A Tele-Retreat for Women
with Molly Gordon, MCC and Jennifer Louden, PCC
Tuesdays, September 20 - November 15, 2005 (9 weeks)
1:00 - 2:30 pm EST; 10:00 - 11:30 am PST
Imagine: A community, space, and guidance for making a personal retreat in the midst of real life.
* Tired of wondering what's next...but certain that something wants to change?
* Worried that you're falling behind...but hurrying doesn't work?
* Dreaming of time, space, and the means to stop straining and allow the next steps to become clear?
Whether you're a mom thinking about returning to her career, an artist caught in a web of endless possibilities, or a seeker questioning whether you're on a path or just going in circles... Surfing the Edge of the Known can help you to:
* Find your center in the midst of change,
* Tune up your inner guidance system,
* Tune in to reliable sources of wisdom and support,
* And cultivate practices you can use to midwife a new sense of purpose, clarity, and trust.
For centuries the wisdom traditions of cultures worldwide have recognized the betwixt-and-between places in life when the soul must find its way from familiar landscapes to new territories where it will find direction, purpose and passion. These journeys can be thrilling, tedious, unsettling, and - if we persevere - the source of profound meaning and connection.
But to persevere in these transitions requires that we enter the fogbank rather than race toward the light. And in an age of pop-psychology, rapid-fire change, and junk-food spirituality, that can be hard to do. Where can you find the space and time, let alone the tools and support, to chart an authentic course, a course that emerges from the truths of your experience and your dreams?
We (Molly and Jennifer) have faced this dilemma in our own lives as well as in the lives of our clients. We've tried acting out, acting up, and acting as if nothing is going on. We've journaled, danced, painted, and prayed; we've practiced yoga, meditation, visualization, and patience. And we learned that using these tools is not enough.
Just as the hand of an artist must be trained not only to manipulate paint and brush but to respond to the subtlest promptings of spirit, we learned that making a soulful transition requires sensitivity to the nature and pace of that which wants to be born.
If you believe as we do that living soulfully is an art, then join us for Surfing the Edge of the Known. We will build a circle to contain and deepen your process. We'll provide expert guidance in sensing into the pace and manner in which your unique journey wants to be made. We'll equip you with navigational tools and show you how to use them to read the subtle (and not so subtle) signs along your path.
This is not an offer for the faint of heart or those who seek easy answers. You may end the seminar in the same fog bank in which you started; but if you are willing to collaborate with Life and love what is, you will have the confidence to keep walking, however slowly, in the direction of your dreams.
Strictly limited to 20 women.
Surfing the Edge of the Known is designed for you to investigate--with compassion, spirit, cutting-edge learning, and humor--the mystery and potential of this time of your life. This 9-week class is based on the retreat of the same name as well as our experience of our own perplexing, exciting, and fruitful transitions, our (nearly 60!) combined years of research into learning and transitions, and the requests we've received from past retreatants to go even deeper with this material.
This tele-retreat group includes:
* Weekly teaching segments
* Learning assignments and readings
* A private community listserv in which each participant will participate to create engaged learning and shared resources
* Group Coaching
Note: Group coaching generates collective wisdom. Participants acquire fresh perspectives on and insight when they witness another participant's process, often more easily than by doing their own. Working in an intentional group accesses collective intelligence and tends to provide more focus and momentum for individual projects.
* A copy of The Soul Deliverable Inner Organizer
A tele-retreat takes place by phone using a telephone bridge. The bridge allows people from anywhere in the world to connect at one time without using a conference operator. All you need to do at class time is dial the bridge number which is in the 308 area code. Long distance charges are the responsibility of the participants.
About the Retreat Leaders
Molly Gordon is a Master Certified Coach, skilled facilitator, and accomplished translator of such varied paths as Integral Theory, Process Work, Spiral Dynamics, and The Work of Byron Katie to real liofe and real business situations. At 51, Molly is the veteran of so many fogbanks that she rather enjoys them. Molly lives with her husband of 30 years on the Kitsap Peninsula in Washington State where they garden, hang out with their grandchildren, and marvel at their good fortune.
