"SANCTUARY"
A One-Day Experience for Women
with Author Camille Maurine
Saturday,
December 20th, 2008
10 to 6 pm at the Continuum
Studio
Santa Monica, California
Wellspring
of Wonder, Wildness, and Wisdom
REGISTER NOW ~ Early bird tuition $100
before November 22nd.
December
20th is a
powerful transition time ~ poised at Winter Solstice and the onset
of HolyDays. With the shopping frenzy and general hubbub, it's easy
to neglect the deeper movement of the Heart, of Nature, of Spirit.
Taking a day of "Sanctuary" can be the best gift to yourself, and
everyone around you.
Every woman
needs sanctuary from the world, to be with her own flow and let her
energies come into deeper balance. Based on the practices in
Meditation Secrets for
Women, this retreat is a time to give
yourself space, to regenerate, rekindle, and renew.
A sanctuary is:
~ Sacred space and time to let go, to soak in the mystery of being
alive
~ Protection and care for what is natural within, as in a wildlife
sanctuary
~ Refuge and safety, a place to recover and regroup
When women come together in a sacred context, we have the capacity
to create a synergetic field that catalyzes our own healing and
evolution, and amplifies our feminine power to bless the world.
This special workshop is an opportunity to dwell together, breathe
in a nourishing and supportive atmosphere, and generate the quality
of life we crave.
Nature wants us to thrive, and
designed us to be in the full streaming energies of life and love.
Everything about us is movement and flow. Learning to cooperate
with this flow is absolutely essential for women – for our
physical, mental, and emotional health, for our spiritual
sustenance and freedom, for our creativity and our ability to give
and receive in joy. The dance of energy is ecstatic. You are that
dance.
Camille creates a safe and fertile environment to sink into your
depths, to unwind and follow your flow. She offers liberating
practices designed for the female body/psyche, lovingly guiding the
journey through sensuous movement, meditation, and expression. In
this daylong retreat, you will nurture your heart and strengthen
your energy body, so that you can return to your life revitalized
and inspired.
Cultivate your inner sovereignty
Reclaim your natural wildness and wonder
Muse and dream, envision and express
What movements of your heart are waiting to be felt? What wildlife
within you is calling to be remembered? What wings of spirit are
longing to soar?
Live the Secrets of female power and vitality
Take them into the world
EARLY
REGISTRATION: $100 before November 22nd - $125
thereafter.
Send check to Camille Maurine at PO Box 9325, Marina del Rey, CA
90295.
Visa/MC accepted (call 310 821-0620 with cc number, expiration
date, and billing address with zip code).
What
a great holiday gift to ~ or from ~ a loved one!
TO
REGISTER: Email
Camille or call
310 821-0620.
LOCATION:
Continuum, 18th Street Arts Center, 1629 18th Street, Studio #7,
Santa Monica (just north of Olympic Blvd.)
HOURS: 10 am to
6 pm. Bring something for lunch. Also bring a journal or
notebook.
Our next "Sanctuary" is scheduled for February 8th, 2009.
Personal
Note from Camille:
Dear Women ~
There are three naked truths about women and sanctuary:
1) Sanctuary is essential. The need is non-negotiable. If we do not
cooperate, the body/psyche may create a crisis so we must.
2) It is not enough to sit in mindfulness. It is not enough to
analyze, therapize, and understand. It is not even enough to
practice compassion with self and others. We must engage our
bodies, move and breathe our energies, with care. Only then do our
nervous systems really get the message, all the way through. We let
go. We heal.
3) When women come together in awareness, we create a synergetic
field that supports each of us to experience deeper, fuller, freer
movement on every level.
This I know from my personal journey, and from the pleasure of
working with thousands of women over the years (true). This is why
I persist in my devotion. It is also why I am offering this retreat
~ one rich, yummy, transformative day. I can barely wait!
It's obvious: No better time than now. Come alone or bring a
friend. I welcome hearing what's moving in you, so that I can
provide the Sanctuary you crave.
