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Shelter-in-Place Silent Retreat: 

Using Suffering as a Path to Transformation

Day 1

7:00-7:30 

-Begin with 7 rounds of sacred dance using scripture passage, “Whether I live or die, I am the Lord’s.” (Romans 14: 8) Step forward arms spread wide, “Whether I live..” Step back and bow hands to the earth, “or die…” Rise up hands over the heart, “I am the Lord’s.” Repeat 6 times.

-Centering Prayer-20 minutes

-Chant 

 

7:30-1:00

-Breakfast

-Read Teilhard de Chardin Seven Stages of Suffering: A Spiritual Path for Transformation, Louis M. Savary and Patricia H. Berne, Preface and pages 1-26.

-Walk, yoga, journal reflecting on “A Universal Spiritual Practice,” page 24, Savary and Berne.

-Lunch

 

1:00-1:30 

-Begin with 7 rounds of sacred dance using scripture passage, “Whether I live or die, I am the Lord’s.” (Romans 14: 8) Step forward arms spread wide, “Whether I live..” Step back and bow hands to the earth, “or die…” Rise up hands over the heart, “I am the Lord’s.” Repeat 6 times.

-Centering Prayer-20 minutes

-Chant 

 

1:30-3:00 

Read Teilhard de Chardin Seven Stages of Suffering: A Spiritual Path for Transformation, Louis M. Savary and Patricia H. Berne, pages 27-55.

 

3:00-7:00 

-Sacred work reflecting on the Spiritual Practice “Kything," page 44, Savary and Berne.

Sacred work: gardening, writing letters to someone who needs encouragement, cleaning and organizing around the house, anything that you deem as sacred.

-Walking, yoga, journaling, rest, art…

-Dinner

 

7:00-7:30 Preparation for Reflections on the Day

Begin with 7 rounds of sacred dance using scripture passage, “Whether I live or die, I am the Lord’s.”(Romans 14: 8) Step forward arms spread wide, “Whether I live..” Step back and bow hands to the earth, “or die…” Rise up hands over the heart, “I am the Lord’s.” Repeat 6 times.

-Centering Prayer-20 minutes

 

7:30-8:30 Reflections on the Day

-Connect to www.enneagramjourneying.comRetreat in Reflections/Blog subheading. If you feel prompted by the Spirit, please share any reflections that stood out during the day as well as any integrated heart or body experiences. I will keep the postings on the site for two weeks following the retreat for retreatants to read and reflect on.

-Pray aloud the meditative prayer for stage 1 on page 39, Savary and Berne.

-Chant

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Day 2

7:00-7:30 

-Begin with 7 rounds of sacred dance using scripture passage, “Whether I live or die, I am the Lord’s.” (Romans 14: 8) Step forward arms spread wide, “Whether I live..” Step back and bow hands to the earth, “or die…” Rise up hands over the heart, “I am the Lord’s.” Repeat 6 times.

-Centering Prayer-20 minutes

-Chant 

 

7:30-1:00

-Breakfast

-Read Teilhard de Chardin Seven Stages of Suffering: A Spiritual Path for Transformation, Louis M. Savary and Patricia H. Berne, pages 56-85.

-Walk, yoga, journal reflecting on the Spiritual Practice “The Bucket List for Making a Difference,” page 82, Savary and Berne.

-Lunch 

 

1:00-1:30 

-Begin with 7 rounds of sacred dance using scripture passage, “Whether I live or die, I am the Lord’s.” (Romans 14: 8) Step forward arms spread wide, “Whether I live..” Step back and bow hands to the earth, “or die…” Rise up hands over the heart, “I am the Lord’s.” Repeat 6 times.

-Centering Prayer-20 minutes

-Chant 

 

1:30-3:00

Read Teilhard de Chardin Seven Stages of Suffering: A Spiritual Path for Transformation, Louis M. Savary and Patricia H. Berne, pages 87-109.

 

3:00-7:00 

-Sacred work reflecting on the Spiritual Practice “Union with all Things,” page 104, Savary and Berne.

Sacred work: gardening, writing letters to someone who needs encouragement, cleaning and organizing around the house, anything that you deem as sacred.

-Walking, yoga, journaling, rest, art…

-Dinner

 

7:00-7:30 Preparation for Reflections on the Day

-Begin with 7 rounds of sacred dance using scripture passage, “Whether I live or die, I am the Lord’s.” (Romans 14: 8) Step forward arms spread wide, “Whether I live..” Step back and bow hands to the earth, “or die…” Rise up hands over the heart, “I am the Lord’s.” Repeat 6 times.

-Centering Prayer-20 minutes

 

7:30-8:30 Reflections on the Day

-Connect to www.enneagramjourneying.comRetreat in Reflections/Blog subheading. If you feel prompted by the Spirit, please share any reflections that stood out during the day as well as any integrated heart or body experiences. I will keep the postings on the site for two weeks following the retreat for retreatants to read and reflect on.

-Pray aloud the meditative prayer for stage 7 on page 108, Savary and Berne.

-Chant

 

Guidelines and Materials:

-Notify those you live with that you will be spending 2 days in silence following a guided retreat schedule throughout the day.

-Clear your schedule for the 2 days of retreat to keep interruptions to a minimum.

-Pray for yourself to be open to guidance by the Spirit throughout this time.

-Pray for all those who will be on retreat with you.

-Prepare sacred space in which to pray, read, journal and do sacred work.

-Reading material for retreat, Teilhard de Chardin Seven Stages of Suffering: A Spiritual Path for Transformation, Louis M. Savary and Patricia H. Berne. If you are unable to obtain the book or prefer to listen to a recording, I have been granted permission by the author, Louis Savary, to post recordings on my website under the Retreat menu item subheading Chants and Readings. Have available materials to record reflections as you listen.

-Chants are from Paulette Meier’s album Timeless Quaker Wisdom in Plainsong. I have been granted permission from Paulette to use chants from her album for this retreat.

-Collect materials for sacred work. 

-Prepare food for meals before you begin the retreat.

-The daily schedule, chants, recorded reading assignments and evening reflection page will be posted on www.enneagramjourneying.com

-When you register I'll send you attachments of the schedule, Spiritual Practices, evening prayer, and words to the chants.

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