No – there’s no catch.

This retreat doesn’t cost you anything…..except time.  And that could  be a catch except that before you go on this retreat you have to decide that a retreat is what you really really really need and therefore the cost of time is something you’re willing to donate.

You’re going to give yourself time to think about what you want.

Not only are you going to give yourself time, this time, but you’re going to commit to giving yourself time once a week for 6 weeks.

Please do not sigh or roll your eyes.  I promise you that if you do this with the right attitude it will not become another TODO on your endless list.  It will become a respite that gives you something to look forward to.

If you really are serious, invite a girlfriend or two.  I’ll tell you why a little later (so keep reading).

Here’s what you do (along with a time schedule).  There really aren’t any rules (my favorite kind of game) so you can add/subtract/multiply/divide/change anything here so it works for you.  Why?  Because there is no one else like you and so you are in charge of taking ideas and deciding how to make them work for your specific needs.

materials needed (do not buy anything for this exercise):

1 candle and a match (please read #1 below)
a journal, or several pieces of paper or the back of a brown paper bag.
crayons or pens of different colors
magazines that you can cut up, scissors, glue or tape or stapler

1.  5 seconds.  Light candle.  Do not go to the store and buy a new candle and that cute holder over there and 4 pieces of sea aglass to put around the holder, and incense.  Use whatever you have around the house (incense is fine as long as you already have it.  So are the cute holder, sea glass and anything else you’d like to gather to make it pretty as long as it takes no longer than 5 minutes and is in your space somewhere.  This is not an excuse to like the idea.  It is a space to practice)

2. 10 minutes.  Use your journal (one you already have), or several pieces of paper (including the plain backs of discarded printed pages) or the back of a brown paper bag.

Write what it is that you want the most in your life.  Ten minutes may begin to feel like a long time for some of you.  Try this:  Write a page of “what I really want”; then write a 2nd page of “what I really want”; then write a 3rd page of what I really want and then a final page of “what I really really  really want.”  That should get you through.

3. 5 minutes.  Take some crayons (your choice of color) and go back and circle words and phrases that draw you to them.  Don’t think hard about it.  Just read through and see what feels like it might *really* be what you want. (green or blue for things that don’t really draw you when you go back, orange or red for things that pull you, purple for in between work well but it’s entirely up to you – the only rule is you must already have them in your house somewhere)

4.  15 minutes.  Flip through magazines and find words, phrases, colors, textures and pictures that remind you of the thing you wrote down that calls you the most.  Respond to everything that you like (even if you don’t understand how it fits).  Make a large pile.

5.  15 minutes.  Go back through your pile and pull out enough to fill up a page or double spread in your journal, or a piece of paper or a brown bag or a sheet of newspaper. Don’t think hard about this – make it as close to intuitive as you can (that depends on how much practice you’ve had up until now in following your gut – some will find it very easy, some may have to work a little harder at it).

6. 15 minutes.  Affix everything to whatever backing you have chosen to use.

7.  Hang it where you can see it until your next retreat.

8.  Look at it daily.

9.  See if anything shifts.

Let me know what you think.

Time:  1 hour and 5 seconds.  Tell me the truth – you spend that much time on-line, right?  So maybe it doesn’t actually cost you any more time than you’re already using.

What do you have to lose?

P.S.  Why invite someone else along?  Because if there is someone else, you add a #10:  present your vision to your retreat companion.  Because your retreat companion doesn’t have any of the blocks you have to realizing your dreams (conscious or unconscious), she can believe your vision into existence by simply believing you on face value.  There’s amazing power in saying what you want out loud and having at least one other person witness it for you.  Try it!  You’ll like it!