Connecting with the ground of being – A personal retreat as a business strategy

 

A retreat is often thought of in the context of a spiritual journey but it can also be a powerful tool to rekindle passion, commitment and energy in your business. In a busy schedule it’s a guaranteed way to slow down and reflect. A client of mine made it a habit to schedule a three day retreat every quarter. What an inspired thing to do.

In thinking about a retreat for myself, I pulled out one of my favorite books; Synchronicity, The Inner Path of Leadership by Joseph Jaworski. He recounts his story of creating the American Leadership Forum. He describes the ease and synchronicity that happened when he was in the flow and connected to his passion, what happened when he fell out of sync and then his journey back. He describes two forms of commitment necessary for success; the ground of action – as entrepreneurs we are very good at this one, we know how to make things happen - and the ground of being. The ground of being is about being a part of an “unfolding, generative process” – deeply connected, aware on many levels and following your bliss as Joseph Campbell would say.

One of the traps that can get us disconnected from the ground of being is the trap of overdoing. Like many entrepreneurs, I’d been doing a lot of over-doing and my ground of being was getting ground down. I was over-ripe for some down time and decided to give myself four days to slow down, re-connect and renew.  I didn’t go to a fancy retreat center (although that’s a wonderful option) – I created the experience in my home and you can too.

In many ways my retreat experience surprised me.  Part of me wanted to “do” the retreat. I had a whole list of things that required re-evaluation, decisions and direction. I originally envisioned doing values work, brainstorming and mapping out the goals for the year ahead. It isn’t that those things aren’t perfect for a retreat but they wouldn’t give me what I was most hungry for. The simple guidelines that follow helped me get what I truly needed – a reconnection to the ground of being.

 

Set clear boundaries

Boundaries are critical for an at home retreat. You need the cooperation of family and you need a special place in the home that gives you privacy. Decide what you will allow into your space and to what degree daily life and routines will be followed. For example, will you check email? Will you go grocery shopping? If you do choose to do some tasky  things – find a way to do them from an intentional, conscious retreat centered place. Life happens, even when you are on retreat. One of the things that I knew I would be doing on day two of my retreat was attending a memorial service for a dear colleague. I created around this and my focus for day two was exploring what matters. The memorial service was beautiful and it helped me simplify and deepen my personal exploration.  

Another aspect of boundaries is to create the container for the experience. When will it start each day, when will it end. What ritual will you use to enter fully into retreat mode. Will it all take place at home or will you incorporate other places. My retreat included a walk in nature each day with my husband. Once you decide, hold it lightly and trust what shows up within the retreat itself. Listen to what your soul needs and honor it. 

Declare your intention

Your retreat in many ways begins in the design phase. Clarifying what you want from it is really important. It took some sifting and reflection for me to get clear about my intention. I think in the early planning stages I wanted too many things from it and I needed to drill down to the core. I used daily journaling the week before the retreat to get clear. Questions that served me were; What do I want? What am I hungry for? What am I craving?

My intention didn’t fully crystallize until the evening before my retreat was to begin. Once you know your intention – it is important to declare it out loud. That evening my husband and I built a fire outside. It was just after thanksgiving so we offered some prayers. In the context of that I declared my intention to the universe and asked for guidance. For me, it boiled down to a very simple clear intention; to listen and to find my fire. The intention gave me a frame work to stay focused, especially when I felt the pull to “do” the retreat.

Create a sense of spaciousness

This means be judicious about the structures you impose on yourself. Structures (tools, exercises, activities etc) are wonderful and remember to let your intention dictate your choices. Give yourself plenty of time for processing and reflection. I’m fortunate to have lots of cool coaching toys and tools on hand. The number one rule I gave myself was to listen and to follow urges. Rather than structure every minute I allowed myself to be guided. This was the single most important decision I made. It opened the door for surprises, synchronicity and ultimately success. There was so much rich learning in just noticing what I was drawn to in each moment. The spaciousness allowed grace, wisdom and spiritual guidance to enter and work their magic.

Make It Your Own

I invite you to create a retreat that has your stamp on it. Let your intuition guide you. There is no wrong way to do this. You know what kind of space and practices that hold meaning for you. Trust yourself. In so much as it may serve as a catalyst for your own creative process I created a PDF of how I structured my retreat. You can download it here. Be sure and keep notes for yourself on what worked for future retreats. Consider adding retreats into your annual business planning. It is all about sustaining motivation, focus and energy in service of the big vision.

Comments

[anne]

I love the idea of a retreat in my home. My problem is that I work in my home. Getting away is sometimes essential for me. You had some great ideas! I try to have a mini retreat every morning. I never start my day without quiet time, journaling and drawing. It gets me back in touch with my inner self so I can begin my day with choice and not feel like I am being dragged into it. Thank you for your creative sharing! We creative types can always use some more ideas to get the juices flowing!

[Komuraiah]

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[Sell a business]

I went through your blog and honestly am impressed with the way you write, along with the expertise you have about the business strategy I would want to see more of your blogs.

[Unibusiness Webs]

it's blog very nice.It isn’t that those things aren’t perfect for a retreat but they wouldn’t give me what I was most hungry for. The simple guidelines that follow helped me get what I truly needed – a reconnection to the ground of being.
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