A personal and group quest to honor and learn from sacred sites and prehistoric landforms in the Appalachian Mountains of NC.
This particular weekend retreat will be held in the Great Smoky Mountains of NC. Accommodations and transportation between sites is not included. Most participants choose to carpool once they meet each other on Friday evening.
You'll experience throughout the weekend different ways to connect with the ancient energies here in these mountains. We will:
This weekend retreat is for people wanting a deeper connection with the Ancient Appalachian Mountains and their own inner and outer world. The mountains call to many but few respond and hear their call for healing and ceremony. We will be indoors for a portion of the weekend and out exploring sites connecting to the land. While indoors we will explore concepts, rituals, ceremonies, and ideals that we will integrate into our experiences out in nature. Topics of lecture, discussion, and practice will include:
Are you hearing the call? Come visit and learn about the sacred sites and spiritual landscapes in the Appalachians.
Early Registration Tuition: $250 until September 1st
Starting September 2nd Tuition: $333
Schedule:
Friday 6-9pm
Saturday 9am-7pm (with a two hour break during the day)
Sunday 9am-1pm
You are encouraged to arrive early on Friday to explore Cherokee and/or to stay later on Sunday to explore on your own. A handout with local shops and museums to visit will be provided in an email the week before the retreat.
All outdoor activities are dependent upon weather and may be adjusted throughout the weekend to work with nature and our groups energy.
Location of Meeting Space:
Varies each year in Cherokee, NC area.
Many of the walks are easy, short, and on flat terrain nature trails; however, one experience is a "hike". On Saturday we have a 3-mile easy walk. On Sunday although it is only 1.2 miles round trip, it is considered a more strenuous trail as we gain 400-feet in elevation for a little over half a mile. We will take a slow pace going up the mountain and back down to the parking lot (shown in picture).
Our retreat begins at 6 pm where we will gather for introductions and an overview of the weekend. You will also be provided with the detailed itinerary based on the weather for that weekend and the addresses to locations and times for meeting.
*Please plan to eat a late lunch or an early dinner before arriving.*
Our first evening together will include a visit to a nearby sacred river for a releasing ceremony and a visit to an ancient petroglyph site. We will spend time here at sunset hearing about the ancient myths and theories surrounding this significant rock and you'll have time to spend reflecting and meditating on these stories and the energy here. The first site is around 28 miles (45 minutes from the hotel meeting space). We will plan to spend around an hour here on site.
While here and/or upon return to the meeting space we will begin examining principles & perspectives of Animisim and Shamanism, learning how to observe and feel energy. Our evening will conclude around 9pm-ish.
Today we will explore perspectives of Modern and Cross-Cultural Shamanism as we venture to sacred and ancient sites in the area. As we visit different landscapes and places we will connect in with the elemental environment and spirit of the place there.
In participating in a ceremony with a Q'ero elder back in 2009 for my dissertation research, he said the Appalachian Mountains were crying out for ceremony. Throughout Saturday we will have opportunities as a group and you will have opportunities as an individual to engage with rituals and ceremonies for our modern world.
Along our stops throughout the day, we will discuss what "offerings" are, and how to make offerings to reciprocate our appreciation for what we receive along the walk from nature (or any walk you do long after this weekend). You'll also learn how to read messages from the natural world. These explorations into nature are not "just a hike", they are a conscious spiritual experience. You will receive a journal and workbook to use along each stroll and hike.
Our first site this morning will be to an archeological site in the area roughly 8 miles from the meeting space (15 minutes). We will meet here to begin our day at 9am. After spending time here honoring the land and peoples before and after us, we will make our way deeper into the Great Smoky Mountains.
Our next stop for our morning activities will be at a healing, magical area in the forest where we will spend time forest bathing along a mountain stream. Here we will relax our minds and sink in deeper to our connection with ancient paths.
