Last weekend we hosted 30 women into a beautiful house that seemed to be full of energy. It was rustic, beautiful and tucked into the quite countryside of Vancouver Island. As I typed away in the bedroom while the Sacred Surrogacy team was prepping for the weekends events, I stopped and realized how truly beautiful it is to host these retreats.
Yes, our retreats are fun, full of laughter and we can often find a great spot to go skinny dipping...there is so much more to our events. Something that is hard to put into words. The phrase that jumps out to me to sum up the feeling or vibe of our events is:
'I am sacred'
What does this mean? Well Webster's dictionary defines it like this:
sa·cred ˈsākrəd/ adjective 1. connected with God (or the gods) or dedicated to a religious purpose and so deserving veneration. 'sacred rites' 2. synonyms: 3. holy, hallowed, blessed, consecrated, sanctified, venerated, revered; archaic blest 'the priest entered the sacred place'
When I looked this up, I paused because I strive so hard for our events to be non-religious. Free of discrimination toward any religious beliefs or non-beliefs. So that everyone who attends feels heard and respected.
But sacred is so much more than the above. It is a moment in time where you pause in silence. And stop doing. In a world of iPhone, Netflix and busy life, there is something special about stepping outside of this lifestyle and taking the day to focus on you and how to be a better version of yourself.
At this retreat we tried something new. An activity where you read a phrase off a card to a women you were paired with. And told her your honest answer. One of them was, 'If you really knew me, you'd know I'm afraid of__________, because of_______'. Within minutes the room was full of tears. The women were stepping out of their comfort zone and being raw, truthful and honest with each other. The phrase 'I am sacred' popped into my head as I watched on. Their ability to be raw and truthful was empowering. It was sacred.
As the day went on we welcomed more 'I am sacred' moments. A time for releasing what was holding us back, a time for vision making and a time for setting intentions. Each moment was as magical as the next and each time I was again remind that I am lucky to hold space for these women as they discover that they are sacred.
An intention that was put into our salt bowl at this retreat was that Sacred Surrogacy be brought to all surrogates across the world. It was an intention set by a two time experienced surrogate and it made my heart sing. It made me truly believe that what we are doing, what we are teaching is powerful, useful and creating a tribe of women who are sacred.
Thank you to our Sacred Sisterhood for being open to our retreats and for helping to create so many 'I am sacred' moments this past weekend.
Please enjoy the rest of these photos of our Sacred Surrogacy Retreat by Jim Holland Photography
