We’re Going to Host a Weeklong Retreat in the Sahara Desert
My friend, Margot Diskin, and I will be taking 15 participants into the desert for a week of mindfulness and self-inquiry from Oct 8-16, 2016.
Margot, who is also a certified facilitator of The Work, has led three groups into the desert so far and has loved the experience every time. She says, “The desert is a wonderful way to find ourselves. It is timeless. There is no internet. You leave everything behind. It is a powerful way to go inward.”
When you combine the external experience of the desert with the internal process of questioning your stressful thoughts through The Work of Byron Katie, the effect can be very powerful.
It Is a Rite of Passage
The desert has none of the supports in life that you are accustomed to having. But this lack of external support can be a huge support for discovering how few needs you really have. The experience of the desert, as you open to it, can culture a feeling of self-sufficiency and fearlessness.
As you question your thoughts, what seems at first to be an inhospitable place can turn out to be a place of beauty and peace.
The desert also cultures an amazing spirit of community. Imagine traveling through the desert for a week with a group of people interested in going deeply into their own work. The sharing, the support for going deep in inquiry, and the shared challenge of living in the desert together can be a place for strong friendships to form.
We Will Be Taken Care of by the Bedouins
The Bedouins are a seminomadic group, descended from nomads who have historically inhabited the Arabian and Syrian deserts. Their name means “desert dwellers” in Arabic language.
They will carry supplies by camel. They will help us with our food. They will guide us through the desert.
We will be in the desert of Tunisia, a country that received the Nobel Peace Price in 2015. You will be flying into Djerba.
Our Curriculum Is Designed Around the Desert
The main experience for the week will be living in the desert. And each day we have created exercises that build on this experience.
I invite you to join us for an adventure of a lifetime. Margot told me that if she had just one thing to say, it would be this, “Don’t be afraid of the desert, because The Work will help you go beyond your fears and see the beauty and support that is also present in the desert.”
Even if you just have a little curiosity about this retreat, please let me know. I’ll be happy to talk with you about it more.
The cost will be (in Euros):
€1400 early bird (if you register before Aug 31, 2016)
€1600 after Aug 31, 2016
Visit the event Facebook page here.
Have a great week,
Todd
“I used to spend a lot of time in the desert. I would just walk, with no destination. I would walk straight, even if the path turned right or left, because I understood that there was no way to be lost. I often didn’t know where I was or how to get back to familiar ground. But I was living with the certainty that wherever I was, that’s where I was supposed to be at that moment.” Byron Katie, A Thousand Names For Joy
