The Brandywine Center’s
Fourth Annual Women’s Retreat:
Celebrating Our Circles of Strength!

...took place on April 20, 2002 at Harry’s Savoy Ballroom/Conference Center. By all accounts it was a huge success with almost 85 women attending. The day began with a continental breakfast followed by Theatre Ariel, an improvisational theater group helping us explore connections and disconnections in women’s lives. Retreat participants were able to talk about how the improv theater impacted them in break-out discussion groups. We re-grouped for a lovely lunch, the afternoon workshops were enthusiastically received and the closing activity allowed time for reflection, connection and discovering ways to take the retreat home.

Through the sale of “wild women” pins we were pleased to be able to donate $300.00 to The Wellness Community of Delaware, a community based program to support cancer patients, their families and loved ones.

Here are some of the comments from this year’s attendees:

So . . .
Mark your calendar now for next year’s Women’s Retreat, April 5, 2003.  We are already actively involved in planning yet another day of reflection, connection and renewal.

Here are some of the highlights from 2002:

Retreat Opening
Celebrating Our Circles of Strength

How did we pick this year’s theme? We picked the theme following the tragic events of September 11th, knowing that in order to heal from the devastation women would need to connect with one another and that our inner and outer circles of strength would help to re-build our world into a place where there would someday be peace and all of us would be safe. In the opening I spoke of how healing comes from resting, laughing, eating, listening to music, loving and being loved, being with family and friends and through connection and community building. Which is why we decided to focus this year’s retreat on creating circles of connection and care. We encouraged women to tell their stories because all sorrows can be overcome if we put them into a story. We helped women laugh. We provided good food and used music to create a sense of safety and healing. We opened out hearts to new circles of strength.

Afternoon workshop highlights:

Mindfulness in Relationships: Strengthening Our Circles of Strength

The workshop on Mindfulness in Relationships gave an opportunity for participants to identify forces that help us to pay attention to ourselves and to others, and to recognize the forces that interfere with this. We learned that all of us have the same kinds of problems with distractions, but that we all want to be more “present in the moment”. Because mindfulness is moment-to-moment, non-judgmental awareness, we discovered that self-acceptance and self-awareness are crucial. We talked together about ways to foster daily traditions to increase our ability to be more aware of others and ourselves.

Hats On For Women!

This was a creative arts workshop where people were asked to leave their left brain at the door. There were 9 participants in the workshop and we had a variety of hats including straw, crochet and baseball. The workshop had lots of positive energy and as one participant described it “It was fun, fun , fun.” Some hats were ultrafeminine and loaded with lace, ribbons, glitter and sparkle. Others reflected athleticism and action. One told the story of childhood about and the hope represented by therapy and a community of healers. Al were creative, expressive and highly individual. Each had its own brand of femininity and the mood of the group was one of joy and pleasure in expressing this aspect of themselves. Best of all, the workshop participants got to display their creations in a parade at the beginning of the closing ritual.

The Secret of Happiness: Learning to Live Your Life More Fully

In our workshop we contrasted the myths we have been taught about happiness (i.e., money ensures happiness, one must have the “perfect” body in order to be happy) with those factors that truly lead to happiness in our lives: connections with people, compassion, altruism, spirituality, gratitude, exercising personal power, feeling all our feelings, and living in the moment. The eight factors that contribute to happiness were introduced through group interaction, discussion, music, poetry, quotes, quiet reflection and meditation.

Listening to What Lingers in Your Heart

This workshop was born after a discussion Robin and I had after last year’s women’s retreat: The Adventure of Being Alive. At that time we noted that one of the biggest blocks to aliveness comes from tucking away important memories and emotions that cause us discomfort or pain. We go on, trying to forget the intense feelings that are very much alive inside us. Yet, when we ignore them, unpleasant complications often arise. We may become disconnected from ourselves and others, depressed, anxious, or unable to enjoy life to its fullest.

Robin and I wanted to create a safe space where women could make a connection with what was lingering in their own hearts. Through stories, poetry, and personal anecdotes we stressed the value of listening deeply and trusting what we hear inside. We talked about the kinds of experiences that tend to linger--losses, bittersweet memories, peak experiences, and special moments in relationships. Participants in the workshop also learned how to identify specific feelings that create conflict, and are often unconsciously avoided through a variety of ingenious coping strategies.

Through guided imagery, women in the group connected with feelings of joy and grief, longing, and courage, vulnerability and strength. Each person took a turn sharing what she had learned and felt, and this experience proved to be both affirming and healing. We ended the group on an empowering note, listening to the words of Meg Christian, encouraging all of us to “make a new start from the heart.”
The workshop participants all went home with a packet of inspirational readings. This is one of our favorites—a poem by Maya Angelou called The New House…

What words
have smashed against
these walls,
crashed up and down these
halls,
lain mute and then drained
their meanings out and into
these floors?

What feelings, long since
dead,
streamed vague yearnings
below this ceiling
light?
In some dimension,
which I cannot know,
the shadows of
another still exist. I bring my
memories, held too long in check,
to let them here shoulder
space and place to be.

And when I leave to
find another house,
I wonder what among
these shades will be
left of me.

Retreat 2002 Closing
The Journey Home: Reflecting on Our Circles of Strength

After a very energizing day of theater, laughter, discussion, lunch, connecting with new and old friends and stimulating afternoon workshops, we all gathered in the ballroom in a very large circle. The lights were dimmed and women’s musical voices filled the room. Rilke once said “there is nothing so wise as a circle” and it warmed my heart to be part of such a wonderful circle of women. I spoke of the power of women’s circles throughout history and the power of women’s circles to effect change in the world. And then we engaged in a ritual, lighting a black candle for grounding and to banish negativity, a green candle for healing and renewal and a rose/purple candle for connection to others and peace. We invited wise women from our past to join us in spirit and reflected on the day and how the retreat was impacting us. Women then shared their stories of hope, triumph, sadness and strength and we listened with open hearts. As a symbolic gesture of our connection we passed around a ball of purple hemp and tied ourselves to one another, wrist to wrist until we were all connected. I read from Judith Durek’s A Circle of Stones and then we cut the threads connecting us, again a symbolic representation of both our connection and separateness. I ended the day wishing us all peace on our journeys.

We hope to see many new and old friends at our Fifth Annual Women’s Retreat - April 5, 2003!

You can review the details of previous Annual Retreats from 2001 to the most recent:

2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007