The Deep Rest Retreat

 

“After dozens of retreats, thousands of dollars spent on self-help books, therapists and meditation classes… I finally learned how to meet my deepest pain and shame… and even find joy and humour there…”

 

THE DEEP REST RETREAT

SLOWING DOWN AND BEFRIENDING YOURSELF IN DIFFICULT TIMES

with JEFF FOSTER and MATT LICATA, Ph.D.

A leading-edge exploration
of the power of self-compassion
with a spiritual teacher and a depth psychotherapist.

What if...

• The deep rest, freedom and aliveness you long for is not found in transcending, fixing, or even healing yourself, but in embracing the “glorious mess” of your humanity, and surrendering to the beautiful imperfection of your life?

• Spiritual Enlightenment is already here, shining through the ordinariness of the present moment, closer than your next breath?

• The perfection you’ve always been seeking is actually contained in the midst of your tender vulnerability, uncertainty, brokenness and “shame”?

• There is precious alchemical medicine hidden inside your pain, and your deepest longings, aches, doubts and sorrows are actual portals to joy?

• You are perfect, and loveable, and whole, exactly as you are?

 

"Matt and Jeff have so much to offer the world. And, together, their wisdom, humor and compassion is through the roof and through the heart! I was saturated with love at this retreat. It was wonderful and I am reconsidering what is possible.." - Participant

 

A 5-DAY JOURNEY ROOTED IN REST, PRESENCE AND THE ART OF TRUE FRIENDSHIP

For the last decade, JEFF FOSTER a spiritual teacher whose personal journey through suicidal shame and depression led him to the discovery of nonduality (wholeness), and MATT LICATA, a depth-oriented psychotherapist who has spent the last 25 years at the intersection of meditative awareness, emotional healing, and shadow integration, have been having a dynamic ongoing conversation about radically re-envisioning spirituality and the journey of healing: as a full and courageous embrace of our vulnerable humanness.

In meeting and working with with thousands of seekers of truth all around the world at retreats and in private sessions, and through their personal conversations and life explorations, they have uncovered something very precious, a sacred jewel of inner peace and aliveness amidst the noise and mess of everyday life. They are inviting you to join them in the beautiful Rocky Mountains of Colorado for five days of rest, exploration, play, discovery, presence, and compassion.

Weaving together the wisdom of the meditative traditions and the emotionally-attuned and shadow-sensitive approaches of depth psychology, Matt and Jeff will share with you a simple yet radical and perhaps life-changing invitation, one of true friendship: with our thoughts and feelings, with our bodies and minds, with each other, with our joys and sorrows, with our deepest inner life.

 

“When we stop trying to fix, mend or even ‘’awaken” ourselves and each other,
and instead drench our wounds with awareness, compassion and breath,
working with the present moment instead of against it, we come to see:
Our doubts, longings, fears, our shame and our deepest sorrows
are not mistakes, not blocks on our path or signs of our spiritual “failure”,
but actual PORTALS to the sacred, misunderstood DOORWAYS to the Infinite
The human and the spiritual… are One”

 

“After a lifetime of spiritual seeking, after all the insights, experiences, revelations, I finally found the missing ingredient that gives the courage to stay here, now, without the reference to my personal drama. The tenderness that addresses the human being. Infinite, beautiful, human mystery..." - Participant

“Over 25 years of jumping from one ‘next best method’ to the next, feels like it's finally over. These lessons are so easily applied in daily life, and I don't have to burn special incense, ring a bell 33 times, or squeeze myself in a vice grip while chanting in a foreign tongue. Loving this!” - Participant

 

AN INVITATION TO REST

Has your life become an endless ‘self-improvement project’? After years of working on yourself, meditation, therapy, spiritual seeking and trying to “quiet your mind” or “lose your ego”, do you still feel far from where you wanted to be? Do you long to slow down, rest, come out of repetitive and exhausting thinking, and be deeply embraced, exactly as you are?

