"It is all a question of story. We are in trouble now because we do not have a good one" -- Thomas Berry
We have always lived by a story that told us how we got here, why we are here, and what God and the Universe were up to. Today, the old story, a story of our separation from nature, of the separation of spirit from matter, of reason from intuition, isn't working. The signs are everywhere as we struggle with economic havoc, violence, injustice, environmental degradation, and depression.
As Thomas Berry suggests, the task of our time is to discover and to inhabit new story from the personal to the planetary level. A new story is waiting to be born, but has not yet emerged. We live in a time between stories.
In this retreat we explore this in-between realm -- letting go of old story, abiding in the unknowing, searching for hints and glimpses of emerging new story, and committing to live it. We cultivate a new story for ourselves as individuals and as a planet, exploring new messages that are germinating deep in our individual and collective consciousness. We wander on the land by ourselves to listen to the stories that mountain and river, that hawk and snake, and that ancient rocks and trees tell us, these guardians and guides to the wildness and the imagination of the earth. We explore the inner world of myth and archetype and nighttime dream, we journal and write of what we hear. We gather to listen to what we're learning, and for movement and ceremony. Those who choose to stay on from Sunday to Monday noon will have an extended time, with additional guidance, to absorb what has been received over the weekend, and to reflect on incorporating it into the life to which you return.
This retreat will be held at Still Point Mountain Retreat, a five-bedroom cabin in a secluded wilderness setting overlooking the Shenandoah River and valley. It begins with supper at 6pm on Friday and concludes with lunch on Sunday or Monday. Fee for the retreat, including lodging, meals and program, is $210 to Sunday noon and $280 to Monday noon. Inquire about camping and scholarship options. We expect this retreat, which was popular last year, to again fill rapidly. For more information, email Lindsay@rollingridge.net. To reserve your place, download the application form and mail application and $50 deposit to Friends of Silence, 120 Jubilee Lane, Harpers Ferry WV 25425.
Retreat Leaders: Jim Hall, longtime member of Rolling Ridge Study Retreat, lives at the Dayspring Retreat Center in suburban Washington, DC, where for the past 25 years he has been leading retreats, classes and outings on the land linking faith and ecology, and exploring ways of living more simply, justly and in harmony with the Earth. Julie Gabrielli explores ways to experience belonging and cultivate joy, creativity, and reverence. She designs buildings and places that marry the best of new and old traditions, and works with other media, including fiction and film, to listen for and tell the new stories that are emerging in our culture. Web: www.gabriellidesign.com.