THE APRIL WAY OF THE CONTRARY CEREMONIAL RETREAT WEEKEND
In traditional cultures, the Contrarian brought teachings and healings of energetic renewal. Bad was turned to good, negative to positive, fear, anxiety, depression and other mental ills soothed with mind-training techniques and Ceremonial spiritual purification. By moving backwards or unconventionally and often outside societal restraints, Pueblos Jesters, Hopi Clowns and Lakota Heyokas tapped into supernatural forces that restored universal balance and harmony to the community, providing emotional healing, energetic uplift & renewed life vitality
In this overnight weekend workshop, we’ll study some of the most powerful indigenous techniques for restoring mental well-being. We’ll have an opportunity to reconnect with nature in a positive, primitive way. Everyone is welcome to take part in a traditional Purification Ceremony — although the sweat is optional and all participants benefit from meditation training and simply experiencing our natural, simplified environment. This retreat weekend is for anyone and everyone who needs to reboot, reconnect, and renew mind, body and soul. Come and gain insight into living, shake off some fears, feel more in harmony with the rest of creation and spark a generally healthier, more positive approach to life.
Saturday – April 11th Schedule
Welcome 1pm
Local, Organic, Scrumptious, Farm to Table Lunch 1-2pm
Relax, explore the woods, rivers and retreat grounds 2-6pm
Gather for Meditation, Orientation & Ceremonial Intention Setting 6:30 pm
Inipi (Sweatlodge Ceremony) 7-9pm
Wopila Celebration and Feast 9pm
Deep Rest and Relaxation 10pm
Sunday – April 12th Schedule
Morning Song – a Class on making Spiritual Connections and gaining strength and wisdom through Spiritual Practice 9-10am
Breakfast 10-11am
Wind down and close 11:11 am
Option for continued exploration of retreat grounds, Lake Mishigama beaches & surrounding area
Pricing
Couple’s Package: Retreat with Overnight stay in shared bed in private room – $700/couple
*If you’d like a private room you can book this option as a single person as well.
Individual: Retreat with Overnight stay in Dorm room – $300/person
+ Note: no fee is ever charged for Ceremony, costs cover meals and retreat house stay and a contribution of any proceeds given to the Sicangu People of Rosebud, South Dakota, USA and The Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe Tribe of Park Falls, Wisconsin, USA
The benefits of Meditation in treating conditions such as anxiety, depression, and chronic pain are unparalleled. The advantages of a regular practice include reduced stress, developing a sense of inner calm, increasing physical and emotional pleasure and bolstering one’s general health, just to name a few. It is by far the most powerful tool in self-healing. During this getaway, we’ll connect deeply with the entire sweep of what meditation is all about, focusing on and fostering the skills one develops with regular practice — Concentration, Relaxation, Insights into the Nature of Reality and an ability to Unconditionally Love.
Abiding in Noble Silence for an extended weekend period, we’ll engage in sitting and walking meditation and gentle Yin yoga while enjoying light, healthy meals, and nature’s stillness. A zendo or meditation hall will be open for ongoing practice and guidance available for all levels of practitioners. This retreat is a fit for anyone who wants more surety and soundness of mind in light of an increasingly unstable outer world, and definitely those who will work to lay hold of the benefits of mindfulness – insight, empowerment and elevated self-esteem. Every single person who attends this retreat, in the words of my Teacher Shinzen Young, will “go away with a sharp new arrow in their quiver of life-skills. THE arrow in fact — a tool of immense power and generality that can be applied to improving just about every aspect of their personal human happiness.” Beginning meditators as well as the most advanced practitioners welcome.