feathery beginnings Issue #4

Join our fledgling community, online (next one march 19th) or at retreats.

A community solely designed for women, with the goal of supporting each other in every season, in refreshing ways, so that our creativity can flourish.

(This update will be slightly longer than usual as Rose and I have lots to share from the retreat. So grab a cuppa and a quiet moment and enter into some of the delight of ten women spending two days together...)

This first retreat was a beautiful, spacious event with moments of transformation as women gently and gradually opened to more of themselves.

It is incredibly important to both Rose and myself that each space we are facilitating is full of trust and permission for each person to be themselves. To help with this we use some of the touchstones from the Centre for Courage and Renewal. For this retreat we introduced 6 touchstones.

Give and receive welcome: People learn best in hospitable spaces. In this circle we support each other's learning by giving and receiving hospitality.

Be present as fully as possible: Be here with your doubts, fears and failings as well as your convictions joys and successes, your listening as well as your speaking

What is offered in the circle is by invitation, not demand: This is not a "share of die" event! Do whatever your soul calls for, and know that you do it with our support. Your soul knows your needs better than we do.

No fixing, saving, advising or correcting each other: This is one of the hardest guidelines for those of us that like to 'help'. But it is vital for welcoming the soul, to making space for the inner teacher.

Attend to our own inner teacher: We learn from others of course. But as we explore poems, stories, questions and silence in a circle of trust, we have a special opportunity to learn from within. So pay close attention to your own reactions and responses, to your most important teacher.

Trust and learn from the silence: Silence is a gift in our noisy world, and a way of knowing in itself. Treat silence as a member of the group. After someone has spoken take time to reflect without immediately filling the space with words.

As women arrived they were shown to their rooms with freshly made beds, chocolates and flowers from the garden. "I feel so spoilt", was the common refrain, said with a wide smile.

After a cuppa we met in the Kea room, introduced ourselves and shared our hopes for the weekend. One came with no expectations, another just knew they had to come and didn't know why, another was longing to have time to be creative.

the kea room

We know for some people seeing the layout for the day is important. As we shared the outline we heard thankful, nervous giggles. It's so good how different we all are. I did stress there would be flexibility in the timings though.

To help clear the way for creativity to flow we explored the place of the inner critic, how this showed up and how to quieten it down. This was from the work of Tara Mohr which both Shannon and Jaz are trained in.

We had a gentle wander around the property so everyone knew their way to the hammock, the lily pond, the rongoa ngahere, and the labyrinth.

the party in the kitchen

Then into the kitchen for culinary delights that Jaz had created before we moved into options of SoulCollage® with Shannon, writing with Rose, participants entering their own creative pursuits or simply having a rest. These options were repeated later in the day after a really helpful session with Rose where she unpacked some barriers to creativity.

The day finished with more delicious fare and then a brazier under a clear sky with sparkling stars. As Annwyn said "The open fire outside was perfect. Under the stars and reflecting on the day".

fire under the stars

Sunday the invitation was given to walk the Labyrinth as a meditative walk of remembering, reverence, releasing, resting, receiving and returning. This was particularly memorable for me as I stood quietly at the entrance to the Labyrinth holding space and ensuring the last person in the walk was not alone. Most groups, after they have walked the labyrinth, move into the house to journal about their experience. This time a few women felt moved to remain with me, joining me as I held space for the walkers. A beautiful sign of the depth of connection between us all the respect we had for each others journey, both in the labyrinth, in our internal landscapes and in our creativity.

walking the labyrinth

Over morning tea on Sunday each woman shared something of their experience of the weekend. One remarked: "Well I came thinking I couldn't write and I can," said with a huge smile on her face. "And she is really good", her friend commented.

Another spoke of each element of the weekend weaving together and helping her go deeper, resulting in releasing old trauma through the labyrinth walk. Not in a gut-wrenching sobbing way, but in a gentle brushing it off her shoulders way.

One woman spoke of how challenging it was even coming to a weekend like this, as she had really bad experiences in the past. Grief had surfaced for her and she was able to accept this and go with it. Seeing her lie on the grass, connected with the earth, face up to the sun was beautiful, and I hope was restorative for her soul.

We each experienced inspiration rising as we connected, had belly-laughs, shared tears and allowed our creativity to be seen.

Rest, nourishment and connection really did foster creativity.

Thank you for an encouraging weekend!I really can't think of anything that could have made it better.The length of the sessions balanced well with the alone time. I appreciated the small number of retreatants, I was able to connect on a deeper level with each as there was time. We were able to feel a unity by the end of the retreat which was unique and special. The Labryinth was an amazing experience and relaxing by the fire in the evening, perfect.Rinse and repeat, I say... Avril

Each woman who attended the weekend has been invited to share their story and, with their permission, we will make them available through this newsletter.

If you would like to be part of retreats in the future, here are the dates:

May 2-3

June 27-28

August 29-30

Oct 17-18

We already have bookings for the June and August events.

next online gathering

March 19th 7:30pm for about an hour, depending on how much sharing happens. Bring paper and pen (just in case) and any creative project you would like to share that can be shown or listened to. Shannon shared two of her poems over the retreat weekend and while it was great practice, it was also nerve-wracking!!

We are here to cheer you on and we will all remember the touchstone to Give and receive welcome to you and all your creativity.