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Hello To All!
Welcome to the Iona Retreats web site! We hope you enjoy your stay. We have packed as much information in here as possible, everything from packing tips and travel instructions, to photos, a book list, and loads of accommodations. We hope that you will find this information helpful! And we'll see you on Iona!
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A SPIRITUAL RETREAT FOR WOMEN ON
THE ISLE OF IONA, SCOTLAND,
SPRINGTIME, 2010
We Invite you to be part of a wonderful circle of women on the Island of Iona in Scotland with VICTORIA CASTLE and VIVIENNE HULL
Two retreats are planned:
DATES: Sunday, May 16th to Saturday, May 22nd
and Sunday, May 23rd to Saturday, May 29th
Many of us yearn to deepen our connection to our own true selves, to Spirit, others, and the natural world. Sometimes a special opportunity comes our way to step out and away from our routines and into a time of deep soul cultivation. The Women’s Retreats on Iona next May are a unique invitation to do just this---to “make pilgrimage,” to gift yourself with a time to nourish your body, mind and spirit in the company of other caring and serving women, to draw from the deep wellspring of Celtic spirituality, and to be refreshed and blessed by the beauty and power of this ancient place.
The theme for our Retreats is Grace: opening to it, allowing it, recognizing it, and embodying it as we learn how we can bring the power and presence of Grace into all we do in our personal, family and professional lives.
The Iona Retreats for many, many women have been life-changing experiences, full of inspiration and joy as we share our unique stories, meditate and pray together, and a lot of fun as we hike Iona’s heathered hills and lovely beaches, share meals and enjoy the companionship of each other.
Located in the Inner Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland, Iona is only three miles long and a mile-and-a-half wide. It is rugged and beautiful, with a long Celtic tradition and a powerful spiritual presence. Known as the home of Celtic spirituality, Iona helps us recover the wisdom of a life-celebrating and Earth-honoring tradition and the legacy of visionary women who, like ourselves, lived in times of difficult transition and who helped bring about new forms of community, political, economic and spiritual life. Their stories, mostly untold, will enrich our own.
One of the oldest places on the planet, Iona’s unique geology and ecology helps bring us to our senses and what it means to be “at home in the Universe.” In May, the wildflowers will be in bloom, and the puffins, skylark, corncrake, and cuckoo will have returned to their Hebridean home. As a fragile Island ecology, Iona reminds us of the interdependency of human life and the natural world, and the urgent need to care for the health and well-being of the whole community of life.
The Retreats will include presentations, discussions, journaling, meditations, music and lots of poetry. We’ll hike to places of extraordinary beauty, explore sites of historic interest and enjoy the small village and its people. We’ll arrange a special geological field trip to stand on Iona’s 2.5 billion year old rock outcroppings, go hunting for it’s famous green stones and join the local community for a ceilidh—an evening of Scottish song and dancing. We’ll also plan times of solitude and quiet for your own inner work. Optional activities include participation in services in the old Abbey, boat trips around Iona and to the Isle of Staffa to visit Fingall’s Cave and see the colony of puffins.
ACCOMMODATION is in three lovely cottages situated on the beautiful north shore, about a mile from the village. Rooms are shared and in the spirit of community, we’ll all help with meal preparation and house-care.
Please Join Victoria and Vivienne for one or both Retreats!
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DATES: Sunday, May 16th to Saturday, May 22nd.
& Sunday, May 23rd to Saturday, May 29th, 2010.
Each retreat can accommodate only twelve women.
Please let us know of your interest soon as the Iona retreats always fill quickly.
COST: Siding scale of $1650 to $2000 for program, resources, shared accommodation and meals. Airfare and travel within Scotland not included. A $250 deposit (non-refundable) will hold your place. The balance is due by March 1.
Make your check payable to:
Iona Retreats - Vivienne Hull, and mail to 6296 S. Brighton Beach Rd., Clinton, WA 98236 Arrangements can be made to pay by credit card. Please contact Victoria.
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You Will Be With Trusted Guides!
