OCTOBER 26-31, 2023
Mission Lake, WA
30 miles west of Bremerton
A ferry ride from Seattle + 35 minute drive
The primary task of a good transformational retreat, is not to answer your questions, but to question your answers
The time known as All Hallows Eve or Hallowe'en in mystic Christian tradition is the day before All Saints Day, when "saints" are honored--the people who have attained heaven.
The evening before this day is the evening before holiness is attained, the night before this holy day.
But long before this beautiful story, there was Samhain in a very ancient Celtic tradition connected to the land. October 31st was New Year's eve. The beginning of a brand new year, with the harvest in, and the veil between the living and the dead was especially thin. Time to go within, with stores for winter handled, and enter the Great Mystery. This is a time when the spirits visit, we make contact with the past, with what has been....and allow it to show us what we need to learn.
Perhaps this is each and every one of us, over and over again. We experience not-holy-yet, then holy. Then not-holy again, then holy. We struggle, our thinking comes, our thinking goes. Our thinking loves us so much, it is ever at our service.
With The Work, we see through this illusion of thought--how we're seeing ourselves, and our lives--and celebrating the illusion with joy and playfulness. We get to play in our "innermost" disguises, our disappointments, hurts, furies, rages. Being human is welcome on retreat. Being human becomes most holy and trustworthy, when we question the meaning-making machine called "our thoughts".
Who are we, without our stories? What's that like? Together we get to explore this wonderful experience of being human, thinking, feeling....and play in the mystery. Just like we do as children putting on costumes.
Nothing like a gathering of like-minded people to share in this powerful understanding, together.
What an amazing gift to step outside of daily life, connect with others, and deeply listen to our inner conversation with reality. Situations, relationships, behaviors come into focus and clarity is found.
This retreat is right for you, if:
Welcome. This retreat is for you.
“I did The Work, because I was in a hurry.” ~ Byron Katie
By the end of our retreat together, you will....
You'll look at what you consider to be "problems" (tiny or large) and listen to what your mind says about them, without interruption, without pushing them away.
To meet our thoughts about ourselves, what we're most ashamed of, terrified of, and what we feel is unforgivable....is life-changing.
You'll get to see what your worst fears are about this temporary body, your temporary life, and open to who you are beyond body and self identity
You'll question loss, absence, what you believe should be present that is not (money, a person, the way it used to be). You'll question suffering about impermanence.
Understand what you can change and what you can't in any situation, with any person, with love, acceptance and even joyful excitement.
Through hearing others' experience, facilitating others and receiving facilitation, you will connect in the most authentic way possible.
RETREAT will immerse you strongly in the power of The Work of Byron Katie, so you can relax into the freedom of being a happy human, trust and do what works for you in your unique and beautiful life, find like-minded friends as co-facilitators on the journey, and genuinely welcome what is.
It's not just a lofty dream only a select few are capable of falling into, this loving-what-is way of seeing the world. It is who and what you truly are, what we all are. We recognize this when we don't believe our thoughts.
Enrolling reserves your spot.
"I had heard great things about Grace and I was not disappointed. Her way was gentle, and she always had a great reminder/ suggestion/new perspective that really landed for me."
"I feel extremely grateful for this experience. Now I have quirky new ways of looking at things, such as: 'Everything you need to have a wonderful life will come to you'. More slowing down and letting myself be. This retreat has helped me to open my heart to my own life."
"The retreat met my expectations. It's helpful to witness others sharing their stressful thinking and see them turn it around...Makes me feel connected to the human race."
After graduating with her Master's Degree in 1997 in Applied Behavioral Science, Grace began working as a Certified Counselor in Washington State in 2003.
After her first School for The Work with Byron Katie in 2005, she changed her entire approach to mental health treatment to focus on the peace and solutions already existing within each of us when we question what we're thinking and believing.
She saw a way of life in practicing self-inquiry that brought loving kindness and empowered acceptance to any troubling situation. She witnessed freedom blossoming in others who had suffered from compulsive behaviors, repetitive fears and angst in relationships. Her private practice built and expanded every year and has been thriving ever since. Gathering in groups is one of her favorite ways of diving into The Work.
"We're all walking each other home". ~ Ram Dass
OCTOBER ALL HALLOWS RETREAT
Practicing self-inquiry changes lives
"I think Grace has an amazing, loving heart and I can feel how much she loves people and makes it really safe. It’s not clinical, Grace makes me feel so safe and cared for. From safety, I've found courage and freedom to be."
"This is the best modality I could think of to practice The Work. Small group. I felt like it was on the fast track. I quit smoking pot on the last retreat. This was perfect access for me, not being able to go to the School for the Work."
"The Work in person sticks with me. Away from families, jobs, stressors, you can really be there, unlike at home when you have everything around you. Taking this time has been an oasis."
