California Grief, Loss And Difficult Emotions Retreat
Not offered in 2023
Limited to 12 participants
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pinkflowers
Come to this retreat if you are experiencing:
  • Deep loss–of husband, wife, child, parent, sibling, friend, beloved pet, etc.
  • Pain because of divorce, separation, the end of a relationship
  • Feeling stuck, unable to get on with your life
  • A difficult transition–job loss, retirement, relocation, etc.
  • Depression
  • Uncontrolled anger
  • Anxiety or Fear
  • Guilt or shame
  • Self loss–due to illness, loss of abilities, loss of youth, beauty, etc.
  • Caught up in your head and out of touch with your feelings
  • Loss of a dream, a vision, or a plan you had for yourself

As soon as we love we risk the loss of that love. Grief is the natural response to that loss. But we can get lost in grief. It can be exhausting, confusing and all consuming.

Underneath that grief can be fear, anger, resentment, jealousy or other feelings. When we have a lot of conflicting feelings it can be difficult to untangle. This is sometimes called "complicated grief."

We can be so out of touch with past griefs, past losses, that we end up stuck in our heads, out of touch with our body, out of touch with our feelings. Many of us have swallowed old losses, suppressed them in their bodies, and find ourselves numb, depressed and not fully living. These retreats can help you come alive again.

The grieving process takes time. We never fully get over big losses, especially childhood losses, but we can come to terms with them, and learn to live a full, even joyous life. Of all the emotions, grief takes time. Sometimes in our grieving we just need a place to be held and loved…and the retreats can provide such a place.

Anger, on the other hand, can be so quick to action that we cause emotional damage before we can stop it–we can say something or do something we later regret. Some people attend these retreats because of they are filled with anger and rage and don't know what to do. We provide a safe place to work it through, process it, and release pent up anger, so we can move on.

Anxiety, worry and fear work on us in a different way than grief or anger. Fear can be paralyzing, so we don't take action. Or it can cause us to run away and hide. Either way, it keeps us from doing what we know we must do. We've had many people attend the retreats to work through these feelings.

Sometimes our emotional pain is deeply buried, especially if the feeling wasn't accepted and honored in your family. We may feel numb, without feelings. As we learn to bring that pain up into awareness we can finally deal with it and reclaim all the lost energy and awareness that was stored away.

When we are ready, we can transform our pain into new life and new love. Working through the pain of grief, fear or anger, or numbness, gives us new depth and soulfulness, a new sense of the miracle and beauty of what life is.

Our Grief Loss And Difficult Emotions Retreat helps people work through their grief and these other feelings, and get to the other side of pain. No stuck emotion travels alone–anxiety, anger, resentment, worry, bitterness and other feelings get all glued together.

These retreats are intensive personal growth events. If you are interested in attending I ask for a short 10-15 minute telephone conversation with you to help us determine if the retreat is appropriate for you. You can also ask me any questions you may have at the same time.

At the retreat we create a loving environment to explore and work through sadness and hurt, anger and fear and numbness. Participants express their unexpressed feelings and heal old pain. Each participant has the opportunity to tell their story in a compassionate, loving setting, with others who are working through their own pain. In being heard and seen in this way, true healing can begin to take place.

The retreats are limited to 12 participants. The cost is $875 for the California Grief and Loss Retreat, including housing and most meals. Some tuition assistance is available, contact Jon early—see form below.

We ask participants to bring an item for Thursday's Potluck dinner unless they are traveling by public transportation.

Registration details-A $400. deposit is required to hold a space, payable by check or PayPal. The remainder is due 15 days before the retreat starts. Please contact Jon, see below, to set up a short, free, telephone interview to discuss attending this retreat.

Refund policy for the Grief Loss And Difficult Emotions Retreat: If you decide not to attend, your deposit will be refunded, minus a $100 administration fee, if it is at least 30 days before the retreat date. After that, the full deposit will be forfeited.

To register for this retreat or make an appointment with Jon, or if you have questions, contact us here.
To pay the deposit online:







To read more client comments go to testimonials.