Calendar

JUNE
Note: Programs will take place at Spirit Mountain Retreat unless otherwise indicated.

June 11-13
Writer’s Retreat: Writing in the New Consciousness

What might be the most exciting terrain you encounter in this writing is happening now. It is the emergence of your very own voice.
-- Katya Williamson

Come home to what awakens you, to what makes you become more alive in your creativity. This retreat is a way for you “to bring your soul back home” and to let your authentic voice emerge more fully. In the contemplative oasis of Spirit Mountain Retreat and jubilant summer landscape, spend time in meditative writing outdoors, near special nature spots of Idyllwild including creeks, and lofty pines that will give new dimensions and depth to your writing. The retreat is designed for both beginning and advanced writers. Exercises will be offered in this retreat geared to stimulate new writing talents, skills and insight for participants.This is enhanced by a supportive group setting of like-minded writers who will also be attending the retreat.

Date: June 11-13
Time: Friday 7pm – Sunday 12:30p,
Arrival Time: Friday after 3pm, supper is on your own.
Fee: $250 includes retreat, private room at Spirit Mountain and meals
Commuter Fee: $150 for retreat and meals
Deposit: $50 by May 1 (Retreat limited to 14 Participants)

Facilitator:
Katya Williamson, MFA, realized she could help excite and stimulate creativity in students ‘writing when she was a writer-in-residence at Yellowstone National Park. It was there that her passion for writing and guiding other in writing was sparked. Katya, has led empowering writing workshops for women in England, United Sates and Hawaii and has authored a number of books, most recently Bringing the Soul Back Home: Writing in the New Consciousness published by O Books, UK, 2009.

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June 19
Monthly (dvd) Series: Visions of a Universal Humanity

“Without vision, the people perish…with vision we flourish.”

Futurist Barbara Marx Hubbard brings together some of the finest minds of our time to reveal a positive future for humanity, filled with infinite possibilities. The times in which we live call us to participate in the act of co-creation and to move into a spirit of cooperation with all who share this planet. (DVD)

Time: 2:00 – 4:30pm
Suggested Donation: $15 -$20
Registration: Call 951-659-2523

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June 23
Summer Solstice Celebration ~
Summer Sweet and Mountain Thyme

At summer solstice the yin, the feminine principle of the Earth Goddess, is born and begins to wax strong. We celebrate the feminine spirit and nature ~ the world of the animals, herbs, flowers, trees, grasses and birds and all living things. This is a time of play and laughter.
Bring the children She cries!

Join with Local Color and Spirit Mountain Retreat as we sing and dance the rhythms of order and beauty, giving thanks for the abundance of light and life.
Bring a treat to share!

Date: Wednesday, June 23
Time: 4:00 – 5:00 pm
Registration: Call 951-659-2523 or email

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June 26
Sacred Spaces ~ Sacred Faces: Art Retreat with Anne Kellogg

We will take time to go deeply into our sacred inner space. Through meditation and time in the garden, we will come to know the nature spirits who accompany us in this journey of transformation. Using The Art of Mask Making we will draw upon our imagination and inner work to create spirit faces to represent our ever-changing selves.

The ancient sacred ones love to be entertained and so do we! Join in a day of great spirit and depth. We will fill our sacred place with art, writing, dance and song as we celebrate life.

Time: 9:30am – 3:30pm
Fee: $65 (includes lunch) Deposit $30 due May 1st.
Registration: Call 951-659-2523 or email
Facilitator: Anne Kellogg returns to Spirit Mountain with great enthusiasm for art and its power to guide the inner journey. She is an art therapist and a practicing artist. Anne lives with her husband in Los Osos on the Central Coast of CA.

JULY
Note: Programs will take place at Spirit Mountain Retreat unless otherwise indicated.

July 12
Day Of Mindfulness

Sitting in meditation is nourishment for your spirit and nourishment for your body, as well… To create an inner calmness and serene joy, practice paying attention and awareness. -- Thich Nhat Hanh

Join us in a day of contemplative sitting and stillness. Included are practices of mindful breathing, walking meditation, creative expression, sharing of insights and reflections on the day. A meal in silence is enjoyed. Remember to smile during the day. Awareness is Key!

