The Mandala Center

Thank you for visiting our blog!

INTERVIEWS WITH OUR PRESENTERS ARE TO THE RIGHT ON OUR “INTERVIEWS”  pages.

Listening to the Voice Within with Bob Stice October 28-31 see his interview on Interviews 1 page!

Travel Photography
with Steve Larese
October 14-17th, 2010

Writing a Way Open: Contemplative
Writing with Peter Anderson
October 14-17th, 2010

Jack Ingamells

Jack Ingamells passed away in July 2010.   Jack is the beloved husband of Monica Ingamells, our operations manager at The Mandala Center.   Jack, though not a formal employee, was part of our community here.  He helped with errands, grounds upkeep, and projects as needed, and gave his emotional support toward our efforts.  Jack was known to fix broken doors, run the grill for special events, and transport our 10,000 newsletters for mailing!  He was a “Jack” of many  trades.

I (Lori), only knew Jack for 11 months but he, along with Monica, welcomed me to New Mexico, treated me like a long lost friend, and helped me feel at home through his kindness.  In the short time I knew him, his creative talents blessed my life. He made a sign for me to display my house number, built me a special frame for a picture I had, and helped design our meditation benches we sell at the Center.

Jack is deeply missed and will live on in our memories always.

Blessings to you Jack. Our prayers are with you – And with Monica too.

The Mandala Center Staff

Desert Flowers

The high desert gives birth to a number of colorful wildflowers and this summer with all the extra rain, the hills are greener than usual.  The sunflowers are exceptionally brilliant.  They speckle the landscape and line our driveways.   Yellow flowers have always been my favorite and there is a simple joy that fills me when I see a whole field of yellow flowers dancing in the breeze – dandelions, daffodils, trefoils, asters, groundsels, coltsfoot, black-eyed susans, buttercups, tansy, golden rod or sunflowers – they all delight.

Sunflowers at The Mandala Center

I remember the sunflowers my grandmother planted along the garden on her farm.   They stood so tall and regal.  It seemed as if they knew something that I did not.  Maybe their wisdom comes with their ability simply and fully to live in the moment – in the place they are planted – for the season they are given. Their bright faces constantly look “toward the light” with devout attention.  Could we master such a feat?

It is amazing how the seasons bring forth life – the lush blankets pulsing with eternity – and yet – each flower, each blade of grass, each ladybug, each dragonfly, each person, only has its own season in which to flourish.  Today, let us each take a moment to be grateful for the season we have been given and for the things – great and small that bless our lives.

Plains Sunflowers

To the sunflowers – a poem by Mary Oliver

The Sunflowers

Come with me

into the field of sunflowers.

Their faces are burnished disks,

their dry spines

creak like ship masts,

their green leaves,

so heavy and many,

fill all day with the sticky

sugars of the sun.

Come with me

to visit the sunflowers,

they are shy

but want to be friends;

they have wonderful stories

of when they were young -

the important weather,

the wandering crows.

Don’t be afraid

to ask them questions!

Their bright faces,

which follow the sun,

will listen, and all

those rows of seeds -

each one a new life! -

hope for a deeper acquaintance;

each of them, though it stands

in a crowd of many,

like a separate universe,

is lonely, the long work

of turning their lives

into a celebration

is not easy.  Come

and let us talk with those modest faces,

the simple garments of leaves,

the coarse roots in the earth

so uprightly burning.

(Lori Coon    Executive Director)

Phil and Monica Sanding the Deck

We are so thankful and appreciative to all the people who helped to make our volunteer week a success.   We accomplished so much  – made new friends, improved and updated  many areas of The Mandala Center, and learned a lot!  I know that I cannot begin to include all the wonderful moments we shared during the week here on this blog nor even communicate the amount of effort, dedication, and talent but this is our tribute to the week.

First I want to list the people who did contribute – in one way or another to our success.
(If I missed anyone in this first attempt we WILL correct it and apologize because we do appreciate everyone!)

