This was a closing meditation for Montana: Nature and Nurture retreat, September 23, 2017. The power of women coming together lifts souls and can be life changing.
We came together, as singles, others with a friend, others as sisters, all from afar. We were individually committed to come to Montana for adventure, to be with Nature and to be Nurtured. We each had ideas what that might mean and what it might be in reality, but not really knowing in three dimension how it would look, how it would feel, how it would smell, how it sound. At some level, we each believed in the power of connection and the beauty of exploration.
Over two days we arrived in Paradise Valley, open to whatever would unfold. It is a funny thing how communion happens. Communion creates a common binding connection. Communion encircles us as relationships form, communion as breath centers us, communion as experiences align us, communion as truth surrounds us, communion as we allow silence to envelop us, communion as we embrace the vast visual beauty, communion as we walk and talk along a mountain stream, communion as we hold on to the grit that is Montana, communion as we allow the weather to be, communion as we ooh and aaah at animals in their wild habitats, communion as we smell the fragrance that is Montana: the hay, the wet earth and mud, horses carrying us through fields, communion as we begin to understand the vision of Yellowstone National Park, communion as we ride our horses, communion as we feel courage to get back up and conquer adversity and fear, communion as we soak in natural hot springs with cocktails, communion as we practice meditation and yin yoga, communion as we discuss life changing readings, communion as we feel the heat from the earth at the Boiling River, communion as we help each other select hats, boots, western memorabilia, communion through dancing at Chico Saloon, communion as we break bread and drink from many cups….
Community becomes a type of family, of women all bound indelibly together by the impact and breadth of the past four days. We have gone from being individuals to a sisterhood who share, who know with a wink, who giggle and laugh, who smile and say wow and know just what that means, who cry and hold, who cheer. We now know each others stories. We will always have been together….to satisfy a curiosity, to have an adventure, to hold on to memories always. We have been moved beyond our normal walls and can fully appreciate all that has been.
May the spirit that is deeply held and felt in this beautiful and breathtaking land called Montana, the valley that Sacajewa called Paradise, always reside in your souls and fill your hearts with reverence, respect and joy. Always remember and come back to the images over and over in your mind’s eye, with your breath centering you, with silence that is symphony connecting you to communion and community, forever……
