To be honest I feel like Arc Retreat Community deserves its own post and not to be just a part of December Check-in. So this will be a good way to do that since I got distracted by errands last post. You can read the first part of my experiences here.

Don’t get me wrong it was a simple space so if you are looking for something fancy The Hermitage is not for you. However the giant bay windows overlooking the forest (and during my stay the view included Sunrise AND Sunset) makes it a diamond in the rough if you ask me. And if you thought that couldn’t be beat there is a generous sized, 100% screened in, porch off the back of the room, so whether you wanted to be outside or in you have yourself protected from the elements (and bugs in summer) and still enjoying the forest in all it’s beauty. I am not going to lie, there were some sky clad moments on that porch that will not be soon forgotten.

The fabulous manager who lives on site pulled the wagon of my belongings right to the door and my skin was already tingling with excitement as we unloaded. It was a beautiful day so the first thing I did was go for a walk to see the grounds before the sun went down. The forest you see through these windows are sacred White Pine and when I spoke with the director of the retreat community she was not surprised that there were moments where I had to stop and just listen and weep. The release was so epic and the feeling that I was being joyfully held in time so that I could fully experience that liberation was life changing. I have spent a lot of time and energy trying to create a small sacred space for myself wherever I live and here it was, pure divinity growing over the course of hundreds of years and I was there to witness a small fraction of it’s life. The manager did say on our little tour of the grounds that I would find what I was looking for, even if I didn’t know what that was yet. And they were so very correct in that assumption.

What you see here is the little alter that I set up once back in the cozy little room after my walk. There was a perfect table that wasn’t to difficult to clear of candles and knickknacks to repurpose for my needs. That door you see on the right is the door that leads to the porch. It was such a wonderful day that I actually let the cool air sweep through as the incense was burning. I fully intended to pull in things from outside to represent a few of the elements, which in my mind is the best way to sync with the land you are dwelling on. It wasn’t until I was emersed in the energy of that forest (and not actively looking for said representations) when they happily appeared before me on the path ahead. I thanked the forest as I collect a fallen branch of white pine and what seemed to be a perfectly intact crescent of bark. It was covered in different species and colors of lichen on the outside and clean on the inside as though it had just fallen there for me moments before I laid my eyes apon it. “Here,” said the forest, “Happy Birthday!” I also collected some snow just outside the front door to have in my pitcher to represent water.

I had mentioned during my tour that one of the reasons I was attracted to this place was the picture of the labyrinth they had outside the lodge. This is a photo I lifted off of Google because it was something I had meant to take a picture of but did not. We were peering through one of those windows in the lodge when they said, “Oh look, you couldn’t even see it this morning, looks like it melted off just for you.” It was a lovely thing to say, but it was a perfect day for snow to melt too. Somehow I still believe in my heart that I was lead to that place at just right time for the experiences I had. Walking those stones from the outside in and back out again was an exercise I thought could potentially get boring but it was calmly meditative and it kind of forced me to try and figure out what was happening in my brain. I spend a portion of it talking to myself which I am sure was funny to watch if anyone was. I forgot to mention though that the grounds were practically vacant. There was just a small family in the larger cabin on the other side of the property and one woman, a writer, in the lodge. I practically had the place to myself. Maybe the proverbial minotaur of this labyrinth was who needed to find a voice inside my brain because I can’t even tell you what I talked about now, but it was solved none the less

Over the course of my stay many things happened that are unexplainable in a mundane way. I attribute that to the level of openness I allowed myself to have. I felt warm and held the minute I drove onto the property so it was an easy thing to do. You will have to decide for yourself if you believe. I believe, and that’s all that really matters. Read on if you’re curious…. but don’t judge, these are 3 experiences that are a little more…. more? They mean a lot to me as someone who has just come back to ways. Until THIS WEEKEND I was constantly asking if I was on the right path… turns out I am.

