Sacred Groves

Last week-end we had three events here in the Groves: our monthly Wailing Lodge, an introduction to the Earth Mothers Circle, and the first Sunday morning meditation and brunch. As a result of the wonderful people that showed up to be part of these, I feel awash in a sense of success and validation for the work we offer here in the Groves.

The Wailing Lodge had record attendance, swollen by the participation from a group of people came from the Woodinville area who are studying grief as part of a year-long program. Attending our Wailing Lodge was a ‘field trip’ of sorts. There were several others there as well, 18 of us all together; the time together was powerful and healing, as usual.

The Introduction to the Earth Mothers Circle was heart-warming. The 2009 group is shaping up with a combination of women continuing from last year and newcomers too. As usual, sitting in circle singing, sharing, listening to stories about the 13 Indigenous Grandmothers & the 13 Original Clan Mothers inspires to deeper connection with the earth and with each other.

The first Sunday morning meditation, followed by a discussion of “A New Earth” was attended by many Groves-mates (those of us who live here) and a handful of others despite the early hour (8am). The guided visualizations and body-awareness practices proved to be very helpful for settling the mind. Our discussion afterwards about ‘the voice in the head’ was thought-provoking and heart-sharing. Then we shared a delicious brunch together. Thank you Tere as usual for another wonderful meal, full of love and goodness!

This upcoming week-end is the Women of Wisdom conference in Seattle where I’ll be singing (prior to Starhawk’s Thursday evening presentation), then spending a full day with Starhawk and another full day with Ubaka Hill! Meanwhile, back in the Groves, there will be a sweatlodge facilitated by Kendra. Life is FULL as spring begins to stir. Blessed be!

Spring is stirring–we can feel it, we can feel it! Already the days are a bit longer and the daybreak comes a little earlier.

January was a wonderful month here in the Groves–many new faces and many familiar faces coming back to join us again. We began the year with a sweatlodge for men and women and ended the month with a women’s sweatlodge–both drew about 13 people, went deep, created a healing container for releasing the past and stepping into this new year with vigor! That combined with the inauguration of our new president–we’re feeling the collective optimist despite the current challenges. We know that to express gratitude for the many gifts of our lives on Earth brings in more to be grateful for and we’re living in “The Whirling Rainbow Dream” here in the Groves.

The 2009 Earth Mothers Circle is constellating, drawing many new women and some continuing from past years. I’m hosting another Introduction to the group on Saturday Feb 7th, noon-2:30pm. The 2009 Women’s Mysteries School is slowly taking shape in my mind’s eye and on this website as I weave gloriously beautiful threads together from women’s work here and across the globe.

Next Sunday, February 8th–8a.m.–I’ll be hosting a Sunday morning meditation that will include seated meditation, slow walking and stretching, all with guided visualization that helps cultivate subtle body-awareness and greater presence. I’ve been a big fan of Eckhardt Tolle’s since reading “Power of Now” many years ago and finally dove into “A New Earth.” After the success of the book on Oprah, I am deeply heartened to know that so many Americans and others around the world are inspired by his work. He has made Buddhist teachings so much more accessible I do believe. I will be sharing the meditation practices that have helped me settle my busy chatter-brain, a combination of quiet sitting, walking, movement, maybe even a little song and dance! For those who want to stay, we’ll be talking about “A New Earth” afterwards while brunch is being cooked up and we’ll continue chatting through breakfast. Please join us!

The Groves is a place that is promoting ways to help us crazy human beings move into a higher level of consciousness–that’s what the world needs right now! The combination of this sacred land and the variety of wonderful ways to deepen with spirit make this place unique, but it is one of many places where “A New Earth” is being co-created. Do come be a part of it!

The New Year began in a wonderful way here in the Groves with 2 different sweatlodges over the 4 day week-end, a DrumJourneys Healing Dance on Friday evening (Jan 2), and 2 different women’s groups here Saturday and Sunday, one at the Round House and another at the Moonlodge with Kendra. The good energy coming into the Groves with such joyous, deep and heart-opening events is setting us off in a great way for this new year. We feel confident that the year will continue to bring in abundance.

In 2009 Therese and Kendra will continue to offer a once a month Wailing Lodge Ritual. Therese will continue offering a monthly women’s group, the Earth Mothers Circle. In addition, Therese will facilitate a monthly Compassionate Listening Practice Group and Sunday morning Meditation, and most months a drumming event of some kind. In addition to these regular offerings there will be many special events. We look forward to having more wonderful guests come visit!

Check the calendar for the latest and greatest dates and times of events.