1. Kristy Sweetland (NM) is our regular weekly volunteer who put up our facebook account, helped with our newsletter and assists in the office. She joined the work week to help with the decks, stain the teak table an chairs on the patio and more!
2. Peggy Minich (NM)  helped with sanding/staining decks, weeding, office work and more!
3. Joe Ress (from Ohio!) helped with sanding/staining decks, fixing wallpaper, cleaning light fixtures & more!
4. Faye Good (Ok) painted the whole interior of the Artist Nook and the Wolf Lodge doors and more!
5. Dawn Mondragon (NM) helped with the decks, stripped and refinished our wooden doors on the Casa Mandala, washed down siding and cleaned the gutters at the Artist Nook and more!
6. George Whitman (NM) came with his saws and helped trim LOTS of trees and removed trees helping with landscaping as well as fire prevention.  George did not get enough on the work week so he came back for more to help Lori finish putting in the stone path down to the labyrinth a few days later.
   

   Faye Painting the Wolf Lodge Door

7. Alex Rykken (NM) helped with the deck work, the labyrinth, and more!
8. Katie Green (CO) helped with the decks – sanding and staining along side her dad Nathan Green – our grounds and maintenance person.
9. Phillip Freeman (NM) (who stained our decks the last time on his own!) came again to help us with the decks.  He also helped with tree trimming and removal and more!
10. Jack Ingamells (NM) (husband to our operations manager – Monica) helped in a lot of our preparations for the decks and painting – measuring areas for the needed stains, paint, and supplies, traveling to purchase supplies and compile tools, driving out tools to the center when we needed them and more!!
11. Ken and Dina Parsons (NM) came to help assess what we could do to help put in a path down to the labyrinth.  Ken helped transport several buckets of gravel and the pavers to the location we needed them.
12. Joesph Wolf (NM) came with his weed-whacker to help clear paths and reduce fire risk.  He returned then with his truck and assisted with the removal of the tree trimmings and brush.
    

    Peggy (holding sand paper) and Joe sanding decks

13. Our staff also assisted.
14. Monica Ingamells put in a LOT of time and effort helping to organize the event, purchase all our supplies, and organize meals and lodging for guests. She also helped with the decks and other tasks during the work week – her efforts helped with the organization of the event to make it a success.
15. Marsha Stepleton, our lead chef, planned and prepared meals for the guests for the week.. No one goes hungry here!
16. Sasha Jensen assisted as well with some meal preparation during the week.
17. Denise Atwater, our lead housekeeper, prepared the rooms ahead of time and then helped with the decks, kitchen clean up and she brought her truck and helped with tree trimmings removal.
18. Nathan Green came to help with the decks by running the big floor sander, overseeing the project and staining the larger areas of the deck.
19. Lori Coon worked primarily with George on the tree trimming and removal.  She trimmed (and removed some trees) around the entire Casa Mandala and in front of the Deer Lodge and Wolf Lodge.  She also helped put in the pavers for a new pathway down to the labyrinth.

George armed with the saw and protected by goggles!

In total, we clocked (conservatively) approximately 280 volunteer hours and including staff hours – 550 hours – in 7 days!
(This is a first guestimate while we finish compiling everything and does not include all the preparations prior to the work week.)  WOW!  Everyone can be proud of what we got accomplished!!

We still have a “list” of things we did not get done and some people were already talking about our Second Annual Volunteer Work Week next year – so it may become a regular event!!

SEE MORE PHOTOS on our Volunteer Week Photo Page
in the right bar here on the blog!!

Volunteer Work Week TESTIMONIAL by Joe Ress
It was “Fun in the Sun” at the Mandala Center this summer!!

It was our first ever “Volunteer Work Week!” – June 30-July 7th, 2010. The volunteers hold The Mandala Center in a  special place in their hearts and gave of their time, talent, and energy to help with some “sprucing up” around the place.   The beauty of the Center, it’s ambiance, the desert scenery,  and the hospitality of the staff are the big things that draw people to this place (not to mention the food too!!) Just being here for these things makes me feel renewed, rested, and rejuvenated.  It did not matter what job we were given to do. Just being here was a gift.  This feels like my home away from home (which is in Ohio.)

Joe Ress

We had quite a lot of fun.  We teased each other and enjoyed the “afternoon siesta”- time to read, relax or nap (I was usually napping!) while escaping the hot afternoon New Mexico sunshine.  We had the 4th of July off and headed out for some sight-seeing.
I hope this becomes an annual event.  Many other volunteers agreed and look forward to returning to The Mandala Center again.

