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learning and experiencing here.
Unless otherwise noted, programs begin at 7 pm and end at noon.
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Please note that the Christine Center does not offer either health care or psychotherapy. We offer opportunities for spiritual deepening and exploration, as well as personal restoration and peace.
The Diamond Approach to Inner Work
An Ongoing International Program
With Carol and Neal Carbon
December 12-15 (Thursday-Sunday)
The Diamond Approach is a path of spiritual realization characterized by sincere inquiry into one’s experience, fueled by the love of truth. The immediate contact with the truth of our experience allows the unfoldment of our Soul to reach increasingly deeper levels of truth. Our work includes meditations, teachings, movement, and experiential exercises. Carol and Neil Carbon are senior Diamond Approach teachers and lead groups around the country.
As a contemporary spiritual path the Diamond Approach offers
- a unique synthesis of psychological understanding and timeless spiritual wisdom.
- awareness of direct personal experience as a doorway for inner work, which can reveal intimate knowing of one’s deepest true nature.
- support for unfolding of one’s inner journey, and living in the world with freedom and maturity.
For more information and to register: Johanna Seubert at j.seubert@tds.net or 715.267.7507
Visionary Experience : Imagining Mary Magdalene
With Susanne Sklar
December 17-19 (Tuesday-Thursday)
Tuition: $150 plus meals and lodging
For centuries, Mary Magdalene was conflated with Holy Wisdom; indeed she’s still called ‘Apostle to the Apostles’ in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Erroneously labelled a prostitute in 591 AD, she remained renowned for her mysticism in medieval France. In the Gnostic Gospels she outshines other apostles in wisdom. But the heart of her vision in ‘The Gospel of Mary’ is lost: pages are missing! In this creative two day seminar we’ll imagine what those three missing pages might contain – based on what we know about Mary from Luke and John, and by encountering snippets of other feminine-divine visions: from Revelation, William Blake, and Teresa of Avila. We’ll paint and write some of our responses: no artistic or literary training is needed – at all.
Susanne Sklar was born in Chicago and is a member of the Cumnor Fellowship in Oxford, UK, where she teaches and writes about religion and the arts (including a recently-finished novel about Mary Magdalene). Before returning to Oxford, where she got her doctorate, Susanne taught humanities and theatre in Russia, China and Sweden, as well as at Northwestern University, Carthage College, and Shimer College in the U.S. She’s written many academic publications and has also worked as a peace researcher/activist, an actress, a social worker, and a cowmaid.
Soul-tending, Dream-listening: Welcoming 2020!
December 27-January 1 (Friday through Wednesday)
with Sister Gabriele Uhlein, OSF, PsyD. and Sister Marge Zulaski, OSF, PsyD.
Tuition: Sliding scale $150 -$300, plus meals and lodging
Our New Year’s retreat:
Wrap yourself in Winter’s stillness. 6 days and 5 nights to restore and hearten soul amid the challenge of our times. Join in the signature Christine Center rhythm of meditation. Experience daily offerings of reflection and conscious conversation to bless and release 2019. Let our snow-clad woodland and luminous night sky inspire you.
On New Year’s Eve there is a splendid candlelight ritual to welcome 2020, followed by a festive social. New Year’s morning features a celebration of intention and blessing for the year ahead.
Let stillness call you! Come for the days you can! Begin your new year with poise and great grace. Bring a friend.
Winter Wisdom Retreat
Begin your year with deep listening, learn how to build bridges instead of walls, and connect with your Reason for Being
January 2-5 (Thursday through Sunday)
With Honored Guest & Guide Leticia Seibel, Kali Higgins, Christin Ament & Kyia Downing (pictured left to right, top to bottom)
Tuition: $275 plus meals and lodging
This retreat supports restoration and renewal and holds space for the quiet insight that Winter season offers when we listen. Not your average yoga and meditation retreat, from start to finish we embody moving through each day as ceremony through intentional being practices that draw from the wisdom of the season, our bodies, dreams, and more!
Retreat Practices Include: Morning Dream Circle, Evening Truthspeaking Conversation, Daily Yoga & Meditation Practices, Daily Tea Ceremony, Soundbathing, Forestbathing, Sauna Practice, Fire Circle, and More!
A full, tentative weekend retreat “schedule” or flow will be provided in a welcome email as we get closer to the date.