The Deep Rest Retreat is an invitation to slowness, simplicity, kindness and profound self-exploration. Through mindful awareness, compassionate presence, and the therapeutic power of love, we will learn - moment by moment - to “end the inner war” with our thoughts and feelings and to wake up to the sacredness of our ordinary lives. With their trademark gentleness and humour, Matt and Jeff bring a powerful core teaching of Presence which lovingly dismantles shame at its very root and wakes us up to the miracle of being alive.

You will learn...

• How to stop running from life and finally rest deeply.

• Why “working on yourself” doesn’t always work.

• How true healing can happen… when you stop “trying” to heal!

• Why you don’t need to “silence your mind", “get rid of your ego", or "transcend your body" anymore; rediscovering a grounded, embodied and honest spirituality.

• How meditation can be simple and effortless: a fresh approach to spiritual practice.

• Why “doing nothing” can sometimes be the best solution of all.

• How you can discover joy and peace even in the midst of pain and discomfort.

• Why shame, unworthiness and even self-disgust can be portals to Wholeness.

 

"At the core of our deepest longing
is to be friends with ourselves,
to hold and touch and dance and play with the
pieces of soul that sparkle and form our true being…”
- Matt Licata

MORE TOPICS COVERED ON THE RETREAT

• the art of true friendship - becoming a true friend to yourself and to life

• cultivating self-compassion and befriending your most difficult experiences including grief, loss, heartbreak and loneliness

• meditation as an effortless invitation: to bring curious attention, moment by moment, into our everyday present experience

• meditative and therapeutic approaches to trauma, anxiety, and depression

• integrating the shadow: meeting the abandoned, helpless and lost parts of yourself with kindness and compassion

• the deepest meaning of healing: emotional integration, “release” and “letting go”

• untangling common spiritual myths, fantasies and misunderstandings

• navigating times of transition, crisis, disillusionment and profound change

• why your pain is not pathology… but path!

• finding the sacred in the mundane; the sheer “ordinariness” of spiritual enlightenment

• the joy of being an amateur, true spirituality as ‘beginning again’ in every moment

• the importance of including the body and feelings on our spiritual path

• the discovery of Awareness: finding sacred space around thoughts and sensations

• the importance of psychological work as a support for spiritual growth

• nondual and depth psychological perspectives on working with obsessive thinking, difficult emotions, and addictive behaviors

• healing shame and untangling the core wound of unworthiness; healthy vs. toxic forms of shame

• intimate relationship as a healing crucible, allowing another to matter, and the unique ability of relationship to illuminate our deepest joys, fears, vulnerabilities, and potentials

• how embodied vulnerability is our true power

• working with reactive emotions, triggers, limiting beliefs and narratives

• “from de-pressed to deep rest” - depression as a call to rest

• the joy of slowing down and meeting the present moment “as it is”

• and many other related topics.

 

Turn towards this – a sacred moment, unrepeatable.
Trust the ebb and flow of things.
Say YES! to uncertainty and the unresolvedness of your life.
Come out of stories and second-hand dreams
and remember the place where breathing happens.
Here. Now.”
– Jeff Foster

“Thank you for such a beautiful and powerful event. I came away with such a deeper understanding of the power of our presence and self-love through this practice. The retreat was lovely, and I felt such rest and relief.” - Participant

“It was a life game-changer, a beautiful, rich and exquisite line of demarcation in my non-path path, journey without destination…” - Participant

“A wonder-filled event… I LOVED every minute of it!!! Your talks resonated deep within me, and I bow with sincere respect to your ability to hold this practice while listening to people's stories..” - Participant

"It was an amazing experience of wisdom, depth and a generosity of sharing that organically opened my heart." - Participant

"Such a deep offering allowing such a powerful shift into Being and Presence!" - Participant

 

 

MATT AND JEFF AS YOUR WISE, PLAYFUL GUIDES

Through their experience of working with thousands of people all over the world, and also moving through their own suffering and trauma (a journey which is ongoing and always deepening), Matt and Jeff are able to serve as compassionate, insightful, and authentic friends and guides. This journey of rest, self-befriending and deepening into Presence has been life-changing for both of them. Spirituality is at once deeply serious for them, yet at the same time, perhaps paradoxically, their humorous, light, and playful approach has helped so many over the years to disarm their defenses, step off the battlefield with themselves and engage the journey more artistically, playfully, and poetically, with a profound new sense of compassion, kindness, and love.