Time: Monday 9:30am – 3:00 pm
Donation Suggested: $35
Facilitator: Esther Kennedy
Registration: Call 951-659-2523 or email

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July 24
Monthly (dvd) Series: The Great Story ~The Dream of the Earth

The film opens displaying the beauty of the natural world as Thomas Berry unfolds the cosmic story of creation. At the heart of the film is Berry’s experience of the universe as sacred story. A pioneer in the field of spirituality and ecology, he reminds us that we are not a collection of objects but a communion of subjects. For Thomas, the mountains, rivers, birds, fish, all living organisms are not there for our use but for a union which is needed for us to become who we are.

Time: 2:00 – 4:30pm
Suggested Donation: $15 -$20
Registration: Call 951-659-2523

AUGUST
Note: Programs will take place at Spirit Mountain Retreat unless otherwise indicated.

August 14
Remembering and Living the Awakened Life

Inner peace automatically arises out of our willingness to give up certain positionalities, such as judging others and making them wrong. When we stop identifying with the events ‘out there’ and giving them power over our lives, then we experience an inner serenity… -- David Hawkins

Many of us in our society live with constant stress, anxiety, fear and worry. And…we are learning ways to address life’s challenges especially as they affect our health and well being. Together we will reflect on how the mind affects the emotional body and health. The process of experiencing the mind as a vehicle to this greater awareness involves

• not letting the mind get away with expressing negativity and
• releasing the capacity within us for compassion and forgiveness

A basic principle we will consider is We are subject only to what we hold in mind.

Time: 2:00 – 4:30pm
Suggested Donation: $25
Registration: Call 951-659-2523 or email
Facilitator: Joseph Sheehan shares his study of the new consciousness and the integration of body, mind and spirit. Joseph has an MA from National Holistic Health Institute in Berkeley Ca. His pursuit of the spiritual path has included study of western spirituality at St. Mary’s University in Texas, and of eastern spirituality at Vidyajoti Institute in New Delhi. Joseph is an astrologer and lives in Palm Springs.

Basic resources for the program are Dr. David Hawkins' HEALING & RECOVERY and Marci Shimoff’s HAPPY FOR NO REASON

Happiness results from the experience of our own existence and
enjoying our own inner aliveness. --David Hawkins

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August 16
Day of Mindfulness

An unwholesome thought has just arisen. Don’t dwell on it or try to get rid of it, however much you don’t like it. To acknowledge it is enough. -- Thich Nhat Hanh

Join us in a day of contemplative sitting and stillness. Included are practices of mindful breathing, walking meditation, creative expression, sharing of insights and reflections on the day. A meal in silence is enjoyed. Remember to smile during the day. Awareness is Key!

Time: Monday 9:30am – 3:00 pm
Donation Suggested: $35
Facilitator: Esther Kennedy
Registration: Call 951-659-2523 or email

SEPTEMBER
Note: Programs will take place at Spirit Mountain Retreat unless otherwise indicated.

September 13
Day of Mindfulness

Mindfulness frees us of forgetfulness and dispersion and makes it possible to live life fully each minute of life. Mindfulness enables us to live. --Thich Nhat Hanh

Join us in a day of contemplative sitting and stillness. Included are practices of mindful breathing, walking meditation, creative expression, sharing of insights and reflections on the day. A meal in silence is enjoyed. Remember to smile during the day! Awareness is Key!

Time: Monday 9:30am – 3pm
Fee: $35
Facilitator: Esther Kennedy
Registration: Call 951-659-2523 or email

The outward work will never be puny if the inward work is great. --Meister Eckhart

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September 18
Women Inspiring Women:
Leadership, Creativity, and the Arts

When I was in the eighth grade, I said very definitely - as if I had thought it all out and my mind was made up - "I'm going to be an artist." -- Georgia O'Keefe

This series is about real life and real women. Women who overcame challenges, tapping into their essential inner aliveness and passion. The series includes two Saturday afternoon programs and a full Saturday gathering held at the Caine Learning Center.

