February 1-2, 2019 at Indian Lake, Ohio
Nourish
Woman(na) is a gathering of women who come together to explore the collective wisdom of one another and contemporary (and ancient) thought leaders, seeking to build integrated lives of substance and purpose.
Five years ago, I joined a few hundred other women in Austin, TX to explore the idea, “If God is real, then what?” I came home and decided to share the experience with the many amazing women I have grown to know and love throughout my life.
Since then, we’ve parted ways with the original conference organization to create and curate our own content for the weekend, specific to the interests and experiences of the women who come. Many of the women have been through a process of deconstructing (and reconstructing) our understanding of God and what it means to live a life of faith. Some of us remain connected to a local church; some of us have parted ways with the institutional element. We see several familiar faces each year, and every year a new friend joins us. We look forward to that blend each winter.
The cost of the event is free (well, you are asked to bring a roll of TP and a jug of water); participants will each be asked to contribute with food, talents and an honest sharing of their own experiences.
WHAT will we do?
We’ll spend some time watching talks and lectures about topics related to faith, creative living, and our willingness to do the next right thing. This year’s theme is Nourish, and we’ll be using the basic concepts of the book and Netflix series Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat to help us explore deeper meaning of what constitutes a delicious, satisfying, nourishing life. Friend and Ayurvedic practitioner Lia Scarince will kick off our time by sharing the wisdom of the Science of Life to help provide a framework and a language for the weekend to talk about these elements at both a practical and spiritual level.
We’ll spend more time in conversation with one another, sharing our experiences and asking questions.
We’ll engage our bodies as well as our minds with activities to put these heady concepts into our hands as well as our hearts.
We’ll eat scrumptious meals, snack on cookies and drink wine and tea.
We’ll experience the wide range of emotion; mostly laughing, sometimes crying, and decide upon how to channel any rage.
WHEN will we do it?
Friday night, we start with dinner. We’ll dive into a major idea or concept that evening. Saturday we’ll spend time in continued exploration, along with opportunity for movement (yoga), personal reflection, more conversation, and plenty of eating. The coffee pot never stops. We’ll wrap up late in the day on Saturday and finish with dinner.
Everyone is welcome to stay Friday and Saturday nights, though some of us often have Sunday responsibilities to attend to; we’re understanding of those who need to leave following dinner. Sunday morning is a bit of tidying before heading home.
WHO will we hear from?
Guest teacher Lia Scarince will share about Ayurveda. Meg Bair will lead us in exploration and discussion around a womanly and intimate topic. The agenda is still soft at this point and more voices will be added.
Also, please start reading, listening and watching! Let these ideas simmer for a while before joining us – the results are quite delicious when we give ourselves the gift of time and contemplation. Have suggestions for additional resources? Email it in! We would love to add more.
Of course, the highlighted voices are those of the other women in the room.
