During this three-day workshop, participants are asked to reflect on their own values, offer their ideas on elements within a values-based atmosphere, and imagine an optimal classroom environment. Small groups will discuss best teaching practices, and methods to create a values-based atmosphere in which all students can feel respected, valued, understood, loved and safe. LVE's theoretical model and the rationale behind the variety of values activities are presented.
The workshop then turns to skills for creating a values-based environment including: acknowledgement, encouragement, and positively building behaviors; active listening; conflict resolution; collaborative rule making; and values-based discipline. These sessions are intermingled with small group sessions in which participants take part in Living Values Activities for children and youth. This program is designed for teachers, counselors, administrators, parents, youth workers and others who want to create values-based learning environments.
Facilitators: Kathleen Shea, Katherine Murphy, Ed Wondoloski
Click here to registerThis five day workshop provides the opportunity for participants to see and experience the exact sessions involved in a regular LVE Educator Workshop. Additionally, the LVE Educator Training Guide is introduced and the rationale underpinning the training process is explained. Other sessions include the theoretical background of LVE, research which supports values/character, and LVE at the international level. The workshop is based on interactive adult learning processes. Group activities, case studies and mini training sessions will be supplemented by concept building lectures. This workshop is a "must" if you want to:
Facilitators: Anne Rarich, Kathleen Shea, Katherine Murphy
Click here to registerOn the ability to think more clearly and calmly
In promoting good health
For nourishing the soul
On our planet
We all know the phrase “You are what you eat”, but we usually think of the physical effects of food on our health, without considering the more subtle aspects of how our thoughts and emotions are affected by food.
This retreat offers an opportunity to understand the dynamics between food and thought, and how to nurture the whole self spiritually and physically through simple, yet powerful changes in our eating and food preparation habits, and creating a meditative environment while cooking. There will be special meditation classes, and time to enjoy the beauty of summer in the Catskills.
Join us for this simple, straightforward and powerful approach to cooking and eating.
"Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances of survival for life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet." . . . . . . . . Albert Einstein
mind
heart
kitchen and
soul
Facilitators: Brad Arkin, Donna Serpe, Dorothy Steinfeld
Click here to registerHere is a retreat that will help you to use your writing to deepen your spiritual awareness, and your spiritual awareness to enrich your writing. You do not need to be a seasoned writer to attend this workshop – just someone who likes to write and has the desire to enrich the spiritual dimension of your life.
This weekend will combine spiritual practices such as reflection and meditation with writing practices such as free association drills and short essays. We will experiment with the ways that deep inner stillness and soul-consciousness can elevate the clarity and truth of our writing, bringing us deep understanding of the self and closeness to God.
Please be prepared to receive a pre-retreat writing exercise once you have registered.Facilitator: Judy Rodgers
Click here to register'Remembrance' is probably the most basic and natural skill of the human mind. It is also the most powerful key to getting in touch with anyone, especially when separated by physical distance. It is no wonder that the practice of remembering God is ageless and eternal. Remembrance takes on different forms at different times in our life.
This retreat will throw light on the intricacies of the intention, the awareness, and the attainments of remembrance as experienced through non-denominational prayer and through meditation. Participants do not need to be regular practitioners of prayer or meditation, but should be inclined to deepen their relationship with God.
Please come prepared for silent times, writing with a focus, learning from spiritual resources and sharing with like-minded seekers.
Facilitator: Kala Iyengar
Click here to registerThe Caribbean is made up of people from a rich diversity of cultures, races, and religions. Together we weave a fabric with strong threads of human and spiritual values that bind us as one family. Drawing on our rich spiritual heritage, we will explore the practices and traditions that are the foundation of our relationships with ourselves, with others, and with the Divine. Share the lightness of the Caribbean spirit while spending time empowering the self and interacting with others. This event includes classes and activities geared especially for children 5 years and older.
Arrivals: Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday - Departures: Friday
May 19 - 23 *
July 7 - 11
August 25 – 29
These are the designated dates for personal retreats. However, if these dates are not possible for you, please contact us about other dates.
* (the Transformational Thinking Retreat is May 16 - 18 (Friday - Sunday). It is possible to attend this retreat and then stay on for your personal retreat.)
What is a personal retreat?
A personal retreat allows those with an interest in deepening their spiritual development the opportunity to benefit from the resources at Peace Village outside of a structured group setting.
The retreat experience encourages a state of solitude and introspection which can enhance one's relationship with the self and with the Divine. One can expect to come out of such retreats with a renewed sense of purpose.
Upon arrival, you will meet with a Peace Village 'guide' to help structure your retreat so it is a balanced mix of classes, and personal, unstructured time for rest, creative writing, karma yoga (helping in physical chores but with a spiritual focus) or enjoying the beautiful natural surroundings. There may also be an opportunity during your stay to offer any special skill or talent you have.
We ask that all involved in personal retreats attend one session each day of their stay consisting of either a scheduled class or a meeting with a guide.
Seeking inner peace?
Peace Village personal retreats are designed to provide an experience of silence and reflection within the setting of a spiritual community.
"In the environment and atmosphere of Peace Village, I create my own silence week each summer. I am not sure I have ever experienced the feeling which comes after a few days in total silence. One must experience it." Babika, Graphic Designer, Toronto
In modern times, we are encouraged to keep going at all cost - rather than allow much needed, inner healing to take its course. Explore the powers that are the source of our well-being. Powers that come from inside the self and are of long term benefit: love, happiness, forgiveness, and silence. Unconditional love opens new and unlimited horizons. Happiness helps us surmount the storms and learn life’s lessons. The power of forgiveness allows us to create anew. Silence is simplicity - it creates solutions and is the way to the Divine.
