Retreat?

[fidgiegirl]

I'm thinking about going on a short retreat in June. DH will be on his fishing trip, I'll be emerging from a busy season at work, the dogs can go to my mom & dad's house. I am not sure where to go, mostly envisioning getting a campground spot somewhere new and checking it out. Maybe bringing my bike? I am nervous that I would get bored! But I'd like to take some time to do some reflection, have some adventures (DH likes adventures, but likes them to be planned. He hates going into a big ol' empty day and seeing what unfolds, and I am craving that lately), perhaps work on my right-brain business plan exercises and just be by myself.

I keep thinking of FloatOn's retreat that she took a bit back. :)

Thoughts on retreats? Stories? Ideas?

[Kestra]

I wish I had some. I was thinking of doing something similar but am going on vacation finally with DH in June so I think I can wait until then.

I tried to web search a bit. One place it seemed you had to have a small group of people. There's a place a couple hours our of Winnipeg that has a wilderness survival course that I think would be a type of retreat. My parents know how to find Hindu Ashrams that you can just go to for a while. I think I'd like the idea of a Buddhist or Hindu ashram retreat for myself, but don't know if there are any around here. And you have to know the rules/customs I'd imagine. I wonder about boredom too. Sometimes I think it would be better to have a few select activities - random classes to attend or some type of volunteer tourism. Depends on how many days. I'm sure I could get away for a weekend just to a cabin and be fine with relaxing. But a week might be too much.

So right now I'm just trying to make my whole life more like a retreat.
But if you find a good place let me know.

[SteveinMN]

I find my brain works best on those kinds of "projects" when I'm occupied with something that is somewhat engaging -- hiking, driving on the Interstate, listening to familiar music. One getaway I really enjoyed was driving a few hours down I-35 to Ames and spending a day wandering around my alma mater's campus. I wasn't tempted to explore every square inch (having been part of it for years) and but there was enough going on that I wasn't bored. When I was working, I thought I longed for even something as extreme as a "silent retreat" but, looking back, going from 100 mph to almost zero mph that quickly probably would have been too much too soon. But everyone is different. You may be ready for complete quiet.

Might you be interested in retreats offered by, say, the Dwelling in the Woods up in McGrath or in a cabin up at Lake Maria State Park? Or maybe find a business hotel that offers a great last-minute deal on a weekend room because they want to fill up rooms? Just ideas.

I think it's great to be able to get away from household chores and staring at the home improvement project you really should get to. If you don't go too far away and don't spend too much money, even if you do get bored, you apparently have accomplished your goal and you don't lose too much.

[EDIT] apparently the Dwelling in the Woods is no more. The Web domain is unavailable. :(

[iris lilies]

Each July/August I get the urge to go off on a little sole vacation, but haven't done that yet. I haven't thought of it as a "retreat" but it would be that.

I want to drop routine and get away from the same scenes each day, seeing new places is refreshing for me. I get this urge in August becase by then lilies and iris are done, but DH's garden is in full production and he can't leave. So I can go away with him at home taking care of dogs and gardens.

So, I've thought about Savannah (in August! ugh! probably not smart) and Santa Fe, amoung other places.

[Rosemary]

Being bored is an important step in the creative process, I think!
I like to take 'retreat' days at home. Scratch everything off my list, prep food the day before, and have a personal day. Sometimes they are devoted to something like writing; sometimes they are just days to do whatever I feel like, to recover from too many days of working and taking care of others (It's easiest for me to do this when my DH is out of town, too).

We have an annual, free-except-for-gas, family retreat at our friends' lake cabin in NW Wi every summer. I still cook for everyone, but I prep most of the foods ahead of time, pack them in the cooler for the drive, and put them in the fridge when we arrive. We have to clean the day we leave, wash sheets/towels, etc, but we all pitch in and it's done pretty quickly. So for a few days we just do what we want - play games, walk outside, read by the water, sit and watch sunrise/sunset, knit and listen to the ducks, etc. It's not as rustic or isolated as a cabin in the woods, which would be my personal dream retreat spot, but it's free and relatively close.

