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What's it all about?
As a kid, I loved watching "A Charlie Brown Christmas" this time of year, and I remember feeling a kinship with Charlie when he, depressed by the shallow celebrations and searching for something deeper, cries out in desperation, "Can anyone tell me what Christmas is all about?"
I can’t answer that for you, but for me, it’s about yearning, joyful fulfillment, and hope. In the original stories, the yearning is Israel’s longing for the Messiah, the joyful fulfillment is the birth of Christ, and the hope is for our lives to be transformed. Christmas, for me then, is about my yearning for divine love, my joy in experiencing divine love, and my hope for transformation. I’m not interested in celebrating an ancient event, but in living it, feeling it, having it change my life.
The Christine Center’s 3-year
spiritual deepening program has the intent of global transformation through our own individual transformation. I believe the hope for a new world, a new way to live, is born of our yearning and its fruition will be born of our joyful fulfillment. Christ—God, spirit, divine, whatever you choose to call it--being born anew in us today makes a new world possible tomorrow.
That’s the deeper “reason for the season” that I’ve been seeking. Why do we do this? What does this tradition mean to us? Yearning, joyful fulfillment, and hope: That works for me. I pray you find what works for you. Merry Christmas!
--Russell King, executive director
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Welcome the New Year with the Christine Center community. Embrace the opportunity for deep reflection, intention and renewal.
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Christine Center's Annual
New Year’s Retreat
December 27–January 1
(Thursday evening – Tuesday mid-day)
with Sisters Gabriele Uhlein, OSF, PhD, and Marge Zulaski, OSF
Tuition: sliding scale $250-$450 (meals and lodging are additional)
Sign up for fewer days at a sliding scale rate of $50-$90 per day.
Wrap yourself in winter’s stillness. Six days and five nights to restore and hearten soul amid the challenge of our times. Join in the signature Christine Center rhythm of meditation.
Experience daily offerings of reflection and conscious conversation to bless and release 2018. Let our snow-clad woodland and luminous night sky inspire you.
On New Year’s Eve there is a splendid candlelight ritual to welcome 2019 followed by a festive social. New Year’s morning features a celebration of intention and blessing for the year ahead.
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Intuitive Painting:
Rediscover Joy
January 3-6, 2019
(Thursday-Sunday)
Daily 10 am – 5 pm
(commuters welcome)
with Sister Gabriele Uhlein, OSF, PhD
Tuition: $60 a day / $30 for half days (all materials included), meals and lodging additional. Commuters: bring a bag lunch or purchase a delicious vegetarian meal for $16.
Brush, paper,
go! Large sheets of vellum paper and 24 open paint pots of gorgeous colors await.
Experience a fun and supportive community of happy painters (come with friend!). No previous art skill is required; bring a sense of play, adventure and openness.
Each day includes two studio sessions with S. Gabe and an evening optional conversation circle. If you have ever felt blocked and uninspired, these days are the perfect remedy.
Painting from intuition brings freedom and restores creative zest. Dare to enter a marvelous “judgement-free zone” for discovering possibilities and breaking through limiting blocks old patterns that can invigorate all aspects of life. Just wait till you see the studio walls.
Register here.
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Winter Yoga and Meditation
January 3 – 6, 2019
(Thursday – Sunday)
with Kali Higgins and special guest teachers
Tuition: $225 plus meals and lodging
Winter is the time to slow down, restore and reflect. It is the season where we incubate our deepest dreams. Retreat in community with inspiring and like-minded people at the beautiful Christine Center. Together we will tap into winter’s energy and wisdom, while also offering plenty of time to rest and reflect in solitude. Over the weekend, you can expect to reconnect to what matters most to you and begin crafting your dream or vision for the new year. Leave feeling restored with the support of gentle yoga, meditation, creative and healing activities and non-activities to nourish the soul.
Learn more.
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Refill Your Well: A Weekend of Yoga, Sacred Sound and Connection
January 11–13, 2019
(Friday–Sunday)
with Aveen Banich, RYI
Tuition: $175, plus meals and lodging
Join Aveen for her 5th annual winter retreat at the Christine Center. Plan to begin 2019 with a re-commitment to self-love, care and compassion. Come to refill your well, attune to your heart and find resonance both with yourself and the amazing wisdom circle that will gather with you. This weekend will consist of gentle yoga, chant and sacred sound, visioning for 2019, rest, delicious nourishing food and sacred connection. Yoga styles will include gentle vinyasa flow, yin and restorative practices. You will leave the weekend feeling rested, refreshed and renewed.