The Mandala Center

Thank you letters always go both ways.   Someone says they appreciate something you have done and you then appreciate the time and energy it took for them to express it.    We can often muddle through life wondering if what we are doing is making any difference to anyone.  It is always a blessing when you find out that perhaps, in some small way, you made someones day a little better.

Darryl and Rosemary Dziedzic from Las Cruces were recent guests at The Mandala Center.   They took the time to tell us about their visit and gave us permission to share their sentiments on our website (see below).   It was a pleasure serving them and I want to thank the staff – Monica and Marsha- for making it a memorable experience for them.   We want to thank Darryl and Rosemary for taking the time to write to us.   It means a lot.  Thank you.

Lori Coon
Executive Director

July 2010
Dear Monica,

Darryl and I wanted to thank you for all you did to make our visit at the Center so special: taking our registration, giving us a wonderful room, leaving your lovely letter w/information which we requested, and finally the newspapers with local church services.

Any expectation we may have secretly held regarding our stay at the Center paled in comparison to the actual experience once we arrived and settled.  The facility, the buildings, the grounds etc, were beyond imagination (and could never have been described adequately in words.)  The Center, for us, was much much more than the Internet’s description.

Marsha met us and was so through and gracious in taking us on a tour of the main facility and describing the uniqueness and use of each area along with showing us our private room.  We appreciate her kindness and thoroughness.  We immediately felt comfortable and excited to share in all that the Center provided for its guests.

The Wolf Lodge was PERFECT for us.  We enjoyed the privacy and quiet along with the location, porch, view, and the kitchen facilities.  We had a very restful and peaceful experience – exactly what we were hoping we would experience.

We hope to visit the Center again in the future.

Blessings,

Darryl and Rosemary

Greetings!  It is hard to believe we are half way through this year already!!  Lots left to do and experience.   We wanted to remind you of some special upcoming events here at The Mandala Center.   Take some time to read more about these very special events in other places on our website.   Lori Coon

Pottery Workshop

We have Sheldon Nunez-Velarde who is an Jicarilla Apache artist visiting us in July for his annual traditional pottery workshop and firing.  DON’T wait to sign up if you are interested in this creative and unique experience.  Workshop dates are July 19-24th.   Special commuter rates are available.  See our workshop page for more information and links to Sheldon’s website.

Susan and Jim

Jim Reale and Susan Rush will be offering Embodying the Silence, a very interesting blend of centering prayer and movement/yoga practices that deepen the experience of both for the participants.  See their interview on our Interviews 2 page here onour blog to learn more.   The dates of this workshop are July 29-Aug 1st.

Shaman

Peace Within: Shamanism as a Spiritual Approach to Healing will be offered by Myron Eshowsky Sept 2-5th.  I have known Myron for about 20 years and I met him while attending several of  his workshops on Shamanic Work in Cleveland.   He offers a genuine and heartfelt journey of spiritual connection, healing, and community.   I just posted his interview tonight on our Interview 3 page where you can learn more about his life and work.

Sand Mandalas

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE WEEKEND EVENT Sept 17-21

Our special guests will be The Mystical Arts of Tibet! Visitors staying on the grounds will have an “upclose and intimate” retreat experience with the Lamas as they create a mandala of conflict resolution.   Hal Walker from Ohio will be with us to share his musical talents. We will have labyrinth walks and a peace pole dedication on our grounds.   See our Special Events page for our full calendar and description. REMEMBER DAY PASSES ARE AVAILABLE too!! Call for on-site or day pass registration.   Monday the 20th will be a day for school groups to attend and special tour rates apply.

Spring Flowers at The Mandala Center

The past few weeks I have been working in my own inner chambers of darkness.  In the past two years I have experienced a lot of change in my life.  Part of me says, “So what? Life always is changing.  Everyone has problems.  Why can’t I just get on with it?” There is another part that emphatically has informed me that I’m not going anywhere until I pay attention to where I have been. I need to spend some time grieving and acknowledging the changes in a more mindful way – giving myself time to grieve, to heal, to remember, and then to move on wholeheartedly.

