Divine Love Around & Within
for wild nature lovers
September 19th, 2025
on sacred land in the country, 15 minutes north of
Lawrence KS
When we soak up the love in creation,
we find that we, too,
are nothing but love.
Divine Love Around & Within
Sept. 19th, 2025
Friday 9am-5pm
Investment:
$95 Early Bird rate before August 15th,
$125 Regular rate August 15th-Sep. 10th,
$145 Squeaking in late rate :)
All rates include a delicious lunch.
Registration deadline: Sept. 15th
Register by filling out the NEW CLIENT INTAKE form with 1-2 sentences about why you want to come,
and then I'll send you options for payment.
Directions and prep instructions will be emailed after your registration.
Description:
Retreats are an opportunity to step out of regular life for a moment and gain new insights and experience, as well as spiritual connections. People often need time set aside to renew, reset, and/or discern major life choices. Sometimes individuals seek time to reground after they've gotten off track. This retreat offers space to explore your inner wisdom within the supportive atmosphere of nature.
Creation is an outpouring of divine love. A foundational source of our healing and wholeness, nature immersion is a fundamental way we can experience our true wholeness and the divine essence. We will expand our embodied awareness of our spirituality and sacred interbeing with the practices of forest therapy, breathwork & gentle body movement. These include guided meditations, individual quiet time, song, and group reflections.
This retreat is non-judgmental, interfaith, inclusive, and trauma informed, and you can adjust each activity to your needs.
This retreat is for you if:
-
you want communal sharing and individual space to de-stress
-
you need time set aside to slow down & recenter
-
you want to get off the screen and into the wild
-
the political atmosphere has stirred up angst and you want inner-heart guidance
Our bodies house both stifling stress and a deep knowing of the path forward. By placing our collective bodies back in the heart of nature, we invite the blessing of interbeing, the ground of I Am. This gathering of nature-loving souls will steep our hearts in the container of sacred peace.
This retreat is not for you if:
-
you have big, unhealed trauma from religion or nature (let's work individually!)
-
respecting others' diverse relationships with the Divine (Spirit, Godde, energy) is hard.
Such love does
the sky now pour,
that whenever I stand in a field,
I have to wring out the light
when I get
home.
-St. Francis
*****
Agenda: Seek and Find the luscious Divine!
9am Welcome and Introductions
9:30am Forest Bathing Therapy full session
12pm Lunch (chickpea curry, rice, and fruit, or TBD if you have allergies)
1pm Worship in the Woods
2pm Journaling, hiking, and/or quiet time
3pm Breathwork, asana or walk, & nidra meditation
4:30pm Closing Circle
5pm Depart
OPTIONAL: Join an excursion to the luxurious Jalu Bathouse from 7-8:30pm. Just 10 minutes east of our retreat, we'll soak in the healing traditions of the Himalayas (cedar mineral tub, salt cave, sauna, cold plunge, and herbal tub). In Tibetan, Jalu འཇའ་ལུས། means “Rainbow Body,” which refers to the transcendence of physical suffering, uniting the five elements in perfect balance. We'll have dinner beforehand. Write in your intake form if you want to add the Jalu Bathouse (at our special private retreat rate of $70/person). Limit 8 people.
Lodging:
If you are coming from out of town, there are airbnbs and hotels within a 15 minute drive.
Photo: Rev. Denise Ellen Hill (ACPE supervisor and UCC minister), mentor of Rev. Shannon Gorres.
Pre-retreat Experiences
I highly recommend you consider a pre-retreat Sacred Listening session with me 1-4 weeks before the retreat. This will help you contemplate where you are at and what you seek in your spiritual journey, and likely deepen your retreat experience. You could also schedule a post-retreat Sacred Listening session to help you integrate the experience. For everyone who signs up for this retreat, I'll give you a code for 30% off a Sacred Listening session.
Shannon offers regular in person and online forest bathing sessions, as well as yoga classes with breathwork and nidra meditation (and asana). You can check these out here.