Learn more.
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Grief, Loss and Resilience:
a Buddhist Approach
January 14 – 16, 2019
(Monday- Wednesday)
with Lama Yeshe
Tuition: $150, plus meals and lodging
We can experience many types of loss during our lives; death of a loved one or friend, divorce, loss of one’s health, loss of livelihood and so forth. Lama Yeshe will explore how to respond to grief and loss in a healthy way that actually can result in spiritual growth and the development of wisdom. By understanding that change is part of life, we realize we can also change and not be stuck in a past that no longer exists. There will be a description of Buddhist approach to death and what is traditionally done by the living for those who have died. This program will examine mindfulness, loving-kindness, and wisdom and how to include them in our lives.
Learn more.
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Make 2019 a year of health and wellness.
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Yoga Nidra:
A Day of Deep Relaxation
January 24-25, (Thursday–Friday)
with Tracy Chipman
Tuition: $95, plus meals and lodging
Enjoy 24 hours of restoration and rejuvenation through the easiest yoga practice of all – simple, deep, natural rest. The Christine Center welcomes you to a monthly day designated for health, well-being, and ease. Each month, one of our featured instructors will offer a mid-week Yoga Nidra based program designed to help you experience quiet clarity and calm from the top of your head to the tips of your toes. Join us as we take a 24-hour “time out” from our busy lives to unwind one serene breath at a time. You may even choose to extend your stay and create your own customized personal retreat. Our woodland sanctuary awaits. See our website for more information.
Learn more.
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The Resonant Soul: The Deep Wisdom of the Tao Te Ching
January 25-27, 2019
(Friday–Sunday)
with Ronald E. Moor
Tuition: $150, plus meals and lodging
More than 500 years before Christ, the legendary Chinese sage Lao Tzu composed a poetic and profound text known as the
Tao Te Ching. After learning the mythic story of how the text of the Tao came to be, we will then explore several of the core verses, reading, discussing, and contemplating. We will bring each verse we encounter into a time of silent meditation so that the meaning of the text resonates more fully. Themes inherent in the Tao we will explore include the present moment, the play of opposites, accepting what is, recovering our true nature, effortless effort, flexibility, letting go and the next step. Join us as we drink from this very deep spring.
Learn more.
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The Yoga of Relaxation
January 25-27, 2019
(Friday–Sunday)
with Tracy Hart, CYT
Tuition: sliding scale; $100 to $150, plus meals and lodging.
Join us for a weekend of relaxation and training. Ease stress and tension while communing with the spirit. This weekend will incorporate yoga techniques and energy work to release and relax the mind and nervous system creating an overall sense of peace and tranquility. All levels of experience are welcome. Sessions will incorporate periods of conscious relaxation, Yoga Nidra breath work, meditation, visualization and include a crystal singing bowl experience. Gentle yoga stretching and QiGong exercises will be included in the weekend practice.
Register here.
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Yoga and Sound Healing
for Chakra Balancing
January 31 – February 3, 2019
(Thursday-Sunday)
with Kristin Manjula
Tuition: sliding scale $225 - $300, plus meals and lodging
Imagine taking time away from the responsibilities of daily life to nourish your body, focus on your well being, and gain greater insight into what it means to be at your happiest and healthiest.
This three day retreat will emphasize finding personal fulfillment by exploring each of the seven main chakras through philosophy, breath work, movement, chanting, and sound healing. Kristin, of Breathe Yoga and Wellness Center in Janesville, Wisconsin will lead you through yoga practices, philosophy discussions and sound healing sessions. There will be opportunities for discussion, questions, and personal inquiry. Most importantly, there will be time and space to settle into an immersive practice of yoga in a serene environment with supportive community. This retreat does not require any experience and is open to all.
Learn more.
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Read the executive director's holiday letter
here
, and please support
the Christine Center!
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We are eternally grateful for your donations!
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Or mail your gift to
The Christine Center W8303 Mann Road Willard, WI 54493
Thank you for your support!
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Visit our
website
to see all our programs and more information about the Christine Center!
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