Retreats Change Lives – They Just Do! I say this a lot – I have seen it, sat in ‘awe’ of their magic and felt it on a deep personal and spiritual level. They let you bathe in their light and will leave you for ever changed.
Retreats can happen close to home or in faraway mystical lands, ones that leave you immersed not only in what you are learning but in the culture of your surrounds as well. They step you from your ordinary lives into the extraordinary – just for a moment so you can stop, reflect and reconnect with yourself.
Each month I will take you on a different journey – share stories about how they transform and change lives. If you have never been on a Retreat that does change lives, then let me show you how.
But first a little about me. I am a 45 year old mother of 2 teenage boys, a stepmother to 2 teenage girls, a partner to an amazing man, a daughter to a mother that lives with us, a pet mum to our dogs and cats, a friend and Retreat Mentor. I was a social worker for 26 years, and for the past 20 years I have run Retreats in my holidays and had many pivoting moments in my life. As we go along, you will learn more about my journey to get me to where I am.
This month I want to share the story of Margaret who came to a Retreat to Bali just two years ago. Part of the promise for this program was for women to come away having dug deep into their souls and finding the things that are stopping them from living their lives to their full potential. She was in her 50’s, divorced, with two grown up daughters and felt empty and bitter about life. In Bali she started to blossom. She talked about her childhood living with her grandparents as her parents had addiction issues, how she saw how angry and bitter her grandmother was about life, and how as an adult she then continued the cycle of being with a man with alcohol issues. We dug deep, we talked, we cried and worked through this pain. But this was only part of it.
In Bali you can feel a deep spiritual connection the moment you step off the plane. The energy from the earth and the intersection of energy lines through Bali mean that the healing and the energy are there to access if you are open to them. Many feel them, and many do not. While there, Margaret started to access this energy which in turn supported her in her healing. She came home new – she accessed some counseling to help her childhood trauma and happiness workshops to see what she wanted from life.
Nine months later she came on a different Retreat with me to Vietnam where we took a Journey into the ancient wisdom of the culture. She had truly continued on that path of blossoming, and she wept as she had beautiful dresses made in Hoi An, and she had truly embarked on her connection to herself and her heart while experiencing time with other woman in a place far, far away from her home… An experience that she never would have gotten on a normal, sitting by a pool holiday (not that there is anything wrong with these!). In August she will join me on a Journey of Grandeur in Europe – a small and select group where we will marvel at the Grandeur of Europe from Paris to Venice and Greece as well. I cannot wait to see her there and hear how her journey has continued.
So when I say Retreats Change Lives – They Just Do – its stories like these that show it time and time again. If you don’t know how or want to see it for yourself, then please, check out this video I made that shows just this – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCdUCAjcz9o
I cannot wait to share more with you, and next time I will talk about Penny who found the strength to take time out for her and go on a life changing journey to Morocco where she conquered personal barriers and fears.
