Retreat Itinerary on Iona

lei·sure =

1) use of free time for enjoyment 

2) opportunity afforded by free time to do something

/ˈlēZHər/

Iona Abbey

When planning the itinerary for our Scotland trip months and months ago, we purposely scheduled the retreat on Iona after the touring/busy portion of the trip. We figured this would be a good time for a slower pace. 

When the Scottish travel agent sent out the detailed itinerary, it was marvelously detailed except for the Iona portion.  For each day of the Iona retreat, she simply put,  “a day at leisure” .

I thought about that word, "leisure", looked it up and decided that it captured what I envision and desire for those traveling and retreating with Celtic Soul Pilgrimage. What if the “something” we are afforded by our freed up schedule was enjoyable rejuvenation for  shalom-wholeness?  

With that in mind, I finalized a draft of our retreat schedule.  I know "finalized draft" sounds like a paradox, but one can't stuff the spirit in a box and expect it to conform. I told the participants that the plan was subject to change based on input, the weather, new information, etc.  And more importantly, anyone who has been in any of my groups knows that I encourage people to go the way of their heart though it may differ from the group. Wholeness requires listening to what you need and we will have time to listen.

As we are staying in what Amercians call a rental, but the Scots call  a "self-caterer", our little group will be cooking for each other, so before arriving on Iona, we will decide who will help on the different evenings with cooking and cleanup for dinners.  A dinner at a restaurant in the village is an option too . Breakfasts and lunches will be an individual affair 

Iona Retreat Itinerary:

Day 1 - Thursday pm:  arrive 3:00-ish. 

Vehicle transport of our luggage and those needing a ride while the rest of us are encouraged to walk the ½ mile from ferry to Ardbeg, our ‘self-catering’ accommodation. Check out the welcoming website: http://www.ardbegselfcatering.co.uk/

Free time to settle/explore. Iona is said to be a mile wide and about 3½ miles wide.  See map below and on the following link: http://www.ionahistory.org.uk/map-english.pdf  At the ferry landing there is a small village with hotel, restaurant, some shops and not far is the Iona Abbey and more.

Dinner 6:30

Evening possibilities:  hot tub / 8:00 service in Abbey

Day 2 - Friday:

8:00-8:30       Group Silent Prayer (Quaker Meditation Style)

8:30-9:30       Breakfast

10:00-2:30     Options: 

1)Hikers: Explore North Beach 4 mile round trip (with sack lunch?)

2) Walkers: Beach combing, Village, Abbey,  Heritage Center, meandering

3) Resters:  hot tub/reading/napping

3:00-5:00       Gather for Guided Reflection – bring journaling material

5:00-6:30       Free time or dinner preparation

6:30                Dinner

8:00-10:00     Service in Abbey or hot tub or…

Day 3 - Saturday:

8:00-8:30       Group Silent Prayer (Quaker Meditation Style)

8:30-9:30       Breakfast

10:00-2:30     Options: 

1)Hikers: Go South to St. Columbas Bay/Marble Quarry 5-6 mile round trip (with sack lunch?)

2) Walkers: Beach combing, Village, Abbey,  Heritage Center

3) Resters:  hot tub/reading/napping/moodeling

3:00-5:00       Gather for Guided Reflection – bring journaling material

5:00-6:30       Free time or dinner preparation

6:30                Dinner                                   

8:00pm-          Service in Abbey or hot tub or…

10:00

Day 4 - Sunday:

8:00-8:30       Begin day of silence and solitude (optional)

8:30-9:30       Breakfast

10:00-3:00     I’m currently researching times/availability of church services

3:00-5:00       Gather to break our fast from words and community: bring journaling material

5:00-6:30       Free time or dinner preparation

6:30                Dinner                                   

8:00-10:00     Service in Abbey or hot tub or…

Day 5 - Monday:

7:30 am          Leave Ardbeg to check in at ferry terminal by 8:30

***

A friend who has been to Iona several times told me of one of her favorite memories. She said that they went to a healing service in the Iona Abbey one evening. She came to Scotland feeling raggedy as she had just finished treatment for breast cancer and just lost a best friend to breast cancer. She was in need of reintegration, wholeness, relief...that embracing healing we all need from time to time. 

