One thing that is very clear is that now is not the time for sitting back behind our laptops and hoping things will work out how we want them to. In order to move forward, we need to take action. We need to commit to moving past our fears and resistance, stepping out from behind the screen and sharing our truth with others. That’s true in business, and it’s true in life too.
We can see this point in time as the opportunity it is – a chance for us to get clarity, find our courage and move forward to heal our country.
The way we achieve that healing is through connection.
We are all energetically connected, and intuitively most of us feel that the transformation we experience in our own lives has a ripple effect of transformation on those around us. When we gain confidence and become more captivating, people are drawn to spend time with us.
When we find a business model that allows us to experience true ease and abundance, our families benefit financially and our loved ones get to spend more time with a happier, relaxed version of ourselves.
It’s how our own healing impacts those close to us, our wider community, and ultimately our nation and the world. Right now, that healing is needed more than ever.
And yet the reality is, when it comes to hosting retreats, healing often isn’t the first thing we think of. Our minds move straight to what we perceive as the value of retreat – the knowledge we will share. Lots of people tell me that what holds them back from holding a retreat is the feeling that they have nothing valuable to say.
“Who am I to stand at the front of the room? What if I don’t have the answers people are looking for?”
To get caught up in this is to miss the key purpose of the container we are creating.
In all the retreats I’ve participated in, both as a host and an attendee, I’ve seen the biggest transformation come from one thing – and it’s not the knowledge, the action steps or the strategies shared by the person at the front of the room.
Those things do, of course, have great value. But information exchange can happen virtually. If your clients want knowledge, information, how to’s – they can access that from anywhere in their world via the web. People don’t go on retreat to take notes and write lists. They go because they understand that by being physically present they will integrate what they are learning on a deeper level: they will be transformed.
The in-person connection with a group is why retreat attendees are there in the first place. They’re looking for the kind of experience that can only happen when a group of people gather in a room together with one intention.
So by creating the container for that transformation to happen, you are already opening up the space for your intention to become manifest.
I’m talking about connection, but what I see going on at a deeper level is healing.
Here’s why retreats offer the most powerful healing there is:
Being witnessed by others is a powerful thing
I’m really emboldened by the conversations I’ve seen recently around shadow work. Lots of us who didn’t vote for Trump have been taking this opportunity to look at our own shadow side; to examine the parts of us that we find ourselves hiding. That work is so important. But what takes that work to the next level is coming to terms with our own story not just solo but as part of a group.
Get your clients out of their head and into their hearts
When we stay behind our laptops, reading articles and opinion pieces and transforming them into long lists of to-dos, we’re stuck very much in our heads. In a room with other people, our innate human need for connection unfurls. We’re compelled to reach out and connect with others. To open up our hearts and allow spirit, or source, to enter. And it’s in our hearts – not our heads – that the deep healing takes place that leads us into action.
Become a lightning rod
A retreat is a container for something remarkable to happen. However much you plan or prepare (and I actually teach my clients NOT to over prepare every minute of the retreat!) what happens when you gather a group together is always unique to that time, place and those people. As a leader, your job is to hold the space for that transformation to occur – and when it does it is PROFOUND. Opening up space for Spirit to come in makes you a lightning rod, channelling in powerful energy that cannot fail to have a deep and lasting impact. In turn, those present become their own lightning rods and spread that energy to those around them. Many people find that, even if their one on one work has gotten amazing feedback from happy clients, bringing that work into retreat creates the space for them to be at their most effective.
Focus on the love
We’re constantly connected and yet the paradox is, our world can leave us feeling isolated. Drawing motivated people together and focusing on the change we want to experience in our lives taps into a higher part of us – the part that is driven by love, passion and abundance. That higher energy is the most effective way to create the wider change we all want to see. When people are feeling lonely, afraid or disconnected from those around them, gathering together on retreat reminds us of the power of human connection and the potential within all of us to make a difference.
I believe that gathering in small retreats is the most powerful healing we can do right now. I know my team and I experienced in our recent retreat, and we’ve returned ready to take action and make more of the difference we want to see. I’m more committed than ever to sharing my truth and magnifying my impact and as a part of my community I know you are a part of that movement too.
I have loved reading the support and positive energy from everyone who posted on my Facebook wall this week, and I would love for us to continue the conversation. How are YOU going to be a part of this powerful movement for healing? What’s your experience of this in the retreats you’ve attended? We’d love to hear! Come on over to the Aligned Entrepreneurs Tribe on Facebook to share your experience.