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Mind States
Retreats: Inspiring Action and Regeneration
by Jesse Wolf Hardin
Going to a wild and beautiful place on a nature retreat has nothing to do with disengagement or escape. It’s an opportunity to be restored to balance and to be inspired to act. Conscious and deliberate sojourns offer the chance to regenerate and recreate a state of balance and wholeness. By taking intentional time to heal, tend and nourish ourselves, we become clearer about what we need to do, while gaining the vision, strength and energy needed to make it happen. Going on retreat is a way to move forward and is a valuable first step in a personal return to wholeness that can empower our gifts to the world.
A retreat may involve a drive through the Olympic Peninsula, a burro ride into the Sierras, a boat trip to a remote island, or a walk into a canyon that requires wading the same shallow river seven times. Often we select a location for its dramatic grip upon the imagination and the senses, its powerful natural setting, or its longtime association with ceremony and magic. Perhaps it is the crashing ocean waves or a secluded forest grove that lures us. Maybe it is the stunning view from a mountain top, the cherished holy places of exotic traditions, or the colorful mesas where generation after generation of Mogollon Indians held their ceremonies and prayed. Some of us may only want to feel the river water on our bare feet and hear the call of the eagle or raven announcing our departure from the busy world of crowds and expectations as we enter into enchanted space and time.
We seek more than rest, no matter how restful such experiences can be. The Buddhist goes on retreat to deepen his or her practice. The Franciscan Friar retreats to a wilderness abbey to get away from the distractions of the parish and power struggles of the church, and closer to the experience and reality of God. The shaman leaves the comforts of the village in order to contact the truths and forces that can help him in his work upon his return. The tribal Medicine Woman, or the modern herbalist and healer, will take time out in the forest or desert where she can heal, feed and affirm herself—and in this way, be better able to give to others. Likewise, businesswomen, community activists and urban merchants often realize that they can accomplish more of their goals in the long run if they first take some time out of their busy schedules to give to themselves. More and more, healers are defining health as wholeness and vitality, both of which are gifts we can give ourselves through focused and regenerating retreat.
There is no one who cannot benefit from a temporary halt in the usual flow of obligations and events, whether it is a weekend or even an entire month away from the daily planner, the instant messenger, and the nagging phone. A retreat leaves behind personal habits and rigid schedules, leading us into a dramatically different environment and pace. It is the opportunity to be away from the usual comforts that insulate us from ecstatic connection, exciting adventure and the sometimes challenging elements. In that way, it propels us further into vibrant, spirit-filled, sensate experience. A nature retreat brings us closer to the natural world that calms and heals, challenges and stirs, empowers and instructs. It connects us to our inner nature, uniting us with our authentic feelings, needs, abilities, potentials, hopes and dreams.
Retreats need not be uncomfortable, but they are never about convenience—any more than love, art, children, or one’s valuable project or mission. Even at their most comfortable, there may still be the purposeful inconvenience of no television, thermostat or telephone. There may also be the matter of adjusting our work schedules, arranging for child care and transportation, telling friends we will be unavailable, and temporarily suspending the million and one things that we would normally be doing. Such intention, effort, and follow-through make the retreat all the more powerful, helping to ensure that its effects are longer lasting.
Whatever the cost in getting there, we pay a much higher price when we neglect to treat, tend and recharge ourselves. This may manifest as hypertension, heart attacks, premature aging, disrupted sleep, or simply having feelings of unease, dissatisfaction, ambivalence or despair. It can help to take a single hour of the day, every day, and make it a set time for focused ritual. By turning off the mental loops and consciously re-inhabiting our bodies, emotions, and spirit, we sense ourselves in connection to all that is, and draw vision and energy from the earth beneath our floors. The key is how deliberate we make that hour. This directly relates to how dedicated we are to the purpose of our personal and enlivened wholeness. As we better ourselves in some small way, we affect the whole world of which we are an integral part.
Going on retreat was never meant to be a substitute for direct action, but rather, a way to be nurtured, instructed, energized and empowered. After a retreat helps us sort out what really matters to us most, we still need to act on our priorities. It remains up to us to make the most of our regeneration, to utilize the energy, and manifest the visions that retreats provide.
Jesse Wolf Hardin is a teacher and founder of Animá nature-informed practice and the author of seven related books. He and his partners offer empowering online Medicine Woman, Shaman Path and Path of Heart correspondence courses, as well online counsel and healing consultations. Readers of Vision Magazine are invited for wilderness retreats, vision quests, student internships and events at the Animá Sanctuary, a wild river canyon and ancient place of power: Animá Learning & Retreat Center, Box 688, Reserve, NM 87830, www.animacenter.org.