The service was lovely, but it was what happened afterwards that she looks back and now sees as what was central to her healing. Someone in the group suggested they stop on the way back to the hotel at a pub for a pint. She didn't drink a pint figuring with her small stature, she'd float away. She had a mug. And though she loved the comaraderie, she ended up walking back by herself.  She said that it was one of those evenings filled with stars and sky brightness, light enough to see and she felt the gift, the magic, the presence of all those sacred power-houses, Christian and the pre-Christian seekers before her and knew she was indeed in a thin-place, a term the Celts use to describe a spot where the distance between heaven and earth is thin.  She came home glowing and years later, as I watched her tell this story, her face lit the room.  This is why creating an itinerary is pretty easy.  What happens on Iona is not up to me. Here, things happen through and beyond the planning.  

The Rain and Julian's Circle of Care

Ah the sleeping that is improved by the lullaby of rain.  I lay snug and happy in bed this morning thinking of Scotland, the spiritual gifts we inherit from the Celts, Scotland’s September weather (averaging 44-60 degrees F [7-17 C], rain likely), my raincoat, and red walking shoes. I am twenty-two days from meeting our little band of travelers in Edinburgh, Scotland which begins our tour and travel to Iona for retreat. I could not be more excited. 

Vivienne Hull, with the voice of expertise from long experience taking groups on retreat to Iona, advises that travelers cooking for themselves on Iona pick up some groceries on the way to Iona.  This I compare to shopping at Safeway in Anacortes on the way to Orcas Island in the San Juan Islands. Here’s what a Scotland tourist website has to say about Oban.

Oban

Oban in Gaelic means "little bay."  It has a resident population of 8,500 and is the unofficial capital of the West Highlands - the "Gateway to the Isles."  The panoramic views of the mountains, lochs and islands which have captivated artists, authors, composers, and poets for centuries are as striking now as they were when Dunollie Castle, which has stood sentinel over the narrow entrance to the sheltered bay for around six hundred years, was the northern outpost of the Dalriadic Scots.     Beyond Oban lie the islands of the Inner Hebrides: Kerrera, which protects the town from Atlantic storms; the low, green island of Lismore, majestic Mull and the granite mountains of the Morvern peninsula.  Beyond them, the sacred island of Iona. http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/oban

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Celtic-Soul-Pilgrimage/1550412605189181

Often when I know before rising that the skies are grey, I think of one of my all-time favorite quotations from Christian mystic, Julian of Norwich.  Philip Newell, the preeminent writer on Celtic spirituality and onetime warden of the Iona Community recognizes the Celtic flavor of Julian’s vision of a tender God.  She wrote, “though the dawn broke cheerless on the isle today, Imy spirit walks upon a path of light for I know my greatness. Thou hast built me a throne within thine heart. I dwell safely within the circle of thy care.”  

May you know your belonging in this circle of care - 

Sue

Guilty Pleasure: Story of Wars, Romance, Spirit, and Transformation

Sometimes a popular getting-to-know-you type of question is, “What’s your guilty pleasure?”  The answers are usually something like chocolate in the tub, a favorite sappy song, or a trashy novel.  I want to own a “guilty pleasure” here  and now because it relates to the Scotland tour and pilgrimage trip I am leading soon this September. 

Scottish Actors in Starz rendition of The Outlander (and Yes I LOVE the Horses Used!)

I am thoroughly enjoying the novel series that begins with The Outlander.  While it’s not trashy, it’s not high literature either. It IS however high romance and adventure of the heart-throb, Jamie, a Scottish clansman and Claire, an English woman who begin their love- story in 1700 Scotland during the Jacobite uprising. 

As a literature major and someone who puts her hand to poetry, there is a voice of snobbery I hear within me that criticizes the writing.  However, the deep lover of "story" within me cannot get enough of Diane Gabaldon’s portrayal of admirable chivalry, rawness, and redemption.  I do have to be careful when I start one of the novels because mayhem can abound and I’d be oblivious with my nose in this book. 

What does this have to do with my upcoming spiritual trip to Scotland?  Well, besides that Scotland is becoming intertwined with my ideal of romance, which I contend to be a spiritual matter, some interesting history of the Jacobite uprising took place near Inverness, a two-night stop on our itinerary. 