Matt and Jeff have come to see all of everyday life as sacred - the boredom as much as the bliss, the sorrow as much as the joy. Duality is inseparable from nonduality, the Absolute is inseparable from the relative, the Divine is inseparable from this wonderful, vulnerable, totally lovable human “mess” that we are. Theirs is a teaching rooted in Oneness yet honouring of the full spectrum of separateness and differentiation, and the mysteries contained in both.

Simply put, Matt and Jeff are very ordinary people who have discovered something truly extraordinary - a key to inner peace and aliveness - and they would love to share that discovery with you.

 

“When things are uncomfortable,
challenging or difficult,
the temptation is to run, to disconnect.
But what happens when, just for a moment,
you find the courage to stay?
Befriending yourself is true meditation.
Just being here, now. Breathing into the hurt place.
Saturating the pain with curiosity and kindness.  
This is a great act of love! For yourself.
For others. And for all of humanity...”
- Matt Licata & Jeff Foster

 

A TYPICAL DAY ON RETREAT

Each day on the retreat you will rest in Presence with author and spiritual teacher Jeff Foster, who will help you drop out of your busy mind and connect with the living moment, your body and your feelings in his own unique, playful, human way. Through heartfelt talks, restful guided mindfulness meditations, silence, personal stories and honest dialogues, he will remind you that you are perfect and whole, exactly as you are. He will help you stay present and connected with yourself, no matter what life throws at you.

You will also explore the alchemy of psychological and emotional integration with psychotherapist and author Matt Licata, PhD, who will guide you into the mysteries of the heart with playfulness, humor, and compassion. Drawing on contemplative spirituality, the latest psychological research, and the power of the poetic imagination, you will discover the inherent wisdom buried in even your deepest pain, confusion, and longing.

In the evening there will usually be a dialogue on stage between Matt and Jeff, where, through poetry, humor, conversation and personal stories, they will explore the ground of a loving, embodied, nondual Presence – the place where spirituality and therapy come together, the Home we never left - and how the Divine expresses itself in the chaotic, sweet, glorious, sacred mess of our ordinary lives. Usually, during one or two nights on retreat, we will have an evening of movement and music, which many find deeply nurturing and supportive in the integration of the teaching.

In the space between meetings, you are free to walk, rest and play in the holding field of the Rocky Mountains, and enjoy delicious and nourishing food prepared by expert chefs at Sunrise Ranch, using ingredients grown locally using sustainable methods, and served with love. You may spend time alone and in silence, or connect and share with your fellow retreatants… however your heart guides you. We look forward to meeting you in Colorado!

 

 

“Sitting in the many sessions, meeting people I might not normally meet, but hearing their archetypal struggles…. having the time and space to connect to an understanding that goes beyond … and coming away with a resonance from all this that has me gently smiling as I type you this message…” - Participant

“The experience was such a beautiful death for me. A death to my identity, as a concrete thing, a death to the old idea of relationship & attachment, a death to my idea of the world as it is/was. What I created was a place of EVER fluxing, riding the wave of the flow, finding my balance in the flux. Letting life breath me. This portal of healing was ignited, again, by attending your retreat. The brain detoxing retreat!” - Participant

 

HOW TO REGISTER - IMPORTANT!

Please note that there are two registration processes required to attend the retreat...

(1) Please register and pay here on BrightStar for tuition.

