Wild Women Retreat at Samsara Ridge

Arriving at Samsara Ridge in early summer is like stepping into another world. The tall soft grasses sway in the light breeze and everywhere you look, shy wildflowers reach up towards the warm sunlight. The rolling landscape hides nooks for contemplation, groves for wisdom, a babbling brook for bathing, a small lake, and the perfect ridge perch for watching fiery sunsets. There’s no doubt that this land has a magic about it. You can’t help but feel the healing, joyous, and heartfelt tenderness that it offers and that Julia and her family steward through their care and love for this place.

What better way to gather than under the theme of Wild Women: Harmonious Passion for Work. At the time of this retreat, last June, I was going through several significant changes: moving from San Diego to Minneapolis and embarking on a new career path that felt ambiguous and scary. In the mysterious and comforting ways that the universe shows up when we need it most, I found a flyer for this retreat in a coffee shop in my new neighborhood. It felt too synchronous to ignore and I immediately reached out to Julia Beasley and Kate Noble, eager to join other like-minded women in community as we navigated unique transformations in our lives.

The retreat sessions were spacious, allowing time for contemplation and integration. We gathered in bell tents, under old trees, or around raging bonfires, tending to our internal landscapes as Kate and Julia guided tantric yoga sessions, somatic healing, forest bathing, walking/sitting meditations and drum journeys. We sang songs together, released limiting beliefs, drank cacao, ate delicious meals by the creek and connected to each other on a deeper level than we are often afforded in the bustle of day-to-day life. 

This retreat grounded me in many ways. These embodied retreats take us out of our minds and into the present moment and I left with the assuredness and peace that comes from being in community and in nature. I was able to begin the process of releasing the striving and straining approach to my transitions, which I now see has opened up space for a quiet intuition to come forward and begin to gain confidence. 

It’s special to be writing this almost a year out from the retreat. I came to the retreat seeking community, comfort, a balanced path towards my goals and passions, and a greater connection to the Midwest landscapes that I now call home. I can see that the seeds I planted and tended with my fellow Wild Women are now shoots and sprouts growing into sturdy vines. 

Create a Clearing in the Dense Forest of your Life

Wilderness Awakening was creating to fill a void present. Reflecting on what has supported myself, while drawing upon my favorite parts of life, I’d love to introduce what makes our programs uniquely special.

Naturalist Studies involve observing and recording natural behavior and phenomenon in its natural setting while interfering as little as possible with the phenomena. In consideration with my work with adults, I’ve trained in Forest Bathing- observing nature as a means increasing health and wellbeing. In consideration with my work with children, I’ve studied Forest School & the Cedarsong Way: a child-centered inspirational learning process with a commitment to 100% outdoor time and complete nature immersion, unstructured flow learning, child-inspired emergent curriculum, place-based focus, inquiry-based teaching style & authentic play. I belief we carry an undercurrent grief associated with our perceived separation to nature. Through unstructured time to observe nature, we can discover a sense of wild and free.

Mindfulness and Healing Arts have been a grounding anchor in my adulthood; how to share these teachings in authentic approachable ways has become a calling. De-mystifying the mystic, or bringing the mystic into the mundane? Our programs have a slow-food-vibe, a live-for-the-moment feeling based on the unique constellations of the people present along with the setting of space and time. Energy healing, breath work, and guided meditations are some examples of these implementations. My family prioritized mindfulness through weekly meditation at the Twin Cities Friends Meeting house. This taught me a worldview that we are all equal as humans, and when we listen there are brilliant messages to be heard when space is given to listen inward. Research suggests that group meditation can lead to synchronized brainwave patterns among participants, promoting a shared sense of calm. It fosters a sense of belonging and connection.

Art is a pillar of what made me who I am. Art supplies (and quality food) make up a great bulk of W.A. business expenses, because I believe (a nod to Maria Montessori) that when working with great tools, we can do great things. Art is a gateway for emotional expression and processing complex emotions. As a result, making art is a means for self-discovery and personal growth. Engaging in artistic activities has been scientifically proven to lower stress levels, and improve well being. Creating art develops non-verbal communication skills and emotional intelligence. It bridges cultural divides, facilitates dialogue and helps people connect on deeper emotional and intellectual levels.

Ritual and Ceremony serve critical psychological, social, and personal functions that impact human experience and wellbeing. Rituals found in Wilderness Awakening include honoring the moon cycles, creating altars, fire ceremonies, honoring the deceased, creating intentions, fairy house building, giving tribute to elements, and more. Shared rituals create solidarity while facilitating social connection through meaningful experiences. They also serve as non-verbal communication mechanisms to express difficult feelings, mark life transitions, and ways to processing grief, joy and transformation in community. Ritual and ceremony offer a break from our automatic unconscious conditioned behavioral patterns. Ritualistic practices support emotional processing and resilience. They offer space to explore profound questions of meaning and connect with philosophical traditions and inquiry.

In this fifth year of programs, I am present to the beauty and wealth found in this unique blend of priorities. We are designing a home for Wilderness Awakening programs. One that imbues nature, wellbeing, art and ceremony. A place to create a psychic clearing in the dense forest of our lives. An accessible building open for ALL TO REMEMBER THEIR WILD AND FREE.

A forever home for Wilderness Awakening

This dream is the kind that keeps me up at night- thinking of the magic than can build and be shared among our growing Wilderness Awakening community. For those who have had the opportunity to visit our rural campus Samsara Ridge just north of St. Croix Falls, WI, you can easily contemplate this natural next step in developing this space and connecting people to it.

Purchased in 2020, we have shared four summers of camps & retreats held out of a lotus belle tent & outdoor kitchen. We finished the construction of a Luxury Eco Tiny Home in 2023 for solo retreats and couple getaways, and are building our forever home on the ridge so we can dedicate ourselves fully to caretaking this special place without being torn with our city responsibilities.

A vision continues to emerge of a building to house a school & retreat space for a continuation and deepening of the already growing work of Wilderness Awakening. A sanctuary space for all ages to gather. Naturalist School by day, Retreat Center by weekend. A quiet place for observation of the natural realm and of self.

Mindfulness meets mystery! Science meets the arts! Urban dwellers meet the Food Forest! Permaculture projects, memorial orchards, tree houses and trails to meander and meet four leggeds and winged ones.

A year-round space including a kitchen and dining area to share meals around in any weather conditions. A wood burning stove to curl up close to during a snow storm. A loft with bunks for overnight adventures.

A closet with supplies and gear library to equip anyone to head out into our diverse elements and enjoy… It is a dream in the making that brings me so much joy to contemplate and share. What would you want in the next rendition of a retreat center?