Facilitators: Vheena Vanier, Zvika Zur
Click here to registerThe summer is over. It’s back to school, back to work, and back to the grind, a time of year when we realize how stressful life can be. Here is the opportunity to re-settle, arm, and protect the self before it all gets too much. This is a highly spiritual retreat to explore and experiment with powerful concepts. We will be given a method of linking to the Source of spiritual energy that can empower us to become a force for good in the world. A high point of the weekend is the Saturday evening Peace Café, with rich dialogue, entertainment, and refreshments.
Facilitators: Anthony Phelips, Judi Rich, Tanya Rich
Click here to registerLearn the secrets of the spiritual dynamics within relationships and the potential for excellence in getting along with and enjoying the people in our lives. Learn how spirituality helps us solve our problems. Gain a deeper understanding of the Divine, the law of karma, and spiritual powers.
Pre-requisite: Attending at least two general retreats at Peace Village; or the Inner Peace – Inner Power Retreat or completion of the Raja Yoga Foundation Course at a Brahma Kumaris Center.
Facilitators: Linda Krentzman, Jenna Mahraj
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The mind and spirit are often ignored in both conventional and alternative healthcare. This retreat will cover some basic guidelines for a healthier body, but will focus primarily on methods to improve mental and spiritual health. Explore a variety of techniques that require little to no training or cost. Participants are encouraged to try out different ideas, determine what they like, and take home favorites to use in daily living.
Facilitator: Kaye Alvarez
Click here to registerRaja Yoga is an ancient system of meditation and spiritual understanding that enables you to stabilize the mind, reduce stress, release tension and pain, and enhance physical health. It is helpful for both your personal sense of well-being and harmonious relationships with others. You begin to live from the inside out, expressing your qualities and strengths in a very natural way.
This retreat includes:
The Hope in Healthcare Retreats create the space for healthcare professionals to explore innovative ways of satisfying the needs of patient communities while sustaining the purpose and fulfillment in our work. We must serve ourselves in order to remain vibrant and healthy, and also to facilitate the patient’s return journey back to health – physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, and spiritually. This retreat is for busy health practitioners looking to re-ignite the original spirit of joy and enthusiasm that often gets diluted or distorted in the midst of everyday challenges. Co-sponsored by the Point of Life Foundation and the Brahma Kumaris.
Our dreams take birth in the heart. And it is our old patterns of thinking and acting that keep our dreams out of reach. We sometimes find ourselves in cycles of scarcity, fear, and sadness because we have become trapped in mental states and behavioral patterns that continually reproduce limited, unproductive conditions. We are out of balance.
This weekend, using a deeply reflective process, we will explore the rich resources contained within our own core and begin to turn these rediscovered resources into new patterns of action. Together, we will question old habits and filters and engage in a process for developing new habits – the habits and patterns of thinking that support us rather than sabotage us. We will come to understand how to access the deepest part of ourselves, where our essential power and original patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting are latent within us.
Using this powerful transformational process, we can slowly change the filters which were distorting our view of ourselves and the world around us. We will begin to align the feuding parts within us, in support of our highest purpose. Join us in this unique adventure – letting go of the old and destructive and bringing forward what is most creative, restorative, and powerful. As you deepen this understanding of your powerful self, your natural leadership will begin to surface.
Facilitators: Ed Wondoloski, Erik Larson
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While you may now be rediscovering and expressing your true spiritual identity through the practice of meditation and cultivating your personal relationship with God through the practice of yoga, how are you to make sense of what appears to be an increasingly chaotic world? How are you to find meaning in events that often seem bereft of meaning?
If you enjoyed the Inner Peace – Inner Power retreat and want to learn more, then this retreat is for you! In Inner Peace – Inner Power, Part II, you will learn about the history and geography of the world as you journey through time. You will explore the world family tree and have a look at the world’s major religions. There will be discussions on spiritual lifestyle to enhance your growth. This information will provide you with a deeper understanding of what is happening in the world at the present time and where you fit in. There will be creative writing, meditation experiences, group dialogue and time spent in silence.
Pre-requisite required – To register for this retreat you must have attended the Inner Peace – Inner Power Retreat at Peace Village and/or completed the Raja Yoga Foundation Course at a Brahma Kumaris Center (at least the lessons on soul, Supreme Soul and karma). Please include the center name, teacher's name and date of the program completed in the Comments section of the on line registration screen.
Click here to registerMove from thoughts and an attitude of scarcity to one of abundance and create more time and material resources in your life. Explore the connection of spirituality and the physical, practical world. Gain a deeper understanding of the Divine, the law of karma, and spiritual powers.
Pre-requisite: Attending at least two general retreats at Peace Village; or the Inner Peace – Inner Power Retreat or completion of the Raja Yoga Foundation Course at a Brahma Kumaris Center.
Facilitators: Linda Krentzman, Jenna Mahraj
Click here to registerThis retreat will explore the intimate relationship between creativity and spirituality. As spiritual beings, we are all naturally creative. Even in the most mundane activities we can experience beauty and joy by simply cultivating an awareness of our spiritual identity. Using a variety of creative techniques including that powerful & essential tool of meditation, participants will be guided to recognize, experience and express the innate richness of their 'spiritual reality'.
Join us and discover how spiritual awareness can make every moment of your life a 'work of art '- the ultimate creative experience!
Facilitators: Judi Rich, Tanya Rich, Oliver Olivieri
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