In Honor Of Women's History Month
Retreating is integral part of the history of women and the history of human culture. It is an archetype as old as human consciousness. Here Jennifer Louden offers tips and inspiration to help women reclaim both our personal rhythms and our majestic herstory.
Woman's Re·treat (rî-trêt¹) noun
1. Springs from and is guided by her inner knowing.
2. A place affording peace, quiet, privacy, or security. See synonyms at SHELTER.
3. a. A period of seclusion, retirement, or solitude.
b. Running away from the external, the torrent of daily "have-to"s.
c. Running toward yourself: toward seclusion, privacy, and contemplation.
4. Setting aside time to tend the heart of your inner life, feed your muse, reclaim your dreams.
Things to consider
What to bring
What not to bring
Take a retreat in a
A retreat, like an act of self-love, is a radical act. You retreat
because you are yearning for contact with something. That yearning may be
ineffable, impossible to name, a whisper tickling your imagination. It
might be a desire to know your true self, to be at peace, to celebrate your
strengths, to connect with other women, to find an answer, to bask in
self-kindness. - From The Woman's Retreat Book
History of women, history of retreat
Retreating is integral part of the history of women and the history of
human culture. It is an archetype as old as human consciousness. The first
retreat took place when menstruating women separated from the rest of the
tribe. The Thesmophoira in ancient Greece was a group retreat, a descent
into mother earth. The Desert Mothers and Christian saints like Julian of
Norwich lived their lives on retreat.
Ponder the literary and artistic accomplishments of George Sand, Emily
Dickinson, Georgia O'Keeffe, Louisa May Alcott, Willa Cather and you see
these accomplishments were made possible partly because, going against the
grain of society, these women often retreated, sometimes for months or
years at a time. Solitude and retreat have always attracted women
mightily, and for good reason. It is here we find ourselves again.
How you can celebrate history, women, yourself
Set aside two minutes or two days in honor of National Women's History
Month. Find a sanctuary. Create a brief opening ceremony (light a candle,
do a yoga stretch, read a poem aloud). Then ask yourself "What is the
question of my life right now?" Let yourself listen to whatever occurs to
you.
Send this to as many women as you can. Encourage other women to reclaim
their personal rhythms and our majestic herstory. Just think what would
happen if thousands or even hundred of thousands of women went on retreat
in the next month (and what if they read a little women's history while
they were there?)