When I first arrived at The Mandala Center, I read through several years of evaluations that visitors had completed after their stays.   I was surprised by the number of times people referred to “grief” as the motivating emotion that led them to seek out retreat here. An illness, a loss of a loved one, a loss of direction.

When we think of grief we tend to think of it as the result of someone dying.  However, life always is changing and loss comes in many forms.  We may lose our independence, our place in line, our home, or our job.  We may lose our sense of who we are or a long held belief.  Life is an ongoing process of grieving, letting go, healing, trusting, and then picking ourselves back up – over and over.

I long have been intrigued by the idea that NOTHING comes into being without something else passing away.   Even a blank canvas is sacrificed for the beauty of a painting and a patch of wildflowers traded for a manicured yard.  Our beliefs, thoughts, and lifestyles also change.   We may experience the “death” of our TV time in order to exercise our bodies.  We may need to give up the belief that we are “worthless or stupid” in order to find greater inner peace.

Everything exists at the cost of something else….birth, death, and birth again…over and over.  In working with issues of “stress,” I have come to believe there are things that we cannot control but that we can control our perceptions of things.  Resisting what “is” can create a lot of stress. Coming to accept loss as part of life frees us from feeling burdened or punished by it.  It is going to happen over and over and we may as well accept it lovingly and be gentle with ourselves.

This is part of a poem I wrote several years ago called “What Have You Lost?”

Have you ever lost…

Your car keys?
Or Wallet?
Your Identity?
Your belongings to a flood or fire?

Have you lost your child?
Your expectations, dreams or beliefs
of how life could be?
Did you lose your innocence?
What tragedy shattered that place of trust?

Have you lost a part of your body?
A sweater?
A book?
Your dog?
Your paycheck?

Have you lost permission to be who you truly are?
Your creativity? Your passion?
Your community?
Your connection to a greater purpose?
Have you ever lost your mind?

The poem continues but the point is not to make life sound as if it is futile or hopeless or more painful than it already is, but rather to remind us that we are not alone in our loss and grief.  Life is a series of changing experiences we build upon to learn and grow stronger.  Those experiences of change are the foundation upon which we begin to build again and to open ourselves to new possibilities that only can arise out of the loss or destruction of other parts of our lives.   Changes and loss do not erase where we have been.   Nothing ever is lost – only transformed or transitioned into a new experience that most likely would not have been possible without whatever came before it.

The emerging wildflowers here are impossible to miss in the desert landscape…..splashes of yellow, white, purple, blue, orange, and red enliven the pathways at The Mandala Center.   I thought of writing about the wildflowers and their promise of new life and new beginnings.   What I became aware of is that the flowers mirror my own internal awareness – I must pay attention to where I have been and where I have come from before I can move on wholeheartedly.  These flowers sprang forth from the darkness.  Without the time spent waiting cold and hidden under that protective cloak they would not have survived nor burst into bloom now.  The times of darkness - waiting, grieving, feeling pain, struggle, and wrestling with the unknown - are fertile times and are as much a part of the growth process as the actual bursting forth.

In his book Writing Tides, Kent Ira Groff puts it this way:

If you want to find new light, then enter into the dark places in the same old stuff you deal with every day, or in the stuff you keep avoiding. There you will find diamonds ready for the cutting. The Hebrew prophet Isaiah described it in chapter 45: “I will give you treasures of darkness and riches hidden in secret places.”

It is in the grief and the darkness and the changes of life that our seeds are sown for blossoming – even when we can’t see yet what it is we have planted.  Sometimes the lessons come hard and slow and we must grow to be patient and trusting.   Our willingness to sit with change  and  loss and grief is an act of bravery that can transform our lives into the treasures – the diamonds – that are hidden there.

Pema Chodron in her book, When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times, writes

Things falling apart is a kind of testing and also a kind of healing. We think that the point is to pass the test or to overcome the problem but the truth is that things don’t really get solved. [Things] come together and fall apart again. Then they come together and fall apart again. It’s just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy.”

Stanley Kunitz’s poem, The Layers, offers us further insight.  Kunitz illustrates in this poem the need for taking time to “look behind” before he can “gather strength to proceed.”  This is wisdom.  This is what I am discovering.  There is nothing to fear.   Rejoice!  Change happens and with it comes opportunity to learn, live and love.