Here’s a little historical background of this uprising with the help of Wikipedia:

Charles Stuart's Jacobite army consisted largely of Catholics - Scottish Highlanders, as well as a number of Lowland Scots and a small detachment of Englishmen from the Manchester Regiment. The Jacobites were supported and supplied by the Kingdom of France from Irish and Scots units in the French service.

The Battle of Culloden (Scottish Gaelic: Blàr Chùil Lodair) was the final confrontation of the Jacobite rising of 1745 and part of a religious civil war in Britain. On 16 April 1746, the Jacobite forces of Charles Edward Stuart fought loyalist troops commanded byWilliam Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands.

The battle and its aftermath continue to arouse strong feelings: the University of Glasgow awarded Cumberland an honorary doctorate, but many modern commentators allege that the aftermath of the battle and subsequent crackdown on Jacobitism were brutal, and earned Cumberland the sobriquet "Butcher". Efforts were subsequently taken to further integrate the comparatively wild Highlands into the Kingdom of Great Britain; civil penalties were introduced to weaken Gaelic culture and attack the Scottish clan system.

Even today, some Highland clans and regiments pass their drink over a glass of water during the Loyal Toast – to the King Over the Water. 

I admit I was kind of excited to read the last little cultural tidbit about passing the drink (of Scotch no doubt) over a glass of water, because Gabaldon used that very action as a secret code among the Jacobites in her series.  

The truth is, I generally despise history that is made up largely of wars and disasters. Recently a student complained that I did not include standard content in my Scottish history. It disappointed him that I included too much spiritual history and not enough about wars. I was ok with that complaint. though I may make a point to find the now museum where the battle of Culloden took place ifor it is near Inverness. I've become more and more aware of the nearness of our ancestors and those who have gone before me.  It might be powerful to go there and pray for the men, the Catholics, the Highlanders, the clansmen and their families, who suffered from the power imbalance and harsh discrimination following the massacre.

Other very cool places  on the itinerary are:

The Highland Folk Museum is an outdoor, mile-long 1700s Township (featuring 6 houses) at one end through to a 1930s working croft at the other.  This is a stop on the way to Inverness. 

Clava Cairns 

The Clava Cairns  rise in the midst of ancient stone circles.

The Findhorn Foundation is a group that also has some presence on Iona and well it should with this vision statement:

We as a community aim to inspire and encourage transformation in human consciousness, to help create a positive future for humanity and our planet. We are a holistic learning centre, community and ecovillage, offering experiential learning and a holistic leadership programme. Based on practices which recognise the interconnectedness of all life, our community life and workshops stimulate a more inclusive awareness, leading to sustainable choices for individuals, and for humanity as a whole.

As we leave Inverness, we will pass the famous Loch Ness (Lake Ness) on our way to the Isle of Skye now boasting the famous Skye Bridge. 

Loch Ness

Skye Bridge to Isle of Skye

I admit, I’m getting vera vera excited and I couldna bear to wait past September (my attempt to copy Gabaldon’s written Scots accent) for this adventure to begin. So looking forward to traveling with our perfect little group of 9.  And the good news is there is a wee bit o time for one more to sign up.  

The Colors of Iona

A few weeks ago, I had a chance to visit briefly with Vivienne Hull, an Irish woman, who living in Washington State with her American husband, has spent her life studying, teaching, guiding, experiencing Celtic spirituality. They have spent the last forty years taking groups to Iona to absorb the ancient presence from the land. She spoke to me with engaging earnestness as she desired to impart essentials for our stay. We gazed over a map of Iona and she tapped sacred places as she smiled with a faraway look in her eyes. She knows the enterprising family who owns and operates our accommodations on Iona and spoke fondly of so many historical and beautiful places.

On the practical side, she said the weather could be anything from hot to sideways chilling rain. Bring full rain gear she advised and great walking shoes. This brings me to the point where I want to encourage you to work on your walking endurance now. She told me that to see the beaches on the north and south end of the island; you will need to scramble over terrain for a good two to three hours.

Now, if your body does not now nor will ever allow that kind of exercise, the Abby, the Iona Community, and other sweet spots will be plenty accessible. I will encourage each individual to use their best wisdom to structure the days on Iona in personally suitable and necessary ways. Remember this will be the time of retreat and renewal after our scooting around Scotland in a van with our Scottish driver from Edinburgh to Inverness to Skye and Oban beginning September 18.  For more information check out  the itinerary on an earlier post or call me, Sue at (360) 471-9740.