• Part 1- September 18
  Glow is an Energy ~ a Spark ~ Everyone has it!
  
• Part 2 - October 9
  Meinrad Craighead~Artist, Mystic, Visionary (DVD documentary)
• Part 3 - November 6
  Who Does She Think She is A feature documentary from the team that won an Academy Award for Born into Brothels, Pamela Tanner Boll, Director ~ co-directed and edited by Nancy C. Kennedy

September 18
Part 1 - Glow is an Energy ~ a Spark ~ Everyone has it!

The GLOW Project (DVD) is about real life, no pretending, no secrets. It’s the story of impassioned women who overcame incredible challenges to find their GLOW. Women openly share their lowest hours and how they tapped into their GLOW to come into their own.

It is hard to be successful without knowing who you are.
Dr. Helena Gayle

Glow features women who are successful entrepreneurs and for the first time share how they manifest, unleash and create success on their own terms. Glow - while it is invisible, women can see it. While it cannot be touched, women can feel it. We will enjoy the film and enter lively and spirited discussion. www.glowproject.org

Date: Saturday September 18
Time: 2:00 – 4:30pm
Donation Suggested: $15 – 20
Registration: Call 951-659-2523 or email

GLOW is really the result of fabulous relationships in your life. -- Sandra Yancy –eWomen Network, Inc.

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September 26
Spirit Mountain Retreat Celebrates
Open House and Autumn Equinox

Spirit Mountain Retreat is a place to awaken your inner joy and happiness; a place to strengthen your inner spirit so that it flows freely throughout the dailyness of your life. Come, bring a friend, and nourish your curiosity as to what we are about and the programs we offer. Listen to what stirs in your heart, enjoy conversation with friends and walk in the contemplative garden.

Join with Local Color and Spirit Mountain to celebrate Autumn Equinox and the balancing time of light and dark, hot and cold, in and out, above and below. Through song, dance, and poetry we honor the Mystery of Life, give thanks to the nature spirits for their concern and affection for us and ask their guidance as we ready for a period of rest, greater stillness and reflection.

Please bring treats for our Harvest Table.

Date: Sunday, September 26
Time:
Open House, 1pm – 4pm
Autumn Equinox Ritual, 2:30 – 3:30 pm
Contact: 951-659-2523 or email

OCTOBER
Note: Programs will take place at Spirit Mountain Retreat unless otherwise indicated.

October 1-3
Write Ways to Love ~ A Retreat for Writers

We will explore the many faces of love through meditation, writing prompts, journaling and sharing our personal and common experiences. We will host a deep appreciation of what love has meant to us, how we see it today, and how we hope to fulfill the capacity for love through mindfulness and practice. Our approach will be anchored by Bell Hook’s All About Love, and by the writings of Thich Nhat Hahn, especially Taming the Tiger Within. This retreat, open to all genders and lifestyles, is part of Spirit Mountain's program focus on what it means to be fully human.

Date: October 1 - 3
Time: Friday 7:30 pm – Sunday 12:30 pm
Arrival Time: Friday after 3pm, supper is on your own.
Fee: $250 includes retreat, private room at Spirit Mountain and meals
Commuter Fee: $150 for retreat and meals
Deposit: $50 by August 15th (Retreat limited to15 Participants)
Registration: Call 951-659-2523 or email
Facilitators: Susan Bono and Joan Zerrien

Susan Bono is a writer, teacher, writer’s group facilitator, small press publisher, and editor of “Tiny Lights: A Journal of Personal Narrative” (www.tiny-lights.com) Susan lives in Petaluma, Ca.

Joan Zerrien is a mother, writer, and innkeeper in Idyllwild, Ca. Joan has a BA in Sociology/Psychology from UC Berkeley and a MA in Counseling Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute.

