Breaking Free To Emotional Wellness
An extended Grief, Loss and Difficult Emotions Retreat
July 15-19, 2026
$1095, includes basic housing & meals
Also see Grief, Loss And Difficult Emotions Retreat for additional retreat dates
Breaking Through The Old Story Retreat is an extended version of our Grief, Loss and Difficult Emotions Retreat. It is designed to help people move from feeling stuck and wounded into a sense of new aliveness, freedom and wholeness. These events help people work through grief, fear, anger and other painful emotions.
People attend our retreat for a variety of reasons:
- Healing old relationship wounds—divorce grief, the pain of separation, unresolved emotional pain, etc.
- Grieving the loss of a husband, wife, child, friend, parent
- Grieving loss of health and/or ability
- Transforming anger, anxiety, worry
- Healing shame
- Find a new direction or purpose
- Reconnect with life, love, joy
- Work through a difficult issue
- Break free of old destructive behavioral patterns
- Transform stuck feelings
- Heal emotional wounds
Breaking Through The Old Story Retreat is open to adults who want to change their lives and journey from an old unfulfilling story to a new, healthier one. This retreat is offered once a year at Star Dance Ranch in western Massachusetts.
What Are Old Stories?
We often think if we could just have a breakthrough our lives would be different: "If I can just change this one thing then everything would be okay."
But change is not that simple. In order to change we need to change the background story of our lives.
Old stories are the thoughts, feelings and perceptions that we hold onto about ourselves, our relationships, and the world. Many of these stories were formed when we were young by our response to what we experienced, what our mother or father or others said or did...or didn't do.
Our environment, TV, movies and the internet also greatly influence our story. Advertisements, as an example, help create in us concerns and worries...do we smell bad or look shabby, etc. Then they solve these problems by offering their products to make us more attractive, powerful and safe.
Our story is our way of interpreting the experiences we've had, to make sense of the world. It's the lens we see through. But it is often distorted.
Unfortunately, many of these stories are not helpful, they are destructive. We could be caught up in a victim story, and keep playing that out in our relationships. We could be trapped in a betrayal story, where we are betrayed by those we trust. It could be an angry story, a bitter or sad story.
Our stories often have a long history. Each story shapes our sense of self...we are our story and become the story we tell. It is usually much easier to spot in another person than it is in ourselves!
Stories have tremendous power. Most of us don't even realize we are caught up in a story, We just think this is the way it is.
Breaking Through The Old Story Retreats are about changing the old story and opening up to a new one.
The New Story
At the retreat we connect with the transformational power of a loving community to change the old story and reveal a new one. We don't get rid of the old story, but rather help you pull your power, energy and identity out of it back into your body in the present moment. Your old story and old feelings contain the gifts you need to grow and heal.
Using a variety of processes drawn from the world's wisdom traditions and Western psychology each retreat group becomes a safe, supportive and loving community in which each member has the opportunity to do deeply personal work.
We realize that we are so much more than our old stories, which have limited and distorted our sense of self and cut us off from life and love.
We come to realize ourselves as creators of our own lives, as passionate, powerful beings of love and light, whole, lovable and safe.
We are ready for a new, more joyous and fulfilling journey.
To Register Or Find Out More Send Jon a message here.
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