October 5, 2019
Divine Beauty–A Women’s Retreat
Whenever the organizers at Science of Spirituality plan a Women’s Retreat, they know they are going to have a large audience. The most recent event, “Divine Beauty: A Women’s Retreat,” held at the Science of Spirituality International Meditation Center in Lisle, Illinois, on October 5, brought over two hundred women to the Center. These retreats are like magnets–a response to a deep spiritual hunger, as witnessed by the steadily increasing number of women interested in learning about spirituality from a woman’s perspective.
The First Women’s Retreat
Science of Spirituality’s first retreat, simply called A Women’s Retreat, was held in Boston, Massachusetts ten years ago. Four women spoke on the theme “The Circle of Life” (thank you, Lion King): Raising Spiritual Children, Midlife Crises, The Professional Woman, and Spirituality and Aging.
The talks centered on the role meditation plays in coping with aspects of life most women share. Each speaker spoke from her own background and life experience. Each spoke from the heart about how meditation had carried her through rough spots in her life, how it shielded her from the anger of others and diminished her own, and how the experience gained in meditation, of her connection with her inner divinity (soul), allowed her to face growing older without fear, strengthened from within.
Something special happens when women get together in an atmosphere that encourages openness. Walls come down. When you add meditation to the mix, you get an outpouring of love. There’s a lot of laughter and, frequently, tears. The response to these programs has been overwhelmingly positive.
October program in Lisle, Illinois
The recent October retreat at the SOS Center opened with an exploration of the three archetypes of the feminine divine embedded in every woman’s experience: “The Maiden, the Mother, and the Wise Woman.” The premise of the talk was that by getting in touch with our inner wisdom as expressed through these archetypes, we can chart a clearer path toward our spiritual goal.
Another workshop people found fascinating was “The Hidden Hard Work of Happiness: Developing Your Forgiveness Practice.” Its focus was that although we want to be happy, we want it to be easy. Forgiving is hard work, but it is the secret, personal work we have to do to develop a stable sense of joy and peace.
Benefits of a women’s retreat
Over the years, Science of Spirituality has sponsored ten retreats. The title, “Divine Beauty,” pays homage to the beauty lying within every woman–in fact, in every soul. The themes have changed, the titles of the talks have changed, but the gift of being able to draw women from all backgrounds to this special day has remained constant. Each day-long retreat includes a complimentary vegetarian/vegan lunch and plenty of meditation time.
The women who attend span all ages. At this last event, the youngest was ten and the oldest, 97. Their comments all expressed their appreciation and gratitude: “I loved the beautiful energy of the collaboration of meditation and women . . . I enjoyed the peace of the workshops . . . meeting wonderful and powerful women . . . the knowledge and giving spirit of the presenters.”
The Divine Beauty retreats continue to be held throughout North America. Coming in March, 2020 are retreats in Washington, DC, Amityville, New York, Toronto, Canada, and Perth Amboy, New Jersey.
You can find Science of Spirituality programs here.
