Sacred Timing: New Year’s Eve

Enter the Threshold Portal of 2022-2023 with Purpose, Contemplation & Fun

RETREAT BY INVITED PRESENTER

Welcome 2023 with mindfulness, introspection, fun, and imagination. This weekend will be an invitation to living on purpose and to accessing the miracle of this precious journey we call life. Together we will create an experience that is spacious, warm, engaging, creative, and inspirational.

“The program, the presenter, and the nurturing environment of the center, staff and beautiful grounds created a very peaceful and healing experience.”  ~ J.C

STAY SAFE DURING COVID-19: Please read our COVID-19 Precautions & Preparations to understand our strategies.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Join the festivities, as we blend expressive arts and gentle movement with mindfulness practices—then gather with the Dharmakaya Center staff and Executive Director for an early celebration of the transition from 2022 to 2023.

The weekend will offer playful creative experiences: miniature Altoid tin altars, movement, and a delightful sound bath—activities that together create a beautiful integration, inviting soulful rest and restoration.

Altoid Tin Altars

Our human nature is to forget, to fall asleep, to fall off the wagon. How do we create meaningful pathways of remembrance for our spiritual truths, our values and dreams, our intent and heart? In the Middle Ages, spiritual leaders travelled with altars, triptychs and other religious items. These sacred objects anchored the traveller, reminding them that no matter where or how far s/he ventured, the divine was always close by.

For the main sacred arts project of the weekend,  each participant will create their own portable Altoid tin altar, uniquely designed to help you remember what you most long for. A variety of techniques will be shared for both exterior and interior design. NO art experience is necessary.

The Seed of Life Mandala
Sacred Art Practices are a gentle, engaging way to access contemplative states of being. There is something very special about creating from within while in community—and mandalas are an easy way to drop in. As you design your Seed of Life mandala—an ancient symbol of wholeness—pause, listen, and discern what it may reveal, highlight, and support.  Much wisdom is available when we simply invite the mind to step aside and allow other forms of guidance to emerge and offer their perspective.

Group Meditation: Meditation offers a myriad of benefits for mind, body, and spirit. Practitioners often find it beneficial to meditate together in community, jointly increasing their depth of focus and comfort in their meditation practice. Join the Dharmakaya Center staff as you become more peaceful, feel more centered, experience a greater sense of wellbeing.

Sound Bath: Sound Bath healers create an atmosphere that will enable you to drop into deep relaxation and soulful  restoration. This evening of vibrational healing—a beautiful musical journey—will supply an extraordinary way to cross the bridge into the New Year.

Qigong: This offering will support participants in opening and deepening pathways of receptivity by accessing the chakras and energy centers of the body.

The Ecstatic Spoken Word / Of Sound Body: This workshop will explore different meditation and body-centered approaches to inducing presence and creativity — focusing this presence into writing and listening to poetry. Through a series of meditation practices and writing periods, we will explore where our words take us, with invitations of live musical accompaniment to share our poetry composed in class. We will then transition into a passive sound meditation, activating and contacting the sonics of the body. In Of Sound Body we will experience the threshold of sound and listening through an immersive sound journey which showcases folk instruments from around the world to deepen our own presence and inquiry.

Five Stages of the Soul: According to theologian Harry Moody, spirituality unfolds in a series of steps he calls “The Five Stages of the Soul.”  These are what we might call spiritual opportunities or spiritual passages. They  represent moments along the spiritual journey that are ripe with possibility:

1. The Call
2. The Search
3. The Struggle
4. The Breakthrough
5. The Return

Saturday evening we will explore the archetypal gifts and challenges of this spiritual journey. With meditation, journaling and group share, we will distill the lessons we are meant to hear and use this as a guide to populate a small booklet to incorporate in your altoid tin shrines/altars.

“Even though we may forget our vows 10,000 times, come, come whoever you are… begin again and again.” ~Rumi

In the sacred container we will create together, this creative and spiritually nourishing workshop will invite you into a contemplative and introspective experience, listening deeply while remaining in connection with kindred spirits.

Close the weekend renewed and refreshed as you enter 2023!

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

• Group size limited to ensure personal access to the teacher
• Opportunities to be in community while enjoying silent creative exploration
• Group sharing and deepening will be woven into the weekend time together
• Seating and walking meditation
• Guided visualizations
• Sound Bath
• Nia Movement and Dance
• QiGong
• Option to begin each morning with salutations and silent meditation
• Delicious all-vegetarian meals with locally sourced ingredients
• Extensive library of dharma books
• Expansive wooded grounds with beautiful flora and fauna
• Option to extend stay on Personal Retreat

OPEN TO ALL

There are no prerequisites for this program; it is appropriate for all. No art-making experience necessary; all materials will be provided.

SCHEDULE

(subject to change)

Friday, December 30

Saturday, December 31

Sunday, January 1