THE GREAT BEFRIENDING: A Five Day Retreat with Jeff Foster & Matt Licata

You are invited to a great befriending.... THE GREAT BEFRIENDING A Five Day Journey of Self-Love, Deep Rest... and Coming Alive. With JEFF FOSTER & MATT LICATA, PhD Plus special guest body-based mindfulness trainer KELLY BOYS SEPTEMBER 21st-26th in LOVELAND, COLORADO   "Out beyond ideas of right and wrongthere is a Field. I'll meet you there.When the soul lies down in that grassthe world is too full to talk about."- Rumi   Come sit with two authentic, playful, provocative and compassionate teachers Matt Licata (author of The Path is Everywhere) and Jeff Foster (author of The Way of Rest and The Deepest Acceptance), as they guide you into the warmth and aliveness of the present moment. Come join an open-hearted group of like-minded people in the vast holding field of the Rocky Mountains. Come let a longing heart and a weary body-mind rest, unwind and receive love in a safe, empathic, dogma-free field of presence, a place where you no longer need to fix yourself or be fixed, where you are embraced exactly as you are, and where your doubts, fears, sorrows and joys are deeply sacred, and held in the arms of Life Itself. Come explore the creative and messy place where spirituality and therapy meet, the place where our hearts can break open to receive life's gifts, the place where we are always, already are... The Present Moment. Our True Home.   “‎Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love." ― Rainer Maria Rilke     "Stop trying to fix yourself. You were never broken..." During the course of the day, you will rest in nondual spaciousness and presence with international author and spiritual teacher Jeff Foster, who will help you drop out of the mind and connect with the present moment in his own unique, heartfelt, authentic way, using words and silences, guided meditations, stories and meditative dialogues. You will also explore the alchemy of psychological and emotional integration with experienced psychotherapist and author Matt Licata, PhD, who will guide you into the mysteries of the heart with playfulness and compassion. Prior to the evening session, you will enjoy body-based mindfulness practices with author and mindfulness trainer, Kelly Boys, who will help you connect with your body in a light-hearted and gentle yet profound way.  In the evening there will usually be a dialogue on stage between Matt and Jeff, where they will explore the ground of a loving, embodied, nondual presence – the place where spirituality and therapy meet, the Home we never left - and how the divine expresses itself in the chaotic, sweet, glorious, sacred mess of our ordinary lives! With humour, lightness, insight, and compassion, Jeff and Matt will make spirituality simple, reachable, and human again, questioning and exposing outdated myths of spiritual enlightenment and the journey of healing along the way! You will be invited to a place of deep inner stillness... and a deep embrace of your vulnerable humanness. "Your pain, your sorrow, your doubts, your longings, your fearful thoughts: they are not mistakes, and they aren't asking to be 'healed'. They are asking to be held. Here, now, lightly, in the loving, healing arms of present awareness..." - Jeff Foster  Our retreat center, Sunrise Ranch, has been referred to as a "womb with a view", because of the nurturing atmosphere that permeates this peaceful valley in the foothills of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Spacious landscapes, intimate communion with wildlife and fifty years of organic land stewardship makes Sunrise Ranch one of the most unique retreat settings in North America. A sense of safety, respect and peace permeates the very palpable atmosphere in this place. The deer in the field at dusk or the red-tailed hawk overhead seem to confirm this sense of ease... In the space between meetings, you are free to walk, rest and play in the holding field of the Rocky Mountains, and enjoy delicious and nourishing food prepared by expert chefs, using ingredients grown locally using sustainable methods... and served with love! You may spend time alone and in silence, or connect and share with your community of fellow retreatants... however your heart guides you. And there will be music, poetry, dance, and much laughter, friendship, silence and tears along the way.... With over five hours of teaching, support, and guidance each day, this retreat is open to anyone who is ready to discover their true nature and explore how this realization might infuse their daily life. From beginners to advanced meditators, from therapists to artists, businesspeople, healers and everyone in-between, if you have an interest in spirituality and healing, mindfulness, meditation, self-compassion, or you just long to live a life of rest, presence, grace, and creativity, we would love to meet you, here in the Heart. “The aliveness we long for will never be found by eliminating the unwanted, but in embodied attunement to the love and information it carries.” - Matt Licata   "The wound is the place where the Light enters you." - Rumi   KELLY BOYS, OUR SOMATIC-BASED MINDFULNESS TRAINER Kelly's teaching is rooted in a nondual understanding and her approach is somatically based, trauma-sensitive and informed by neuroscience.   BEAUTIFUL SUNRISE RANCH Holistically managed, staffed by a committed community in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, Sunrise Ranch has been caring for people for more than 70 years.   TYPICAL GUEST ROOM AT SUNRISE A variety of sparkling-clean accommodations are available just a one- or two-minute walk from meeting rooms, dining and hiking trails. All rooms were remodelled in the Spring of 2016 and are uniquely decorated to give you a sense of being in a family home...     "Sometimes in doing nothingeverything is undone,and Love is revealed to bethe only true medicine." - Matt Licata and Jeff Foster     INFORMATION ON THE RETREAT - PLEASE READ! SAMPLE SCHEDULE The schedule is subject to change at any moment, but in order to give you a very rough idea of how the days may flow, we have provided a sample schedule below: 10:00am to 11.30am Guided meditation/talk/Q&A with Jeff OR Matt (solo teaching session) 1:30pm to 3:00pm Guided meditation/talk/Q&A with Matt OR Jeff (solo teaching session) 3.30pm to 5:00pm Mindfulness/dance/integration session with Kelly Boys 7:30pm to 9:00pm Guided meditation/talk/Q&A with Matt & Jeff (together on stage!).   HOW TO REGISTER - IMPORTANT! Please note that there are two registration processes required to attend the retreat... (1) Please register and pay here at Eventbrite for tuition. (2) In addition, you must also register directly with Sunrise Ranch, for accomodations and food, even if you plan to stay off campus. To complete this second phase of registration, where you will select and pay for accommodations, please visit the retreat's Sunrise Ranch registration page >>> here.