UNMASKING -- A WEEKEND RETREAT OF MINDFULNESS AND ART

Posted by: Judith Toy

In the incredibly lush setting of Well Being Retreat Center in the mountains of Tennessee, bound on three sides by a river, safe within an envelope of mindfulness, up from the heart of silence, we will create ancestral masks. Sadly, our ancestral lines have been largely ignored in the West. On this newly created retreat, we will have a chance to seek and find our wild inner artist child --the mask maker! --by getting in touch with our ancestors. To that end, we will practice seated and walking meditation, indoors and out, recognize and honor our land ancestors, the Cherokee, make art, enjoy nutritious veggie meals with vegan options in yummy silence, locate our true selves within our blood and spiritual lineages, make art, wander the grounds, drum and dance, sleep like babies, journal, sketch, make art, and otherwise leisurely move through a weekend of noble silence and natural beauty.

Depending on how much time you take, you may also wish to construct a family altar. Using an abundance of art supplies from the facilitator, as well as your supplies from home--those you wish to use and some you wish to share-- we will honor noble silence most of the weekend, in order to funnel our energy into the breath, into art and journaling, drawing and mask-making--the heart of our art. Think natural, repurposed and recycled supplies--beads, feathers, dried grasses, shells, etc.

"We will let the birds and the rain give the Dharma talks," Judith promises.

On a tutorial with the renowned Peter Schumann of Bread & Puppet Theatre, Judith learned the many possibilities of working with cardboard to make masks, which she has been doing, primarily with children since 1991. As a 27-year follower of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, she will overlay this retreat with the gentle influence of the Plum Village tradition. In the Zen way, she says, we can remember that every mask is a mirror. And we can ask ourselves as we create our masks, what does it mean to unmask? Judith's book is Murder as a Call to Love, A True Story of Transformation and Forgiveness, www.murderasacalltolove.com.

It is important to note that while there is basic room and board cost-- $140 for camping up to $300 for private cabin--Judith will offer this retreat on a dana basis, or love offering.