Words In the HIlls fall retreat

Start the morning with a short hike and write in the woods.  Megan Bee will guide you as you wake up your senses to the environment around you and practice observation writing.

The enchanting sounds of Wood Thrushes in the Treetops.

Brilliant colors of Sunrise dancing across the sky.

The fragrance of freshly fallen autumn leaves.

Soft, downy moss brushing against skin.

The taste of warm, sweet Lemonbalm tea on the tongue...

Tapping into the ancient, powerful practices of mindfulness and meditation, tune deeply into the subtle sensations of the present moment, transcend time and space, and awaken your creativity in this gentle morning writing practice.

Our bodies hold stories. In this workshop we’ll focus on the importance and craft of embodied writing. With a mixture of embodied meditation, gentle movement practice and writing we’ll explore the power in writing the body’s realities, its pain and its joys, and how it can transform. No previous experience necessary and writing in any genre and style is welcome!

This session will help you keep the fires alive in your daily writing practice. Learn new techniques, prompts, and practices to keep things interesting in your writing life.  Has it been a while since you've sat down and written?  This session will help stoke the fires of your creativity and leave you with resources to keep the flame burning long after the retreat is over. 

Luscious leaves. Fragrant flowers. Sumptuous fruits. Brawny roots.

Together, we’ll walk, crawl, and stoop among them; we’ll touch, smell, and taste to better know them; and ponder what nourishment, what wonders - and what words - they evoke.

I firmly believe that a thoughtfully-painted scene tells a fully realized story — even without “telling” the story directly. My favorite songs do this, acting as an invitation to search for the story nestled inside, waiting to be found.

In this workshop, we will build our own still-life scene as a group. Then, we’ll begin to draft a song rooted within that scene (individually, or collaboratively).  At the end, we’ll be invited to share our works in-progress to celebrate many divergent stories spun from a single scene.

Remember letters? Love letters, “Dear John” letters, letters to and from your grandmother when you were away at camp or school? (Remember her wavery handwriting?) We can not only write but craft letters, letters as poems, as delicate or sturdy prose pieces, letters to (and from) a part of yourself, an object you love or miss, someone out of reach, your ghosts. Letters give the writer the opportunity to reflect, and the recipient the ability to savor the sender’s words. We will read some letter poems and write our own, tossing out lines to connect us with our inner and outer worlds.

This gentle yoga practice can be adapted to suit your body, your wants and needs. Guided in a choice-based style, this practice is meant to encourage you to move in ways that are most useful to you to release patterns of holding and tension, build stability and strength and grow a deeper mind-body connection. With a combination of meditation, breath work and movement (asana) we'll move into an embodied state and then write with guided prompts, exploring ways in which words come differently out of a body at ease. 

Saturday night open mic!  Bring your guitar, your poem, or your story to share.  

A space to dance, move and express yourself freely to the soundtrack of a thoughtfully curated musical journey.  We’ll start with a gentle guided warm up, transition into open dance and end with a grounding meditation and closing. Dance the whole time or take breaks whenever you need.

Having spent time outdoors, we’ll consider what weather systems may be blowing through us, and what landscapes live inside. We’ll start (as always) with poems and see where they take us.

Start the morning with a short hiking and writing journey through the woods. Molly Jo will guide you as you wake up your senses and sense of wonder to the life around and within you.