"It feels like my soul was caged, and now the jail door is wide open. I can fly. I can face problems, I can face fears and anger. It is amazing!"
TO ALL PARTS OF
OURSELVES
Thursday, October 26th. Arrive any time after 4:00pm
Dinner 6pm. We'll share our first dinner at our Lodge together. Around 7:30pm we'll gather in our circle to start at the very beginning: welcoming internally our troubles, concerns, frustrations and stressful situations causing pain. We'll dive into identifying and articulating our thoughts in writing. Whether you're brand new to The Work or very experienced, to not hold back--to authentically tap your freedom to identify your pain--can bring great relief. You'll know exactly where to begin.
Retreat in The Work is new and unique every time. The individuals present, the environment, the circumstances, the weather (both inside and outside), the greater world events all organically contribute to a living, creative process.
The benefits of finding your way back home into your own kind, loving, magnificent heart is beyond words. When we question our perceptions of what has happened in our lives, what we've interpreted as true, and what we imagine or predict about the future, our creativity, energy and joy can flow in the Don't Know Mind.
No matter what you've gone through, no matter how much you've suffered, it is possible to find peace and clarity in the present moment.
We will dive into the following topics so you can see what you think and believe, and inquire:
Retreat also offers the practice of detaching from patterns of habit, including the way we eat and take in the world. We will all contribute to meals and clean-up. We will have this space privately to ourselves. How retreat of this kind has been done in the past very successfully is two people are paired for one meal to acquire and prepare the food. Then you can sit back and relax for every other meal.
If we do it this way--if you're coming without a car, we will all pitch in, add up our costs for meals, and divide them equally at the end. Others can do the shopping for you if you need it. It's always a fun community event to offer meals (you may have some thinking about it that's worth questioning) and let go of thoughts about it being "good".
To make it easiest for everyone, we'll stick with whole-foods-plant-based primary dishes (other foods are OK if you want them on the side). We'll be taking into account everyone's dietary needs and preferences, allergies and ways of eating.
NOTE: If anyone is interested in taking on the role of Food Coordinator in exchange for attending retreat, please write grace@workwithgrace.com. This person would replace the need for folks to provide ingredients but people would still be responsible for assembling one meal and cleaning up. Tasks: purchase all food and ingredients (basic list provided, it will need to be adapted to WFPB foods), unpack and store food onsite, help prep first night dinner. You will be reimbursed for all purchases.
NOTE: We will have one day of fasting (optional) to be in the presence of physical hunger and notice it's relationship to mental and emotional hunger, and to understand the way certain physical sensations we all share have an affect on our thoughts about life. Who are we without our stories? It may be more peaceful than you *think*.
Grace will share exercises that have helped her clearly identify what the feelings showing up in her experience have to say, and what is beyond our psychology when we inquire. These exercises came from journaling, asking some common questions posed in The Work, and noticing the ever-present return to home. They are offered with the awareness that everyone has within what is needed for their own healing, their own amazing life.
Examples of these exercises:
9am-Noon Morning Session + Silent Meditation
Noon-2pm Lunch + Break
2pm-5:30pm Afternoon Session + Silent Meditation + "silent walk" (walk could also happen in the morning)
5:30pm - 7:30pm Dinner Prep for dinner + meal
7:30pm-9:00pm Evening Session
10:00pm Quiet hour--silence in our Retreat House
OCTOBER HALLOWEEN RETREAT
Our dining room and kitchen
FAQS
We're meeting in a beautiful rustic artist's lodge on Mission Lake about 30 minutes drive from Bremerton, Washington called The Rockland Woods Lodge, Lake & Land.
3467 North Mission Road West Bremerton, Washington USA
Are commuters welcome?
Not for this retreat. If you live very close by and you really could drive to us daily, just ask.
What kind of food will be served?
We'll either be pitching in together to each take responsibility for one meal (with a partner) OR we'll have food provided. Stay tuned for updates. We'll draw from the menu of Dr. Michael Gregor's Non-Profit Nutrition Facts, a Whole Foods Plant Based diet (nutritionfacts.org). If you have very special needs, you're encouraged to supplement your meals as needed. Food is encouraged to be very simple, nourishing, and free from additives, processed foods and refined ingredients. IF YOU ARE TRAVELING and bringing food seems a burden...please ask for support. We will pitch in and provide.
The community has always come together to feed each and every one of us well. People will be attending who come in cars, and there will be grocery stores nearby. Grace will make suggestions for anyone who is unsure about WFPB meals. At some point towards the end of retreat, we'll all put our receipts for food that is shared and reconcile costs so we all contribute the same.
