two-hour discernment process from the Quaker tradition, where one person who wishes to think more deeply about an issue has an opportunity to be the “focus person” while a “committee” of four to six others listen and ask open, honest questions. Both focus person and committee members share a profound experience in this unique way of supporting another human being together in community.

If you are seeking rest and restoration, you are welcome. If you long to hear your true inner voice, you are welcome. We will explore the presence and emergence of belonging as we practice radical hospitality with self, other, and the natural world. Bring a friend or more than one from your own community. Come by yourself. Come.

Space is limited. Registration closes Monday, June 2nd or when there are 25 participants.