(2) In addition, you must also register directly with Sunrise Ranch, for accommodations and food, even if you plan to stay off campus.  To complete this second phase of registration, where you will select and pay for accommodations, please visit the retreat's Sunrise Ranch registration page at https://sunriseranch.secure.retreat.guru/program/the-magic-of-being-fully-human-mli1019/?form=1&lang=en. 

Gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian food options are available. Other special dietary requirements should be pre-arranged with Sunrise Ranch when you book. If you prefer to register with Sunrise Ranch by phone, or if you have food/accommodation questions for Sunrise Ranch, please call 1-877-786-0078 toll-free or (970) 679-4200.

 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION - PLEASE READ BEFORE REGISTERING!

The Deep Rest retreat is not designed to work personally with psychological or emotional disorders, or for those with severe trauma, anxiety, or depression. If you are suffering from clinical or severe forms of these conditions, please consider whether this retreat is appropriate for you, as you keep in mind that we will not be able to provide personal psychological work during the retreat.

If you are currently in psychotherapy, please consult with your therapist to make an informed decision together whether attending this retreat will be likely (or not) to support the work you are doing together given your unique situation. While we will be addressing therapeutic, contemplative, relational, and body-based ways of responding to difficult emotions and ways of organizing our experience, the retreat is not a therapy group and not able to provide the individual, unique guidance that many require when working with psychological and emotional suffering.

While not formally a silent meditation retreat, it is similar in spirit, as we take time out of our busy lives to rest, to inquire, to open our hearts, to listen, to play, and to remember something we may have forgotten....

 

PRESENTER BIOS

Jeff Foster studied Astrophysics at Cambridge University. In his mid-twenties, after a long period of depression and illness, he became addicted to the idea of ‘spiritual enlightenment’ and embarked on an intensive spiritual quest for the ultimate truth of existence.

The spiritual search came crashing down with the clear recognition of the non-dual nature of everything, and the discovery of the extraordinary in the ordinary. In the clarity of this seeing, life became what it always was: intimate, open, loving and spontaneous, and Jeff was left with a deep understanding of the root illusion behind all human suffering, and a love of the present moment.

Jeff was voted #59 on Watkins Review’s list of the world’s 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People. Jeff has published five books in over ten languages. His latest book “The Joy of True Meditation: Words of Encouragement for Tired Minds and Wild Hearts” is published by New Sarum Press (2019).

Jeff's website can be found at: http://www.lifewithoutacentre.com/

Follow Jeff on Facebook: https://facebook.com/LifeWithoutACentre/

 

Matt Licata, PhD is a psychotherapist, writer, and teacher based out of Boulder, Colorado, with students, clients, and patients worldwide. He is author of The Path is Everywhere: Uncovering the Jewels Hidden Within You.

Matt has spent the last 25 years on the forefront of the integration of Western, developmental and depth-psychology with mindfulness-based, contemplative, meditative approaches to psychological growth, emotional healing, and spiritual transformation. Trained in the US, Canada, and Asia, Matt teaches from an integral perspective, with careful attention to the full-spectrum of human experience, incorporating the latest research in somatic psychology, interpersonal neurobiology, and developmental analytic theory.

In addition to training in developmental, analytic, and depth-psychology, Matt has been deeply influenced over the last nearly three decades by the world's wisdom traditions, especially Vajrayana Buddhism, Sufism, and the religions of India, where he spent more than two years in focused study and practice. Matt's doctoral dissertation involved an in-depth study of the ways spiritual belief and practice can serve a defensive function, in the avoidance of unresolved somatic, emotional, and developmental wounding.

Most recently, in addition to his teaching and clinical practice, Matt served as Director of Professional Studies for Sounds True, where he designed in-depth training materials for practicing clinicians alongside some of the country's most respected psychologists, psychotherapists, neuroscientists, and healers.

To learn more about Matt and his work, please see http://www.mattlicataphd.com

Follow Matt on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mattlicataphd