Now it is time to put together a curriculum that really delivers. This is a creative growth opportunity for the featured presenter. Create your healing space to carry the participants to new levels of transformation and awareness. This process allows you to take your special gifts to new heights and forces you out of your own comfort zone.
In my previous series, we explored creating a One Day Destination Retreat. Filling a week takes more, in every way, and is a challenge for many. That is the main reason many spiritual teachers partner with a dedicated retreat facilitator. Let’s hear what the presenter Patty Adamik is creating for her guests at the Soul Sanctuary-ReBirth retreat coming up soon.
TERESA: With a theme of Re-Birth, you have designed the curriculum with two areas of self-discovery: physical expression and creativity exercises. Everyone asks me, “How vigorous is the movement? Do I need experience in Continuum? Is this for artists only?”
PATTY: While it seems like there are two parts to the curriculum, they are very closely intertwined.
Continuum is based on the underlying fact that we are mostly made of water, and as living beings, the movement of water within us is a constant part of our system. Continuum is an exploration of how this can be expressed and experienced through awareness, movement, and attention to sensation.
Anyone can do Continuum. It does not require any particular level of fitness or skill. You do not need prior experience or study or preparation other than curiosity. It is an inquiry asking the question “What is moving within me now?”
Similarly, the process of Intuitive Drawing is accessible to anyone. You don’t have to have any drawing skills or artistic inclinations to be able to do an Intuitive drawing. All materials will be provided. We will learn the basics which start with a guided meditation to learn your personal color meanings and then move on to how to decode the drawings after they are completed.
TERESA: In Part One you spoke about the limits of creating and living by personal myths. Is there a process to uncovering these?
PATTY: Yes, we all have our identities, our masks, and roles that we play in life. The issue is that sometimes we are living from beliefs on an unconscious level that are not true, even if they once were. We also tell stories about ourselves, to ourselves and to others, that become ingrained into our self-image.
A big part of the reason for participating in a destination retreat, in some unfamiliar surroundings, with people you do not know well is that it is an amazing opportunity to examine those stories, decide if you still want to tell them and believe them and, open space for new stories to emerge.
It’s essential, of course, to first create safety and trust in the space and with the group. That is why we take the time to get comfortable with each other. It’s why as facilitators, we take so much care to tend to not only the needs but also the desires of the participants with excellent accommodations and wonderful nourishing food.
We also strike a balance between structured activities, communal time, personal time for introspection and rest and just plain fun exploration of the locale. The goal is to encourage the participants to take a few steps out of their comfort zone, but in a luxurious and comfortable way, if that makes sense!
TERESA: What is the experience you have planned for the participants that you are most excited about?
PATTY: I enjoy the evening times after a full day of diving into the practices of Continuum and Intuitive Drawing, sharing and being together and apart. It’s usually about the third day when a magical out-of-time moment occurs, when everyone starts to feel like this is the only place there is – stress, fatigue, and anxiety have fallen away, we are in the zone and are fully present to the beautiful moment that is occurring now. That’s the transformation. When perceived, limitations have dissolved, and there is a whole new world of possibilities coming alive in each and every one of us.
TERESA: Is there anything the participants can do to more fully prepare for this experience?
PATTY: Whenever I plan a workshop or retreat, whether for a day or a week, I always say that the process begins at the moment you say YES to the experience. Once a commitment to self is made to go for it, the universe starts to prepare you in its own special way.
Synchronicities start showing up, dreams take on special significance. Even obstacles or roadblocks that make you question your decision to be part of the retreat – these are all portals opening your consciousness to the potential you have locked inside.
When someone does decide to join us for the adventure, I offer a private one-on-one call where we can connect with your reasons for coming and any goals or questions or issues that you are planning to bring into the energy of the retreat.
TERESA: Is there any follow-up planned for the group?
PATTY: Definitely! I feel like that is where so many workshops and retreats fall short. You have this amazing experience, but it is so different from your everyday life, that it doesn’t sustain after you return home. We really do want to make sure that your everyday life never feels ordinary again! That is why after the retreat, you receive follow-up support as you integrate the changes you have experienced into your daily life.
Join presenter Patty Adamik at her retreat Soul Sanctuary-ReBirth in Huatulco, Mexico, March 18-25. Her theme combines daily physical expression with Continuum Movement and creativity exercises using Intuitive Art. She is graciously sharing her process in this three-part interview series with retreat facilitator Teresa Maron.
