October 2016

Dear Friends,

I've been singing to myself lately- and often out loud, a ditty from Cloe Goodchild (Your Naked Voice). 

It simply goes down the scale with the words: How I love you; how I love you. Try it sometime, looking in the mirror or across a crowded room. So today, I sing it out to all of you readers as I take a moment to share some personal information.

I'm stealing this space to let you in on a shift that has been happening in me and how my story is evolving into a new chapter in my life.  In short, I am moving my residence to the Twin Cities - a change that will happen by month's end. 

I am in amazing good health, blest and supported by my family, friends and Franciscan community. I'm eager and kind of scared to enter the next 30 or so years of my life! How it will unfold is the great mystery .  

I intend to be engaged with the Christine Center as a 'free agent' offering retreats from time to time and volunteering as time and opportunity permit.

"How I love you; how I love" I sing it heartily with gratitude to all you who've crossed my path over my eleven years at Christine Center.  And I sing it soulfully for all near and far who walk the inner path - for there are many ways of being present and many ways to reach out with affirmation and support. I feel your energy buoying me up as we journey toward that unitive field of consciousness I call Divine Love.

I hope our paths continue to cross with spirited connections here at the Christine Center or in spaces beyond time and place. I feel such gratitude to each of you for having shaped my growth across the years.

 With warm affection and un abrazo fuerte, blessings always,

Cecy
Cecilia Corcoran, FSPA, PhD
Auf Wiedersehen Cecy with Profound Gratitude from the Core Team and Staff of the Christine Center
 
Imagine yourself looking across a crowded room at the Christine Center singing - How I love you, how I love you - Imagine moving from face to face singing "How I love you, How I love you" and not see Cecy's face.  Then we remember a shift is happening and the scribble of a new chapter is slowly moving across a clean white page.  Maybe there are a few teardrops on the page as Cecy's memories of the Christine Center come and go to Cecy.  We know that she will miss us as we will her!
Cecy on left leaning on sign pictured with a few 2016 trail volunteers. Our boardwalk trails and our beautiful gardens are the result of Cecy's dedication to and support of our many wonderful trail and garden volunteers.


So many years, so many memories!  How can we recount them all?  When Cecy came to the Christine Center, buildings started to appear - a new wing with a Chapel, Siloe, Guadalupe.  Cecy, together with the Capital Campaigners, was at work.  Mary of the Angels Chapel was blessed on September 5, 2010.  Then things quieted down for some brief time.
 
It wasn't too long before Cecy was at it again.  She headed for the woodlands followed by a procession of volunteers.  

Flowers, bushes, prairies, and trails available and safe for all to walk, have enhanced the woodlands of the Christine Center.  The woodlands seem to beacon Cecy.  If you want to find her just look out a window                 
 
Yes, there is even more to remember - her years of growing the mission and vision of the Christine Center with the Core Team, her love of the daily morning routine and offering hospitality.  

We honor her inspiration to initiate the three-year Spiritual Deepening for Global Transformation Program now in its fifth group.  

And so - as you read this, do take some time to remember Cecy and utter a blessing for her.  Sound a singing bowl of gratitude for Cecy's presence and ministry at the Christine Center.  

October and November Programs

Visit our  retreat calendar web page  for more programs. 

Visit reservation page for information  or call 715.267.7507.
Aging into Higher Consciousness:  Awake the Potential to Shape Aging
October 5-7 (Wednesday-Friday) 
With Delmarie Gibney, FSPA and Lucia Leck
Hosted close to the time of the autumnal equinox, when life is being harvested and the balance between light and darkness is shifting, we focus on our own aging process, looking back at who we have been and forward to to who we are becoming.   Learn More

Nurture Your  Nature Women's Retreat
October 14-16 (Friday-Sunday)
With Coleen Elwood and Tara Cindy S herman
Registration deadline is Friday, October 7.
Experience blending ancient tantric techniques with earth based shamanic practices for a weekend immersed in the beauty of autumn and  an exploration of SHAKTI.   Learn More

Living Life: through Stillness into Heartful LIFE
With Special Guest Presenter Robert Sardello, PhD, Author and Spiritual Teacher
October 20 - 24 (Thursday-Sunday)   
A liminal Christine Center meditation experience with Robert Sardello and our own Gabriele Uhlein, OSF, PhD  
The Mystics know the secret - openness to utter Stillness, being present with LIFE, and releasing what we experience, each moment.  This contemplative meditation retreat will transform your way of being in the world.  Beginners as well as advanced meditators are welcome.  The meditation will be simple, yet utterly profound in its transformative power.    Learn More 