Family Style Community Meals: We'll be sharing meals together. You'll have at least one meal where you'll be helping to assemble and set out the meal (you'll have a partner), and clean up the dishes afterwards. Together, we'll get to create ease, and everyone will both receive and offer help community style. This is an important aspect of our time together as inter-related, inter-dependent beings. Part of the joy of this retreat is learning to feed ourselves simply, and well, in the presence of others, without suffering.
Beverages: Teas and coffee will be provided.
Leaving Extras Behind
You're encouraged to let go of all the following stimulants and distractions during the entire retreat together (and, there's no "wrong" way to do it): texting, shopping, screens and entertainment, TV, phone conversations, surfing the internet, telling stories, smoking, drinking alcohol, over-exercising, vitamins, planning, analyzing, flirting or anything you believe is necessary and required to add for a happy, fun, entertaining life. It's been said the one most important thing in life is learning to enjoy yourself, when you're all by yourself.
Often, to not turn to our usual patterns of behavior can help us see clearly how our minds run and what they're saying about Doing or Not Doing that causes suffering. Our intention is not for control or willpower building, but freedom to observe what's present when we remove distractions, suppressants and escapes. What's here? Am I OK?
Over the years of working with people and within herself on ailments in which food and eating played a part in suffering, Grace has noticed the fear present around hunger or fullness, fear of food and eating despite wanting it desperately at times, and the belief in the danger of going without: stimulating food, money, caffeine, entertainment, purpose, approval, love.
We are open to looking at the mind's chatter about absence of behaviors, certain types of foods included, to feel the presence of safety, security and peace whether our object of desire is present, or not. We notice the mind's movement into the future (reunited with a special kind of food--or whatever our focus of desire) and allow inquiry to meet our current direct experience.
Click the Enroll Button and you'll reserve your spot by paying your tuition plus the base for lodging. There are some lodging choices that are not dorm style: one private bedroom with a king bed, three tent platforms with beds and heaters. 4 people will share one bedroom with regular beds. There is room for 6-8 people lined up on mattresses in the upper level meeting space. If you prefer the tent platform or private room with a king bed, please write to Grace for the additional add-on cost.
All payments are 100% refundable within 31 days of the event, or Sept 25th, 2023 at Noon Pacific Time. If you'd like to get a refund for your enrollment within 31 days or less of the event, we may have individuals on a waiting list, so feel free to reach out. However, if you are canceling less than 31 days from the event--and waiting list folks are not available to fill your spot--there is no refund. When we are less than 31 days from the event, it can be difficult to fill your place, and we are reserving and pre-paying for all the rooms, with no refund for us.
We're listening to what our thoughts are saying about life, ourselves, what's good, what's bad, and we're invited to see....it's only our thoughts.
When we let our thoughts freely express what we want, dream of, long for, or need....we've got a keyhole to a different way of seeing. One that's satisfied with what is, and enjoying the journey of whatever comes next, ready for change without forcing it to happen, knowing we can find joy in any situation. Amazing.
When we see the way our minds get captivated by stories and conditions, we're able to see how those stories naturally change. We can tap into what we really are: unconditional love, freedom, peace, resilience, balance in motion
The only way I found that gave me the technology to shift my suffering from agony to a peaceful acceptance, was exploring my own answers to the four questions and finding turnarounds.
Suffering from self-sabotaging behaviors? Furious or in despair because of what someone else has done? Terrified of the future under certain conditions? Traumatized because of the past, a diagnosis, a disappointment? Wanting to understand what all the fuss is all about around questioning our stories and seeing thought for what it really is?
Retreat is perfect for all this.
Because your presence is the reason The Work works. There is no guru, no teacher to consult, no philosophy to memorize, no special psychology or feelings to "get", no religion, no specific step-by-step, no need to seek the entire world for freedom. Retreat simply offers the space and silence to be aware of what we're thinking, and to question it.
"Don't go into hell without these four questions. And if you invite these questions into your life, it becomes impossible to go into hell without them. The questions aren't here to wake you up; it's your answers to the questions that will wake you up. The questions are the invitation. But only you can answer them. And it does take courage."
~ Byron Katie in Loving What Is
Even if you feel you've barely got the courage to come sit with other (possible strangers) and answer these questions, all are welcome to this circle. It is possible for any one of us to recognize who we really are, with or without our stories. Love is revealed when we question our interpretations of what is, our perspective. Love is revealed when we see it's safe to stop arguing with reality, with what happened, with who we are. Love blossoms like summer flowers, in just the right time--not too fast or too slow--and life keeps getting better and better.
At least is sure has for me. I'm so happy I bumped into this work. It's changed my entire life.
We have our one precious life. There is a seat at this table for you.
Enlightenment is available to us, one question, one answer, at a time. Nothing more required.
All my best,
Grace
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