See Full Description. View registration details
Peace in Every Breath
January 9-10 (11am Thursday-11am Friday)
with Tracy Chipman – MA, CYT, AYS
Tuition: $95, plus lodging and meals
Being mindful, we create space for shifting our experiences, expanding our awareness, and opening to life. In this workshop, we explore our breath and our embodied presence as tools for wholeness, acceptance and joy. We’ll make space for each moment, populating our experience with calm and balance. This program will include various meditation techniques, (loving kindness, walking & seated meditations) gentle movement/stretching, and Yoga Nidra, a form of deep, restful yogic sleep.
Also in the program will be circle sharing, dialogue, and time to immerse in the peace and stillness of nature, around the beautiful Christine Center grounds.
Birthing Your Own Vision
January 10-12, 2019 (Friday through Sunday)
This is a unique offering by Christine Center and facilitator/host Beth Turner to join us (her) for Birthing Your Own Vision–a retreat in three parts.
Tuition: $500, plus meals and lodging (this includes both January and March weekends as well as the living bridges nine week interim)
Early Bird Special: Register by December 15 for $450 tuition, plus meals and lodging. Attend only January retreat: $200, plus meals and lodging (Early bird before December 15th: $175). Add Living bridges: $100
You carry life.
There is something within you; a poem, book, expression, a hope the world needs to hear and see. This is your invitation to come away. Amend the soil of your heart and soul. Prepare them to receive the seeds of renewed dreams.
Jan 10-12: This genesis of the retreat holds you in the palm of winter, a safe and quiet place to remove the debris of life; unforgiveness, vows, agreements and judgments against ourselves,
others and God. Times of being silent, reflecting, praying and journaling make up this first retreat plus space to share and connect with others. This is a deep, rich work. A gift of time and
space to prepare for a new season. A sacred way of preparing to conceive, carry and manifest your calling and expression on the Earth.
Living Bridges: Is a nine-week option to stay connected to Beth and others while you care and feed the soil of your soul.
March 20-21-22: Is your “Let there be…!” time. Please come prepared to connect deeply with yourself and God. And to celebrate in every phase!
View full description of this three part retreat experience
**While it would be most fruitful to gather for both retreats and Living Bridges, you can opt for just one retreat. They are designed as stand alone opportunities.**
Sufi Dervish Whirling Dance and Meditation
with Meera Ekin (view bio)
January 20-22 (Monday through Wednesday)
Tuition: $200, plus meals and lodging
Sufi is a Mystic path; the ancient wisdom of the heart, and the path of love born from that wisdom. This group engages in meditative processes using different methods–rhythm, breath, music, dance, voice, sound, poetry–to enter a state of emptiness.
Zikr is Sufi way of chanting. “Zikr” (Remembrance), an essential Sufi method, will bring us in touch with different layers of our being. Its waves will deepen and expand the different qualities of human consciousness and take us to the silent lake of our being.
Dervish whirling is a Sufi centering dance. Whirling symbolizes and represents man’s unity with the cosmos; it is a movement where we dissolve ourselves with a world that cannot be understood with our mind… it has to be felt with the heart.
This gathering is a process of emptying ourselves, a process and atmosphere where love and wildness flower into meditation. This Sufi group will be a deep immersion into our inner world, an exploration of the love and wisdom we all carry in our being. A Remembrance of the joyful song and luminous silence of existence.
“By knowing the mysteries of our own heart, we begin to resonate with the mysteries of existence”.
Living Compass: Outfitting for the Journey
Julia Gray, Facilitator – Community Wellness Advocate
January 22- 24, (Wednesday through Friday)
Tuition: $150, plus meals and lodging
The word wholeness comes from the same root as holy and holiness. As Christians, whole-person wellness means that we are called to seek wholeness in all aspects of our lives. We do this by allowing God and our faith to be our compass in all dimensions of our well-being.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind. ~ Luke 10:27, Deuteronomy 6:5
The greatest wisdom we have learned from the field of whole-person wellness is that each dimension of our being is interconnected, meaning that each area affects the other. The whole is truly greater than the sum of the parts, and we are wise to integrate and support all dimensions of our being as we seek to be well and whole.
Join us as we start our Journey into wholeness this January. This workshop includes facilitated conversations, NEXT step goal setting, and a workbook for accountability & tracking.
Intuitive Painting
January 23-26 (Thursday-Sunday)
Daily 10:00 am – 5:00 pm (Commuters welcome!)