Yoga Nidra: The Healing Power of Extreme Relaxation and Effortless Meditation
October 25-26 (Tuesday-Wednesday)
With Roberta Hodges
Yoga Nidra is the most powerful relaxation technique known. It means conscious deep sleep. Experience supreme relaxation of body and the most profound stillness of mind helpful in treating diseases and exhaustion caused by stress. Learn More

Painting from Soul:  Intuitive Painting Open Studio
October 27-30
(Thursday-Sunday: Daily 10 am-12:30; 2:30-5:00 pm, including Sunday.)
With S. Gabriele Uhlein, OSF, PhD
Commuters welcome!
Jumpstart your natural creativity in a fun and supportive community of happy painters! (Come with a friend!) For those with every level of artistic experience. Learn More

Your Ancestors Are Calling! Get in Touch with Them Through Imagery and Intuition
October 28-October 30 (Friday-Sunday)
with Audrey Chowdhury, MS, ATR-BC
This weekend retreat is designed to help you access the wisdom and guidance of your ancestors through intuitive creative processes which include SoulCollageĀ®, mandala creation, music and writing. Learn More 

Sound and Silence
November 4-6 (Friday-Sunday)
With Cecilia Corcoran, FSPA, PhD and Wendy Kohlhaas, ICS, CSAC, LPN
Two practices make up the framework of this retreat. Both are based on praying from the heart with a minimal of words. One practice cultivates deep listening and the other is a response that may be as subtle as a breath or as lovely as a word. Learn More

Heart Centered Meditation and Yoga
November 4-6 (Friday-Sunday)
with Katherine Banbury
This retreat is designed to bring you home to yourself, which is experienced through the heart center. Our practices are focused on experiencing the heart on all its levels:  When the heart is open we feel free - we feel a full range of emotions, including JOY!  Learn More

Myofacial Release Weekend
November 4-6 (Friday-Sunday)
With Laramee Paradise, CMT and Kathy Wojta
Contact Laramee at 612.232.4669 or ljparadise123@yahoo.com before registering through the Christine Center.

4 Pillars of Mutual Awakening 
A three-session retreat program
Fridays-Sundays:  November 18-20, 2016,  February 10-12, 2017,  May 12 -14, 2017
with Patricia Albere and Cecy Corcoran, FSPA, PhD
A virtual program with Patricia Albere and supportive activities facilitated at the Christine Center by Cecy Corcoran, FSPA, PhD.  Experience and explore collective awakening for extended periods of time. The series is designed for all levels of interest and experience, for all lineages and traditions.  Each retreat will feature a three hour session with Patricia (November offers two, three-hour sessions). Learn More

7th Annual Uplift Yoga Retreat:  Yoga and Ayurveda for Vibrant Health 
November 18-20 (Friday-Sunday)
With Kate Karshna and Angela Coffee
Register by October 30.
Come explore Ayurveda through yoga asana, breath work, and meditation; daily routines (dinacharya); and the medicine of food and spices. Ayurveda, the "knowledge or science of life," is the sister science of yoga and offers  guidance for living in harmony with the wisdom of nature. Everyone welcome.  Learn More

Thanksgiving Mandala-Making: 
Open Studio
November 25-27  (Friday-Sunday: Daily 10 am-12:30; 2:30-5:00 pm, including Sunday.)
With Gabriele Uhlein, OSF, PhD
Commuters are welcome.
Take the opportunity to relax, refresh and reflect as your hands create circles of beauty and light. Especially enjoy working on black paper with luminous artist-grade colored pencils. No previous art experience is necessary and all materials are provided. Learn More

Health and Inner Peace with Relaxation and Full Natural Breathing
November 25-27 (Friday-Sunday)
With Roberta Hodges
Relaxation of body and breath releases the tensions caused by stress in your life. Healthful relaxation creates space within for peaceful spirit and life force energy to enter. Come learn many body and breath relaxations of varied length and styles that can be done while lying, sitting, walking or standing. Learn More


Consider Monthly Online Giving
 
Why give monthly?
  1.  It's Convenient: use a debit or credit card
  2.  It's Simple: sign up once online. 
  3.  It's Helpful: budget your giving plan by selecting an amount that works for you.
How monthly giving helps the Christine Center?

Recurring monthly donations  ensures support for ongoing  expenses of the Center. 
 
As always, every gift matters; we are grateful for your generosity.

You are welcome to email  our new Fund Development  Coordinator,
Ann Swanson, at  aswanson@christinecenter.org

The Christine Center | 715.267.7507| christinecenter@tds.net | christinecenter.org