If new walking/hiking shoes are on your to-do list, be sure to give yourself enough time to break them in. Once my updated passport arrived in the mail, I decided to shop for walking shoes. I bought a pair of red shoes that the manufacturer named “Red Dalia”. I get such a kick out of commercial names for paint, nail polish colors, and shoes. My last pair of red shoes was called Paprika. I confess that I’ve been waiting for the perfect opportunity to take my Red Dalia on their inaugural walk. I smile at them waiting in the shoe shelf. They represent the passion and privilege surrounding this opportunity to travel with you to Scotland and set step after sacred step on Iona.

Before I left Vivienne’s house, she gave me a green speckled rock that fits perfectly in my palm. She told me it is green Iona marble known to be one of the oldest rocks (8 billion years old?!?) on the planet. I’ve been holding it often and each time I do, I feel the perspective that life is but a quick moment in the grand scheme of things and our eternal nature knows now and will know more than we can begin to imagine. I think this is the kind of thinking that happens in Thin Spots, those places were earth and heaven feel near the other. Vivienne also pressed into my hands her book, Iona, A Guide to the Sacred Isle and her husband’s book, The Iona Report, Story of an Enduring Vision. She scowled when I asked if I could pay her saying in clipped words, “No. You may not.”

I think often of the dear travelers who have  already signed up and those who still have time to sign up.  We have room for two more until the payment dead line in August.

I’ll leave you with the following advice Fritz includes in his book, “What Iona does, and we know this for sure, is to offer itself to a person’s imagination. That’s it. Our best advice is simply to arrive on the island, ready and open. The rest follows “(33).  I feel gratitude for the opportunity to be in community with these pilgrims on journey.

May the eternal green and the passion of red enrich your days and clear your vision to what is lasting and good.

 My Best to You,

Sue

(360) 471-9740

Celtic Friendship

Anam Cara - Celtic Soul Friend

I’ve been feeling a little overwhelmed lately with too-long-to-do lists, deadlines,  forms , appointments and schedules packed to prevent completion of just about any and every task at one sitting.  Sound familiar?

I found relief, a sense of spaciousness in preparing for a class I taught yesterday called Hearing the Ancient Call of the Celts.  With classes like this, I like to start with an overview of beloved qualities associated with Celtic spirituality.  I read that the word belief comes from the word beloved.  We believe what we hold with affection. The traits associated with Celtic Faith remind me why I’m so thrilled to travel this fall to Scotland. 

As an aside,  a few spots remain in our September's group to Scotland. There is time for you to join and revel in Celtic land and spirituality with the following qualities, 

-    The Celts  saw themselves as integrated with creation. Their myths and hagiography (stories of the saints) show tenderness for creatures and respect for the land, sea, trees, and the elements.

2-    Out of this view of nature, the Celts saw the divine presence in the matter of their own bodies. 

3-    Women and Men shared leadership.

4-    The Celts loved travel, learning, and the imagination as a way to live and honor the gift of life and access to the other worlds.  

5-    They were learned and developed in the arts, particularly esteeming poetry and storytelling. 

6-    They held great curiosity about the other invisible worlds. They believed the dead to be present in one of these near and unseen worlds. 

7-    They had a high view of friendship as seen in the role of “anam cara” or soul friend which recognized the powerful gentleness we can extend to another. 

I like to think about these qualities,  especially friendship.  Years ago I took a class at Vancouver School of Theology on spiritual direction.  A good portion of the material studied was spiritual friendship.  In fact we read a sweet little book called Spiritual Friendship, a classic by Aelred of Rievaulx, a Celtic Cistercian Abbot, known for his practice and nuanced teachings on friendship.  

Modern day Welsh poet, David Whyte, conveys the sacred gentleness of an Anam Cara in the following,  

 
... the ultimate touchstone of friendship is not improvement, neither of the other nor of the self, the ultimate touchstone is witness, the privilege of having been seen by someone and the equal privilege of being granted the sight of the essence of another, to have walked with them and to have believed in them, and sometimes just to have accompanied them for however brief a span, on a journey impossible to accomplish alone.  David Whyte, Consolations

To you my friends, who have plans to travel with me this September and those who will travel  in spirit,  remember the nurture available in Celtic spirituality.  

