DECEMBER 6 - 13, 2024
Mount Madonna Retreat Center in Watsonville, California
Mount Madonna is a community deeply rooted in the Yoga tradition and dedicated to serving the world by holding space for personal transformation.
The Mount Madonna campus is situated within an inspirational and spacious mountaintop setting overlooking the Monterey Bay in California. The land and facilities offer a balance of well-appointed professionalism and simplicity, amidst a beautiful, rustic natural environment designed to distill and deepen personal and spiritual development.
The primary task of a good transformational retreat, is not to answer your questions,
but to question your answers
This practice known as The Work is a self-inquiry method helping individuals identify and question the thoughts that lead to stress and suffering. Through four simple yet profound questions, it guides you to challenge your beliefs and shift your perspective, leading to a deeper understanding of yourself and your reality.
This process fosters inner peace, clarity, and the ability to live with greater freedom and joy. Who are we, without our stories? What's that like? Together we get to explore this wonderful experience of being human, thinking, feeling. Just like we do as children putting on costumes, and taking them off. We'll study our patterns of thinking, and question the spots where they are painful. We'll have morning (before breakfast) and evening (after dinner) sessions in yoga to bring the practice of our work into the physical body.
Step outside of daily life, connect with others, and deeply listen to your inner conversation with reality. Situations, relationships, behaviors come into focus and clarity is found.
This retreat is right for you, if:
Welcome. This retreat is for you.
“I did The Work, because I was in a hurry.” ~ Byron Katie
By the end of our retreat together, you may find the following possibilities....
You'll look at what you consider to be "problems" (tiny or large) and listen to what your mind says about them, without interruption, without pushing them away.
To meet our thoughts about ourselves, what we're most ashamed of, terrified of, and what we feel is unforgivable....is life-changing.
You'll get to see what your worst fears are about this temporary body, your temporary life, and open to who you are beyond body and self identity
You'll question loss, absence, what you believe should be present that looks absent (money, a person, the way it used to be). You'll question suffering about impermanence.
Understand what you can change and what you can't in any situation, with any person, with love, acceptance and even joyful excitement.
Through hearing others' experience, facilitating others and receiving facilitation, you will connect in the most authentic way possible.
RETREAT will immerse you strongly in the power of The Work of Byron Katie, so you can relax into the freedom of being a happy human, trust and do what works for you in your unique and beautiful life, find like-minded friends as co-facilitators on the journey, and genuinely welcome what is.
Enrolling reserves your spot. Everything: lodging, meals, tuition all included
"I had heard great things about Grace and I was not disappointed. Her way was gentle, and she always had a great reminder/ suggestion/new perspective that really landed for me."
"I feel extremely grateful for this experience. Now I have quirky new ways of looking at things, such as: 'Everything you need to have a wonderful life will come to you'. More slowing down and letting myself be. This retreat has helped me to open my heart to my own life."
"The retreat met my expectations. It's helpful to witness others sharing their stressful thinking and see them turn it around...Makes me feel connected to the human race."
After graduating with her Master's Degree in 1997 in Applied Behavioral Science, Grace began working as a Certified Counselor in Washington State in 2003.
After her first School for The Work with Byron Katie in 2005, she changed her entire approach to mental health treatment to focus on the peace and solutions already existing within each of us when we question what we're thinking and believing.
She saw a way of life in practicing self-inquiry that brought loving kindness and empowered acceptance to any troubling situation. She witnessed freedom blossoming in others who had suffered from compulsive behaviors, repetitive fears and angst in relationships. Her private practice built and expanded every year and has been thriving ever since. Gathering in groups is one of her favorite ways of diving into The Work.
"We're all walking each other home". ~ Ram Dass
Vincent has been teaching yoga since 2001 and has led several retreats (including at Mount Madonna!) He has been practicing in The Work since 2001.
Vincent works as a Licensed Massage Therapist at Mount Madonna Kaya Kulpa Wellness Center.
From Vincent: "In 2001 the very first place I taught yoga was Juvenile Hall in San Jose. They sent me to Block 8, which was the block for the worst-of-the-worst kids under the age of 18. They had great hunger for yoga and meditation.
Following that time, I've taught mostly in the Bay Area for a family of clubs and corporate classes.
My teaching style comes from Iyengar and Forrest Yoga. I also practice various styles of vinyassa from many different teachers. My goal as a teacher is to challenge you in a way that leaves you feeling accomplished, not discouraged. People with zero experience are welcome to yoga.
Most classes go like this:
A few moments of silence
Breathing directions to establish set a pattern and pace of breathing
Yoga poses with explained directions
Meditation, seated or laying, followed by a few minutes of laying flat.
A few moments of silence
THE WORK OF BYRON KATIE + YOGA WINTER RETREAT
Practicing self-inquiry brings us to life in the present moment
The total due includes tuition, lodging and meals including snacks, retreat materials
"I think Grace has an amazing, loving heart and I can feel how much she loves people and makes it really safe. It’s not clinical, Grace makes me feel so safe and cared for. From safety, I've found courage and freedom to be."
"This is the best modality I could think of to practice The Work. Small group. I felt like it was on the fast track. I quit smoking pot on the last retreat. This was perfect access for me, not being able to go to the School for the Work."
"The Work in person sticks with me. Away from families, jobs, stressors, you can really be there, unlike at home when you have everything around you. Taking this time has been an oasis."
