On the next screen, you’ll have a chance to choose which e-zines you’ll receive.
And when you do, you’ll receive our free article: Ten Ways to Use Focusing in Daily Life.

"Spannocchia for me was totally perfect. I'm enthusiastic about that unique spot on earth and the idea that takes shape there; I love the way the two of you teach; I love and admire your finely worked out theories; and I enjoyed hearing English and Italian for a whole week, while staying with charming, interesting people. (Plus the best food on 7 days in a row - ever.)”
– Anita Oetiker-Eich, Switzerland

”I just want to thank you both for the retreat. It remains with me as a rich tapestry of memories... meeting all the other people, the food, the green rolling hills, the speaking circle, the sing-song, and of course the focusing.”
– Brendan Holleran

”I have not long returned from a week of silent meditation in Scotland. During the retreat I found myself practicing and referring to what I have learnt from you both on Treasure Maps to the Soul. At the end I was so moved by gratitude that I decided to thank you again for what you have shared with me. To be more specific the whole thing of acknowledging all the parts that arise in the inner world, with real empathy, was so so useful, turning towards the places that hate being a certain way or really want me to change.... I am not exaggerating when I say it’s completely transforming my experience of myself – it’s so much softer and safer in there... and as a direct consequence I feel that towards others as well. So thank you both for all your work and for what you have taught me. Funnily enough the teacher we had said a lot that echoed you but not explicitly – and I think many people need more explicit tools. I am in love with Focusing... do others feel so strongly about it!? Sometimes I am about to burst with excitement and awe... anyway that will do.”
– Manjudeva, London, England

– a five-day retreat to nurture the soul –
Calistoga, California

No Dates are currently scheduled for this retreat.
The following is information from a past retreat:

Are you creative? or are you blocked, held back, not living your potential...

Creativity is a spark present in each of us. It is intuitive, even playful. When we give ourselves permission to play and let go, a creative grace moves through us. We become curious explorers, even of the blocked places.

At this retreat you’ll find:

A daily ‘playshop’ of guided sessions where you will contact your inner
creative core and let it speak through a variety of approaches which may
include: drawing, collage, poetry, storytelling, sculpture, movement and more. We will be letting go of both ‘learned skills’ and what it is ‘supposed’ to look like or sound like and owning what comes from deep inside.

Releasing Blocks to Action: How the blocked flow gets moving again, through gentle listening to all your parts including the blocking ones.

Cradling from Within: Finding movements that are soothing and help us be with difficult places within.

Do you feel cut off from who you really are, from your own inner resources?

Focusing lets us trust that everything in us knows the way to its own life-forward movement, in a safe environment of respect and listening.

At this retreat you’ll find:

Focusing and Listening: The way to listen to how your embodied process speaks to you freshly, how your felt sense knows your unique way forward.

Radical Gentleness: Transforming the Inner Critic: If your harshest critics are inside you, let us show you how to turn them into your kindest allies.
Coming to our Senses and Inner Momentum: We learn a gentle movement warm up that creates a sense of physical and emotional safety, fluidity, and comfort in our bodies. We allow e-motions to form, becoming sensitive to the ways our being moves to know itself and to suggest a healing direction.

Are old patterns keeping you from encountering the present moment?

Life itself is creativity. When we step out of our patterns... live in a new way... that is our creative life force finding its own way forward.

At this retreat you’ll find:
Presence/Deep Healing: Presence allows us to find the life forward direction even in places of deep sadness or in the inner voices that have long been mute. We’ll show you how.
Moving and Sensing in Nature: Opening our senses to trees, land, sky, little creatures around us... receiving the patterns and gifts of nature. Exploring this connection in movement and stillness.

Are you already in good contact with your creative flow?

....and looking for a quiet and vibrant place of sharing with others? Have you been wanting to combine Focusing with movement and writing and visual arts?

This is the right place for you! You will find a place that honors your resources and abilities and supports you to discover and dwell in your
creative edge.

Come join three deeply healing and creative Focusing teachers for a retreat at the Mountain Home Ranch this coming August, and let yourself be nurtured by play, pleasure, and Focusing community!

What We'll do...

How the Week Flows... We’ll gather as a circle of friends on the first evening in the spacious, airy meeting room to start connecting with what we want to bring into being this week. Each day the whole group will meet in the morning for a fresh set of encounters and exercises with a new theme each day. After lunch is siesta time, or swimming, or hiking... our schedule is flexible and relaxed. Later in the afternoon, you can choose activities with any of the three teachers; we’ll offer simultaneous groups. See below for some of our themes. No need to plan ahead – you can go where you feel drawn at that moment.

