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What’s this retreat all about? Details:

So often we rush headlong through our days, our weeks, our lives, missing out on the real moments, those places where the spark of the Divine is so close we could almost touch it — if only we’d been paying attention. We tell ourselves we don’t have time, but the truth is we don’t need more time but rather more presence. When we seek beauty right where we are, we discover God in our midst, in the ordinary events and mundane moments of our lives.

The Divine is not a distant dream but a daily reality. Join writer and retreat leader Mary DeTurris Poust for a weekend focused on this beautiful truth and how to let it unfold in your life day by day. This retreat will include not only formal presentations but guided meditation, optional yoga classes, journaling, poetry, collage as prayer, and small doses of silence to soothe the soul. Come away for a short time to restore your serenity, recharge your energy, and recognize God alongside you every step of the way.

Check in begins at 4pm and the retreat will begin after dinner. Lunch is included on Sunday before departure. Info and registration HERE.

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Join me for the fifth-annual Stillpoint Retreat, which offers participants not only spiritual practices to help discover the divine in the everyday but the time and space to explore and dive deep. We will dabble in a little of everything: prayer, journaling, creativity, guided meditation, music, movement, and more.

The weekend is anchored by presentations to help you refocus your spiritual lives and guidance on how to put practices into place amid everyday life. Optional yoga classes will be offered both mornings. (Bring a yoga mat if you have one!) Our annual Saturday night bonfire (weather permitting) is a favorite way to connect with our growing Stillpoint community. A period of silence will be observed in the early mornings and through breakfast, providing another beautiful way to connect with the still, small voice of the Spirit.

My first experience of PLC was 15 years ago as a participant in the Merton in the Mountains silent retreat led by the beloved Walt Chura. Expect to find plenty of Merton (and quite a bit of Walt) in my Stillpoint retreat experience.

Cost: $205, all inclusive. You’ll get rustic accommodations at the always-beautiful Pyramid Life Center with its mountains and lake, island and waterfall. It’s a beautiful gem in the lower Adirondack Mountains, the kind of place you never want to leave and you always want to come back to. In addition, that price includes homemade meals, kayaking or canoeing, swimming (if it’s warm), and all retreat activities — from daily talks and reflections and optional daily yoga sessions to journaling and collage-as-prayer. Plenty of free time is built into the schedule for doing your own thing, in solitude or with a retreat friend.

Information and registration HERE.

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Does that mean we should just give up the whole idea of transformation? No. But it does mean we have to rethink what we’re really looking for when we make a resolution that goes only skin deep and doesn’t get to the stuff underneath that usually creates the need for a resolution in the first place. Enter my annual rallying cry: ReVolution Not Resolution! You do not need to make resolutions. In fact, I challenge you to go against the grain and refuse to make any resolution whatsoever. Instead, promise yourself that you’re going to do something more meaningful and more lasting, something that helps you blossom into the Self you were created to be. The journey of inner transformation is the only real way to make the “progress” we seek in our spiritual lives and in our lives in general.

To that end, I’ll be offering an evening retreat — both in-person and online — for those who would like to take up this exciting and fulfilling challenge. We will talk about all the ways we block our own path when it comes to making our daily lives more peaceful and joyful and learn some practical exercises for clearing away the obstacles and moving forward. You can’t fail at this plan. If you don’t do what you set out to do, you just begin again right where you are. No resolution broken, no plan to abandon until another New Year’s Eve rolls around.

Hosted by Christ the King Retreat House in Syracuse and available to anyone in any region via Zoom, this workshop will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 4, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Two weeks after the event, on Wednesday, Jan. 18, at 6:30 p.m., we will hold an hourlong Zoom follow-up session for all participants so we can check in, share progress or challenges, and just generally support each other in our efforts to keep on keeping on.

If you’d like to read more about this approach to starting the new year off right, you can head over HERE to read a previous post on this favorite topic of mine. If you’d like more info on the retreat or the registration link, click HERE to go to the CTK website.

Click HERE to read a recent story on my upcoming retreat in the latest issue of The Catholic Sun.

Photo by SOULSANA on Unsplash.

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The retreat is $175, all-inclusive. What does that mean? You’ll get rustic accommodations at the always-beautiful Pyramid Life Center with its mountains and lake, island and waterfall. It’s a beautiful gem in the lower Adirondack Mountains, the kind of place you never want to leave and you always want to come back to. In addition, that price includes homemade meals, kayaking or canoeing, swimming (if it’s warm), and all retreat activities — from daily talks and reflections and optional daily yoga sessions to journaling and collage-as-prayer, plus a Saturday night bonfire, weather permitting. Plenty of free time is built into the schedule for doing your own thing, in solitude or with a retreat friend.

