Uh, What a weekend! If you’re a reader of The Higher Haven blog, you’ve heard the line before, I know. But we’ve never actually opened with that interjection. And I’m pretty sparing with exclamation points. And this one truly did live up. Lived up to that Uh in the sense that we lost power early Saturday afternoon people! (Note second exclamation). I’m unsure how widespread state-wide Saturday’s storms were, but power was out all over shadowy Southwest Michigan, from Saugatuck on down. Actually, on second thought, power is not what we lost. Power as defined is the ability or capacity to perform or act effectively, and that capability was certainly not absent. What is it the Bible says? “The light shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it” (John 1:5).
We won’t bore you with all the bloodshed; there was very little. Having to look after the people who come here for healing, there was no good way to run a somewhat arduous purification Ceremony, ask folks to get low and work their way through the experience, and then send them back to a lightless house with no ability to take a hot shower. Thank Wakan Tanka for wood stoves, as a roaring fire in the retreat house saved the day, saved the night, saved the weekend. We didn’t miss a (drum) beat, and reports coming back indicate that the blackout only made the experience cozier. “I had the privilege to attend the Higher Haven Yoga retreat with Brighton Yoga Studio over the weekend and can’t say enough good things about it… it’s hard to put into words how special this retreat center is. What it did for me was allow room for growth in my life, the chance to meet like-minded individuals from all walks of life and share in a truly moving experience. I unplugged from everyday life and focused on connecting with nature, meditation, and my own spiritual growth. I would recommend this retreat to anyone and everyone I meet. I can’t wait to go back.” Nothing missing there.
Many thanks Alissa. Thanks go out also to Amy, Donna and Kim, as well as our Rock Man Extraordinaire J. Scott Campbell, leader of Wild Heart Guide Services and a steady presence amongst the peeps. Thanks too to Guy, Bridget’s companion, a fellow woodsman and Guy who knows how to wield an axe. As to teacher Bridget Erin Sheahan? I was a fan before but I’ve grown to be an ardent devotee. After our modified Fire Ceremony Saturday night, she lead a killer inner-heat building Ashtanga class Sunday morning in our chilly studio. How goes the other heartening quote? “If the world is cold, kindle fires to warm it.” Inner fires people. And on that note, If you’re up for joining us, consider the upcoming November weekend, with a focus more on meditation and spiritual purification. Or come for Bridget’s triumphant return February 22-24, 2019. We’ll close with an excerpt from her Paidraig O’Tuama poem, delivered near the end of our final class.
“Oremus (Latin for ‘Let us Pray’). So let us pick up the stones over which we stumble, friends, and build altars. Let us listen to the sound of breath in our bodies. Let us listen to the sounds of our own voices, of our own names, of our own fears. Let’s claw ourselves out from the graves we’ve dug. Let’s lick the earth from our fingers. Let us look up and out and around. The world is big and wide and wild and wonderful and wicked, and our lives are murky, magnificent, malleable, and full of meaning. Oremus. Let us pray.”