Nurturing Creativity of the Soul

March 8-10, 2024

Stillwood Camp and Conference Centre

44005 Watt Road.

Lindell Beach BC, V2R-2X9

Near Cultus Lake, West of Chilliwack

Registration is $275

* For our schedule scroll down

Nurturing Creativity of the Soul

Believe it or not, creativity isn’t a stable personality trait, nor a rare power possessed by only the chosen few with artistic temperaments. Creativity is also not limited to specific domains, like music, theatre, dance, or visual arts. And we all go through times when we feel hopeless to create change or a cultivate creativity in our lives. Perhaps you feel like you used to be creative but have somehow lost it. Or too busy, too rushed, too poor, or too boring, or too afraid, to benefit from exploring creative practices. Whether you consider yourself creative or not, it is possible to cultivate personal creativity. Improved health, increased joy and wellbeing, financial abundance are only a few of the benefits of cultivating creativity.

But what exactly is the relationship between creativity and a well-nourished soul?

To find out, join special guest facilitator Lana Cullis, in retreat March 8^th to 10^th at Stillwood Camp and Retreat Centre near Chilliwack BC. Attend diverse sessions including Creativity: Myths, Mysteries and Misunderstandings, What Colour is Your Creative Soul, and Creativity and Money.

Suggested reading (not compulsory): Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert, and SoulSpace: Transform Your Home, Transform Your Life by Xorin Balbes

Hosted by Creating Connection and Nurturing Spirit Retreats

Package includes six meals, lodging, sessions and all workshop supplies.

Special Guest Facilitator Lana Cullis

Lana Cullis is an ardent writer, avid scrap booker, lapsed musician, and seasoned Vocational Rehabilitation Counsellor. Lana strives to be a bridge between people of differing faiths. She gathers teachings from nature, traditional Elders, contemplative practices, and is an ordained lay minister. Lana’s writing draws on waking dreams, voices, and visions that reveal the tender places where human truth, individuality, and courage intersect. You will find her work in The Globe and Mail, The Powell River Peak, qathet Living Magazine, and on the BC Writers 2022 Literary Contest Longlist. Lana lives, writes, and plays in qathet, on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia, Canada.

Accommodations

Our accommodations are dorm style. When you register, please advise us of who you would like to stay with. The dorms are spacious. Each dorm can accommodate 12 people however we would expect to have 4-6 people per dorm.

Our building has two floors with four dorms on each floor that have 6 sets of bunk beds. Each dorm room has two double beds on the lower bunks, the other beds are twin size.

Washrooms – there is one washroom on each floor with 4 showers, 4 toilets, and 4 sinks each.

The top floor washroom will be gender neutral.

The main floor washroom will be women only.

Each floor has a common area where we will have coffee and tea available.

We have booked a lovely activity hall, The Maple Lodge, for all our daily activities.

Remember to add to your registration:

Who you would like to stay with in your dorm

If you need to be on the lower level due to stairs

If you have any food allergies

Our meals will be in the main dining hall and other groups will be seated at the same time. We will have a buffet line just for us. We hope you’ll use this time to enjoy the company of your friends and family as well as meet new people who are dining at the same time.

There are no Cleanup or Chores at Stillwood Retreat Centre! At the end of the retreat, we will only need to pack up our dorms and the activity room. After meals, we will only need to place dishes in the cleanup line.

We have priced this retreat so that anyone who wants to attend may do so. We greatly appreciate any donations. If you can support this program or others who would like to attend, please donate on the registration page. Canadians will receive a tax receipt for your donation of $25 or more.

If you would prefer to make a donation via e-transfer, please send it to donations@CreatingConnection.ca and note Nurturing Spirit Retreat and cc Debra@CreatingConnection.ca so we have a record of which donations are for this program.

What to bring

Bedding or sleeping bag and pillow.

Personal toiletries and towels

Water bottle

Rain Gear for outdoor activities – optional- check the weather before arriving, you may want an umbrella or hat

Walking shoes or boots for exploring the grounds, or anytime we leave the dorms

Slippers for inside our Activity Hall, the Maple Room, so we don't track dirt into our space

Flashlight

For classes:

Comfortable clothing

Musical instruments (whether you play them or not!)

An open heart and an open mind

RESOURCES

Big Magic | Official Website for Best Selling Author Elizabeth Gilbert - book

Why Your Creativity Matters - Kate Bowler - podcast with Elizabeth Gilbert (free to listen to)

SoulSpace: Transform Your Home, Transform Your Life - Creating a Home That Is Free of Clutter, Full of Beauty, and Inspired by You: Balbes, Xorin, Williamson, Marianne: 9781608680375: Amazon.com: Books - book

https://www.oprah.com/home/xorin-balbes-zen-design-ideas/all

Here is a great synopsis of Xorin Bables eight stages, which Lana will draw from but not exclusively

https://open.substack.com/pub/kathrynconeway/p/noticing-creativity-all-around-us?r=q7skz&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email - Kathryn Coneway newsletter available by email or on Substack

Current Covid Policy - Please note that our policy is subject to change based on Covid cases

In light of Creating Connection’s enduring principles around the worth of all persons, unity in diversity, and personal responsibility, we are offering guidance for our retreats in 2024. We do this because of our call to welcome everyone including the least and most vulnerable among us.

First of all, our corporate responsibility at a minimum, is to follow local Covid guidelines for safe gatherings.

Second, each of us has a personal responsibility to consider what we can do to protect one another. Personal responsibility is:

Updating your Covid-19 vaccination by receiving any boosters that are available.
Considering getting vaccinated if you have not yet done so, as it is the best way, we know of to curb the spread of Covid-19.
If you aren’t vaccinated, we ask that you get tested for Covid-19 no more than two days prior to arriving at camp. (free rapid tests are fine)
Not coming to camp if you are feeling even a little bit ill.
Isolating for 5 days prior to coming to camp, regardless of your vaccination status, to ensure you are not unduly exposing yourself and others to illness.
Wearing a mask while indoors to avoid spreading illness.
Ensuring good hygiene through:
regular hand washing
coughing or sneezing into an elbow or sleeve

Our guiding question for you is: How will you protect the precious neighbour that sits beside you at this retreat?

We also encourage everyone to respect one another’s choices in how they have responded to Covid. Regardless of our individual views on vaccinations or public health mandates, we come together as one community who find unity in diversity. Some people will feel more comfortable wearing a mask and keeping their distance, others will be ready to embrace everyone. Please respect the speed and space of each person’s engagement at the Nurturing Spirit Retreat. We will provide color coded name tags for everyone so others will know our comfort level with contact around each other.

We can’t wait to spend time with you.

Your Nurturing Spirit, Creating Connection Team