Here are a few comments from some folks who joined me for the Stillpoint retreat at Pyramid in years past:

“Who would think that spiritual renewal could be so much fun? You get the best of everything at the Stillpoint retreat! Meditation, prayer, inspiring talks which lead to sharing, time to hike, kayak, attend Mass, yoga. Lifetime friendships are made all in the backdrop of splendorous Pyramid Lake! Cannot wait for next year!”  — Karen

“Mary has chosen an ideal destination of beauty and seclusion at Pyramid Life Center in the Adirondacks, for a weekend of respite from everyday bustle and strain. She gently introduces multiple avenues toward peaceful renewal including her own insights, well-chosen readings emphasizing self-nurturing and acceptance, acknowledging gratitude with everyday life occurrences, yoga, sharing, and silent mindful reflection. There is freedom to explore or relax in the natural splendor of the lake, the hills and surrounding wooded trails, with loon song, brilliant stars and the scent and cradle of the woods.” — Margie

“This weekend was a gift! Thank you to Mary, the other retreatants, Brian and his staff for a wonderful experience!” — Ann

“This weekend’s Stillpoint retreat left me reflective, spirit filled and in a better place than I was a few days ago! Thanks to Mary, all participants and PLC staff!” — Cherie

“Mary- it truly was an amazing experience this past weekend and you planted so many seeds with your knowledge and passion. I’m already doing my homework and looking up this and that and continuing my stillness in my routine. I am grateful and wish many blessings for all.” — Kristen

“Thank you, Mary, for another phenomenal retreat! I will hold it in my heart through the year.” — Eileen

Registration link is HERE (opens in a new tab). Scroll down until you see the Stillpoint listing. See you at Pyramid!

There’s a chair with your name on it. What are you waiting for?

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So often we imagine that in order to be loved we must become better, different, perfect. But what if the things we think need to be “fixed” in order to make us more lovable — the flaws and weaknesses, mistakes and sins — are the very things that make us beautiful in our own way? In this retreat, we will use Psalm 139 as a touchstone and will learn to see our brokenness as a beauty mark instead of a scar.

We will use prayer, stories, humor, journaling and more to remove the filters that color our vision and see ourselves as God does — wonderfully made, imperfections and all. An optional yoga class will be offered on Saturday morning. This will be a semi-silent retreat; silent breakfasts and silent evenings after closing sessions. (For those who want deeper silence, there is the option to take all meals in silence.)

The all-inclusive cost is $300, but if you register by April 25, you can get the early bird rate of $280. Information and registration HERE.

For those who would like a little more info on this gem of a retreat center: It is located in south central Maryland and is easily accessible to the Baltimore/Washington Region. From the website: “The Center sits at the highest point of 313 acres of pastures and woodlands adjacent to Patapsco State Park and commands spectacular views of some of Maryland’s most beautiful countryside. The facilities are fully air-conditioned with spacious and comfortable meeting rooms of various sizes as well as 70 individual overnight rooms with private bathrooms.” You can view room amenities HERE. And you can watch a video tour of the grounds HERE.

Join us, and give yourself some much-needed self-care to start your summer season.

The post ‘Broken, Beautiful and Beloved,’ a June 25-27 retreat at Bon Secours in Maryland appeared first on Not Strictly Spiritual.

The retreat is $175, all-inclusive. What does that mean? You’ll get rustic accommodations at the always-beautiful Pyramid Life Center with its mountains and lake, island and waterfall. It’s a beautiful gem in the lower Adirondack Mountains, the kind of place you never want to leave and you always want to come back to. In addition, that price includes homemade meals, kayaking or canoeing, swimming (if it’s warm), and all retreat activities — from daily talks and reflections and optional daily yoga sessions to journaling and collage-as-prayer. Plenty of free time is built into the schedule for doing your own thing, in solitude or with a retreat friend.

Here are a few comments from some folks who joined me for the Stillpoint retreat at Pyramid in 2020:

“Honest, this was one of the best weekends all fall for me.”

“…wonderful, uplifting and healing weekend nurtured by Mary and the amazing PLC staff. I have known PLC for over 30 years but now will ‘see’ it in a newly expanded way. Thank you all for your sharing, thoughts, laughter, and your presence at this Thin Space as we travel on our Pilgrim Journey together. I felt the presence of Soul Friends among you.”

“One week ago today I was checking into heaven! Not literally, of course, but if I had to describe heaven, it would be:
Beautiful surroundings
Beautiful souls, like minded souls
Laughter ( when we weren’t silent, of course )
Learning more of what we’ve come to love, prayer, meditation
Doing something new ( for me, yoga )
The Eucharist,
Meeting new friends
Delicious food
Beautiful weather, warm sun, starlight at night
And a promise to return”

Registration link is HERE. Scroll down until you see the Stillpoint listing. See you at Pyramid!

