My Cup Runneth Over – Body, Mind and Spirit Retreat

I woke up this morning wanting to blog about my transformative weekend, knowing that if anything I share here inspires you in any way, then it will have been worth my delaying today’s painting session.

How do you fill your cup ?  How do you make sure you’ve taken care of yourself so that you have enough to give or share with others?

As you know, I fill my cup by connecting to Source through painting and being in nature, with or without my camera.  I also do so by growing in my understanding and practice of unconditional love.  One of my favourite ways to do that in the past few decades has been to attend personal or spiritual growth workshops.

Well, this past weekend at the Body, Mind and Spirit retreat at Lavrock Center in Salmonier, I did just that.  I filled my cup to overflowing. What a blessing!

When it came my turn to hold the talking stick during our opening circle on Friday night, I expressed to the 53 other people there how I hoped to gain an even deeper trust that this path I have chosen (have been guided on) continues to support me and others in love, beauty, and abundance.  I explained that although my life had continued to be magical after my return from my year studying art overseas, the fact that I had no idea what 2015 held for me had brought back some of my scarcity issues and fears.  My heart swelled when Lucy, the organizer, played a song whose lyrics included “Make me an instrument of thy peace” – the mantra that came to me that very morning during meditation.  On Sunday afternoon, during our closing circle, I expressed how my fears had been transformed and that I was leaving with a renewed sense of my own power, purpose, abundance, and a much deeper trust in the future that I’m architecting with my every thought and action.

I also expressed that I was leaving feeling honoured by all that I was able to share and witness over the course of 3 days.  This is my third such retreat, and every time I am impressed with how Lucy O’Driscoll and her team of presenters have been able to create a safe, non-judgmental, loving environment for the participants.  As a presenter myself, there’s no expressing how fulfilling it is to know that what I was able to offer through my two workshops not only provided tools for participants to take with them on their life journeys, but also created the space for some profoundly life-changing aha moments, as individuals attested to during and after my workshops.  Knowing that my being there made a significant difference in the lives of several people still brings tears of joy to my eyes.

I’ll be sharing a summary of both my “Simplifying Your Life” and “Developing Your Intuition” workshops in upcoming posts. For now, I’d like to talk more about some of the gifts I received this weekend. They say that by giving we receive. That’s very true.  Unconditional love is the only thing that keeps filling your own cup the more you give.  There’s something to be said too, however, for the power of allowing, receiving, and accepting.

Transformational Training With Tina Olivero:

When not presenting, I had the chance to attend two other workshops. Using my pendulum to guide me (as all of the workshops would have been great refreshers), I was guided to both of Tina Olivero’s sessions: Self Love and Thought Awareness.  I totally recommend attending one of her workshops – she offers Transformational Tuesdays here in St. John’s, and there’s a weekend retreat coming up at the end of the month. Tina’s biography (both her life and death experiences) is impressive. Her studies have been in ontology (the branch of metaphysics that deals with being-ness) and she used to train the trainers for Landmark – a program that I have heard wonderful things about. The list goes on. Basically, Tina presents herself as a thought adjuster and helps people to create a future that is in alignment with who they really are.  She’s truly an inspiring teacher!  Her workshops were perfect for what I had hoped to gain this weekend for myself.

Basically, I was reminded about the duality of human beings – the human part describing the ego and our propensity towards fear and smallness, and the being part describing our Higher Self and the choices for love that are available to us in every moment.  We covered a lot in our 6 hours together.  I ended up writing 4 words down as a reminder:

Future: something we architect from our thoughts
Integrity: keep your promises to yourself first and foremost
Responsibility: being able to respond from Higher Self at every moment
Perception: Nothing has meaning except the meaning you give it.

Her sessions reminded me of the Master Your Mind – Peak Potentials Training workshop I attended in LA in 2008 with several inspirational teachers.  I offer you this video summary I  made at the time using my photography; I just noticed it’s up to 9,200 views on youtube.  May it make a difference in your day.

Shamanic Ceremony with Alison Normore:

This weekend was also a great opportunity to reconnect with Alison Normore.  Some of you might recall that I took an intuitive 26-day road trip across the island of Newfoundland shortly after I moved here in 2011. The only thing set in my schedule were her Munay-Ki Initiation retreat and her New Earth Medicine – Awakening week-long retreat in Gros Morne National Park during the Peruvian Shaman Tour.  This past weekend, the whole group participated in a wonderful sacred water ritual that Alison led indoors.  It was supposed to be an outdoor fire ceremony, but with the 130km/hr winds, rain, hail and wet snow, I’m glad we stayed inside.  Alison also gave me a ride to and from Salmonier and was my only roommate, so we had a nice chance to catch up.

If you’re interested in Alison’s work – she’s got two events this week in St. John’s and more around the island.

So Much More:

There’s nothing like the power of unconditional love.  The only way we can be truly loved, however, is to be seen and accepted for we we truly are.  These retreats give participants plenty of chances to let go of masks and barriers in order to show themselves.  Many expressed their surprise at how much they opened up and how they didn’t feel judged for what they revealed about themselves.  Beautiful! Powerful! People don’t always feel safe doing so in society. Once people have tasted the deliciousness of being authentic and have been supported for being so, the easier it becomes to building communities around ourselves that can love and accept us for who we are.  Rich!

Apart from that, there was plenty of food, laughter, and fun this weekend.  Thanks Lucy for all your work over the years in providing these annual retreats.

Next Body, Mind, and Spirit Retreat – May 1-3 Weekend at The Wilds Golf Resort

Scholarships:
Every year, Lucy graciously offers scholarships for her retreats.  In addition to the 50/50 draw at each retreat, she raises funds for these scholarships by organizing silent auctions – asking participants to donate items or services that others can bid on.  Her sister Clare was the very happy winner of the painting I created for that purpose: “Royal Retreat”, which will adorn her new home.

I am also very grateful that I had a chance to share my art with the participants during the weekend.

Whatever helps you fill your cup, I truly hope you prioritize it on your to-do list this week and every week.  You’re worth it. You and those around you deserve it!

Namaste!