I saw lots of spirit movement in the part of the forest that was around the cabin. I could identify something in the corner of eye, usually an animal or a figure, but if I looked directly with the objective mind intact I couldn’t see it anymore. There was also part of the forest that felt dort of dead to me. Quiet, no movement, no sounds, like I could hear my own heartbeat kind of silence. It was rather abrupt how the silence just happened as I walked along. And cold, it was much chillier as well. This was the forest area around the sweat lodge that was on site. You could see protection or warding or something had been done in that area (pouches in the trees). That may have been the reason, they did hold sweat lodge that day so in the event that they had spiritually cleansed that area it would make sense maybe? Not that I have a CLUE about any Native American sweat lodge practices at all, I do not. These are merely observations and inferences. It was also a much younger portion of forest, not as many old trees like by the cabin. I still felt safe, but it certainly had a different energy. If I closed my eyes and just allowed myself to feel the closest thing I could compare it to was graveyard energy.

Saturday night was my night to go deep. I entered an alternate state of mind that night, with some herbal assistance and deepened meditation. Finding that headspace showed me things I may not have been 100% prepared for, but nothing I couldn’t handle in the moment. Mostly very personal things so I won’t be sharing it here, but I can say that I was not alone in that cabin that night. I will tell you that I had my first, waking, out of body experience though. There was a moment I was sitting on the bed and I felt thirsty, so I walked over to get water from the drinking spigot. Except when I opened my eyes and looked around I was still sitting on the bed. There were also a few times I thought I had moved to the rocking chair or gone outside even, but hadn’t. They were very small jumps but very real. Astral Projection was not something I had set out to do, but, given that I left myself open, that I had been calling on my spirit guides to make themselves known, and the level of safety I felt, it isn’t surprising. I mean, In the moment it was VERY surprising but the more that I think about it, I am not shocked by it. I never felt in danger, so I think that helps.

Finally, there is one more thing I will share. Please know that I had a much bigger experience than I could capture in a blog post, you are just reading drops in the water. This is the one thing that I still have a hard time with but there is truly no explanation, other than a metaphysical one. So. I have two labradorite palm stones that I brought with me. In fact I brought my entire crystal collection because I thought hey, what better place to do some crystal cleansing and continue to catalogue them if I am looking for something to do (it has been an ongoing project I have). Anyways, I had taken my labradorite bracelet off on Friday because I wanted to be %100 sky clad for a while. I put it away on top of the two palm stones inside the little organizer. I set my collection, a stack of three cases, on the shelf beneath the drinking water spigot. Other than grabbing a couple crystals for the alter on Friday, these cases went untouched for the duration of my stay. Obviously enough was happening to catch my attention that I didn’t need a project. Sunday morning, I am packing up to leave and I am looking for my second sock. Don’t judge but I only brought one pair, so I kinda really needed said sock to put my boots on. I searched through everything… at least twice or three times. Finally I took apart the entire bed and shook out the blankets and sheets, and then I saw something as one of the curtains got pulled back. On the windowsill by the bed (which I had taken very little notice of considering the big bay windows on the other side of the room) there were two stones, palm sized. First thought was, oh how sweet someone left some stones on the windowsill. There were other things that had been left behind all around the room like a bowl of feathers etc. so this didn’t seem like something that was out of the ordinary. The light caught them and I realized I was looking at Labradorite. Now, back story, labradorite is my stone. I have been say this for years. It’s mine; its the stone that draws me in and feels like home. So my second thought was “Oh! Someone loves Labradorite like me… pretty expensive stone to just leave around though”. On closer examination… they seemed even more familiar. Examining them with my hands the shape was unmistakable. These aren’t just any Labradorite stones…. these are in fact mine! I dug into my witchy bag on wheels which was already packed up and ready to go and looked in the spot where my bracelet was… low and behold, they were missing from the case. Now I know that I didn’t take them out of there, and certainly would never put my favorite stones on the windowsill behind the bed and the curtains where I could forget them. So, who did?

I immediately found my sock in a place I’d looked several times already. I wouldn’t have found my Labradorite had I not been looking for my sock. All I can say is maybe my offering to the fae that I left in the porch was received? Or maybe this was the last sweet gift from my guides who I’d set my intentions on knowing better on my birthday weekend? I’d like to think a little if both.

On the way out I wrote a card to the management to thank them and let them know that I had in fact found what I was looking for.