As a household of introverts we all need quiet time away from routine and each other. That was a strong motivation for building the 3-season porch. We have our own retreat space now, attached to the house but separate, in the outdoors but away from the mosquitoes and ants.

[Float On]

Ah....thanks for remembering my retreat. It was so important and healthy for me. I did a shorter one this last Feb, and then invited my husband to join me for the rest of the weekend.
Camping would be good - (no tv available) and you won't get bored, I promise. Take a meditation book, plenty of blank paper, a little watercolor tray, a journal. Sitting in the quiet of place and mind is a very good thing to do.
Write a letter to yourself. Make a lot of lists - things you want to do, things you like about you, etc. Just lay down in the grass and listen to it grow and if you fall asleep and take a nap....that's ok too.

[steve s]

My advice - if you have the inkling do it. you have very little to lose and maybe much to gain. Be prepared for serious quiet. Both places I go to have food sometimes bordering on dreadful, but sometimes good in a simple way. Monasteries normally offer open access to bread & butter, peanut butter and fruit so no one starves.

I like to do one or two long weekends every year. Works best for me in monasteries who encourage "self-guided" retreats. I tend to join in the daily offices, although I ma not Catholic. A monastery right in St Paul (http://www.stpaulsmonastery.org/7-benedictine-center/retreatsonmyown.html) appears to offer this. I visit two Cistercian (trappist) places around here;

Redwoods Monastery (http://www.redwoodsabbey.org/) (Nuns) - very wild and remote in the headwaters forest, spend a lot of time hiking around their property. The sisters are not wild but they can be remote. Rainforest weather here.

New Clairveaux (http://www.newclairvaux.org/weekendweek-retreat.html) Monastery(monks)- Easy to get to in the Sacramento Valley, beautiful valley setting. lacks the grandeur of verdant grassy meadows and giant redwoods. Unfortunately, their region is uncomfortably hot outside most of the summer.

[Gardenarian]

I spend a lot of time alone at my cabin. Although I have the luxury of an indoor toilet and electricity, it is not so different from camping. No internet, no radio or TV or other people. I keep everything very minimal - apples, cheese, bread, a couple cans of beans. I always find the time alone refreshing.

I don't usually bring our dogs because dd doesn't like to be separated from hers and they miss each other when they're apart. I was surprised that it was kind of a relief to be free of the responsibility of caring for the dogs.

I guess that it what it is mostly about for me - freedom from responsibility for other people, animals, things, work.

I never get bored - but my best times are not sitting, they are hiking. Walking somehow unwinds all the tangles in my mind. Nothing beats a day when I've put in a lot of miles; I feel it is a kind of prayer. I start to remember who I am and what is important to me. I also do a lot of writing there and it is the *only* time I do any drawing or painting. Or climbing of trees.

When I came back after a couple days away last week, I said to dd "the problem with being home is that it is just so comfortable to sit around and do nothing." and she totally agreed. She said she always feels more alive when she is camping.

When you see how fantastic your life is with almost nothing - well, it's a huge motivator to simplify even more!

I'm looking forward to hearing how this works out for you.

[fidgiegirl]

I have booked a backpack-in campsite at Savanna Portage State Park. (http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/savanna_portage/index.html) I am pumped because I can rent a kayak if I want to, and it won't be in a campground. I can drive right through my mom and dad's town on the way to the park to drop off the dogs. I'll go for two nights this first round and see how it goes. Lots of hiking! Should be relaxing. And I will get another stamp in my state park passport. It's been a while since I got a new one! I've had that sucker eight years already! There are over 70 parks in MN so it can take a while, plus I lost focus there for a while. ;)

[SteveinMN]

Have fun, Kelli!

[Zoebird]

that sounds awesome. :)

DH does a writers retreat now once a year -- two days (one overnight) at a local park cabin. it's a share, but he goes off season, so he usually is the only person or one of two or three people. It's shared kitchen and bath, but i always get him his own bedroom.

We drop him off at the parking lot, he hikes in (about 2 miles), and then has his overnight, and hikes out the next afternoon and we pick him up. :)

[Gardenarian]

Could you tell me about the state park passport? I wonder if CA has this - sounds neat!

[fidgiegirl]

Here you go!

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/clubs.html