The winds whipped fiercely around our desert dwelling… a constant, thrumming reminder of the necessity to let. go.
They say that the most powerful work happens when the surrounding environment is enrolled in the process.
Well, on our recent Joshua Tree Desert Dreaming retreat, grandfather wind was enrolled with us… whether we liked it or not.
He made the nights bitterly cold. He threatened to uproot our ceremony tent. He did not calm when we asked him. He was absolutely untamable.
He was here to show us the power of our own wild nature.
What happens when our masks get stripped away? What happens when we howl with authenticity? What happens when all filters get removed? What happens when we dare to reveal our full selves?
Sometimes, like gale-force winds, it’s a dangerous thing. Most of us have a deep fear of really being seen for all of who we are. “It’s UGLY in there,” we think.
“No one could possibly love me if they saw who I really am.”
But, what if no one can possibly love you UNLESS you let yourself truly be seen?
At this retreat, again and again, we experienced, embodied, and integrated the potency available to us when we stop trying to be anything and just… be.
For people who have been labeled as “too much” for lifetimes (or… as not enough), such unfetteredness and unconditional acceptance is a bone-deep balm. Being seen in the mess, being unconditionally accepted, received, supported, and loved… these things are rare and precious gems. Our local communities, relationships, friendships, and families don’t always have the capacity to love us the way we need to be loved.
This unconditional love is the most powerful healing force in the universe. We’ve seen the lasting impact of this level of care at each session, circle, and retreat we’ve hosted.
Paired with home-cooked nourishment, soul-sound healing, the strongest shamanic ceremony I’ve ever held or witnessed (and that’s saying something), plus unexpected adventures, and you have the recipe for rapid-fire transformation. What began as Desert Dreaming became embodied in each guest as a declaration of LOVE. Each one came home with their priorities shifted… Where love seemed to be dead and stagnant, new life was blooming. Masks fell away. Lineages were claimed. Laughter was re-ignited. Magic was seen everywhere.
Above all, capacities were opened to be WITH all that is unfolding in these crazy, scary, unpredictable, magnificent times we’re living in.
What’s possible in only two-and-a-half days?
Your mind might say… not much. Dismiss. A retreat could easily seem like a frivolous distraction. A waste of resources and time. How could a weekend change your life?
Your soul whispers… but… what if it could?
As one of our guests laughingly admitted, “Wow. This hippie shit actually WORKS.”
So, I invite you to feel into these images and words; which only capture a fraction of the magic that happened at our Joshua Tree retreat. If any part of this experience causes your soul to reach for something similar, then consider joining us for our upcoming retreat offerings.
Come, see what it’s like to embody your truth, witness healthy feminine-masculine dynamics, and be held and celebrated for your undomesticated, messy, wildly human self. You are magic. Re-member with us.
