During this 5-day retreat we will be learning about medical, psychological and spiritual tools to help create healthier and more fulfilling lives while forging bonds and friendships with other HIV-positive gay men from different parts of the world. A separate kick-off party will be held in New York City on July 15, 2009. Information about this will be sent to those who have registered for the retreat.

The format of the retreat will be a combination of individual and group experiences. We will have some sessions in smaller groups and others with everyone together. Some exercises will be partnered while some will be performed on your own.

Day 1

Arrival and check-in begins at 3 PM. Dinner will be served at 6 PM and our first session starts at 7 PM. This will be an introduction and a chance for everyone to get to know each other. We will demonstrate some of the techniques we will be working with during the retreat as well.

Days 2, 3 and 4

The day will start with a 45-minute yoga/meditation* class at 7AM. Breakfast will be served at 8AM and then the morning session will start at 9AM. Lunch will be served at noon and the afternoon session will start at 2PM. Dinner will be served at 6PM. Evening sessions will start between 7-7:30 and end at different times on different nights. There will be added free time sessions during the retreat as well.

The various sessions will be led by different facilitators as needed according to the program. Some sessions will feature work with the Enneagram** system of personality types taught by Claes Lilja. Prior Enneagram experience is not required. Most sessions will involve experiential exercises and group work as well as individual tasks. There will also be a light yoga session each afternoon to help in anchoring the experience in a true body-mind-spirit way. Each day will also include small group meetings where each participant will have a chance to work more directly with the facilitator and other participants.

Topics that will be explored are intimacy and authenticity, cultivating a healthy body with a sound mind, presence and awareness, active community participation, bridging the gap between our inner reality and spiritual awareness with the outside world in order to live conscioulsy and powerfully within our community. We will strive to minimize the overlap with previous retreats so that the program will be fresh and enriching for all participants.

Day 5

On our last day we will offer a yoga/meditation class before the 8AM breakfast as on previous days. The morning session will begin at 9AM and wrap just before our farewell lunch at noon. Please note that some attendees will need to check out of their rooms before our 9AM morning session, depending on which facility they are lodged in. This day we will focus on community building and support structures. Using the tools we have learned at the retreat, we will create a plan of action for how to integrate a fully conscious body-mind-spirit connection into our daily lives and into our community. We may have a guest presenter TBD for this session.

 

	June 16	June 17	June18	June19	June20	June 21
7-8AM			Body: Yoga*	Body: Yoga*	Body: Yoga*	Body: Yoga*
8-9AM			Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast
9AM-Noon		inofficial breakfast gathering in NYC	Mind	Body-Mind-Spirit "Presence"	Body-Mind-Spirit "Awareness"	Body-Mind-Spirit "Community"
Noon-2PM		Buses depart from NYC	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch	Farewell Lunch and Departure
2-6PM		Arrival & Check-in	Body	Body-Mind-Spirit "Intimacy"	Body-Mind-Spirit "Commitment"
6-7PM		Dinner	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner
7-10PM	Kick-off party in NYC	Introduction Session	Spirit	Bridging the Gap	Authenticity in Action

 

*Bring light work-out clothes. If you have a yoga mat, please bring it as well. You can purchase one under "Useful Supplies" in our Retreat Shop online if you don't have one already.

**If you want to prepare yourself by reading up a little on the Enneagram system beforehand, we recommend "The Wisdom of the Enneagram" or any other book by Don Richard Riso and Russ Hudson. They can also be found online in our Retreat Shop.

The schedule and faculty is subject to change without notice.