VICTORIA CASTLE creates experiences that allow people to deepen their sense of self and purpose. She is a Master Somatic Coach, seasoned spiritual teacher, author of The Trance of Scarcity (find it here!), and co-founder of Hot Women For A Cool Planet. She has been mentoring women leaders in embodiment and fulfillment for over twenty years. More info at: www.NecessaryMischief.com
VIVIENNE Hull has directed and led the Iona retreats for many years. Irish born and a scholar of Celtic spirituality, she brings the rich heritage of Iona to life and will introduce you to the people of this special island. She is a founder of the Chinook Center and the Whidbey Institute and is a Lindisfarne Fellow. She will also get you out and about to the wild and lovely hills and shores of Iona.
If you would like to join us for the Iona Retreat please contact:
Vivienne by sending email here. Or Victoria here.
We also have a wonderful 30-minute video on Iona and Celtic spirituality: A Thin Place, Iona and the Celtic Way. Free to all Iona retreat participants.
Contact Vivienne for your copy!
About the Isle of Iona
Iona, a small island in the inner Hebrides off the west coast of
Scotland is only three miles long and a mile and a half wide. It is
one of the oldest places on our planet with rocks that date to 2,700
million years old. Rich in spiritual legacy and Christian history,
the influence of Iona over the centuries has far exceeded its size.
Iona was a light of hope and spiritual renewal through the dark ages
and continues to be so today. It is a rugged and beautiful island
and since ancient times has been known as a place of unique spiritual
presence and power. As the home of one of the early Irish monastic
schools Iona became known as the center of Celtic Christianity, a
place of enlightenment, where a new vision of the future was born.
People seeking understanding and spiritual renewal came from
throughout Europe to this small island where something good and
transforming was happening. From Iona the life-affirming and
creation-honoring vision of Celtic Christianity spread throughout
Europe. The Irish Abbots and Abbesses carried the Iona message of
hope, healing and a new spiritual understanding all over Britain and
Europe. They also brought very practical skills in agriculture, the
healing arts, and established schools, hospices, and places of refuge
for the many dislocated people of their time. Other monastic schools
followed in their path, including Lindisfarne on the Holy Isle in
northern England. The mission of Iona also influenced the work of
St. Francis in Assisi. Many contemporary scholars, poets and
theologians have also been inspired by the light of the Celtic way.
As we know, we need the light of hope, faith, and new vision in these
days. We are called to be people of hope who do what we can to help
build the foundation for a good future for our children and
theirs. Iona's gift is certainly its rich legacy. But our focus
while on Iona is always oriented to the work of the sacred spirit in
our time and the call to bring forth inspiration and wisdom on behalf
of our common future as we renew and reshape spiritual life today.
The Iona retreats are always forward-looking and concerned with the
empowerment of ourselves and our communities. We don't go to Iona as
tourists. We go as pilgrims, bringing our gifts and bringing home
the gifts of Iona for others. This is what the Iona retreats are all
about. And we also have great fun rambling the heatherd hills and
beaches and filling our pockets with Iona's green stones---the
stones of healing and blessing.
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A call for photographs!
Have you been to Iona on one of the Iona Retreat programs? If so, did you take any digital pictures? This is a call for photos that we might use on this web site as we continue to help people get a feel for what the Iona experience is like. Plus it will be a great way to bring back fond memories!
Feel free to EMAIL photos as attachments ~ and Thank You!
Here is a small gallery of photos from past Women's Retreats sent in by Christie Hammond. Thank you!
There are several new updates on our web site! There now are print friendly PDF's for all the program discriptions, as well as the travel information and lists of accommodations in both Glasgow and Oban. The links to these PDF's can be found on the corresponding page. Also, there is a beautiful new photo album of past Women's Retreats. And notice also a new "book of the month" on this main page. We hope you enjoy this site and find it helpful. Feel free to let us know how we may continue to improve it!
See you on Iona!
The Iona Retreats are are part of the educational work of the Whidbey Institute and the Spirit of Legacy Program. For furter information about the Whidbey Institute please visit our website, or call 360-341-1884 to be part of our mailing list and to receive newlsetters and program information.
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