Something very special happens when you drive onto the property at Sevenoaks Retreat Center. Winding down the long gravel driveway, I always feel like I am arriving home. Sevenoaks is my spiritual home. The land here has been called “spiritually seasoned,” as the center has been home to spiritual transformation and healing for over 40 years.
Whenever I am here, the healing energy of the land at Sevenoaks is palpable. Hiking to the river, walking the medicine wheel, taking in the view of the mountains, or meditating in the little sanctuary, peace is everywhere.
Over the years that I have been coming to Sevenoaks, there have been many weekends full of laughter, joy, and celebration, while others have been painful and challenging, but wherever I have been in my process, I have always been met with a love and acceptance that fostered deep healing. So it is always exciting for me to share the Pathwork and the beauty of Sevenoaks with others when we host our bi-annual Pathwork Community Weekends.
I love waking up to a hot cup of coffee and a view of the lovely campus. I love walking the grounds at night, marveling at the silence and the Milky Way sparkling above me. I love connecting with my spiritual brothers and sisters who have known the best and the worst of me, and share my commitment to bringing these teachings to others. And, most of all, I love watching new people experience the magic of the Pathwork community for the first time.
Through their eyes, I re-live that magic I first discovered at Sevenoaks when I arrived years ago. I experience the grace that shows up when we offer our hearts with sacred intention to one another. I am reminded of why this path is so important to me, and to humanity as a whole. It is my oasis in the desert, my needle in the haystack, the winning lottery ticket I somehow purchased, and now get to spread the wealth with all who are willing to receive it.
On February 27-28th we gathered at Sevenoaks for the “Awake and Alive” Pathwork Community Weekend. We celebrated our longing to live with our hearts wide open, embodying the gifts we have to bring to the world. Several workshops were offered by the Pathwork Helpers in the Region, and I enjoyed co-teaching a workshop with Megan Powell entitled, “Your Light Matters: Claiming Your Capacity for Greatness.” Participants explored and shared the obstacles that stood in the way of aligning with their divine essence, and participated in a guided meditation process to find the “angel” in each of their “demons.”
The food was fabulous as always, the beauty of the land spectacular, the workshops were engaging, but the highlight of the weekend was the courage of each and every participant who showed up willing to touch another soul, and be touched in return. The sweet, sacred intimacy that is the hallmark of our community was front and center, offering a depth of connection that is so often absent in many other settings, and I believe what we most hunger for. It is love that heals.
I feel overwhelmed with gratitude for the blessings the Pathwork Community has bestowed on me, and continues to bestow with each passing year. This fall Cindy Haney and I will have the great honor of welcoming a new class of students entering the Pathwork Transformation Program. If the energy and enthusiasm of this past weekend is any indicator, it’s going to be an amazing year!
Cindy Haney and I are excited to be teaching the upcoming Pathwork Transformation Program Year 1 Class.
If you are interested in living life fully “Awake and Alive”, Cindy and I would love to have you join us at Sevenoaks this fall for the new Transformation Program class as together we will engage in the sacred inner work of self-transformation! For more information on the program, please contact the Transformation Program coordinator Julia Jensen at: canscream@yahoo.com. You can also watch this short video for a taste of what the program offers:
