In Ceremony with the Natural World: A Women's Deep Nature Retreat

In Ceremony with the Natural World is a women's deep nature retreat, a six-day healing retreat in northeastern New Mexico that treats the land as a living presence rather than scenery. It is led by Jan Edl Stein, MFT, eco-therapist and Director of Holos, and held at Ocamora Retreat Center near Belleville. It suits women who want to slow down, step away from news and media, and meet the natural world through contemplative practice, and it also offers an optional clinical track for therapists.

What to Expect

The retreat takes its guiding theme from the idea of a sacred bond with the natural world: a place where inner and outer landscapes reflect each other, and where awe and wonder have room to arise. The days are built around earth-based contemplative practices and guided imaginal journeys that open the senses and invite you to experience your own body as part of the earth.

Part of the retreat is spent in solo time on the land, along with a practice of mindful silence. There are also simple art and writing practices to help express what you notice and the connections you feel. No artistic skill is described as necessary.

Each morning offers an optional dreamwork practice, a way of tracking how the natural world speaks to the psyche. Participants are invited to set aside media and news for the duration, so that they can resource themselves deeply and return to everyday life clear, grounded and empowered.

The stated intention is a restoration of spirit, a renewed sense of awe and love for the natural world, and a feeling of hopefulness about the life ahead.

For clinicians and others curious about how these practices are applied in therapeutic or healing work, Jan offers optional didactic sessions. Licensees of the California BBSE can earn 8 CEU units. The retreat is an experiential module that satisfies one of the five parts of the Holos Institute EcoPsychology Certificate Program.

About Jan Edl Stein

Jan Edl Stein is a licensed marriage and family therapist and a classically trained depth psychotherapist with more than 35 years of experience. She describes her work as connecting people to their own inherent wisdom and to their place in the wide and wise natural world. Raised in a small, rural East Coast town, she says the rhythms and beauty of the natural world shaped her early and have informed her life ever since.

She studied psychology at Rutgers University and began doctoral work at the New School of Social Research. Her interest in Eastern philosophy brought her to California, where she completed her clinical studies at the University of San Francisco, with coursework at the C.G. Jung Institute of San Francisco. She also spent six years as a researcher at SRI International. She has been in private practice since 1990 and has supervised pre-licensed therapists since 1992.

The Setting

The retreat takes place at Ocamora Retreat Center in northeastern New Mexico, near Belleville. The landscape is the second teacher here, and much of the program is designed to be spent outdoors in it.

Before You Go

The retreat is offered in English. No prior experience or particular skills are specified. The dreamwork and the clinical sessions are both optional, so you can shape your time to what you need. Plan to leave news and media behind for the days you are there.