"It feels like my soul was caged, and now the jail door is wide open. I can fly. I can face problems, I can face fears and anger. It is amazing!"
TO ALL PARTS OF
OURSELVES
Friday, December 6th. Arrive any time after 4:00pm to Mount Madonna.
Dinner 5:15pm. We'll share our first dinner in the dining hall at Mount Madonna. At 6:30pm we'll gather in our Seminar House to start at the very beginning: introduce ourselves, and welcoming internally our troubles, concerns, frustrations and stressful situations causing pain
Saturday, December 7th. 7:30am yoga + meditation
10am-11am Brunch
The Work of Byron Katie 11am - 2pm with Grace, break + snack, 3-5pm The Work with Grace
Dinner 5:15-6:15pm
Restorative yoga with Vincent 7:00pm
Yoga with Vincent + Meditation 6:30am
Breakfast 8:15am-9:15am
The Work with Grace 9:30am-12:00pm
Lunch 12:30-1:30pm
Break until 3:00pm (hiking, silence, exploring)
The Work with Grace 3:00pm-5:00pm
Dinner 5:15pm-6:15pm
Restorative Yoga with Vincent 7:00pm
Yoga with Vincent + Meditation 6:30am
Breakfast 8:15am-9:15am
The Work with Grace Final Closing 9:30am-10:00am
Check Out 10:30am
Retreat in The Work is new and unique every time. The individuals present, the environment, the circumstances, the weather (both inside and outside), the greater world events all organically contribute to a living, creative process.
The benefits of finding your way back home into your own kind, loving, magnificent heart is beyond words. When we question our perceptions of what has happened in our lives, what we've interpreted as true, and what we imagine or predict about the future, our creativity, energy and joy can flow in the Don't Know Mind.
No matter what you've gone through, no matter how much you've suffered, it is possible to find peace and clarity in the present moment.
We will dive into the following topics so you can see what you think and believe, and inquire:
Grace will share exercises that support us diving into undigested emotional experience, and discovering what is beyond our psychology when we inquire. These exercises came from journaling and personal insight, asking some common questions posed in The Work and hearing others' questions over many years, and noticing the ever-present return to home. They are offered with the awareness that everyone has within what is needed for their own healing, their own amazing life.
Retreat offers the practice of detaching from patterns of habit, including the way we eat and take in the world.
All meals are lovingly made and sourced from very fresh ingredients. They are simple, vegetarian. Vegan options are available at every meal.
Meal schedule:
Breakfast 8:15am-9:15am daily (except Saturday which has brunch at 10:00am instead of breakfast)
Lunch 12:30pm-1:30pm daily (except Saturday which has brunch at 10am)
Dinner 5:15pm-6:15pm daily
Friday, December 13th. Please plan on staying all the way until 10:30am on our last morning together. The final closing is always a powerful and profound way to move into your next chapter, and know what and how to navigate as you return to your daily life.
It can be disruptive when people need to leave early to catch flights. Relax and enjoy the final morning with us. We suggest booking a flight and allowing plenty of time to travel to the airport from Mount Madonna, so you have time to get to the airport without rushing.
MOUNT MADONNA WINTER THE WORK OF BYRON KATIE + YOGA RETREAT
one investment covers everything: tuition, yoga classes, meals, housing
We're listening to what our thoughts are saying about life, ourselves, what's good, what's bad, and we're invited to see....it's only our thoughts.
When we let our thoughts freely express what we want, dream of, long for, or need....we've got a keyhole to a different way of seeing. One that's satisfied with what is, and enjoying the journey of whatever comes next, ready for change without forcing it to happen, knowing we can find joy in any situation. Amazing.
When we see the way our minds get captivated by stories and conditions, we're able to see how those stories naturally change. We can tap into what we really are: unconditional love, freedom, peace, resilience, balance in motion
The only way I found that gave me the technology to shift my suffering from agony to a peaceful acceptance, was exploring my own answers to the four questions and finding turnarounds.
Suffering from self-sabotaging behaviors? Furious or in despair because of what someone else has done? Terrified of the future under certain conditions? Worried because of the past, a diagnosis, a disappointment? Wanting to understand what all the fuss is all about around questioning our stories and seeing thought for what it really is?
Retreat is perfect for all this.
Because your presence is the reason The Work works. There is no guru, no teacher to consult, no philosophy to memorize, no special psychology or feelings to "get", no religion, no specific step-by-step, no need to seek the entire world for freedom. Retreat simply offers the space and silence to be aware of what we're thinking, and to question it.
"Don't go into hell without these four questions. And if you invite these questions into your life, it becomes impossible to go into hell without them. The questions aren't here to wake you up; it's your answers to the questions that will wake you up. The questions are the invitation. But only you can answer them. And it does take courage."
~ Byron Katie in Loving What Is
Even if you feel you've barely got the courage to come sit with other (possible strangers) and answer these questions, all are welcome to this circle. It is possible for any one of us to recognize who we really are, with or without our stories. Love is revealed when we question our interpretations of what is, our perspective. Love is revealed when we see it's safe to stop arguing with reality, with what happened, with who we are. Love blossoms like summer flowers, in just the right time--not too fast or too slow--and life keeps getting better and better.
At least is sure has for me. I'm so happy I bumped into this work. It's changed my entire life.
We have our one precious life. There is a seat at this table for you.
Enlightenment is available to us, one question, one answer, at a time. Nothing more required.
All my best,
Grace
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