You know retreats rule.

(At least, I hope you do. If not, trust me on this one.)

They put the sparkle back in the diamonds on the souls of your shoes (sorry, been listening to a lot of Paul Simon lately).

They give you a path back to the spring that burbles at the heart of your soul (wow, lots of purple prose today).

They free you from Squirrel Mind and grinding marching to-do blahs.

They wake you up “Oh yes, this is who I am and this is what matters to me! How could I forget?”

Retreats heal.

Only hitch is, it sometimes often feels just about impossible to make the time.

And when you do, it can (at least this is true for me and I wrote the damn book!) be scary to go within, to calm the Squirrel chatter in your mind and choose what will renew you.

So that’s why I created the 2nd annual Big Virtual Retreat with a bunch of very wise teachers.

And

This contest so you can win a chance to retreat.

Because some of us, we need to be smote by chance before we actually take the time to get what we need.

Here’s your chance to be smote by ole Lady Retreating Luck (a little known Jungian archetype).

To enter simply leave a comment (or if you want extra brownie points – leave a link to a video you  made) telling me why a retreat would be just the thing for you right now.

Or tell me why you can’t retreat.

Or how retreats have been healing for you.

I’m open to anything!

I’ll read your comments, and watch your videos and announce the winners on February 1, 2009

But Wait, there are Prizes (but of course):

First Prize:

An I-pod Nano filled with all the recordings from last year’s virtual retreat and this year’s retreat. This is a one-of-a-kind prize (that will mean I have to order a nano, find all the sessions, download them, write you a note, and put it the mail – so this is a BIG DAMN PRIZE DAMMIT).

You will be able to mix and match the 14 recordings from the 2009 retreat and the 12 recordings from this year’s retreat to create mini-retreats any time that you choose.

How cool is that?

Second Prize:

A seat at this year’s virtual retreat – including transcripts and audio recordings and e-book and live support during the weekend and all the good global vibes of hundreds of people getting the retreat vibe going at the same time.

Also known as the No-More-Excuses-to-Get-What-I-Need-Prize.

Entries will be judged on creativity and need and I’ll want to chose every last one of you and I’ll lose sleep but you know what?

If it convinces a few more of you to take a retreat — this one or anyone – it will be worth .

So, tell me your story and let’s all get smote.

The deadline for entries is January 22, 2009

I saw it for the first times a few weeks ago. It was like being in her head. While on acid.

Which was probably what it was like to be in her head a lot of the time.

It also made me jump up and down on the couch like Tom Cruise on Oprah (okay, not really) yelling to Bob

But I want to know more about her creative process! Where did she get her ideas? How did she learn to draw? Why did she wear those clothes? How did she get to be her?“

Bob rolled his eyes (lovingly) and went into the kitchen to take his vitamins before bed.

I collapsed on the couch and moaned about wanting to know more about how she came to trust her own vision until I got up to take out the dogs – who were, admittedly, slightly edgy now from my loud histrionics.

I know, from reading Frida’s diaries, that she didn’t always trust her talent or her vision.

But even though she didn’t, she kept listening and painting. That’s what I find exhilarating.

That’s what I want excites me. How artists keep claiming their voice, their vision, their ideas– even in the face of great resistance and pain and inner turmoil. Especially the latter. (And yes, for me, we are all artists, if we choose to see life that way.)

Because we all need reflections and examples and stories that proclaim, “This is permission to love what you love and create what you want to create in action!”

Your assignment: Go forth and find stories of creative agency.

They don’t need to be stories of artists or writers or even of traditional “success.”  Shoe makers, economists, inventors, fairytale gatherers – look wide! Search memoirs, biographies, TV shows, newspaper articles, blogs, the annals of history. Believe me, examples will show up when you begin looking!

Maybe you discover someone describing how they showed up in their marriage.

Or how, mid-life, they began practicing meditation.

Or how, after a company-wide restructuring, they energized the forces and led a team to new vistas.

Find stories that reflect what you need to learn: How to dare, how to articulate your vision, how to stick with the incoherent bits until they become something, how to let your yearning guide you…

Within these stories, look for the tiny moments and threads of permission – not just the big “aha!” moments.

When you find a small moment, enter into it.

Go into the feeling you imagine this person experiencing, the thrill, the “Aha!”, the “Oh shit, can I do it?” and savor your own, “Oh, that’s how they did it. I sort of get it!”

Forget trying to figure out how YOU will do it yourself. That’s not the point.

Instead, use these mirrors of permission to imprint your brain with the feeling of permission, of self-trust, of claiming your experience. Doing this only takes a few seconds but can make a huge difference. Once you know what it feels like, you’ll more easily recognize it again and again!

Have you enjoyed this mini-series?  Want more?

Download my free e-book GiveawayEbookFinal.

Missed any posts?

Part One:  Static Free Authenticity here.

Part Two: Tuning into Your Essence

And number three is… The Signal Raising Power of Permission

Register for my Big 2010 Virtual Retreat with 11 acclaimed teachers Christina Baldwin, Bill Barens, Camille Maurine, Katie Goodman, Hiro Boga, Fabeku, Tama J. Kieves, Mary Manin Morrissey, Stephanie McWilliams, Gail Goodwin Patti Digh and me at February 12th-14th – come for one or all of the mini-retreats.