With S. Gabriele Uhlein, OSF, PhD
Tuition: $60 a day / $30 for half days (all materials included), plus meals and lodging.
Commuters: bring a bag lunch or purchase a delicious vegetarian meal for $16.
Brush, paper! GO! Large sheets of vellum paper and 24 open paint pots of gorgeous colors await! Experience a fun and supportive community of happy painters. (Come with friend!) No previous art skill is required; bring a sense of play, adventure and openness.
Each day includes two studio sessions with S. Gabe and an evening optional conversation circle. If you have ever felt blocked and uninspired, these days are the perfect remedy!
Painting from intuition brings freedom and restores creative zest. Dare to enter a marvelous “judgement-free zone” for discovering possibilities and breaking through limiting blocks old patterns that can invigorate all aspects of life. Just wait till you see the studio walls!
Tao In Winter: The Deep Wisdom of The Tao Te Ching
With Ron Moor, student of the Tao for over 25 years, healer, teacher, minister and spiritual guide.
January 24-26
Tuition: $150, plus meals and lodging
In the pristine environs of The Christine Center, in the depth of winter, in the crisp stillness and silence, the Natural Way of Tao will find us. These 81 sayings, dating to 2,500 years ago in ancient China, arose from humanities long communion with creation. It is the way of harmony with all that is. In shared readings, in discussion, in meditation and in ceremony, we will touch into the Mystery.
In the chaos and challenge of our time, this Way of ancient wisdom speaks to us, profoundly. The Tao tells us of our deep, authentic self, of who we are under the layering of culture. It offers us a path, a way out of the dire complexities we have collectively created.
Mandala Retreat
January 30-February 2 (Thursday to Sunday)
With Gabriele Uhlein, OSF, PhD
Tuition: $40 a day, plus meals and lodging and a one-time $15 materials fee. ½ days are $20; evenings are free.
Commuters are welcome: bring a bag lunch or purchase a lovely vegetarian meal for $16.
Take the opportunity to relax, refresh and reflect as your hands create circles of beauty and light. Especially enjoy working on black paper with luminous artist-grade colored pencils. No previous art experience is necessary and all materials are provided. It is a time to come home to yourself and to Spirit.
Guided by your heart and your natural creativity let’s play together and pray together: creating beauty for ourselves, those we love, and the good of the whole world!
Learn More. View registration details
The Joy of Movement
January 31 through February 2 (Friday to Sunday)
with Bill Miller (view bio) “Bill has been featured in Wisconsin Parkinson Magazine, Issue no. 101/2019 and was recently featured in an extensive news article titled, Never Retiring, found in many USA Today Network newspapers.”
Tuition: $150, plus meals and lodging
Finding strength and balance in life, both physically and emotionally, can be challenging for all of us. Finding a weekend retreat that addresses strength and physical and emotional balance may be just what you need! Those who might benefit from this retreat include younger people, older people, people with MS, Parkinson’s or other movement disorders; all looking for a gentle but effective approach to improving their physical and emotional well-being.
This retreat will take practitioners through a series of simple strength and balance exercises, yoga with simple breath practices and meditation techniques. The strength and balance exercises will be done using body weight only with no need for strength training equipment. The yoga practices are simple and easily adapted to fit the needs of each practitioner. Yoga practices will include postures that may, when combined with simple breath techniques, create a calming effect or an energizing effect. If you are able to sit down on the floor and get up off the floor, either
unassisted or using a chair, this retreat might be just for you! But wait! Bill can inject some humor into his teaching so come prepared for a little laughter.
Bill has been a great friend of the Christine Center, donating many hours on the building and upkeep of the trails as well as offering programs with us for several years. A dear friend of Sr. Cecy and all of us, we are so delighted to welcome him back for this new offering!
The Diamond Approach to Inner Work
An Ongoing International Program
With Carol and Neal Carbon
March 5-8 (Thursday-Sunday)
The Diamond Approach is a path of spiritual realization characterized by sincere inquiry into one’s experience, fueled by the love of truth. The immediate contact with the truth of our experience allows the unfoldment of our Soul to reach increasingly deeper levels of truth. Our work includes meditations, teachings, movement, and experiential exercises. Carol and Neil Carbon are senior Diamond Approach teachers and lead groups around the country.
As a contemporary spiritual path the Diamond Approach offers
- a unique synthesis of psychological understanding and timeless spiritual wisdom.