What an amazing and wonderful summer we have had here at the Groves, starting with our sweet Summer Solstice Ritual and the Sacred Fool Festival. In addition to our usual events (sweatlodge, wailing lodge, drum circles and dances, women’s ceremonies and circles) we hosted some wonderful retreats: a Buddhist meditation Retreat with Sandy Boucher, a women’s drumming week-end with Simone LaDrumma, Spirit Quest in the woods, Kendra Thornbury’s Delighting in the Diva workshop, and the Sacred Fire Choir’s annual fall retreat.  Several women reserved the Moonlodge for little personal retreats too. In short, many wonderful people blessed the land with their prayers, their songs, their silence, their joy and playfulness. We feel the Groves flowing in a river of abundance and love!

Our newly constellating Intentional Community welcomed several new residents:  Cristie Thurman Grogger and her two children Dusty and Miranda, Kristi Tonti, Dennis Kuntz, Kelly and Jason Yust.  It’s been a FULL summer as we’ve figured out our decision-making process (consensus of course!) for food-buying, household chores and other practical matters.  We even did a mini-training in NVC (non-violent communication) to support open communication with eachother.  We’re all enjoying the joy and support of community living immensely, despite the intensity of the learning curve as we learn to live in proximity without getting overwhelmed by all the residents AND dozens of short-time guests too.

Change is afoot as the season shifts to autumn.  Jason got a last-minute job offer at University of Alabama so we barely said hello to him before he left.  His wife Kelly lingered for a couple months but now she’s heading off to join him, opening up one of the yurtlettes.  And our dear Maggy Hollander is moving on this month too, back to the big city where so many exciting things are happening!  Shift happens, as usual.  We trust that another new resident or two is just around the corner.

Our new Round House continues to be a delight to live in and share.  Tere and I continue to be awed by the miracle that WE DID IT, we built this amazing and beautiful round home that engenders a sacred energy in our life here and welcomes people in so lovingly.  The stress of house-building is slowly easing up as we have finished up the last of the interior rooms, the Guest Bedroom.  Today Tere is finishing up the new woodshed so we can get the firewood under cover before the rains really settle in.  We are gearing down, hoping to get out for more hiking and camping in the wilderness during this, the season of both our birthdays.

Many wonderful events coming up this Autumn as we settle in more and see how wonderfully our new home works for both residents and guests.  Thanks to all of you who have brought your good wishes and contributions to the Groves these past months–we’re feelin’ the LOVE!

Summer weather has blessed the land with warmth and sunshine and we’ve been laughing and playing outdoors just like people are meant to do during the good ole’ summertime! The “0″th Annual Sacred Fool Festival happened over 4th of July week-end which was the best kind of kick-off for a silly and light hearted season of fun and play. There were about 10 children here running through the woods, playing in the meadow sprinkler and showing a dozen adults how to have a REALLY good time!

This summer has a full schedule for both our newly expanding Intentional Community and Sacred Groves events. In the month of July, 6 new Groves-mates will be settling into their new homes here. And we have a full calendar of fun (and more serious) events, ceremonies, celebrations. This is a summer to celebrate the completion of our new Round House and the new chapter of life at Sacred Groves. …..Do come visit!

Seattle cartoonist Ellen Forney recently spent a week on a writer’s retreat at Sacred Groves, working a book proposal. To read more about her magical time at the Groves, click the photo below.

The Groves are wonderful to getting those creative juices flowing! If you’d like to book your own creative retreat at Sacred Groves, Contact Therese.

Summer has begun and a mama deer and her two fawns are grazing on the lush native plants around the field by our new Round House. We called summer in on June 15th with drumming, good food, circle songs, dances and story in the meadow. We’ve got many wonderful events happening here this summer–Sacred Fool Festival, sweatlodge, DrumJourneys Dance, Women’s Meditation Retreat with Sandy Boucher, Women’s Drumming week-end with Simone La Drumma, Spirit Quests in the woods. Click here. to read more about these events. In addition, our monthly Women’s Moon Ceremony, Wailing Lodge Ritual and Drum Circle keep happening, Check out the calendar. for upcoming events and sign up for our e-mails, which keep you posted about what’s happening here.

