California is really a few different states. The one in which I spent the weekend, just outside Cazadero, outside Jenner which is just north of Bodega Bay, where The Birds was filmed, is misty, moist, cool, red-wooded and oaken. Mosses on the north side of the trees, lichen on the boulders, Stellar Jays streaking from tree to tree and an absolutely gorgeous retreat center made it a very nourishing weekend. Add in thirty people gathered to meditate and learn from a master explorer of inner consciousness, Claudio Naranjo and yummy, thoughtfully prepared meals and it tops my list of recent retreats.
Mr. Naranjo, originally from Chile, has made a lifelong study of consciousness and shares simply, generously and humorously. Very nearly an octogenarian, he exhibits the lightness of being and curiosity of a child. He brought the Enneagram to the United States in the 1970’s.
Steve Hoskinson is one of the senior faculty members of Somatic Experiencing and taught us experientially how to re-calibrate our nervous system toward what’s right in the world, rather than what’s wrong. He sent us by twos out into the beautiful grounds of the Ratna Ling Retreat Center. One of us was to be the explorer for ten minutes - wandering where ever s/he wanted to go just to observe the natural world, while the support person was to follow along and simply take delight in the playful exploration of the partner. Then we switched roles.
What we learned was that it takes very little to reclaim some resiliency in the nervous system. Our world is so chaotic, fast paced and overwhelming that we can lose touch with normal human pleasure and instead make due with substitutes - like ticking things off our ‘to do list.’
Claudio and Steve both acknowledge a childhood instinctual nature that some psychologists call organismic intelligence - which could also be called self-regulation. We can lose our animal wisdom and capacity for pleasure - what my mom used to call “creature comfort” - when we become too domesticated. Turns out we need nature to help us downshift from high states of anxiety to greater ease and simple pleasure. Trauma disconnects us from our environment. Healthy, non-addictive pleasure helps integration in the presence of sufficient support. Wandering where ever we’re drawn in a natural setting, with a caring other person, can be a very wonderful corrective tonic.
Working in pairs or in triads we also explored inner space and responded to probing questions. “How has fear prevented you from living the life you want to live?” “How has your worry about how others perceive you gotten in the way of your full expression?” “How are you suffering? What is your pain? How are you dissatisfied?”
Ultimately these explorations with supportive witnesses brought us to a place of greater ease and an ability to be in the present moment - as if a heavy chain-mail coat had been removed and movement was no longer so difficult.
Integration is happening. Driving home will be a time of re-collecting the gems of the weekend.
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