9-DAY SILENT RETREAT WITH PATRICK CONNOR

Tuesday September 25^th – Wednesday October 3^rd, 2018

(Travel days: September 24th and October 4th, 2018)

Ralston White Retreat, 2 El Capitan Ave., Mill Valley, CA, 94941

 

 

VIDEO INVITATION FROM PATRICK

 

INVITATION AND GUIDELINES FROM PATRICK

 

My dearest friends,

I invite you to join me for 9 days of healing and transformation, to take your life to another level.

What I have written here below, in some detail, is an attempt to express in writing some of the deep reflections in my heart about the new frontier of possibility that this retreat represents. I feel we are embarking here upon something very new, totally fresh, and full of the wonder and magic of the Great Spirit. I invite you to read this fully and carefully, and to contemplate it deeply in your heart, if you are considering coming.

This 9-day Silent Retreat is a powerful opportunity to immerse yourself completely in the energy field of Divine Self-Love and Inspiration. It is a time for profound healing and awakening to the Light of your Inner Being, and to release the deepest conditioning that no longer serves you. It is a chance to make a giant leap in Consciousness in a very short time. For those who are ready, it will be a profound time of personal healing, rebirth and regeneration.

This retreat is set in a large secluded mansion within the rural embrace of northern California, surrounded by sacred mountains and the world-renowned redwood forests. Everything has been created to inspire and support you to feel nourished, nurtured and comfortable, while being able to fully turn your attention inwards to the Light, without the usual daily demands and distractions.

 

• The Silence that is our shared commitment in this 9-day retreat is not merely an absence of talking, but a profound healing space – a container of shared intentionality that supports the fullest and most rapid awakening to your Real Self, your unlimited Being.

• The outer silence powerfully supports a falling away of the habits of unconsciousness, and feeds the noticing of the Real Silence – the deep oceanic Presence within us all that is the Silence of the Heart.

  

• When the Silence of the Heart comes to the fore, you begin to see that this has always been here, unnoticed due to the mind’s busy-ness.

• The Silence of the Heart is the birthing ground of all real understanding. All true Peace, Harmony, Intuition, Insight, Inner Guidance and Inspiration come from here. To touch this Silence consciously is, literally, life-changing and life-transforming.

• From this knowingness, which feels like a deep sense of aliveness and wellbeing, we can easily see and resolve unconscious patterns (of lack and fear).

• This Silence is full of Joy… It is total connectedness. It is the Joy that has no opposite, and no reason for itself! It is happiness without a cause! From this Silence, there is no time, no distance, no lack and no fear. To make deeper contact with this Presence of the Heart, and to live your life from this Silence, changes absolutely everything. This Silence is total abundance. When you live your life from this Silence, everything flourishes.

 

• The focus of this retreat will be the most complete and comprehensive, unshakeable awakening of the Light of Divine Self-Love. Everything we truly long for, depends upon this. What we hold within us is what manifests as our life – nothing more, and nothing less.

• To allow ourselves to receive the gifts of Spirit, and to live with unobstructed abundance, we must let go of all ego. A core dimension of this is releasing the deep habits of unforgiveness, towards self and other, across all lifetimes, at all levels of our Being.

• This is no small thing, as most of this kind of energy is unconscious. It is also heavily reinforced by the judgment-driven, fear-entraining culture of the Consensus Consciousness in which we live.

  

• Opening our heart and life completely to the Truth of the Divine Consciousness within requires a much more profound letting go than we have been taught to believe is necessary.

It runs counter to our instant-gratification, quick-fix, shortcut-loving culture, which tends to value information over integrity, and speed and spin over substance. Even our spiritual search can be co-opted by these tendencies. 

The depth of this process is not widely appreciated, even in spiritual circles. And this is the reason for our going to such lengths to create the optimal container.

• The purpose of this sacred container of 9 days is to facilitate a deep and comprehensive inner awakening, and to do this in the most joyful, sweet, soft, direct, fascinating, uncompromising and inspirational manner possible.

• The days will be carefully guided and there will be plenty of time for sharing within the context of the Silent Retreat time.

• Be aware that this profound healing and transformation WILL involve a letting go of some of your most cherished limiting beliefs about life, reality, the world, and yourself. This will both challenge the ego, and simultaneously be felt as a liberation to your eternal spirit.

 

• At the root of all life challenges, and at the very frontier of Spiritual Awakening, is the question of Self-Love and Self-forgiveness. If you could see yourself through the unconditionally loving eyes of Grace, both worldly abundance, and Self-realization, would come easily. In order to see ourselves as we ARE, we must step out of the tendencies and the habits of perception that do not allow this absolute Self-acceptance. And it is THIS which requires a container that supports exceptional focus, intention and dedication within. The flow of our normal life – with all its responsibilities and busy-ness – simply cannot provide this kind of container, no matter how committed we are.

• In this container of Grace, it will be much much easier to see and to release the deepest conditioning – in the space of a short few days – that might otherwise take decades or lifetimes to even notice or release on your own. Even if your life is already great, this will take you higher and further than you have ever gone before.

• In the spirit of attaining greater Self-Love, you will be guided gently and deliberately out of your own places of inner unconsciousness, stuckness, unforgiveness and fear.

• There is a kind of transformative Power that responds to the momentum of great intention and fixity of purpose. This momentum builds throughout retreat, and this is why it makes massive, life-changing breakthroughs possible over the course of 9 days in the Silence of the Heart.

