Travelling SpirituallyBy Christian de la Huerta
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For many of us, however, the longing and wanderlust are representative of a deeper search for meaning, and can ultimately only be satiated by a different kind of travel: the inner journey. In the final analysis, all the answers, or excitement, or challenge we seek are found in our own inner realms.
So how do we do that? Are there ways to travel that support the inner journey? In this piece we will specifically explore queer or queer friendly retreat venues.
Why retreat
The benefits of a retreat are manifold: relaxation, rest, healing, reconnecting with oneself. The opportunity to go within enables access to deeper answers and allows us to get distance and perspective from the circumstances of our lives.
Too often we get so captivated by the busyness and hecticness of daily living that we forget to reference our deeper, intuitive selves. TV can be entertaining as well as educational, but it can also be a distraction, deflecting self reflection. Our relationships with lovers, family, friends and co-workers likewise provide the juice that makes life worth living and the necessary friction out of which growth ensues. Yet, they too can be a diversion from the inner journey, where maximum fulfillment lies.
Retreats afford the opportunity to reassess the direction our lives are taking, and to make the necessary corrections.
The word "retreat" comes form the Latin meaning to "draw back." In spiritual retreats we withdraw from the "real" world, from surface living, and enter the deeper inner realms. For most of us the inner journey remains vastly uncharted and unexplored.
Going within
One of the constants found among most spiritual traditions is the importance of going within.
Jesus is said to have said: "the Kingdom of God is within you." "If human beings knew their own inner secrets, they would never look elsewhere seeking for happiness and peace," asserts a Sufi master. A well known Wiccan prayer ends with: "And you who seek to know Me, know that your seeking and yearning will avail you not, unless you know the Mystery: for if that which you seek, you find not within yourself, you will never find it without." The whole thrust of Buddhist or Hindu meditation is to quiet the mind and delve inside.
Among the many types of retreats are meditation, yoga, and breathwork. Retreats can be solitary or in groups, guided or not. Camping for a few days alone in nature could be profoundly centering, healing and inspiring. Most people choose to join more structured settings, where they feel supported by a facilitator and a group of like-minded others, all sharing a similar purpose. Some choose to rent a secluded house or other venue and hire a leader to facilitate their friends or colleagues in a variety of experiences to deepen their connection to themselves and each other.
Generally, participants are then inspired to go without once again, and re-engage the world as integrated human beings making a real difference.
I. Retreat venues which are queer owned and operated include:
1) Wildwood Retreat Center, in the Russian River area of Northern California, about an hour north of San Francisco, is poised on 210 secluded acres of hiking trails meandering through streams, fresh water springs, rolling meadows, and virgin forest. Owned by and offering the work of the Body Electric School, it also hosts other transformational queer specific work, such as the Men's Inner Journey (www.tothegateway.com; for Wildwood: 707-632-532l or www.wildwoodretreat.com).
2) Easton Mountain is located in the Hudson Valley approximately 30 miles north of Albany, New York. Conveniently located within three hours' drive of Boston, New York City, and Montreal, one of its annual offerings is Gay Spirit Camp, featuring a wide variety of workshops on gay spirituality, yoga, meditation, massage, creativity, erotic healing, etc. It offers work study programs and long-term stays. (800-553-8235 or www.gayspiritcamp.com.)
3) Poised by a lovely lake on 18 acres atop one the Catskill Mountains, Dawn Manor is just 2.5 hours from New York City. It offers retreats for men ("Men Who Love Men") as well as co-ed ones ("The Art of Loving Retreat"). (845-439-5815 or www.dawnmanor.com).
4) Located on the southeast coast of the "Big Island" of Hawaii, in a lush tropical forest bordering the Pacific Ocean, Kalani is a unique venue where you can experience Hawaii's nature, culture and wellness. In addition to a wide spectrum of workshops, retreats and cultural activities, including yoga, Hawaiian story telling, meditation, and hula, Kalani also offers queer specific programing. True to the meaning of "kalani" (harmony of heaven and earth) the grounds contain a 25 meter Olympic pool as well as a smaller heated pool for aquatic bodywork or Watsu massage. (800-800-6886 or www.kalani.com).