With love,
Camille
Camille
Maurine
September, 2008
*
* *
A couple of related excerpts
from the book:
Give
Yourself Space
Women are empathetic creatures. We are sensitive
to pain, and tension, and all that is unresolved in the world. We
carry this collective tension in our bodies and psyches. A woman
needs sanctuary from the world, or she cannot metabolize all the
subtle feelings she has for other people and the burden of emotion
she carries for others. The de-stressing process in meditation
helps to unburden the heart. This frees up a tremendous amount of
psychic energy, transmuting tension into creativity and love.
In the outer world, a sanctuary is a sacred place, such as a
temple, a mosque or a church. Sanctuaries are also established for
wildlife, as in bird sanctuaries, where they are protected from
being hunted. The word sanctuary comes from a Latin root meaning,
“to make sacred” or “to consecrate.” A
magic circle is drawn about the place and all in it are under the
protection of God.
In daily life, a sanctuary is a place you can rest and be yourself.
You are safe from attack and being hunted. You can relax totally
and you are safe to unwind, let go, let your guard down. It can
feel sacred, profoundly nourishing and healing. A time of sanctuary
lets you be renewed and emerge into the world stronger.
In order to go deep in meditation, you need to be able to create a
sanctuary for yourself. That means you give yourself a space that
is yours, even for a moment, and a time that is yours, even for a
moment. Your sanctuary may be your garden, or the bathtub, or your
bedroom, or the sofa in the living room. That space becomes your
sanctuary because you make it so, you decide it is.
The act of giving yourself space for meditation can feel quite
assertive – you may have to push other things aside, close
the door, say no to this demand or that one. Put a “Go
Away” or “Do Not Disturb Meditation” sign on the
door and unplug the phone or turn the ringer off. In so doing you
erect a protective boundary so that you will not have to think
about being invaded or interrupted.
Taking space is also intimate, daring and courageous. You are
giving yourself the privacy to commune with the depths of your
being. You are setting up the situation so that you can reconnect
with your quiet inner self. When there is sanctuary, you can drift
into the space between things. Meditation is a
“liminal” state, at the threshold between the inner
world and the outer world. You touch the sheer membrane between
conscious and unconscious, between dream and reality, and penetrate
beneath the surface to sense the creative stirrings of your
soul.
Creating sanctuary can be as simple or elaborate as you choose. You
may want to have a special place in your home to meditate. Some
women create beautiful altars with symbolic objects, photos of
their family, a vase of flowers. Prayer can create a sanctuary, and
for some people, prayer is the way to begin. Invoke something
greater than yourself: a healing presence, a higher power, the
divine. You might light a candle or burn incense that you enjoy.
For others, cleaning around the place where you meditate creates
the refuge, and for still others, dancing around the meditation
spot is what creates the refuge. And for some women, just plunking
down with no fuss is sanctuary.
If for some reason it is not practical to make a sanctuary at home,
consider finding a church, a garden or an outdoor spot you can
use.
* * *
The
Call of the Wild
There
is an untamed part of you, not owned by anyone. Inside you are
mountains, streams, volcanoes, thunderstorms, broad vistas, and
meadows filled with flowers. There are birds, bears, wildcats,
buffalo, and deer. This is your inner nature’s wildlife
preserve. Stay close to it, because connection to this wildness is
absolutely essential. If you feel used up, or overworked, if you
have given too much or been too much in control, your inner
wildness may call to you – loudly!
You are a force of nature – accept it. Deny
your wildness at your peril – it is an essential key to your
vitality. Meditation is not to tame you but to set you free! The
Greek goddess Artemis is an archetype of the huntress –
attuned to nature, unfettered and strong. Reclaim your primordial
freedom and power. Accept the primal energy of joyous excitement,
sexuality, aggression and passion. Make room for these fiery
qualities in your meditation. Dance to primitive drum music and
then meditate. Conjure up your wild spirit and breathe with it
during meditation. Hear and answer the Call of the
Wild.
Excerpts from
MEDITATION SECRETS FOR WOMEN:
Discovering Your Passion, Pleasure, and Inner
Peace
Copyright
2001 by Camille Maurine and Lorin Roche, Ph.D.
HarperSanFrancisco,
2001. ISBN: 0062516973.
You can buy the book
now
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