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View of the extraordinary land at Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu, New Mexico, home of Georgia O'Keeffe and the inspiration for so many more - which hosts my week-long course entitled

View of the extraordinary land at Ghost Ranch Education and Retreat Center in Abiquiu, New Mexico, home to Georgia O'Keeffe and the inspiration for so many more, host of my 5-day course "Healing Grief Around the Sacred Wheel." We are gathering again this fall - October 1 - 6, 2024 - for another opportunity to journey through the four directions and allow your grief to commune with the teachings of Nature. 

         RETREAT DATES SET:                      OCTOBER 1 - 6, 2024

February 20,                I am excited to announce that our Healing Grief Around the Sacred Wheel will be held again this fall  at 2024                                Ghost Ranch Education and Retreat Center in Abiquiu, New Mexico OCTOBER 1 - 6, 2024! This is our sixth                                                year with the good fortune to gather in the nurturing, healing energies of this extraordinary land and to                                                        support one another in our grief and explore the healing powers of Nature. We will once again journey - in                                                  circle together and each alone - around the sacred wheel,  focusing each day on one of the five aspects of                                                      grief and its companion element in Nature. Daily reflections, meditations, and the creation of sacred art (no                                                experience necessary) gide the grief-healing experiences with plenty of time built-in for communing with                                                    the beauty of the land. Nature is the teacher here, an interactive messenger of healing wisdom. Grief asks                                                    for a good listener, and the spirited land is an unending one. Even more, it will SPEAK when you least expect                                              it! especially if approached in a quiet, open, humble way...


                                            The intent of the retreat is to help illuminate the strength of each of us as grievers, and to find courage to                                                       shift how we hold grief that so often resists or blocks grief's natural movement. The sacred wheel is all                                                          about MOVEMENT! The wheel also turns at the pace that is unique and perfect for each person.  With all                                                    we have lived - and are living - through, dedicate time for yourself this fall for your heart to catch up, for                                                        grief-healing to find illumination and release. It promises to be a powerful week! 


                                            Go to "GHOST RANCH COURSE" above for course details. To register or for more information on                                                                lodging, meals, etc costs, go to www.ghostranch.org .


                                             Blessings of hope and peace to all ~

                                             Cheryl Downey, Retreat Guide

Above is a messenger from Nature bringing blessing to the work: It is a newly emerged Mourning Cloak! But on to more of my story: my name is Cheryl Downey (not the same Cheryl Downey who has a career in films!) For over forty years I have had the privilege to witness, attend and help bring release to those who were facing illness, end of life, bereavement, or other life losses or transitions, first as a professional hospital and hospice chaplain and then as a shamanic grief-healing practitioner.  I founded Sacred Wheel Center for Grief and Healing in 2014, which gave birth to  Sacred Wheel Center, Inc. in 2016, which came into the fullness of its time in 2021 due to the COVID pandemic and personal health issues. I am excited to live into the continuing unfolding of grief-healing work, as I continue my private practice and lead grief-healing workshops and retreats. Keep a watch out for my book " Emerging: Mysteries of Grief and Other Awakenings." Stay tuned for what comes next! I know I am!

Copyright @ Sacred Wheel Center, Inc. (2021)