- awareness of direct personal experience as a doorway for inner work, which can reveal intimate knowing of one’s deepest true nature.
- support for unfolding of one’s inner journey, and living in the world with freedom and maturity.
For more information and to register: Johanna Seubert at j.seubert@tds.net or 715.267.7507
BREATHE with Life! An invitation to PAUSE.
March 8-10, 2019 (Sunday through Tuesday)
With Julia Gray
Tuition: $99 plus meals and lodging
Sunday evening – unstructured; program begins Monday at 9am – Tuesday 2p
Please bring your own creative materials; journal, art book, knitting, etc.
You are invited into this Holy Season of Advent. A time of patience and waiting for the birth of Jesus; a liminal space that holds the sacredness
of the season and the commercialism of the holiday. Like many unknown times of transitions, the birth of something new can be exhilarating and exhaustive.
In this human experience, there is a continual dance between the unknown and our (w)HOLINESS. This cycles in the space between what’s known and where the Mystery of Spirit, the Grace of God, occurs. It is the ebb & flow
of Life!
BREATHE WITH LIFE!
Intuitive Painting
March19-22 (Thursday-Sunday)
Daily 10:00 am – 5:00 pm (Commuters welcome!)
With S. Gabriele Uhlein, OSF, PhD
Tuition: $60 a day / $30 for half days (all materials included), plus meals and lodging.
Commuters: bring a bag lunch or purchase a delicious vegetarian meal for $16.
Brush, paper! GO! Large sheets of vellum paper and 24 open paint pots of gorgeous colors await! Experience a fun and supportive community of happy painters. (Come with friend!) No previous art skill is required; bring a sense of play, adventure and openness.
Each day includes two studio sessions with S. Gabe and an evening optional conversation circle. If you have ever felt blocked and uninspired, these days are the perfect remedy!
Painting from intuition brings freedom and restores creative zest. Dare to enter a marvelous “judgement-free zone” for discovering possibilities and breaking through limiting blocks old patterns that can invigorate all aspects of life. Just wait till you see the studio walls!
Birthing Your Own Vision
March 20-22, 2020 (Friday through Sunday)
This is a unique offering by Christine Center and facilitator/host Beth Turner to join us (her) for Birthing Your Own Vision–a retreat in three parts.
Tuition: $200, plus meals and lodging (early bird registration before March 1: $175
You carry life.
There is something within you; a poem, book, expression, a hope the world needs to hear and see. This is your invitation to come away. Amend the soil of your heart and soul. Prepare them to receive the seeds of renewed dreams.
March 20-22: “Let there be…!”. Birthing Your Own Vision moves through seven phases of declaring, setting aside and properly aligning your dream/purpose so that it will manifest in full, at the right time, in the right season. Journaling, creative expressing and reflecting will make up much of this retreat time. Do note the life of this sacred time will come from within you, from the experience and encounters and less so from the material and mechanics of the retreat itself. Please come prepared to connect deeply with yourself and God. And to celebrate in every phase!
View description of this three part retreat experience
**While it would be most fruitful to gather for both retreats and Living Bridges, you can opt for just one retreat. They are designed as stand alone opportunities.**
Peace in Every Breath
March 26-27 (11am Thursday-11am Friday)
with Tracy Chipman – MA, CYT, AYS
Tuition: $95, plus lodging and meals
Being mindful, we create space for shifting our experiences, expanding our awareness, and opening to life. In this workshop, we explore our breath and our embodied presence as tools for wholeness, acceptance and joy. We’ll make space for each moment, populating our experience with calm and balance. This program will include various meditation techniques, (loving kindness, walking & seated meditations) gentle movement/stretching, and Yoga Nidra, a form of deep, restful yogic sleep.
Also in the program will be circle sharing, dialogue, and time to immerse in the peace and stillness of nature, around the beautiful Christine Center grounds.
We would love for you to experience what so many here have shared…
“The staff has been incredibly kind. Everyone has gone out of their way to be of service. I could not ask for a more loving environment.” David B.
“The staff were so warm and welcoming. I felt completely comfortable right away.” Judy M.
“The energy at the Center is so calm, soothing, and peaceful. Everyone is so kind and helpful. I felt safe and cared for by ALL the staff.” Laurie R.
“The staff was so helpful and friendly. They took care of my special diet with excellence.” Spruce K.