create magic (a be present retreat)

This October, come along to the woods along Puget Sound for Create Magic, the last Be Present Retreat in 2011. 

From the evening of October 5 to the morning of October 9, we will gather at Frog Creek Lodge, on the Key Peninsula (a little over an hour south of Seattle), to experience community, create alongside like-minded souls, and give ourselves permission to be present while in a nurturing environment.

Mindy Lacefield, Vivienne McMaster, and I will be your guides on this journey inspired by the joy that can be found when we realize we can find magic and hope in our lives even when it rains. Throughout the three days of workshops, Mindy, Vivienne, and I will share a few of the creative practices we use in our daily lives, including how each of us tries to seek beauty and joy in the midst of whatever life hands us. 

photo credits: 1) Vivienne McMaster, 2) and 4) Mindy Lacefield, and 3) Liz Lamoreux

Throughout this retreat, there will be time to play with paint + paper + color, photography excursions, time to sit in the quiet and listen, opportunities to ask questions, writing and journaling prompts, an invitation to find the poet within you, moments to share pieces of your story, and a whole lot of fun. There will be a designated "art & play" room within Frog Creek Lodge where participants will have 24-hour access to art supplies and other goodies. 

Here is some more information about the workshop I will be teaching this fall:

I close my eyes and see an image of a nine-year-old little girl with brown pigtails who gathers up a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, her current Trixie Belden book, a thermos of apple juice, and her newest diary and favorite blue pen and tucks them inside a backpack. She tiptoes out the back, carefully closing the squeaky screen door and jumps down the two steps to the brick patio. She looks out toward the forest seemingly unaware that she has less than a quarter of an acre to explore as she finds the path toward her favorite log beside the chain-link fence. I often think about this little girl when I gather up my camera and journal and head out to the woods to breathe and notice and find myself again in the midst of all that must get done.

When we gather at Frog Creek Lodge, we will spend time remembering the creative journeys of our childhoods (real and imagined) as we spend time with our senses and play and write and breathe. We will discover ways to quiet our minds through guided meditation exercises and look at how focusing on our breath can connect us to our day-to-day journeys. We will examine how getting out into nature can be another tool to add to our personal and creative practices as we take in the beauty of our surroundings. We will also spend some time with our inner poet as we curl up with tea by the fireplace.

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This is one of the more intimate retreats this year with only 14 participant spots. We have recently had a few cancellations, so additional spots have opened up. I hope you will decide to come along. Feel free to email me any questions.

Head over to the Be Present Retreats website to read more about the details of this retreat.