Lori Coon
Executive Director

Being in Nature helps reduce Stress: Stone Cairns at TMC

“Life is what we make of it.
Always has been, always will be.”

Grandma Moses

A few weeks ago, one of our board members, Lani Kyea, asked me to speak at the county luncheon for the Union County Extension Association of New Mexico on the topic of “stress”.  Having only four days to prepare, I went to my file cabinet to pull out some material from past presentations I had given on the topic.  For several years my work focused on stress management and wellness and particularly on the use of self-management tools that were free and accessible to anyone willing to employ them.  Empowering people in regards to their own health and wellness was something that motivated me.

I believe the adage that says “We tend to teach the very things we need to learn ourselves.”   For years, I have had to manage my own stress and the great challenges life placed before me.   We may think we are alone but few of us go through life without suffering mistakes, losses, change, and upheaval.   We are told such obstacles help us develop character, strength, and faith.  That may be true, but it often is hard to see the silver lining in the midst of stress or crisis.    Most of the time, we make our way as best we can.  We can, at any moment, choose to be conscious of the part we play in any life situation.   We are never alone and we are never without choices.

“When you can’t change the world,
you can learn to change your response to it.”
Dr. Robert Eliot, MD

The Mandala Center strives to be a place “out of the ordinary” that offers the space, time, solitude, and support that are needed for us to find our way and “make life what we make of it.”   It is not an escape from life, but rather a retreat into the very heart of matters.   Seeking retreat is a tool to help a person fully experience and feel the deeper callings within and to help evaluate the inner labyrinths to make wise decisions moving forward.   This does not mean we have total control over life, or that we are unwilling to depend on the will of God.  It means that we take responsibility for our own part in living our lives fully and make space within to let the will of God work within us.

Many people call The Mandala Center looking for an individual retreat and seeking a place to heal and recover.  They are suffering from one or more stressors in their lives and need relief.  They know instinctively that they must advocate on behalf of themselves and find “retreat” in their search for inner peace.

Below I have taken a few excerpts out of a manual I created years ago called Creative Wellness Healing Meditations.   If stress has built up in your life, perhaps the information below can help you start thinking about ways to address it.

“The problem often is not too much stress…it is too little recovery time that causes our problems.” Dr. Nick Hall, neuroscientist and honorary MD

Stress and our body’s response to stress are a normal and healthy aspect of life.  The process is often important to increase our motivation and performance, help us grow, and protect us when our well-being is threatened.  However, problems arise when stress reaches high levels and remain there for extended periods of time OR when our stress responses remain engaged beyond the events that triggered them.

Our lives move at a very fast pace with changes, expectations, demands, and responsibilities.  (A recent article I read indicated that the amount of information a person can now consume from reading one newspaper or watching TV for one day is more information than the average person, only a few hundred years ago, would have been exposed to in a whole lifetime!!)  We push ourselves believing we should be able to do it all and have it all.  We pay for it with headaches, muscle pain, heart attacks, fatigue, sleep disorders, and accidents.

The Journal of Stress Related Research indicates 60% of patients’ visits to the doctor are for stress related syndromes.  The National Mental Health Association says that number is closer to 75-90%.  Prolonged stress or distress often leads to disorders of anxiety and depression – as more than 25 million people experience.

We often feel at the mercy of our life-styles, external demands, and responsibilities.  We can seek medical help or medication but before we let it get that far there are a few things you can do that are free and accessible to you right now – if you chose to do them.

1. Increase your awareness about what causes stress in YOUR life and note how you respond to it without judgment.  Realistically assess what can be eliminated from your life. Do you take on more than you need to?

2. Be honest about your own beliefs and perceptions.  A lot of stress is caused by negative thoughts and worrying about what MIGHT happen. Be in the present moment.

“Most of the stress in my life has been caused by
my own overactive imagination”
Mark Twain.

3.  Accept that life has challenges and adversity.  Make your expectations realistic. Do you set unrealistic goals for yourself?

4. Determine the difference between what you do not have control over and what you do.  We can’t control life in every way but we can always control our responses to it.  We do not have control over others.  We do have control over our own choices, responses, and actions.   This is the wisdom behind the very prominent verse adopted by many recovery programs today.

The Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.

4.  Learn and practice some kind of conscious relaxation, meditation, or prayer.  These skills will serve you for a lifetime and make the quality of your life greater.  It does not require hours of silent solitude.  It only requires a few minutes a day and you may even learn to center yourself in the midst of any daily activity.

5. Increase your “Joy” quotient! Be creative!!  Do what you love to do as often as possible.  Put self-care at the top of your list. This does not mean we become overly self-indulgent.  This is not a selfish attitude, but rather a necessary one.  In order to fully engage in life and serve others from a balanced place, we must first find our own place of balance.

Here is a list of SOME of the benefits that you may experience when practicing Conscious and Purposeful Relaxation…

1. Reduces blood pressure and cholesterol levels
2. Increases immune system efficiency
3. Reduces pain
4. Heals bone and tissue by allowing blood flow to redistribute and the body to relax
5. Improves memory and concentration
6. Increases creativity
7. Improves sleep and digestion
8. Increases feelings of love, compassion, and acceptance.

“Conscious movement of the breath to achieve a state of relaxed vitality enables us to reach and maintain optimum health.  It is like breathing new life into oneself and reintegrating the mind and body.” Jeffrey Migdow MD

Lori Coon
Executive Director

Pray for Peace

The Mandala Center has dedicated 2010 to Peace.   We will be hosting the Mystical Arts of Tibet in September 2010 for our International Day of Peace event.   Our special events page information should be online soon!!  Keep checking back.  In light of our theme on Peace, I have chosen to offer this Pray for Peace, a poem by Ellen Bass as our blog entry today. 

Pray for Peace

Pray for peace to whom you kneel down to:
Jesus nailed to his wooden or marble or plastic cross,
his suffering face bent to kiss you,
Buddha still under the Bo tree in scorching heat,
Adonai, Allah.  Raise your arms to Mary
that she may lay her palms on our brows,
to Shekiniah, Queen of Heaven and Earth,
to Inanna in her stripped descent.

Hawk or Wolf, or the Great Whale, Record Keeper
of time before, time now, time ahead.  Pray.  Bow down
to terriers and shepherds and Siamese cats.
Fields of artichokes and elegant strawberries.

Pray to the bus driver who takes you to work,
pray on the bus, pray for everyone riding that bus
and for everyone riding buses all over the world.
If you haven’t been on a bus in a long time,
climb down a few steps, drop some silver, and pray.

Waiting in lines for the movies, for the ATM,
for your latte and croissant, offer your plea.
Make your eating and drinking a supplication.
Make your slicing of carrots a holy act,
each translucent layer of the onion, a deeper prayer.

Make the brushing of your hair
a prayer, every strand its own voice
singing in the choir on your head.
AS you wash your face, the water slipping
through your fingers, a prayer: water,
softest thing on earth, gentleness
that wears away rocks.

Making love, of course, is already a prayer.
Skin and open mouths worshipping that skin,
the fragile case we are poured into,
each caress a season of peace.

If you’re hungry, pray.  If you’re tired
Pray to Gandhi and Dorothy Day.
Shakespeare.  Sappho. Sojourner Truth.
Pray to the angels and the ghost of your grandfather.

When you walk to your car, to the mailbox,
to the video store, let each step
be a prayer that we all keep our legs,
that we do not blow off anyone else’s legs.
Or crush their skulls.
And if you are riding on a bicycle
or a skateboard, in a wheelchair, each revolution
of the wheels a prayer that as the earth revolves
we do less harm, less harm, less harm.

And as you work, typing with a new manicure,
a tiny palm tree painted on one pearlescent nail,
or delivering soda, or drawing good blood
into rubber-caped vials, writing on a blackboard
with yellow chalk, twirling pizzas, Pray for Peace.

With each breath in, take in the faith of those
who have believed when belief seemed foolish,
who persevered. With each breath out, cherish.

Pull weeds for peace, turn over in your sleep for peace,
feed the birds for peace, each shiny seed
that spills onto the earth another second of peace.
Wash your dishes, call your mother, drink wine.

