Creativity & Focusing, With Ann Wiser Cornell
& Friends At The Mountain Home Ranch

Ann Wiser Cornell, returning longtime OPEN EXCHANGE lister, offers Creativity, Focusing, and Deep Healing.

Are old patterns keeping you from encoun-tering the present moment? Do you wish you could free yourself from what's been holding you back? Does it always have to be a struggle? Good news: It turns out that you can relax, play, be gentle with yourself, and experience remarkable transformation, a state of ease and "flow" that spreads out into the rest of your life. No, it doesn't have to be a struggle!

That's the philosophy that has led three Bay Area Focusing teachers to offer a retreat this summer called "Creativity, Focusing, and Deep Healing." Says Ann Weiser Cornell, author of The Radical Acceptance of Everything, "There is a state of deep listening to ourselves that gets past all the blocks and inner tangles. The first experience is relief. After that, people have aha! moments and begin to live in new ways."

Part of the key to all this is releasing the inner critic. Cornell says, "Self-criticism and self-consciousness hold the stuckness in place. But most people try to get rid of self-criticism by judging it in turn. 'Bad inner critic! Go away!' No wonder this doesn't work very well. What we'll do instead is show you how to be accepting toward every part of yourself. It's amazing what starts to happen when people really get this."

How does this connect to creativity? "Life itself is creative," says Christina Rex, visual artist, art teacher and developer of programs on accessing creative potential. Rex will be offering a "daily playshop" at the retreat, where participants will contact their inner creative core and let it speak through a variety of approaches including: drawing, collage, poetry, storytelling, sculpture, movement and more.

The third component of the retreat is supplied by Francesca Castaldi, dancer, dance teacher, and developer of programs in movement and healing. Castaldi will be offering movement programs throughout the workshop with topics like: "Coming to Our Senses," "Inner Momentum," "Moving and Sensing in Nature" — programs are uniquely created to enhance healing and awareness. Flexible choices allow for a retreat that fits each person's needs and rhythms. Shy people are welcome too. There is no pressure to do any exercise or activity. People often praise our workshops for how accepting we are... of everyone's way of being. Creativity needs space too.

Mountain Home Ranch is a secluded country style retreat center in the heart of California's beautiful Sonoma and Napa Valleys. They have over 300 acres of hiking trails, two swimming pools, various sleeping options, and WiFi. The retreat's flexible schedule allows time for hiking, swimming, napping, and playing. And by the way, 30 CE credits are available for MFTs and LCSWs.