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Come for the peace
The news these days is brutal. Our world seems ever more in crisis of some sort—moral, environmental, constitutional, economic, diplomatic, humanitarian, or cultural. It takes a toll on our mental and spiritual health. Our brains are hardwired to process stress-related to trauma with the "fight, flight, freeze" mode, then returning to a restful state, but constant exposure to trauma can hinder our ability to cope in healthy ways.
The physical toll can manifest as lack of restful sleep, anxiety, mood disorders, headaches, muscle tension or pain, and stomach problems. The spiritual toll is also high. Inundation by traumatic news can lead to disaster fatigue, making us less concerned and more apathetic, as well as feeling a diminished sense of urgency about the suffering of others. Our challenge is to carry the pain without letting it distort or diminish us.
The key is to find peace for balance. The Christine Center is a place to find peace, to restore your soul, and to gain the spiritual depth we need to face times like these. Perhaps the most frequent theme in our guests’ evaluations is about the peace that is found here. Our location far from cities and highways and nestled in a woodland sanctuary contributes much to that restorative atmosphere. But there is something more.
There is a spirit, a presence, a power here that is undeniable. If you are open to it and allow it to wash over you, it will soak into you and transform you. After visiting this haven of peace and love, you may leave as a beacon of peace and love for the people in your life. I consider that the greatest of the many gifts offered by the Christine Center.
So, please, take a break from the cacophony of crisis. Come for the peace.
Russell King, executive director
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The Christine Center Celebrates
a new art installation
A big THANK YOU to our dear friend Jean Feraca who commissioned a sculpture of St. Francis from renowned artist Babette Wainwright as a gift for the Christine Center. Babette has exhibited in Haiti and in the U.S. Her work is found in private and public collections across the country and abroad. The exquisite contemplative sculpture depicting St. Francis currently graces the foyer of the Christine Center main building. For more information about Babette’s work see her website
www.babettewainwright.com
The Christine Center honors its origin in the Franciscan values of contemplation, hospitality, compassion, simplicity, transformation, and care for the Earth.
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Welcome, St Francis
Oh Francis, saint of all that’s wild,
We hail you in our humble hall,
receive your spirit--tender, mild--
and heed your welcome, loving call.
The birds above the forest call
as if to say they’ve missed you so.
O Francis, saint of all that’s wild,
revive in us the truths we know:
remind us God is love for all,
and each of us a sacred child;
regardless of our own belief,
we are, together, reconciled.
O Francis, draw us to your way:
to live akin to stem and leaf
and find divine in peat and clay;
to love, to give, to humbly care
for life and water, soil and air.
~ Russell King
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SAVE THE DATE
!
A Soul Retreat with Robert Sardello
Nov. 1--5 (
(
Thursday evening through Monday mid-day)
Tuition: $350 (meals and lodging are additional)
We are honored to host Robert Sardello in this premier retreat experience. Join Sister Gabriele Uhlein, OSF, and others of the Christine Center community for 5 days of contemplative practice and experiential Earth-conscious soul deepening. Joanna Macy calls it participating in the Great Turning. Thomas Berry calls it the Great Work. Andrew Harvey names it Active Hope.
Soul-work is now Earth-size. The spiritual deepening emergent in our time is a kind of transfigured incarnation, able to “suffer” planetary heart-break, and to willingly pursue a high spirituality of humbly, and profoundly “mattering”. With Robert Sardello as guide, join us in the evolution of a contemporary indigenous consciousness and vibrant heartfulness. Practice with us, fresh ways to live compassionate Earth-Soul presence.
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Midwest Diamond Approach Weekend
The Lataif: Gateways to Essence
October 5 – 7 (Friday-Sunday)
With Kara Vangen, MSW, and Kathleen Graham, RN, MS
All-inclusive cost: $315.00 (includes tuition, 2 nights lodging & 4 meals)
The Diamond Approach is a path of spiritual realization characterized by sincere inquiry into one’s own experience and fueled by love of truth. This retreat is the first of a series on the various lataif, which are centers of subtle physiology.
Activation of the Red lataifa or Essential Strength allows an inner aliveness which connects us to our love of life. It carries the sacred impulse of “I can” which increases our capacity to expand with courage and strength in life and on our spiritual journey.
This weekend includes meditation, teachings, inquiry and experiential exercises.
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The Path to the Transition of Dying and Death
October 5 – 7 (Friday-Sunday)
With Susan Mickel, M.D., Ph.D.
