The Gift of Story 2017

A Retreat during Advent and the Winter Solstice with with Lindsay McLaughlin, Julie Gabrielli, Lisa Bardack (sacred circle dance) Katy Gaughan (drums)
December 1-3, 2017
5 pm Friday (includes dinner) - lunch on Sunday (depart by 3 pm)
Rolling Ridge Study Retreat near Harpers Ferry WV

When things fall apart or become polarized in the extreme,
it's soul that's missing...
If we want the world to change,
the healing of culture and greater balance in nature,
it has to start inside the human soul.
-- Michael Meade

We live at a time of intense upheaval within the natural and human world. This has given rise to a deep yearning within us to find the ground of our being, to be renewed in heart and soul, to find light in the darkness. The season of Advent and the days surrounding the Winter Solstice invite us to enter another realm, a place where we can deepen our sense of wonder and nurture our souls. It is a realm steeped in story and rich with possibility.

This retreat is for all those who hunger for such solace and soulful transformation.

Listening at the Gate

A retreat in the 30th year of Friends of Silence
October 20-22, 2017
Still Point Mountain Retreat near Harpers Ferry WV

Wend your way through the corridors of time,
not as passengers on a free ride
watching the seasons pass;
Rather, steady mindfulness quickens
the spirit, awakens the soul,
and opens the Inner Gate that leads
to the great Work so needed in these times.
LUMEN CHRISTI, HOLY WISDOM
Nan Merrill

"I've learned to love and to trust the Mystery....My essential course of action is simply to be in the Eternal Now, ready to follow the small, still voice heard in the Silence.” — Nan Merrill

Ancient Wisdom for Troubled Times

In the Presence of the Old Ones with Jim Hall and Cheryl Hellner
September 15-17, 2017
Friday 5 pm – Sunday 2 pm
Rolling Ridge Study Retreat

I too was a stranger at first in this dark dripping forest perched at the edge of the sea, but I sought out an elder, my Sitka Spruce grandmother with a lap wide enough for many grandchildren. I introduced muyself, told her my name and why I had come. -- Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass

We live in a time of intense turmoil — social, political, and planetary. But the deeper conflict is at the level of soul. We have lost the ancient wisdom of soul and nature, and so we have lost our way in the world. How can we recover this wisdom for our people?

In this retreat we return to ancient ways: through wandering on the land, ceremony and council, listening to dreams and stories, we will seek the wisdom of our earth elders and our ancestors. May they grant us these gifts:

Sound & Silence 2017

Embodying prayer through the sacred rhythms of drumming, chant, nature and silence with Katy Gaughan and Tracy Seffers
August 18-20, 2017
5:00 pm Friday - 3:00 pm Sunday
Rolling Ridge Study Retreat and Still Point Mountain Retreat near Harpers Ferry WV

“After silence, that which comes closest to expressing the inexpressible is music.”
— Aldous Huxley

"Do we know, each one of us, that we are bearers of the sacred beat of life? Do we know that we can honor that beat in one another and in all things? And do we know that it is this combination - of knowing that we are bearers of Presence and choosing to honor Presence in one another - that holds the key to transformation in our lives and world?"
— John Philip Newell

Music & Movement ... Drumming & Chant ... Listening & Silence .... embodiments of prayer allowing us to experience the sacred beat of life connecting us to ourselves, to one another, and to God.

Men's Rites of Passage

A wilderness journey of inner transformation
October 4-8, 2017
Harpers Ferry, WV

More to come.

Arts to the Ridge 2017

A creative spirit retreat for girls ages 10-16
June 18-23, 2017
supper potluck 3 pm Sunday June 18 - lunch Friday, June 23
Still Point Mountain Retreat near Harpers Ferry WV

Retreat to the Ridge and bring your art with you. If you draw, dance, sing, write, play a musical instrument, sculpt, sew, or otherwise create—this retreat is for you! Practice in an inspiring mountain setting; share creative experiences with one another; explore the connection between silence, spirit, and creativity; try something new in sampler sessions with guest artists. Parents and younger sibs welcome.

Retreat fee is $425. Register and pay by May 1 for $400. Scholarships are available, as well as family/sibling discounts, and discounts for girls of parent staff/artists.

Features:

Restorying the Heroine's Journey 2017: Sacred Circles and Wild Wanders

With Lisa Bardack, Julie Gabrielli, Katy Gaughan, and Lindsay McLaughlin
June 2-4, 2017
Friday dinner 6:00 pm - Sunday lunch
Rolling Ridge Study Retreat and Still Point Mountain Retreat

"Women must begin to forge alliances that will add strength to their individual voices. Women must rediscover and share their wisdom to ensure the healing of the entire planet and humanity by tapping into the vast reservoir of energy that runs beneath our common ground and is creating a new wave of women's power."
--Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers

Writing from the Soul

May 19-21, 2017
Friday evening supper through Sunday morning
The Nest near Rolling Ridge Study Retreat in Harpers Ferry WV

"You were made and set here to give voice to this,
your own astonishment."
— Annie Dillard

At its best, writing is an active process of discovery, often surprise. You might start out with one idea, only to be detoured in another direction entirely. In a very real sense, we write to discover what we think and feel. Writing allows us to give voice to the unseen around and within us.

This retreat is an opportunity to come together with fellow lovers of writing in an impromptu community that includes ceremony, journaling, free-writing, sharing, solo wanders on the land, active listening, storytelling, nourishing meals, and other soulful activities.

Join us to

Simply Silence 2017

Following an age-old prayer tradition for contemporary pilgrims with Lindsay McLaughlin and Mary Ann Welter
March 10-12, 2017
Friday evening supper through Sunday morning
Rolling Ridge Study Retreat near Harpers Ferry WV

We need to recover an oasis of silence
within the rhyme and reason of our active life,
for it is in silence
that we meet God face to face.
—Max Picard

Gather at Rolling Ridge Study Retreat for Friday Vespers, followed by 7:00 p.m. dinner and Compline. Arrive Friday after 1:00 p.m. Retreat ends on Sunday morning. Gathered participants will follow contemporary Prayer of the Hours, interspersed with generous time for silence and exploring the forest streams and byways of Rolling Ridge's 1400 acres of natural beauty.

Retreat includes five delicious home-style meals, a "spontaneous community" of gathered lovers of silence, reflections by Lindsay McLaughlin, and gentle guidance for contemplative seekers.

The Enneagram in Motion

An intensive immersion and exploration of the Enneagram led by Russ Hudson and Deborah Rose Longo with Cynthia Bourgeault
February 27 - March 4, 2017
Monday dinner - Saturday lunch
Claymont Society for Continuous Education in Charles Town, WV

The Enneagram in Motion is a special 5-day intensive immersion and exploration of the enneagram led by Russ Hudsonand  Deborah Rose Longo, with a special day of dialogue with Cynthia Bourgeault, held February 27- March 4, 2017 at Claymont Society for Continuous Education, 667 Huyett Rd., Charles Town, WV 25414.

The intent for this time together is to hold a space for an "experiential tria-a-logue" between the enneagram of personality, the Gurdjieff enneagram of transformation, and a movements immersion in a Wisdom school container. This is a unique opportunity to explore the enneagram from a kinesthetic perspective, led by some of the foremost practitioners in the world today.

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