5) Near the Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs in La Madera, New Mexico is Owl Peak Pottery and Studio B & B run by Felipe Ortega, a shaman/healer of Jicarilla Apache descent who says that "Dramadera Central" is "NOT gay friendly; we are queer as hell and love it that way." Ortega offers individual healings, Vision Quests, and a Two-Spirit sweat lodge on the Saturday closest to the new and full moon. In addition to his spiritual work, Ortega is a master potter and offers instruction in the traditional coil and scrape method of mica pottery making. This rustic venue is appropriate for individual getaways or small groups up to twelve. (505-583-2345 or japacheraven@hotmail.com).
6) The Zuni Mountain Sanctuary is a small Radical Faerie intentional community in northern New Mexico. If you are not looking for a four-star resort and are intrigued by sustainable living in an eco-friendly environment, this may be a viable low cost option (for as little as $10 per day.) Summertime living is by camping in a rustic (no "hookups") area. Some limited indoor housing is available. (505-783-4002 or www.zms.org)
7) Hidden Hollow is located in the mountains of northern Tennessee, and offers individualized, low cost retreat experiences including massage, shamanic healing, spiritual direction, yoga, meditation, and other spiritual practices. Facilities are described as "rustic, but not primitive."
Though fees are for scheduled workshops, they otherwise work on a donation basis.
(423-921-9065).
8) Ten years ago, Camp Sister Spirit made national news when the lesbian couple running the center were targeted for harassment because they were trying to open a feminist education and retreat facility in rural Mississippi. Today, the camp is available for use by groups, families and individuals (including men) throughout the year, and hosts a variety of cultural events and retreats, including the Gulf Coast Womyn's Festival. (601-344-1411 or www.campsisterspirit.com).
9) Hearts and Hands at Cider Creek is a lesbian owned retreat and healing center located on the Mendocino coast of northern California. The five bedroom 1860s farmhouse, set on five private acres of apple orchards, meadows, landscaped gardens, accommodates groups up to 18 people. The center has been attentively furnished with 19th century antiques and folk art from the owner's 35 years of collecting. Each bed in the farm house is covered with an antique handmade quilt. (888-874-3278 or www.heartsandhands.net)
10) Also lesbian owned, the Halekai Guest House is a retreat getaway for up to two people. It includes a well equipped kitchenette, gas fireplace, and lots of windows overlooking a private garden with established bamboo, palms, ornamental grasses and a fish pond. An outdoor soaking tub is available for Watsu (water massage). (707-937-2067 or www.halekai.us)
11) Owned and operated by Kindred Spirits, a spiritual community for transsexuals founded by Holly Boswell (828-669-3889 or www.TranSpirits.org), the Bodhi Tree Retreat Center is located in the mountains of North Carolina. Though nestled in a private mountain setting, it is only minutes from the historic village of Black Mountain and from the quaint shops, entertainment and restaurants of Asheville, the queer-friendly, artists' colony, "spiritual mecca" of the Southeast. Beautifully appointed, it can accommodate up to twelve. (828-669-4806 or www.bodhitreeretreat.com)
II. The following retreat venues offer queer oriented programing on a regular basis.
1) Perched on the magnificent cliffs of Big Sur in Northern California, Esalen has been one of the premier centers of consciousness work and the human potential movement since the early 60s. Mingling East/West philosophies and offering a wide variety of experiential and didactic workshops, it has hosted an unrivaled stream of influential psychologists, artists, religious thinkers and other luminaries. Its spectacular grounds are graced by a tumbling canyon stream and hot mineral springs emanating out of a seaside cliff. Besides weekend and five-day workshops Esalen offers individualized options, from overnight visits to work study programs to long-term stays. Prior Reservations are always essential. (831-667-3005 or www.esalen.org).