 

We have the privilege in our autumn pilgrimage to be on the land that grew this sweet understanding of the Divine.   Sue - May 

April Anticipation of Day 2 in Scotland

Celtic Soul Pilgrimage:  Good news!  As of April 12, a few spots on the September Tour and Pilgrimage to Scotland remain available.  Call  Sue, (360) 779-6793 for more information.  

Anticipating Day 2 in Scotland:

Before leaving Edinburgh, we have the chance to see St. Mary’s, an Episcopal cathedral of Gothic fame.  Apparently in the early 1700’s, Presbyterianism became the National Church of Scotland replacing the Anglican connected Episcopal Church.  This raises questions for me about Scotland’s history of denominational ties,  loyalties to Catholicism, Anglicanism, and Presbyterianism (of course mixed with Pagan roots!)  I’m excited to learn more. I can imagine that those loyal to their denomination (not Presbyterian) struggled with Scotland’s switch to Presbyterianism as the National Church. 

I like that two old spinsters, Barbara and Mary Walker, were rich enough and sassy enough to pay for the construction of St. Mary’s in the 1700’s to ensure that their church continued.   It seems everyone involved in the architecture, construction, and attendance of St. Mary’s were named Scott.  Even the church spires, added generations later were built by famous architects named Scott, who were related to the original builders.  It is a Gothic wonder of airy heaven bound architecture.  Some from Edinburgh affectionately refer to the spires as Barbara and Mary which conjures up the image of Barbara and Mary, meeting at the towers in the afterlife to enjoy the view from their spires, their namesakes.   

It is said that Sir Walter Scott (of course he is named Scott!)  attended this church and the pew where he regularly sat is named and dedicated to him. I hereby publicly name an intention to find one of his novels and read it before September and then go and sit in that pew. If you have a favorite let me know.  Maybe I can absorb some of his literary genius.  How can I not love a man who wrote this:

“Teach your children poetry; it opens the mind, lends grace to wisdom, and makes the heroic virtues hereditary.”

I’m amazed how his statement of hereditary sounds a lot like current research of epigenetics. Never take lightly the deep and mystical well of creativity!

"The glowworm o'er grave and stone

Shall light thee steady;

The owl from the steeple sing,

'Welcome, proud lady.'"

last stanza from “Proud Maize” by Sir Walter Scott – 

In true Celtic form, he gives Creation a place of voice and wisdom in his work.

See you again when I anticipate Day 3 in Scotland! Sue

March Anticipation of Castle Edinburgh and Anam Caras

A lovely lovely group of people have signed up for the September Scotland tour, but the good news for those of you, who may still be considering, there is room for you. Check out other blog posts for more details and pass this along if you know someone who might be interested! 

Edinburgh Castle from North Side

As our first half of the tour in Scotland starts in Edinburgh, 
it seems most fitting to spend our first day visiting the Edinburgh Castle, 

known as the iconic Scottish tourist attraction.

I stare at the pictures of this stone castle imagining the sounds of leather shod feet padding, armor clanking and hooves clattering on cobbled stone paths outside among sheep bleating and chickens squawking. I wonder at the stone workers, chiseling rooms, windows, passages from natural stone cliffs and stacking rock to form interior walls and towers in this massive structure. I imagine monarchy giving royal edicts from their thrones and whispering reactions and strategies in their beds with their intimates.  I shiver at the electricity of excitement and terror that must have crackled in the air the night Thomas Randal lead his raid in the 14^th Century to take this castle back from the English.

As much as I love history and standing where our ancestors placed their very feet, I know I will value equally the chance to share precious time of rest and discovery on this tour with new and old friends in our small group, including our Scottish driver.  Ancient Celtic wisdom revered the role a good friend could play in life.  They called these important people, soul friends or Anam Cara.  I include here a lovely poem by John O’Donahue, a  favorite writer and teacher on Celtic wisdom. 

For Equilibrium, a Blessing:

Like the joy of the sea coming home to shore,
May the relief of laughter rinse through your soul.

As the wind loves to call things to dance,
May your gravity by lightened by grace.