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October 9
Women Inspiring Women:
Leadership, Creativity, and the Arts

When I was in the eighth grade, I said very definitely - as if I had thought it all out and my mind was made up - "I'm going to be an artist." -- Georgia O'Keefe

This series is about real life and real women. Women who overcame challenges, tapping into their essential inner aliveness and passion. The series includes two Saturday afternoon programs and a full Saturday gathering held at the Caine Learning Center.

• Part 1- September 18
  Glow is an Energy ~ a Spark ~ Everyone has it!
  
• Part 2 - October 9
  Meinrad Craighead~Artist, Mystic, Visionary (DVD documentary)
• Part 3 - November 6
  Who Does She Think She is… A feature documentary from the team that won an Academy Award for Born into Brothels, Pamela Tanner Boll, Director ~ co-directed and edited by Nancy C. Kennedy

October 9
Part 2 - Meinrad Craighead~Artist, Mystic, Visionary (DVD documentary)

I draw and paint from my own myth of personal origin. Each painting I make begins from some deep source…it is as if the line moving from pen or brush coils back to the original Matrix. -- Meinrad Craighead

Meinrad Craighead, an artist with a remarkable history, currently lives in Albuquerque, NM. This documentary Meinrad Criaghead: Praying with Images presents aspects of her art and reflections conveying her mystical encounter with the Divine Feminine. The deep connection began with the close bond with her mother, grandmother (Memaw) and sisters and intimacy that extends back through her foremothers. www.meinradcraighead.com

Date: Saturday, October 9
Time: 2:00 – 4:30pm
Donation Suggested: $15 - $20
Registration: Call 951-659-2523 or email

Sometimes I feel like a cauldron of ripening images where memories turn into faces and emerge from my vessel. --Meinrad Craighead

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October 11
Day of Mindfulness

When your mind is liberated from false views, hatred, ignorance and anger, your heart floods with compassion for yourself and for others. --Thich Nhat Hanh

Join us in a day of contemplative sitting and stillness. Included are practices of mindful breathing, walking meditation, creative expression, sharing of insights and reflections on the day. A meal in silence is enjoyed. Remember to smile during the day! Awareness is Key!

Time: Monday, 9:30am – 3pm
Donation Suggested: $35
Facilitator: Esther Kennedy
Registration: Call 951-659-2523 or email

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October 16
Deep Listening: Connecting with Your Spirit & the Spirit of Earth

Our souls’ journey is part of the journey of the whole of creation. Our heart is connected to the heart of the world. Our remembrance is the remembrance of the world. Through our awakening the world can awaken. --Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee

Connect to your whole self—body, mind, spirit—by listening deeply and opening to intuitive guidance. Together we will attune our energy to the unfolding energies of Earth. From this place of deep connection, we naturally come into a place of unity with Being, offering healing to Earth, ourselves, and all beings.

With the gentle support of the circle we will use meditation, self-healing and energy awareness practices to access intuitive wisdom and deepen presence.

Date: Saturday, October 16
Time: 9:30am – 3:30pm
Fee: $ 65 (includes lunch) Deposit $30 due September 15
Registration: Call 951-659-2523 or email
Participation limited to 14 members. Individual Readings can be scheduled with Miriam.

Facilitator: Miriam Lelah Moussaioff is a Professional Intuitive and Rosen Bodywork Practitioner with a Masters in Intuition Medicine. Miriam teaches classes in intuitive development and maintains a private practice in Berkeley, California. She has been teaching workshops at Spirit Mountain Retreat in Idyllwild since 1995.Miriam brings a compassionate, body-centered and joyful approach to her work.

You are the mystery which you are seeking to know. --Joseph Campbell

NOVEMBER
Note: Programs will take place at Spirit Mountain Retreat unless otherwise indicated.

November 6
Women Inspiring Women:
Leadership, Creativity, and the Arts

When I was in the eighth grade, I said very definitely - as if I had thought it all out and my mind was made up - "I'm going to be an artist." -- Georgia O'Keefe

This series is about real life and real women. Women who overcame challenges, tapping into their essential inner aliveness and passion. The series includes two Saturday afternoon programs and a full Saturday gathering held at the Caine Learning Center.

• Part 1- September 18
  Glow is an Energy ~ a Spark ~ Everyone has it!
  