"I realize I'm in a different place this morning due to my interaction with you. I have had pleasant conversations with other coaches, but none have continued to influence me the next day. Thank you for sharing who you are with me!" ~ P. Beaugard
"Your clarity, sense of humor, insight, depth of vision, generosity and compassion have helped me in ways I do not totally comprehend." ~ D. Sunderland
"Molly always makes me feel so good about myself. She helps me look at myself with different and more loving eyes. That's worth everything!" ~ C. Hinson
Jennifer Louden is a best-selling author, Professional Certified Coach, and experienced facilitator. She is currently at work on a novel, which is the result of a four-year fogbank. She lives on an island in Puget Sound with her husband Christopher, their daughter Lillian, their cat Emma, and their dog Luna.
"Jennifer Louden has a gift of making you feel welcome and accepted. Her teaching style comes from the heart as well as from her own experiences. She made me laugh out loud many times and she is so down to earth and 'real' I learned a lot of valuable information and motivation from her classes." ~L. Shanahan
"Jennifer Louden is a wonderful facilitator. She makes everyone feel like they are special and their opinions are valued. Her wonderful sense of humor kept our group laughing. Her insights are tremendously helpful and her exercises very fresh and original." ~Hilda Flamholtz
"Thank you so much for a life changing experience. My intuition told me that this trip was going to be transformational but I really didn't have any idea of the BIGNESS of it all. Thank you for your generous spirit, your courage and your tenderness, it will be forever remembered." ~Karen Booy
We will meet on Tuesdays,
September 20 - November 15, 2005 (9 weeks)
1:00 - 2:30 pm EST; 10:00 - 11:30 am PST
Worried about missing a session? We'll record each teleconference and make it available in MP3 audio. Download the recordings or listen online. Make up for sessions you miss. Listen again to find an exercise you wish to repeat. You can even archive recordings for later personal use.
Seminar fee of $389 includes:
* nine 90-minute teleconferences
* course materials in electronic format
* private listserv
* MP3 recordings of all teleconferences
* copy of the Soul Deliverable
* free e-book The Courage to Succeed
* bonus MP3: Your Soul Deliverable and Your Work
Reserve your space with a deposit of $75, and make 3 payments of $120 on September 15, October 15, and November 15.
The intention of this group is not to arrive at final answers or to make a concrete plan of what's next for you (although that may happen), but instead to create a deeply spacious, soul supporting, and rigorously curious context for profound listening and questioning of your assumptions, stories, and responses to this opportunity in your life, as well as the reverence and compassion to truly listen to what wants to be born plus the courage to live into the life you were meant to live.
Why Do You Need This Seminar?
We live in a world that values knowing more than mystery, deciding more than listening, and doing more than being. As a result, we may turn our backs on the deep changes that call to us, not because we don't want to grow, but because we have become hypnotized into thinking that growth is linear, driving, forward-moving. Yet we risk dying to our true selves if we flee from the uncertainty and ambiguity of transitions. At these times, doing more, trying harder, reaching farther, can actually be a form of hiding, of regression into fear and ignorance. In short, we need new contexts, rituals, and interpretations if we are to learn to transform while keeping daily life "together."
Learning how to chart a course in the midst of uncertainty does not change the fact that significant energy is required to be with the unknowable mystery of transformation. We'll look at where we can get that energy and how to sustain it. We'll tap hidden reservoirs to provide the fuel for the process, reservoirs you can learn to re-stock so that you always know where to go for support.
You Will Benefit from Joining If:
* You're at a crossroads, wondering what is next for you in one or more areas of your life.
* You're in the midst of a life change: career, relationship, relocation, empty nest, completing or beginning a business, or educational experience.
* You crave clarity about what you want, why you are here, even who you are, really.
* You hear the call, but have no idea who or what is calling, and some days you think you are making it all up anyway.
Questions? Please direct them to Jennifer at Jennifer@comfortqueen.com or Molly at Molly@mollygordon.com
Space is limited to 20 women.
Cancellation Policy: Before registering, please make sure that you have the time, funds, and bandwidth to commit to the retreat for the full 9 weeks. If you must cancel for any reason before September 10, you will receive a refund less a $75 administration fee. If you cancel between September 10 and September 20, we will refund your payment (less the administration fee) provided we can fill your place. If we are unable to fill your place, we will refund any payments over $200. Absolutely no refunds after September 20.