Special Note to Shy People: We respect your sense of what is right for you. There is no pressure to do any exercise or activity. It’s as if when you arrive, you get an infinite number of “I pass” coupons. People often praise our workshops for how accepting we are... of everyone’s way of being. Creativity needs space too.

Prerequisite: No previous experience required in either creativity or Focusing!

Francesca:   Coming to Our Senses
                     Cradling from Within
                     E-motions and Inner Momentum
                     Moving and Sensing in Nature

Ann:             Focusing and Listening
                     Radical Gentleness: Transforming the Inner Critic
                     Releasing Blocks to Action: Finding Your Flow
                     Presence: Deep Healing

Christina:     Daily ‘playshop’ – all materials supplied
Jan:              To be announced

Also: On the third afternoon we’ve arranged an optional tour of the beautiful Napa/Sonoma wine country, including visits to several wineries for wine tasting, a visit to the old Sonoma Mission and picturesque Sonoma town square with its many boutiques.

In the evenings we’ll offer playful options like dance, singing, improv games, conversation...

Therapists: All our activities are relevant to your work with clients as well as being an experience of deepening and renewal for yourself.

All are welcome.

If you’re an experienced Focuser, we’ll make sure we work with you at an advanced level. If you’ve never done Focusing before, we’ll bring you up to speed.

Location:

Mountain Home Ranch is a secluded country style retreat center in the heart of California’s beautiful Sonoma and Napa Valleys. They have over 300 acres of hiking trails, two swimming pools, tennis court, basketball, volleyball, labyrinth, game room, lake fishing, picnic area and bar-b-que pit. For more about Mountain Home Ranch, visit www.mountainhomeranch.com

Click here for our photo gallery from past retreats.

Dates & Times:

We’ll start with dinner on the first evening and finish with lunch on the last day. There will be morning, afternoon, and evening sessions, as well as free time to play and explore. Our third afternoon will feature a guided tour of the Napa Wine Country.

Fees:

The cost of the retreat is $595 plus room and board, for five days and nights. This is a discounted early registration fee; after the early registration deadline, the cost of the retreat increases to $650. Payment plans are available; just ask.

Room & Board:

There are two types of accommodation available, and either of them can be reserved as shared (one roommate) or single. These prices are for five days and nights and include three delicious meals per day, and all taxes.

      • The Lodge Rooms are in the main building, and each room has a full bath. Shared $490, Single $660.

      • The Cottages are the nicest accommodations, quite roomy, each with a kitchen as well as a full bath. Shared $572, Single $823.

Transportation:

Coming from out of town? We’ll help you with transportation from the San Francisco airport... the journey from there will take about an hour and a half.

Registration:

A deposit of $295 holds your place. Payment in full for retreat fee plus room & board is required by July 3. Please note that your deposit is refundable until July 3.

To register online (including accommodations reservations), use the workshop calendar to add this retreat to your shopping cart. If you prefer to register by phone, fax, or mail, see Registration Information. Do not reserve room and board directly with Mountain Home Ranch.

Payment plans are available for the workshop fee; please contact Focusing Resources if you would like to arrange a payment plan.

About the Teachers...

Christina Rex is a visual artist who has worked in a wide variety of materials. Recently she has concentrated on watercolors and pastels. Christina has been leading classes and workshops combining creativity and Focusing since 1992 (Accessing Your Creative Potential). She has also written many magazine articles and a book on her fabric and garment research in West Africa. She was chairperson of the art department of a community college for 30 years, guiding many students to finding their creative core. Her presence and ease assists people to release the barriers to true creativity. She finds that Focusing is the
avenue to the creative spark within.

Francesca Castaldi draws on years of experience as a yoga practitioner and dancer of Contact Improvisation, Motivity (aerial dancing with low flying trapezes and bungees), and West African dance. In the late 1990s she spent a year in Senegal to study with the director of the National Ballet of Senegal and learn about dances in their social context. Her research culminated in the writing of a book: Choreographies of African Identities. Francesca taught courses in dance, dance studies, and anthropology at the University of California, at the Riverside, Los Angeles, and San Diego campuses. She views Focusing as a modern healing ritual and is dedicated to combining Focusing with gentle movement explorations.

Jan Hodgman comes to Focusing from a strong Buddhist background as an ordained Zen priest with 8 years of monastic training in Japan. She trained in Focusing with Reva Bernstein and Ann Weiser Cornell and has sat in on Eugene Gendlin’s Theory Construction course, an early form of Thinking at the Edge. Along with Focusing Inner Relationship Levels workshops, she has taught “Focusing for Musicians,” “Focusing for Writers,” and loves working with people tapping, shaping, and getting to know intimately their spirituality/creativity and helping it function in the world. Most recently, she's completed a unit in Clinical Pastoral Education and served as a hospital chaplain.

Ann Weiser Cornell

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