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A very brief invitation to my Seattle Advent retreat. My first time in the Pacific Northwest. I loved it, and I found a spiritual vibe everywhere — at Pike Place Market, in the Ubers I called, at the vendor where I bought local wine. It may be the land of the “nones,” but the Force is strong with this one. Loved my visit. Can’t wait to go back again someday when I have more time to island hop. Thank you to St. Monica Church on Mercer Island and to the very welcoming folks of Seattle. (You have to sit through one minute of an empty ambo while they announce me. Never fear, I do eventually show up there.)

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Yes, we are all also in the process of living, but, like it or not, the dying part is wrapped up in it, often so deep we manage to ignore it until there’s no choice. This past month, dying was front and center. I left Pyramid Life Center the next morning only to learn my childhood friend, Kari, had died late the night before. I cried for most of the drive home as I thought about her smiling face, about the children, husband, siblings, father and many friends she leaves behind, and about the stellar way she lived her life and the graceful way she lived her death.

Kari’s death followed close on the heels of the death of a Jesuit priest we knew through campus ministry at Le Moyne College in Syracuse. When our son first visited the college, it was Father John Bucki, S.J., whose broad smile, open arms and wise words drew all of us in. I have no doubt he played a big role in making Le Moyne Noah’s top choice, and he continued to be a powerful influence right to the end, not just on the students on campus but on all of us who were caught in the gravitational pull of his joy for life and for his vocation. It was a beautiful thing.

When both of these dear people died, the Facebook posts left on their pages told a story of lives well lived but, more than that, lives touched. Scrolling by on my computer screen were people expressing gratitude and recounting stories of how Kari and Father Bucki made them better people and, in some cases, changed the course of their lives through the simple act of loving first, always, no matter what.

So, when I heard those words—“For those who are in the process of dying…”—I thought not of those on death’s doorstep but of my own inevitable journey toward death, whenever that may be, and the legacy I might leave behind. I cannot hope to have the impact that either Kari or Father Bucki had, but can I, in the time I have left, love a little better, smile a little more, weave a little extra joy and compassion and grace into the process?

I got my answer on how to do that on the last morning of the retreat. Another group staying on the grounds was preparing for a full-immersion baptism in the crystal clear (and very chilly) lake. A group of us hurried down the hill to witness it. As we stood on the shore, a woman dressed in her Sunday best walked into the water, aided by friends from her church. After she was baptized, she came up out of the lake beaming with happiness. The faith and grace and power of that moment left many of us with tears running down our smiling faces. A few minutes later, another woman stepped forward, a little more tentatively. In an effort to ease her way, one of the ministers said, “With every step, say ‘Jesus.’” And suddenly the clouds in my cluttered mind parted and those words were all I could see.

We are all in the process of dying. The only way to get through that is to keep inching toward heaven, no matter what the world throws at us, and with every step, say “Jesus.”

This column first appeared in the October 12, 2017, issue of Catholic New York.

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Here are some highlights:

• Silence in the early morning through breakfast.
• Mindfulness practice with your morning meals
• Several spiritual talks…on the cravings that get in the way of our relationship with God, on weaving prayer into everyday life, on spiritual friendship, on embracing our own brokenness and learning to love ourselves as God loves us.
• Collage as prayer
• Opportunities to pray together and apart in different formats
• Poetry, music, journaling, nature, creativity
• Disconnecting from email, texting, social media
• Opportunities to hike, kayak, nap, or do whatever it is you need most

The cost is $150 for the entire weekend, including the program, accommodations, meals and activities. Pyramid is a rustic retreat center, with a lovely lodge with two big screened porches, a big dining hall, a log cabin chapel, a small meditation house on the lake, a “tree house” looking out over the lake and lots of nooks and crannies for stealing some quiet time.

The weekend begins at 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8, with dinner at 6 p.m. and our first introductory session at 7:30 p.m. The retreat concludes with lunch on Sunday, Sept. 10, although you are welcome to stay on the premises until 2 p.m. As of this writing, it looks like we’ll have our own priest on hand to celebrate Mass for us on Saturday evening or Sunday morning, which is a wonderful bonus.

To register, click HERE and sign up through Pyramid’s online form. Once we have our final group, I’ll send out an email with some additional info, but just to give you some ideas… Plan to bring a journal, scissors, a glue stick, some old magazines (3 should be plenty). If you’re a photographer, bring your camera (or your phone in airplane mode) and use it as a way to pray visually. If you draw, bring a sketch pad. Whatever gives you peace and helps you connect with God. We’ll talk more about it in the days ahead. I can’t wait to see you there.

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