After our morning adventures you'll have the next ~two hours to yourself before we meet-up again. We will be just outside of Cherokee making it convenient to stop for a lunch on your own or with others from the group. You'll also have time and are encouraged to visit places from shops to museums listed on your handout from Friday or, just to sit along the river and process what you have experienced thus far. The hotel is around 8 miles away (15 minutes) from us at this point in our day.
Moving deeper into our experience, we will explore and walk along another sacred river in the area receiving the energetic benefits of going with the flow in life. We will discover the myths of this river and learn why rituals are important in our lives and how groups around the world honor the waters. We'll also listen with our hearts for the messages from the river for our world today and our lives. This path will be our easy stroll for the day, around 3 miles total.
After our river stroll we will make our way through a Cathedral Forest taking in the peace. Here we will also connect into another dimension between two worlds on a river island. Here you'll learn a moving practice to help enhance your energy field and receptivity to subtle energy shifts. We will also explore divination with stones. Our time together on day 2 will end around 7pm as the sun starts to set. You'll have the evening to yourself.
Sunday will be a potent transformative vision quest hiking day. We will meet around 9am at the designated parking lot to begin our 400 foot ascent up a mountain. The trail is just over half a mile to the top view point but it is steep in areas.
A small backpack is recommended, sunscreen, layers of clothing as the temperature changes throughout the morning good hiking shoes, and something to write with.
You'll have the opportunity to meditate on top of the mountain, receiving insights as the ancients did long ago and as people still do all over the world. We will come together to share and integrate what we feel needs expressing at this point in our weekend. You'll also have private time to journal what comes up while in this sacred space. The mountain, the elements, ancestors, and other spirit guides are with us supporting what is naturally shifting within, if we are open and allow it to change us along this walk.
At the top we will have a closing ceremony together. We will spend a good portion of the morning here, taking in the fresh air, views, insights from spirit, and contemplating our personal questions. We will also review animistic and shamanic principles and ideals from the weekend and how we can integrate them into our modern lives moving forward. We will return to the parking lot with new insights, clarity, renewed purpose, and appreciation for the Earth. Our time together will conclude around 1pm.
Check back for 2025 dates or click below to be notified.
Space is limited to 10 attendees.
Due to the places we will be visiting as well as the hiking and the personal attention I want to offer you, this is a very intimate small group experience you get!
Cancellation Policy:
If you have paid the full amount and cancel up to two weeks before the retreat start date, you will receive a full refund minus a $50 administration fee.
If you cancel within the two weeks prior, there is no refund unless I have someone on the waitlist that can go that weekend. If someone can take your place, you will receive a refund minus the $50 administration fee. There is no guarantee you will receive your investment back, but I will try to fill the spot.
*The Friday-Saturday schedule is subject to change and dependent upon weather conditions in each moment, the energy of the group, the time of year, and other factors unique to the places, people, and purpose that reveals itself during our time together. This is a shamanistic and animistic experience.
Check back for 2025 dates or click below to be notified.
In graduate school I explored and researched power mountains and healing waters of the Southern Appalachian Mountains along with the spiritual/religious activities that people were engaging with in modern times in nature.
While in that academic world, I was also studying with elders, shamans, healers, medicine men, and others along my spiritual journey. Many of which I actually met and learned from in Cherokee. (Although not all were Cherokee, several held their events here, even those from other countries.)
This retreat brings both of those worlds together to provide you with a framework for learning from the path of the mind and the path of the heart. If you want to read the dissertation click below!
I've also lived and worked in this area for a time. I SO enjoy sharing these places that are transformative with others. In fact, one mountain that we will visit during this weekend, specifically told me to bring people there when I first visited two decades ago. In 2017 I facilitated the first small group retreat here and since have guided several 1:1 walks to the top where those I took received insights, clarity on purpose, and felt more connected to themselves.
I know first hand from living here where special spots are, and what energies are present to support humanity. While honoring the mountains through cultivating a deep connection to the land and themselves, shifts in well-being and possibilities naturally unfold.
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