I am excited about the retreat that I am developing with Christian de la Huerta, Karen Chrappa and the staff of Feathered Pipe Ranch –Waking the Open-hearted Warrior: Empowerment Camp, June 16 – 22. I feel this work captures the spirit of our times and will provide an arena for us to open to skills and powers urgently needed at this time.

The idea of an empowerment camp for the open-hearted warrior may seem contradictory to some. I hope it does. Aren’t we living in times that seem and feel contradictory? We have such advanced technology, yet so many of us are hungry. We have mass media, internet and other convenient ways to communicate with anyone on the planet. Yet  emotional, social and spiritual isolation and separation has reached epidemic proportions.

The energy towards polarity is so strong. It is very difficult these days to have a conversation and not be forced to take a side or classify others in a disempowering and distancing way: right vs. wrong, good vs. bad, victim vs. perpetrator, left vs. right, 1% vs. 99%, … and the list goes on and on. We suffer and watch others suffer, and we don’t seem to be able to alleviate this in a clear, efficient way.

In order to successfully arm ourselves with the appropriate strength, courage, wisdom and skill to address the prevailing state of apathy, fear, confusion and cynicism, we must use the metaphors of the warrior and the martial artist to activate the power of love, compassion, understanding, respect and inclusiveness. To overcome the polarity, we need to tap into and harness the ancient innate energies within each one of us and within the universe, and convert it into a modern system that resonates with now.

These skills must be learned and practiced. We all have some level of knowledge of these principles, but until we master them, we will not have the impact we would like to achieve – stepping into our role as powerful, open-hearted, responsible citizens of this planet who use common sense and collaboration to introduce new and creative solutions for our current personal and global problems. This requires a training that offers a clear and comprehensive tools that can be mastered over time.

During our retreat together, you will be lead through a basic training that will empower you with the core philosophies and practices of Respectful Confrontation, advanced breathwork practices and rituals which deepen our relationship to the Earth. We will lead you as a group through a journey of self-discovery, stepping closer and closer to a clear awareness of who you are as unique powerful, open-hearted beings.

Christian will guide you through a series of advanced breathwork practices based within his Mastery of Breath system, as a way to gain deeper insight into yourself, your relationship with others and the Earth, stripping away layers to reveal your Soulful Power, a concept Christian is currently writing a book on. Karen, a modern-day medicine woman, will remind us of our relationship with the Earth and our obligation to honor its gifts through various traditional rituals. And I will arm and empower you with concrete tools and skills that can be mastered to help each of us navigate the high-paced lifestyle we lead and still maintain a sense of connection with self and our highest purpose.

And of course, the most significant member of this dynamic and diverse group is the Feathered Pipe Ranch, itself. We will spend time connecting with the sacred energies of the land to deepen our abilities to listen to the wise signals that are always offered to us. Taking advantage of both the Summer Solstice and the new moon which occur during the week of the retreat, we will lead rituals on the land, including time within an ancient cave used by Native American shamans, as a way to deepen our sense of personal power and alignment with nature. This is a great way to celebrate our highest and brightest selves, be witnessed by others in a loving community and walk away clear, empowered, supported and ready to embrace all that our current times have to offer us.

I hope you will be there to share in this experience.