Retreats support dreamers, people with logic, extraverts and introverts and everyone in between. Through them you learn about people’s WHY. You learn about their purpose in life (even when they don’t know what it is) and you are often with them through life changing moments – which in turn can change yours.
In my past articles I have written about the magic of Retreats and how they change lives. How they are transformational and, when run well, you come home changed.
Retreat leaders, in their excitement of organizing, sometimes leave out some of the fundamental underlying principles and organizational steps that they need to take to make sure it is one that leaves the participants in awe. I have heard stories about experiences that are not positive, that have not set a scene of trust and inclusion. This is where you need to make sure you sprinkle the magical potion around and give it to yourself first so that you can become very clear on your WHY.
WHY are you wanting to run a Retreat? What is it that you want to give and to get back? By learning about your WHY – this is how you will come to understand how to nurture and support the extraverts and introverts with what your message is.
But how do we get to this WHY?
It is through asking yourself some very pointed questions:
1. What are you wanting to gain from this experience?
2. What are you wanting to give to others?
3. How will your offerings impact those that come?
4. In 5 years time what will the people who come say about their experience?
5. How will it fulfill you?
These are often the questions that we don’t think about. More often we are focused on the glory and the profit – and yes these are ok to feel, but it needs to go deeper than that – it needs to be at your core. Because if you organize a Retreat just for the profit factor then it will be harder to market because generally those looking for Retreats are wanting the genuine thing.
I always say to people wanting to run a Retreat have you been on one? If the answer is no then I advise them to – even if it is just a weekend. You need to be able to feel what it is like deep inside and understand when those you take have the same life altering moments.
In my recent blog I wrote about this profound experience that I had when I was in Mexico in April and I also want to share it here. Workshop wise for a Retreat it was pretty low key as it was all about connecting with our senses and the world around us.
From the moment I caught my breath waiting for the shuttle bus at Cancun airport it was like my feet were heavy on the earth (not in a bad way) but in a safe and secure way. I felt calm, like I knew where I was. Then when I went swimming in a cenote on the way to Chichen Itza something inside shifted and I had faced a huge fear of swimming in water where there were fish, and the waters healed me – in a way that was not describable. Then we arrived at the Mayan Temples where 1000’s of years of civilizations came together, and if you can imagine an electrical current running through your body then that is what the buzz felt like.
I cannot fully begin to tell you how this Retreat and the connection of the women that were there and the bond that we now have. I talk to one of them regularly through technology and it is like I ache to be home with them, to a home I have never known before – the bond of sisterhood and ancient wisdom that has clearly changed me and the way I look at life.
And that is how Retreats can change lives – through connection, with others, ourselves and the earth – and WHY your WHY is so super important in your first step of planning.