Mindfulness of impermanence and death are a core practices for all branches of Buddhism. Ordinarily, although we know cognitively that our bodies, minds, and the universe are constantly changing, we plan and enact our lives as though long lives and health were assured. When serious illness or death appears within our lives, we are surprised. By neglecting such awareness, we cut ourselves off from the tenderness associated with knowing our vulnerability and the vulnerability of others. We forget our collective need to connect deeply in each moment with the fullness of life. In the Buddhist tradition, rather than death being the end, it is a transition that leads from one embodiment of our consciousness/awareness to another.
Learn More
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Opening to Pure Awareness: a Foundational Retreat
October 7 – 14 (Sunday-Sunday)
With Susan Mickel, M.D., Ph.D.
The simplicity, peace, and power of our true nature are often clouded over by habitual patterns of thought, emotion, and perception. Recognition of this nature, and cultivation of dwelling in it, is the heart of meditation in the essence traditions of Indo-Tibetan Buddhism. As clouds obscure the openness of the sky and the radiance of the sun, our habits of identifying with our personal experience cloud over the pure awareness that is our true nature.
The Buddhist path for cultivating the conditions for recognition and stabilization of this awareness is a science of the mind. The Theravada teachings of the mindfulness meditation tradition will provide a basis for the teachings in this retreat, while the heart of the retreat will draw primarily on the Indo-Tibetan essence traditions that point directly to the mind’s nature. By emphasizing concentration early in the retreat, we can use the stability of the mind to explore how the mind constructs inner and outer experience.
This retreat will include guided meditations, group discussion of meditation experience, and individualized instruction within the group setting. The group discussion allows participants to learn from each other.
Learn More
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Intuitive Painting: Rediscover Joy
October 11 – 14 (Thursday-Sunday,
10 am – 5 pm daily)
With Gabriele Uhlein
Tuition: $60 a day / $30 for half days (all materials included, meals and lodging are additional)
Commuters welcome! 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 a 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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Yoga Nidra 24
October 23-24 (Tuesday-Wednesday)
Note:
Starts at 2 PM on Tuesday and ends at 2 PM on Wednesday
With Patricia Wack
Tuition $95 (housing and meals are additional)
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 you!
Learn more
.
Register here
.
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Writing Your Spiritual Journey with Joanne Nelson
October 26 – 28 (Friday-Sunday)
Tuition: $175 (meals and lodging are additional)
We all approach our spirituality—that link between the sacred and ourselves—in unique ways. Join in community to honor and explore your connection to the sacred and to the self through writing. Engage in guided written exercises developed by Joanne and other authors designed to help you explore your spiritual path, inspire your creative journey, and generate successful narratives and poetry. Give a written voice to your own spiritual story and leave with specific tools and strategies developed to make deepening your spirituality through writing easy to continue after our program.
Register here.
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Celebrating St. Clare of Assisi
October 26 – 28 (Friday evening to
Sunday mid-day)
With S. Gabriele Uhlein, OSF, PhD
Tuition: EARLY BIRD RATE! $175 until September 30
th
or $200 after that date (meals and lodging are additional)
Commuters are welcome!
Using two of the Christine Center’s treasured Franciscan icons, The Tavola of St. Clare and the San Damiano Crucifix, S. Gabriele will share how the 13
th
century Saint Clare can inspire in us a contemplative depth of soul so needed in our world today.
Defying both social prohibitions and no less than 4 popes, St. Clare dared to write her own way of life (the first ever!). She invited women into a sisterhood of equals to love God, to serve God, and to deeply care for one another’s souls.
We will explore the world of St. Francis and St Clare, pray together as the early Franciscans did, and take time to reflect and journal on the stunning reality of God’s beauty and unconditional love.
If you love Italy, luminous souls and amazing spiritual journeys, this weekend is for you!
Register here.
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Congratulations to the Winners
of the Summer Drawing!
The annual summer drawing took place after this year’s Hildegard Festival on Sept. 23
rd
. Congratulations to the winners and thank you to all who participated for your loyal support of the Christine Center!
Meditation Basket
- Winner: Sheila Nolte
Original Painting “Moonlight Sonata” by Sr Gabriele Uhlein
- Winner: Linda Cates
Four Season Metal Art
- Winner: Carolyn Isaak
Green Bay Packers wool area rug
- Winner: Gabe Uhlein
Retreat for two at the Christine Center
– Winner: Paula Kaplan
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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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