2) Offering over 250 workshops, retreats, and "wellness vacations" from May through October, the Omega Retreat Center lakeside campus is set on 140 acres of rolling hills and woodlands in the Hudson River Valley, just two hours north of New York City. For the past 25 years Omega has been a pioneer in exploring, teaching, and embracing new ideas through workshops and retreats. (800-944-1001 or www.eomega.org).
3) The Rowe Conference Center is located in a beautiful part of the Berkshires in Western Massachussets, with quaint towns nearby and lovely sites on the campus, such as outdoor altars, meditation sites, a reflecting pond with a gazebo, a waterfall, and beautiful forest paths. The Rowe Labor Day Retreat is among the largest and longest running spiritual retreats for G/B/T men in the Northeast. (413-339-4954 or www.rowecenter.org).
4) The Mountain Retreat near Highlands, NC, is only a couple of hours' drive from Atlanta and hosts the gatherings of Gay Spirit Visions. Comprised mostly of men from the Southeast, GSV offers three annual gatherings at The Mountain. Their events are characterized by a strong sense of community, ritual, and tribe, and display a deep honoring of and respect for elders. (Contact 828-526-5838 or www.mountaincenters.org; for info on GSV: 404-658-0221 or www.gayspiritvisions.org).
5) The Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, located in Lenox, MA, offers individuals and groups a broad range of programs, services and products designed to enhance their health, open their hearts, and deepen their spirituality. "Finding Lavender Love," a singles' weekend for lesbian, gay, bi and trans people, is offered twice per year. (800-741-7353 or www.kripalu.org).
6) With a wide variety of programming and a growing constituency of folks from many faith traditions, the Kirkridge Retreat Center is a Christian center with an ecumenical spirit and an inter-faith welcome. Located in eastern Pennsylvania near the Delaware Water Gap and the Pocono Mountains region, Kirkridge has been providing a place for rest and renewal since the 1940s. Its goal is the integration of contemplation and action for justice, or "Picket and Pray." Queer programs include "Christian People of the Rainbow."
(610-588-1793 or www.kirkridge.org)
7) The Findhorn Community in northeast Scotland has attained almost mythical status among some spiritual circles since its beginnings in 1962. An experiment in intentional community as well as alternative ways of living resulted in a thriving ecovillage -- sustainable ecologically, economically, culturally and spiritually -- and center for spiritual learning and planetary transformation. Queer programing is offered regularly. (44 (0)1309 690311 or www.findhorn.org)
8) Located in the beautiful hills of Western Marin County outside San Francisco, Spirit Rock is a Buddhist meditation center dedicated to the practice of mindful awareness, called Insight or Vipassana Meditation. The Center hosts a full program of ongoing classes, daylong, and residential retreats, including queer focused ones. (415-488-0164 or www.spiritrock.org).
9) A rustic resort that was once a stop on the Underground Railroad, Ramblewood is located minutes from historic Havre de Grace, Maryland, and is convenient to Baltimore, Washington D.C., and Philadelphia. Ramblewood is nestled on 200 scenic acres of private property and features a number of newly renovated cabins accommodating 500 people. It hosts the annual retreat for ADODI, a community of men of color supporting same-sex loving men of African heritage to attain a better understanding of their own spirituality, self-expression and sexual identity. ADODI is a Yoruba word that describes a man who "loves" another man. (800-466-CAMP or www.ramblewood.com; for ADODI: 212-560-7252 or www.adodiintl.org)
10) A typical day on retreat at Elat Chayyim, a Jewish retreat center in the Catskill Mountains, two hours from New York City, might include yoga, meditation, experiential prayer services, and classes with stimulating teachers. The cuisine is gourmet Kosher vegetarian, often with a fish option. One of their offerings is "Nehirim," a weekend retreat for LGBT Jews. 800-398-2630 or www.elatchayyim.org.