• Part 2 - October 9
  Meinrad Craighead~Artist, Mystic, Visionary (DVD documentary)
• Part 3 - November 6
  Who Does She Think She is… A feature documentary from the team that won an Academy Award for Born into Brothels, Pamela Tanner Boll, Director ~ co-directed and edited by Nancy C. Kennedy

November 6
Part 3 - Who Does She Think She is… A feature documentary from the team that won an Academy Award for Born into Brothels, Pamela Tanner Boll, Director ~ co-directed and edited by Nancy C. Kennedy

This gorgeously photographed film follows five women artists from Hawaii to Santa Fe from Ohio to New York, ranging in age from 27 – 65, as they navigate the economic, psychological and spiritual challenges of making art outside the elite art world. This film examines some of the most pressing issues of our time, partnering and independence, parenting and work, economics and art.

This film is not about being a woman or being a woman artist but rather how to be a human, how to find your true place in life. --Jean M. Murphy

Along the way, the film invites us to consider both ancient legacies of women worshipped as cultural muses and more modern times where most people can’t even name a handful of female artists.

Gather with other women as we celebrate contemporary heroines (ourselves included) and share our own unique stories ~ stories which provoke and inspire us to demand more from our work, our creativity and to do the things that bring joy into our lives and into the world. www.whodoesshethinksheis.net

Date: Saturday, November 6
Time: 10am – 3:30pm
Place: Caine Learning Center
54385 Pine Crest
Idyllwild, CA 92549
Donation Suggested: $40 - $60 Lunch Included
Registration: Call 951-659-2523 or email

The women in this film are portraits in courage against social and ideological odds. -- Peggy McIntosh

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November 8
Day of Mindfulness

Breathing in, awakens gratitude ~ Breathing out, releases seeds of grace everywhere.

Join us in a day of contemplative sitting and stillness. Included are practices of mindful breathing, walking meditation, creative expression, sharing of insights and reflections on the day. A meal in silence is enjoyed. Remember to smile during the day! Awareness is Key!

Time: 9:30am – 3:00 pm
Donation Suggested: $35
Facilitator: Esther Kennedy
Registration: Call 951-659-2523 or email

DECEMBER
Note: Programs will take place at Spirit Mountain Retreat unless otherwise indicated.

December 13
Day of Mindfulness

We need harmony, we need peace. Peace is based on respect for life. Not only do we respect lives of human beings but the lives of animals, vegetables and minerals. --Thich Nhat Hanh

Join us in a day of contemplative sitting and stillness. Included are practices of mindful breathing, walking meditation, creative expression, sharing of insights and reflections on the day. A meal in silence is enjoyed. Remember to smile during the day! Awareness is Key!

Time: 9:30am – 3:00 pm
Donation Suggested: $35
Facilitator: Esther Kennedy
Registration: Call 951-659-2523 or email

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December Winter Solstice
Date and Program to be Announced

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December 30 – January 1
Woman’s New Year Retreat:
Mother Night and Seeing in the Dark

The Creative life force is urging and nudging us to move into the realm of mystery, dreams, darkness, and the unexpected. At this turning of the year, we reclaim the soulful gifts set into our soul at birth. Gifts abandoned possibly in the unconscious through neglect, ignorance and fear. We will draw upon Mother Night: Myths, Stories and Teachings by Clarissa Pinkola Estes.

Mother Night is our wild companion as we
…kneel to dig down to mine the raw gems of spirit, soul and creative life, bringing diamonds from the darkness again or for the very first time.

What if the world is starving for soulful gifts only you carry? We can help each other, like the Navi, to say I see you!

Facilitator: Esther Kennedy
Date: Thursday, December 30 – Saturday, January 1
Time: Thursday 7:00pm – Saturday 12:30pm
Arrival Time: 3pm, supper is on your own.
Fee: $250 includes retreat, private room at Spirit Mountain and meals.
Commuter Fee: $150 includes retreat and meals
Deposit: $50 by December 1
Registration: Call 951-659-2523 or email