A Lovely Retreat
This past weekend, Aug 16-18, we organized and hosted our 2nd annual camping retreat weekend here at Empty Mountain, and we had a simply lovely time. 6 friends arrived on Friday for the weekend and 1 friend joined us for the day on Sunday. We had marvelous weather - hooray! - and we were wonderfully able to have campfires in the chilly mornings, as the fire restrictions were lifted just last week, due to the decent amount of rain we’ve recently received.
I’m not sure it gets much better than spending intentional practice time with friends in the woods on a splendid summer weekend. We had the pleasure of a 6-year-old join us as well, who was a delightful addition. A big thank you to our friend Robert for being up for the adventure of bringing his young son to a mostly silent retreat. If we had EM retreat merit badges to give out (maybe we should!), we’d give Robert the badge for Best Dad.
As we continue to share about, here at EM, we are still in trial mode when it comes to, well, pretty much everything. We made some adjustments to our retreat schedule from last year and one of the added programs involved me (Nicole) leading qigong stick exercises. We are fortunate that the Open Way Mindfulness Center (OWMC) in Missoula, to which we are closely connected, not only had sticks for us to borrow for folks to use, but a number of other useful items as well. We were able to borrow meditation cushions, blankets (to use during the morning sits), dishes, food serving bowls, a hot water thermos/dispenser, and more. Thank you OWMC!
Here at Empty Mountain, while our foundation is rooted in the Plum Village mindfulness tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh, we also infuse other teachers and influences that we value into our programming. During the retreat, we offered a few short readings from Suzuki Roshi, Brene Brown, and Pema Chodron. We also read poems by Dantika (a Buddhist nun from around the time of the Buddha, 2,600 years ago), Brother Richard (a Franciscan monk), and our beloved teacher Thich Nhat Hanh.
It’s rather amazing when I look back on all of the planning and preparations that went into making this small outdoor retreat possible. All of the time that went into spreading the word, crafting Facebook posts and making flyers. All of the energy it took to gather up all the supplies we would need, and all of the loving care that went into creating the schedule and the meals we would serve. Everything takes and requires effort. It was a lot of work, and it was work that we are deeply invested and interested in, and dearly enjoy.
Part of why we’re out here in the woods doing what we’re doing, is to be able to offer retreats like this. To gather folks together in community. To take refuge in one other, and in the surrounding naturescape of the trees.
The forest is a place that can nourish deeply. The trees are elder teachers and friends. The quiet is a chorus that can help ease our jangled nerves. And in the company of one another, practicing sitting and walking meditation, silent meals, and circles of heartfelt sharing, we can help to enrich and restore each other, in the spirit of kinship and warm-hearted connection.
To listen to the practice talk Nicole gave on Sunday during the retreat, please click here.