I Want To Go On A Retreat, Do You?

   By gurdonark -  Robert Nunnally
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Let's call this unnamed photo the quiet purple trail.  I wish it showed a lake or ocean beach too, and then it would be a perfect place to have a camp out retreat.

I have had it on my list of goals for a year to go on a spiritual and/or writing retreat.  So many that I have found in my searches are just too far or too expensive.  Then today I picked up a catalog that was sitting in my unread mail for weeks.  It's for R&R or spiritual or yoga or whatever kind of retreat you want at The Omega Institute in the Hudson Valley, New York.  Sign up and get a catalog because there are workshops, courses and events that you will be excited about if you're at all interested in spiritual growth, mindfulness, learning more about writing, creativity, yoga, chanting, comedy improv, songwriting, raw foods & healing herbs and so much more.  The tuition for these runs about $250-$425.  You can save money by commuting and not staying at the beautiful 90 acre community built with a lake on it for swimming.  Without courses, workshops or accommodations, the R&R retreats are only $25/day for weekdays and $38/day for weekends.

One of my favorite writers gave a workshop in May.  Julia Cameron, "The Artist's Way, was there.  There's a women's wellness retreat August 14-19, 2011.  it runs $425.

They do offer partial and full scholarships, but except for women with breast cancer or survivors of the disease, most are gone this time of year.  The scholarships and the seasonal jobs which offer free courses, yoga, open workshops, the lake, a library and more start going in February.  You get free room and board, three vegetarian meals a day, a small stipend and other perks.  If you can do office work, wash dishes or cook, be a lifeguard and similiar seasonal jobs, you have a good chance to spend your summer there at no cost to you.

For more suggestions, try "Retreat Finder." Retreats are listed both by state and region of the U.S.  Some are very reasonable too.  They run the gamut from solo silent retreats to writing, arts and spa retreats.

Or you can always search for a retreat coach, rent a facility, and have your own retreat.

I hope I get to go to one soon.  I need to be rejuvenated and tuned into that still, small voice.  I want to get away from all the distractions and live in nature somewhere, preferably near a lake.