Due to the COVID-19 health concerns, we have canceled the 2020 retreat scheduled for June. We will reschedule as soon as possible. If you would like to be on the notification list, please email kelli.montgomery@missfoundation.org
Selah: Pause, Reflect, Discover Meaning
Fully Inhabited Grief: A contemplative retreat for traumatic bereavement
June 4-7, 2020 in breathtaking Sedona, Arizona
Come, rest, breathe, just be…
Our beloved dead remain a part of us always. That means grief remains a part of us, and so does love.
– Joanne Cacciatore
Retreat Agenda
Join Us Every Morning
Join us Friday, Saturday, & Sunday mornings for a 20-minute contemplative practice from 6:20 to 6:40 a.m. Breakfast is served from 6:45 to 8 a.m. The agenda begins each day immediately following breakfast. Sacred silence at retreat center is observed from 10pm to 6am.
Thursday | Evening Welcome & Introductions
- 2 pm-5 pm – Arrival and check in, meet and greet
- 5:30 pm – Dinner
- Begin 7:30 pm – Contemplative instruction, retreat etiquette
- 7:45 pm – Meditative movement
- 8:00 pm-10:00 pm – To pause, reflect, and find meaning in grief: Introductions and large group exercise by the healing fire circle
- 10:00 pm-10:20pm – Contemplative prayer/meditation
Friday | Being with Grief
- How to be with our grief: Contemplative instruction
- Pause and attune, small group exercise/dyads
- Lunch
- This moment of grief: Meditative movement
- Intentional solitude and grief exercise
- Loving ourselves through grief: Small group self-compassion and care exercise
- Dinner
- Heartful and mindful mourning: Evening colloquy (talk)
- Walk of Courage: Starlight solitude lake meditation
Saturday | Surrendering to grief
- Surrendering to grief: Small group exercise
- Turning toward grief: Contemplative instruction
- Lunch
- Waking up to grief: Meditative movement
- Turning toward the other: Creative prompt
- Dinner
- Re-member-ing our dead: Contemplative instruction
- Trusting the Wisdom of Grief: Sunset evening colloquy
Sunday| Doing with grief
“Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence.” ~Henry David Thoreau
- Doing with grief: Deep listening small group exercise and exchange
- Being called to compassionate action: Large group exercise
- Lunch
- Moving toward the other: Meditative movement
- Closing colloquy
- Silent lake circumambulation
Leading the Retreat
Dr. Joanne Cacciatore is the founder of the MISS Foundation and the Center for Loss & Trauma. She is a research professor at Arizona State University and author of many peer reviewed articles, book chapters, and books. Her life changed in 1994 when her newborn daughter died.
Karla Helbert, LPC is a MISS Foundation facilitator, award winning author, and bereaved mother with a private practice in Richmond. She is a certified yoga teacher and an aromatherapist. In 2013, she published the book “Finding your own way to grieve” on creativity, grief, and autism. In 2015, her book Yoga for Grief and Loss: Poses, Meditation, Devotion, Self-Reflection, Selfless Acts, Ritual was published by Singing Dragon Publishers.
Ashley Santi, LMSW, is a bereaved mother and MISS Foundation facilitator, HOPE mentor, and volunteer. She currently is employed by two hospitals as a hospital social worker.
Cost and Facilities
The retreat will be held in breathtakingly beautiful Sedona, Arizona at at the Sedona Mago Retreat Center. This retreat is not affiliated with the Sedona Mago Center.
The registration fees include lodging for 3 nights/four days, all meals, retreat fee and materials/supplies. A shared-room fee is $630 per person, private room fee is $830 per person. Please plan to arrive by 2pm on Thursday and depart at 2pm on Sunday. Register online.
To foster a fully present experience, we ask that all electronic devices remain in your cars, outside of the retreat. Participants must remain at the center and participate in all aspects of the program. When you are registered, more information regarding transportation, accommodations, and the retreat will be sent within several days. This retreat is appropriate for secularists and people of all faith traditions. Please note, this retreat involves walking throughout the Sedona Mago campus and along hiking trails and may be difficult for people with mobility problems.
Payment
Payments may be made online through Paypal or by check to MISS Foundation, c/o Kelli Montgomey, P.O. Box 9195, Austin TX 78766. For payment questions, please email kelli.montgomery@missfoundation.org. Your registration will be complete and your space secured once your payment has been made in full. Space is limited. We do not offer any refunds after the registration deadline. There are no refunds for withdrawals once a program has begun. If you would like a shared room and do not have a roommate, we will pair you with another attendee. Thank you!
For more information or questions about the retreat, please contact us at info@missfoundation.org