Shovel leaves or snow or trash from your sidewalk.
Make a path. Fold a photo of a dead child
around your Visa card. Gnaw your crust
of prayer, scoop your prayer water from the gutter.
Mumble along like a crazy person, stumbling
your prayer for peace through the streets. 

Ellen Bass

HAPPY EASTER!!

HAPPY SPRING

We call ourselves The Mandala Center – an educational retreat and interfaith sanctuary. 

A retreat – as defined by the American Heritage Dictionary – is a quiet, private or secure place; a refuge; a period of seclusion, retirement, or solitude.

A sanctuary – as defined by the American Heritage Dictionary – is a sacred place, any place of refuge or asylum, a place of protection. 

I believe our souls need retreat and sanctuary – whether as a destination or simply a few quiet moments during our busy day – to do the inner work that makes life’s journey a meaningful one.   We not only need to give ourselves permission to do so, we also need to be courageous and willing to do the hard work that deeper searching requires.   It is important that our minds create time for recovery and reflection and also that we find ways to protect ourselves physically, mentally and spiritually from a world that can easily bombard us with distractions, or worse yet, steal parts of our hearts and souls.   It is important to create sacred places on the land and to acknowledge the sacred spaces within us so that we may find retreat and sanctuary when we need it most. 

The Mandala Center in Spring

The land that The Mandala Center sits upon is a very special place.  The energy here is welcoming and expansive as well as integrating and accommodating.  It is a place of rest, solitude and refuge for all travelers on the journey in life.  It is not simply a hotel or a place of “site seeing” or window shopping but rather it is a place that asks you to look within and travel the long distances that are required for greater peace and clarity.  

I have been thinking a lot about the location of our Center.  We are in a very remote area of Northeastern New Mexico.   No one just stops here by chance.   The people who come here have to “think about it” and be mindful or intentional in what they are doing.  Even someone who may drive by the main entrance has to consciously make a decision to turn a car around and drive up the long hill to discover us.   

It does take time to get to The Mandala Center.  I suggest that the trip here and the travel by car or by plane is a metaphor or a mirror that reflects the equally challenging journey within to your own center.  For those who have already traveled here – you know what I am talking about.   For those of you yet to come – sit back and enjoy the ride.     

People come here to find their own “centers” or “to center” themselves.  The journey to our own personal “center” within is never an easy one either.  There is always a little adversity and many obstacles.  The question is NOT “Will there be challenges or obstacles?”, but rather, “How will you deal with them?”   Each life is a journey and a pilgrimage and there are very few short cuts.   Life is seldom “convenient” when it comes to the important things.  It takes effort, attention and hard work. 

New Life sprouting from Lava Bed

Today, on Easter Sunday, I am thinking about “life renewed”.  I am thinking about areas of our lives and our souls that have died out of ignorance, hatred, fear, competition, greed, injustice, and pain.   I am thinking about our need at times for retreat and sanctuary to “re-member” ourselves.    I am imagining our ability to overcome, to rise again, to breathe new life into these places and resurrect the love and the light within us that can come from such trials and challenges in this world. 

 Life is a journey.  The road is long.  We can keep resisting and avoiding it or we can see each step and each transition as a gift and a blessing in our own constant cycles of death and rebirth.  We should not wish to rush it or make it convenient, but rather take the steps in a stride that let us see the amazing – though sometimes bitter sweet – views and experiences along the way.   At these times our courage and strength are developed and our willingness to endure is evident.

May all your travels and journeys be safe and wondrous and filled with risk, challenges, adventure, love, and grace.  May the joy of this Easter Season awaken you to your own new growth and potential and may we rejoice in the eternal love that abides for us all.   

Lori Coon
Executive Director

Adversity is like a strong wind.  It tears away from us all but the things that cannot be torn, so that we see ourselves as we really are.  ~Arthur Golden, Memoirs of a Geisha

Courage and Creativity Art Work

These are photos from the Courage and Creativity Retreat with Donna Bearden and Cindy Johnson. They show some of the art  projects the group created in exploring their own “block monsters” and passions in life.  It was a wonderful experience for all involved. 

This retreat was based on the concepts developed by Parker Palmer and Circles of Trust processes through the Center of Courage and Renewal North Texas.

Participants from Courage and Creativity Retreat