• One thing is certain – you will not leave this gathering unchanged. As you leave much lighter and freer than you came, this will have very wide implications for every aspect of your life. You will become more empowered to have deeper and more loving relationships, and your ability to serve and uplift your fellow beings, as a parent, or through whatever vocation or work or life mission you choose – all this will expand and flower. Your Presence will be more healing than ever to others, as more Grace flows through you than has ever been possible before.

• The primary beneficiaries of your awakening Self-Love will be those closest to you. To them will flow the Grace and the gifts of Spirit that go with this profound unfoldment.

 

We are holding this retreat in the spirit of Joy, Beauty, Freedom and Self-care. It is a time to rest and renew and to optimally prepare for all that lies ahead of you. Again, it is for those earnestly seeking Self-realisation in this lifetime.

In choosing to attend, each participant is making the Heart’s Choice to adhere to the following guidelines, which are in place to facilitate our awakening, healing and transformation. Our old societal and family conditioning may perceive this as a set of strict rules to obey. This could not be further from the Truth here. We are coming together to create this profound container for each other, in the spirit of guardianship, to serve the awakening of what is most noble and beautiful in us. This way we truly uplift our loved ones and the world beyond.

Finally, our worldly life is full of distractions that take us away from being able to be TRULY with ourselves and therefore TRULY with others. The mind is trained to avoid itself, and so we turn away from being able to unload what no longer serves us. These guidelines are designed to make this process of coming Home to ourselves in an undistracted and inspired way, easier and sweeter and more immediately possible. This is the path of Real Joy, Beauty and Love.

So, in the spirit of shared purpose, by attending this event you agree to:

• Attend the entire retreat and to be present at each and every session throughout the 9 days without exception. This means arriving in the area not later than the evening of Monday 24^th September, and departing from the area not earlier than the morning of Thursday 4^th October, 2018. It will not be possible to join after the very beginning. If you know you cannot stay for the entire duration of this retreat, we ask that you leave it for another time.

• Respect and honor the container of Silence for the full duration of the retreat.

• There is no socializing, no physical or eye contact, talking, or use of phones, cameras, other mobile devices, or the internet during the retreat. This is an opportunity to be completely UNPLUGGED, which ensures that our energy and attention are not pulled outwards and instead can remain in the energy field of the Heart. In this way, you make the most of this opportunity and also honor the retreat of other participants. Again, there will be many opportunities for sharing – with the group as a whole, and in small breakout groups – within the retreat context.

• If you are attending the retreat with a partner or friend, you agree to not communicate with each other during the retreat in any way, and to keep early mornings and evenings sacred. Please respect the retreat time of your loved ones and other retreat participants.

• Refrain from using intoxicants or recreational drugs of any kind for the duration of this retreat.

• Wear modest clothing throughout the retreat, avoiding tight, revealing or transparent clothes.

• Avoid wearing strong scents or perfumes, as they may be disturbing to others in this shared space of close proximity.

• This retreat will not be able to be offered online. Only in-person attendance is possible for this event.

• This deep inner process of healing and transformation will not interfere with your religious affiliation. Any genuine connection you already have to Spirit, will invariably deepen considerably.

• Retreats are not a replacement for therapy or other medical treatment, advice or diagnosis.

I invite you to make arrangements to be truly unplugged during this time. This means not turning your phone on, or needing to be on the computer or answer emails for the duration of retreat. I invite you to free yourself from any commitments whatsoever during this time. You may only see the profound significance of this later, and you will be so grateful that you did consecrate this time completely. An emergency number will be given to you, which you can share with loved ones and those closest to you. Retreat staff will be onsite at all times, and reachable via these numbers in the case of emergency.

To realize your own Source is the answer to every prayer you have ever made, and every longing or desire you have ever had. It is the true purpose, and the only real fulfillment of a human life. It is happiness beyond all conditions. It is truly worth absolutely everything that you have and are. 

With all my heart… Patrick

 

 

 

TRAVEL AND REGISTRATION DETAILS

 

To participate in Retreat, you will need to arrive in the area no later than Monday, September 24^thand depart no earlier than Thursday, October 4^th. Late arrivals and early departures will not be accommodated. If staying at Ralston White Retreat, we cannot arrive earlier than September 24^thor depart later than October 4^thdue to other reservations before and after our event.

San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is an hour drive to Mill Valley, CA. Shuttles, Uber and Lyft are available for transport from the airport.

 

 

Ralston White Retreat is a beautiful 14,000 sq ft home built in 1915 in the redwood forest on the slopes of Mt. Tamalpais. The property’s network of hiking trails connect to the Marin County trail system.

Retreat participants may stay at Ralston White or commute from other accommodations in the area. Ralston White Retreat is a 10-minute drive from the center of Mill Valley.

For more details about the setting for retreat, see: www.ralstonwhiteretreat.org

Below are the rates to stay at Ralston White Retreat, which include lodging, 3 vegetarian meals every day of retreat, dinner the evening of September 24, breakfast the morning of October 4, and retreat tuition. Please note that rooms at Ralston White do not have private baths. We will be sharing bathrooms. The rates for each participant are:

Single: $2845

Double: $2445

Triple: $2145

Quad: $1945

The cost to stay outside of Ralston White is $1650 per person, which includes lunch and dinner each day of retreat, dinner on September 24^th, and retreat tuition. It does not include lodging or breakfast.

 

Registration for retreat and payment to Sharmada Foundation must be made by September 10, 2018. The retreat center requires us to give the final number of participants 2 weeks ahead.

Please email RSVP@sharmada.org to register.