For women everywhere, join us to deepen your self-connection and capacity for authentic engagement with others.  In five days of retreat away from your everyday responsibilities, you’ll be part of a space of mourning, celebration, gratitude, self-nurturing, and renewal with other women.  Register here.

As women, we can benefit enormously from Nonviolent Communication skills and community.  In addition to all that it means to be human, we face the challenges of societal expectations as caregivers; our visibility, safety, value, and power in relation to men; and our experiences in our bodies (often objectified and commodified). We will come together in community to hold all these experiences with curiosity, interest, and compassion.

• DATES:  Saturday, April 27 (08:00) – Wednesday, May 1 (13:00), 2019
• LOCATION:  IRELAND:  Dzogchen Beara Buddhist Retreat Center: Garranes, Allihies, Beara Penninsula, Co. Cork
• TRAINERS:  Dian Killian (United States) and Iris Bawidamann (Germany)
• PRESENTED BY: Work Collaboratively, SeminarGourmets and the East Coast NVC Women’s Retreat
• REGISTER:  To register in U.S. Dollars, go here.  To pay in Euros, go here.

TRAINERS:

Dian Killian, Ph.D. (left), a Certified Trainer with the Center for Nonviolent Communication, certified life coach, and author of two well-loved NVC books, Connecting across Differences (in English and German) and Urban Empathy.  Learn more.

Iris Bawidamann (middle), co-founder of SeminarGourmets, diversity trainer, and with 12 years of experience in supporting people living their passion and understanding themselves and others more deeply.

ASSISTANTS:

Phoenix Soleil (right) is a trainer with LIFT Economy and is passionate about developing people, teams, and organizations.  She’s led training in communication, racial justice, and personal development and loves helping people learn through play.  Learn more.

HISTORY:

Two years ago we came together for the first time at the stunning location of Dzoghen Beara Buddhist retreat center in West Cork, Ireland. Women came from around the world to learn together, listen deeply, connect with themselves – and have fun!

Women were awed and inspired by this unique location. On the western edge of Europe overlooking the cliffs of the Atlantic ocean, the Dzoghen Beara retreat center offers a unique space for rest, reflection, and connecting with nature with unparalleled views and sites of cultural interest on Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way.

The transformational healing that takes place in NVC community is unique: it comes from the opportunity to be fully yourself, fully heard, and accepted. NVC also offers an empowering way to develop greater self-connection and clarity about your needs, and how to most effectively meet them, with creativity and passion.

TOPICS/THEMES to be explored at the 2019 International NVC Women’s Retreat:

• Our Histories (When did you first realize you are a girl?  When did you first realize you can do something because you’re a girl?  When did you first realize that you can’t do something because you’re a girl?)
• Sistership (Celebrations and Mournings)
• Mothers and Daughters and How to Mother Ourselves
• Let’s Get Angry! (Even when “Good Girls” Don’t!)
• Feelings Wanted!
• How to Get What You Need
• Don’t “Should” on Me (Freeing Ourselves from internalized Shame, Blame, and Demands)
• The Rules We’ve Learned (and How to Break Them)
• Being Grounded in “No”
• Radical Self-Acceptance
• Embracing the Body
• Trusting our own Gut
• Compassion for our Younger Parts

FORMAT and SCHEDULE:

We will begin each day with an early morning (7:00 am) activity such as yoga, hiking, tai chi, or meditation.  After breakfast, there will be a community circle (9:00 am) followed by a daily symposium (10:00 am – 11:30 am) on what it means to be a woman in relation to ourselves, our families, and the world.

Each day, we’ll have two workshop slots with different topics to choose from; empathy group time; and a late afternoon circle.  After dinner, we have creative fun; on two days, we will take field trips to explore the area, Dursey Island via cable car, standing stones and stone circles, and/or the Hag of Beara.  Tuesday night is our all-talent show.

The retreat will be led in English and there will be interpretative support available in French and German.

HOUSING, MEALS, and SEMINAR FEE:

Rooms in the retreat center and cottage rooms with ocean views will be assigned to women who register first; after the retreat center is filled, women will be given rooms in the cottages a few minutes walk from the main building.  All meals (vegetarian) are provided; additional snacks, coffee, journals, and books are available in the retreat center café and bookshop.  Another option is to stay at the Garranes Youth Hostel located on site in a dorm/shared room for lower housing fees (please contact the Hostel directly).

Once you register, we will invoice you; payment can be made via PayPal or bank transfer. Please note that we can only hold spots for women who have registered in full (with payment).

TUITION (includes meals and supplies):  537€  (convert to USD$).

ROOM OPTIONS: (for the entire 5-day event which includes 4 overnights)

• Single room:  353€  (USD$)
• Double (shared) room:  176€  (USD$)
• Single room without a sea view:  280€  (USD$)
• … or book your own accommodations at Garranes Youth Hostel

CANCELLATION POLICY:

Until 8 weeks before the retreat starts, you can cancel with a cancellation fee of 50€.  This is to cover our effort in handling the cancellation.  After that, there are no refunds. However, you can find another woman to take your place.  We have this policy because we need some ease and reliability in planning for an event of this size.

You may wish to consider purchasing seminar and/or travel insurance to cover your costs in case of a last minute cancellation.

TRAVEL TO ALLIHIES:

We strongly encourage women to arrive in Ireland by early Saturday morning to allow yourself sufficient time to arrive at the retreat center by 3:00 pm on Saturday, when check-in begins.  The road to the retreat center is scenic; allow time for narrow roads, taking breaks, and for sheep crossings–and also possibly rain and limited visibility.  It is recommended that women carpool together from Cork City (we will share emails once you’re registered for this purpose).  Click here for travel information to and from the airport.

For travel information, including airports and ferries go here.  Planning to arrive early?  There’s a women’s bed and breakfast nearby.

PREPARING FOR THE RETREAT:

Some questions to reflect on…

• When was the last time you did something for the first time?
• What is one thing that you’ve not been asking for?
• What is your hidden superpower?

What Women Are Saying about this retreat:

“Thank you for the amazing retreat, I so loved the location, the connections, the offerings, it really fed my needs on a deep level.”