If we surrendered to Earth’s intelligence, we could rise up rooted like trees – Rainer Maria Rilke
What a great weekend for a retreat. Living in the city can be trying… from the pollution to the traffic, to all of the people. So overwhelming at times. As soon as I stepped out of the van, a sense of relief took over with the mountain’s energy, which put my mind at ease.
After getting settled, I started to participate in workshops. As someone who hasn’t found a type of yoga I connect with, I’m not interested in classes. I appreciated that the organizer of the event had workshops in mind, body, and spirit.
I participated in a series of workshops throughout the day. My favorite one was on essential oils and stress relief. The main reason for this was the presenter. She was hilarious. I love being around people from different cultures. Many cultures are blunt and just get to the point.
This woman epitomized that as she let us know what to do versus not to do while cussing along the way. “Rosie, I like this woman!” Her class so informative and gave the participants valuable information. We were able to create our essential oils to bring home, which was great.
As the day wound down, some amazing acoustic singers starting strumming their guitars and singing. Many different languages from the singers, Spanish, Chinese, and English. The music fit the group that had joined me on this journey. It’s been nice to connect and meet some spiritual humans. I finally got a chance to meet someone who supported my blog. Such a great, kind soul. I appreciate her company this weekend.
Night time- Cacao ceremony with Leone. I’ve participated in the ceremonies before, so I was excited about this. In the previous ceremonies, I found the cacao so bitter. In this ceremony, the shaman mixed the cacao with rose and other herbs, which gave a sweet taste. The ceremony was beautiful, and it featured concepts I’m learning in my Shaman class. I was able to release some fears and feelings of self-doubt that had crept into my life over the past couple of weeks.
I love mornings and usually wake up early to start my day off right. My fantastic path begins before I even step out of my bed—mediation and affirmations of gratitude. Today, I decided to take a walk on the Skywalk witness some marvelous views of the sunrise. I feel my name is so fitting for me, Dawn ( 黎明 Liming in Chinese).
Sometimes I forget to be careful when I do things on my own. I was walking on the sky bridge and noticed that my arms were collecting webs on them as I walked. “Dawn, watch out for spiders.” To be surrounded by butterflies, the sound of birds welcoming us to the new day, and the river flowing is a true blessing—the silence of humans, yet the joyous sounds of nature.
After breakfast, I was able to talk to Leone, the shaman who ran the cacao ceremony. She’s been traveling to the jungles of Peru for years and learning their wisdom. It was nice to share with someone who truly understands some experiences others may not.
While it was nice to be at a retreat, I find myself not relating to a certain kind of energy anymore. While most of the people were kind, I notice specific energies. I haven’t been around a group of people since covid-19, and I find I recognize more when people have a low frequency. Everyone is trying to figure out this thing called life, and for some of the people that I saw at the retreat, my prayers are sent to them.
I’m thankful for this opportunity and all of the hard work put into making this retreat great. I sincerely thank all of those who organized this event to make it a great weekend.
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