Our First Comprehensive Spiritual Development Retreat

There’s our happy, connected crew from our weekend retreat, an overwhelmingly successful three-day transformational happening made up of four standout classes. Starting with Meditation and Mindfulness 101, elevating a Saturday evening circle focused on Indigenous Purification Practices, ending with Spiritual Development Class 1101 — containing cosmic truths laid down by the mighty John Ashbrook — and a lovely Yin Yoga session infused with the light of Teacher Rebecca Ufkes. Who needs Mary Oliver when Rebecca, formerly known as the artist Rachel, provided her own poetic take on Time. “Time has a place for sure Running a race, baking a pie, departure of a flight to sunshine - today, this moment, time has no place, As, I watch the red bird gather delight, as the birch trees dance with the morning dew, with coffee in hand, and the touch of golden fur on my skin, Time, who is wonderful in his time, Has no place, today, in this space.”

As to time in an aware, healing space, it seemed well-spent by all, in Alissa’s words, “a restorative and relaxing weekend, so fulfilling and absolutely what I needed and wanted.” “This is a beautiful space,” reported Kelsey Cz from central Illinois. “Thank you so much for hosting and providing a transformational experience.” And finally Mary’s take, a Fenville local and new Higher Haven fan. “This weekend I attended a spiritual retreat at Higher Haven in South Haven Michigan, needing to reset, relax, and rejuvenate. I'm at a point in my journey of life where I'm seeking TRUTH and spirituality. The universe connected me to Paul at Higher Haven, and the weekend retreat was everything I had hoped for and more. I've returned to my 'regular ' life with a new, rejuvenated view of the world, and have felt peace and tranquility while evaluating where life is headed. Thank you for providing such a beautiful space and program for those of us seeking TRUTH, peace and tranquility in this wild world of ours.”

Thank you Mary. And Alissa. And Kelsey. And John, Rebecca, and all. We’re onto the next with a several great, overflowing offerings for June, and will fill out the late summer schedule by the end of May, Hokahey, what a boon see you all soon.

On Finding Your Way Both To And Around The Higher Haven

This is one of those (meditation) bells and (eagle bone) whistles we’ve had blipping away at the edge of our radar screen for oh, years now. And it’s one of many works in progress that eventually will make a visit to The Higher Haven more fun and even more fulfilling. The ‘quick and dirty’ in the parlance of my Teacher Shinzen is that for the last six summers, our twenty wooded acres have needed a solid representation on a plane surface of our little region of earth, otherwise known as a map. And I say 20 wooded acres but am always fond of pointing out that it’s technically five acres of wetland, five acres of grassland, and ten acres of pristine, Midwest American deciduous forest. It’s all there roughly in this first pass above — the Black River boardwalk, the Great Blue Heron Rookery overlook, the Massassauga Trail - our signature walk that now snakes through the backwoods for almost a kilometer and a half, and our walk around the bucolic block, or Country Mile, actually 2.3., if you feel like checking out the rural neighborhood. More playful pontification on the lay of the land to come.

As to Happenings, I’m happy to say Hokahey that we are full and overflowing for May’s Way of the Contrary Weekend, June is a boon with only a few grassy, Lodge seats remaining, and at last count there are just a few openings left to join our Spring Comprehensive Spiritual Development Retreat with John Ashbrook Friday, May 20th - Sunday May 22nd. John will deliver a Sunday afternoon talk on the Fundamentals of a True Spiritual Life, open for anyone to register and join us for Spiritual Development Class 1101. Word on 63rd street is that some of the topics will include 21st Century Principles, Five Stages of Love, Measuring Spiritual Growth, Three Critical Spiritual Laws, Self-Esteem and Peace, The Source of All Pain and The Triangle of Balance. John is the Real Deal, as I’m not a big fan of folks tossing around the word “Master”, unless the title is well deserved. You certainly don’t want to miss an opportunity to cross paths with one of Michigan’s and maybe the world’s more capable, high-caliber counselors. But if you do, don’t worry, because he’ll be back. And you’ll only find him here, at The Higher Haven.

Our April Ceremonial Weekend Retreat

We hope you enjoyed the previous poetic posts of compassion and healing penned by the mighty Joy Harjo, incumbent United States Poet Laureate and the first Native American to hold that honor. A member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Harjo’s two memoirs are titled Crazy Brave and Poet Warrior, her latest musical album is I Pray For My Enemies, and she is the Exec­u­tive Edi­tor of the anthol­o­gy When the Light of the World was Sub­dued, Our Songs Came Through. As stated, her works have the ability to unearth the truth and demand justice. And if all that isn’t enough, she rocks the Saxophone.

Regarding words and unearthing the truth, we enjoyed a surprisingly summery April Ceremonial Overnight Weekend with the super connected crew pictured above. Per Joy Harjo, we were accompanied by ancient songs and we celebrated together. Having so much to say on this blog, I always enjoy turning it over to the people, and so a note of great thanks to April’s mini tribe — Brett, Clayton, Leslie, Audrey, Liz, Lisa, Corinne, Anne and especially dear Autumn for the kind, clear words. We’re just about full for next month’s May gathering, so we’ll be looking forward to seeing you in June or July. And watch for a few additional summer classes along with a special August event added to the schedule in the next few weeks. Toksha

“I have had many other spiritual experiences and community gatherings, but Paul's Ceremony for the sweat lodge is different in that it is so physical, so applied, and so intimate compared to the larger conferences where the connections you make often remain separate from your daily life when you return home. The small group of 12 or less creates an atmosphere of tribe, where you quickly develop a family relation to the people you meet in just a short time. My intention was to release the sense of victimization, anger, and powerlessness that mars my ancestral line of its spiritual power and ability to realize potentials. Still in a daze on the drive home, the nap I took once I returned revealed I had received a healing. I would highly recommend this experience to all who are open and would like to thank Paul and the participants who sweated with me for creating a sacred container for Spirit to perform miracles. This was unlike anything I had ever experienced before and I will be returning for many more Ceremonies with Paul.” — A.M.