At long last, the Round House has truly become our new HOME and heart of the community. The kitchen is fully functional. The sweet round dining table has been moved over from the Log House and already we’ve had several delightful dinners around it with many ‘beloveds,’ family and friends of Sacred Groves. The Great Room feels wonderfully cozy despite its ‘Great-ness.’ The grounds are sprouting green all over as the seeds we’ve been planting over the past couple of months begin to sprout (despite our cold spring). We purchased several ‘edible plants’ from permaculture specialist (and dear friend) Chuck Estin and they are slowly getting settled into the dirt. The place is beginning to feel lived in and loved. We are thoroughly delighted! The most recent thing to be completed was the ‘finishing’ of the floor of the Great Room. It looks unexpectedly BEAUTIFUL! This floor is amazing in that it is GREEN to the max, salvaged and thrice-used. We bought it recycled from a demolished warehouse in downtown Seattle, used it to build the forms for the foundation, de-constructed it after the concrete dried, and then used it for flooring in the Great Room. The use of the product “Osmo” bought from EcoHaus (thank you Van Calvez) was a good choice, bringing out an unexpected amount of color and texture in the wood. Tere has also been busy finishing the laundry room and second bathroom, and one of the yurtlettes. Of course there are still dozens of other little things to finish up, but we’re gettin’ there–one task at a time. This week Tere has flown to California to visit her folks and build them some steps and hand-rails on their back porch–such a devoted daughter she is! The next really important task at hand is calling-in the PERFECT people to share this beautiful land with us. The log house is nearly empty now after weeks of slow sorting-out, moving and cleaning. We’ve been getting it ready for a couple or small family who will fall in love with its charming sweetness, fall in love with the land here, and all of us currently living here– and want to move in and make it their new home. We’re eagerly awaiting their arrival, whoever they are! And we plan to get one of the yurtlettes ‘tricked out’ in such a way that it attracts a new resident too–also someone who falls in love with our scene here, the round house and cabins, the land and those of us living here. We’ve created such a special community on this sweet little dead-end lane, deep in the forest, surrounded by birds, deer and other wild creatures. We just KNOW there are people out there who will find this place ‘heaven on earth’ just as we do. We look forward to meeting them!

Phew!!! We did it!!! We passed the electrical final inspection!! yes- it WAS a big deal – because it’s the last hurdle before the City of Bainbridge Island can issue us a Certificate of Completion ( OK – there’s the septic system certification in the pipeline that COBI also needs – but I don’t have anything to do with that at this stage). So – whether or not we’ll get the COC before I go to Costa Rica next week is a moot point. The real point is that now we can relax – this phase of the push is over!!!(check out the latest pics ) We embarked on this electrical work in October – and we’ve valiantly blundered forward ( with the requisite several steps backward at each lurch) from drilling holes in the studs ( thank you Sarah!) to pulling the wires – often several times ( thank you Sarah!), to pulling the big main wires through the conduits ( Thank you Sarah and Teagan and Carol and Jodie and Robert and Dennis K), to installing breakers at the panel ( many thanks to Carol and Dennis K and Annie) , to installing outlets and switches ( thanks to Carol, Jodie, Teagan, Sarah, Dennis K, Annie), to firing up the main panel ( thank you Dennis and Annie) and getting the yurtlette panels hot and functioning ( thank you Annie) – and the many hours and many gray hairs that pushed their way out of my head as I struggled with the spaghetti of wires pushing their way out of the many many three and four way switches ( what was I thinking?!!). Anyway – our 5 month apprenticeship is OVER!!( the only difference between me and someone who’s gone thru the entire 5 year apprenticeship program is that they understand what they’re doing….). Have you noticed a theme in this tale….that Sarah has had a hand in just about every stage of this house building. And she’s turning into quite the kick-ass carpenter!! She’s already garnered several offers from other builders. Her humor, can-do attitude ( and ‘attitude’), willingness to jump in to any project, desire to learn, and generally being a good sport and good egg have made it a pleasure to come to work every day, and made her an indispensable part of this home!!! Sarah – you rock!!!

Carol and Jodie came over last Friday and we kicked some electrical butt!!! Dennis K joined us as the five of us pulled the main power wires all the way under the crawl space and up into the panel – in conduit all the way! As if that wasn’t enough – Carol balanced the breaker layout in the panel and set Jodie on the fast-track to installing receptacles! The two bedrooms are properly ‘receptacled’!!! As soon as we get power into the house – we’ll have electricity coming out of the walls – instead of the miles of extension cords running everywhere! And Tonia brought her smiles and good cheer to chip away at a lonely and cold task: caulking the exterior joints between the rafters and siding/soffits. It can be a thankless and miserable and messy job – Tonia made it look effortless and fun! I provided buckets of thanks and gratitude! all right – we’re on a roll now! After a few days of cutting the v-groove shiplap that Jeff brought over a few weeks ago – Sarah and Teagan began the installation process. And what a process it is!! There are several complicating factors hindering our flow ( the fact that the boards are different widths, the fact that the boards are recycled and some of them are QUITE splintery, the fact that none of us has ever installed beat-up material on walls before – etc) – but we think we’ve worked the kinks out in the kitchen – and we expect to find our stride as we make our way to the other rooms. However – we ARE running out of this v-groove shiplap that came off of a granary in Montana. And while we have another pile of shiplap sitting outside -it does NOT have the v-groove and will not be a GREAT match if we run out of material mid-wall. Oh well, we’ll cross that slippery slope when we come to it… for now – ONWARD and up ward!! We hope to have a painting party on Friday – as Tonia is planning on returning – with recruits! – and paintbrushes – and we’ll tackle the interesting issue of ” Will the paint stick to this old very weathered wood?” Stay tuned. Meanwhile, back to the cutting board…