Like the dignity of moonlight restoring the earth,
May your thoughts incline with reverence and respect.

As water takes whatever shape it is in,
So free may you be about who you become.

As silence smiles on the other side of what's said,
May your sense of irony bring perspective.

As time remains free of all that it frames,
May your mind stay clear of all it names.

May your prayer of listening deepen enough
to hear in the depths the laughter of god.”

― John O'Donohue, To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings

Have any questions about the trip?  You can contact me at huckleberryhans@embarqmail.com.
Sue

At last - The Details You Need to Join Me in Scotland!

Dates - Price - Itinerary !!

Give me a call after you read the following information: 

Sue (360) 779-6793.

Iona Chapel

 The Dates:  Sept 18-29th, 2015

The Price: is $2,999.00.  This does not include airfare, dinners, or travel insurance, which is recommended.

The Perks: What this price does include is:  land transportation in Scotland (van, ferry, and train), lodging with two per room, breakfasts at hotels, entrance fees to sites on the itinerary, local driver’s friendly sharing of knowledge about Scottish culture and sites, small group facilitation by me as your guide, and one of the best features – a perfect sized group in which to explore an enchanting country. 

Here’s what expert travelers say about small group pilgrimages:  a travel group of this size and purpose tends to self-select people who value cultures, relationships, and surprises; they typically expect the unexpected with an easy-going attitude. 

Besides the restorative aspect of our retreat on Iona, our accommodations on Iona look to be a highlight.  Let September be chilly or nice for we will have a hot-tub to enjoy the nip of night or the chill blue air off the sea.  We will shop at local stores for groceries and enjoy the kitchen and each other’s company as we prepare our meals.  Check out the Ardbeg website at http://www.ardbegselfcatering.co.uk and see if you are not smitten by the draw of such a place. 

Reserving your Spot: A ten% deposit  (approximately $300.00) reserves your spot.  I would love to talk to help you decide if this is the right group for you.  Call Sue at (360) 779-6793.  To make your deposit, contact Mary at Mary's Travel World, (206) 842-4025 marystravelworld@gmail.com.  More than ten people have expressed interest, so do not delay to save your spot. Full payment is due by August 4^th.   

Want help booking a flight? Contact Mary.  She’d be happy to help you. 

The Itinerary:

18th Sept 2015 ~ Depart USA and travel overnight to Scotland. Meeting at Edinburgh is an option.

19th Sept 2015 ~ Arrive in Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland. Private transfer to your hotel. Afternoon guided walking tour of the Royal Mile with visit to Edinburgh Castle. O’nt Edinburgh.

20th Sept 2015 ~ Depart Edinburgh and travel north. Visit Fortingall Yew, quite possibly the oldest living thing on earth, and nearby St Mary’s Church, with rare wooden barrel vaulted painted ceiling. Continue north to explore the Highland Folk Museum. O’nt Beauly.

21st Sept 2015 ~ Visit Clava Cairns, dating back to 2000BC, with burial cairns surrounded by ancient stone circles. Tour of the Findhorn Foundation, a spiritual community on the shore of the Moray Firth. O’nt Beauly.

22nd Sept 2015 ~ Drive the scenic route through the Great Glen, passing Loch Ness. Crossing the Skye Bridge and exploration of the beautiful Isle of Skye. O’nt Portree, Skye.

23rd Sept 2015 ~ Return to the mainland by ferry. See Glenfinnan Monument, a poignant reminder of the Jacobite Rising.  View majestic Ben Nevis. Visit Dunstaffnage Castle, with chapel ruins nestled in the woods. Bid farewell to your driver on arrival in Oban. O’nt Oban.

24th - 27th Sept 2015 ~ Travel to the sacred Isle of Iona for a four day spiritual retreat. O’nt for 4 nights on Iona.

28th Sept 2015 ~ Boat, bus and train travel through spectacular Scottish scenery, taking you from tranquil Iona to Scotland’s second city, Glasgow. O’nt Glasgow.

29th Sept 2015 ~ head for home.

What's Next? I really would love to chat with you on the phone to connect, answer questions, and hear about your hopes for this pilgrimage to Scotland.  Also, there is more to know about our time on Iona…It is going to be good...I  am just sayin… Call Sue at (360) 779-6793