A Samhain Retreat for Inner & Outer Peace

A 4-hour Samhain retreat with meditation, fire ritual, ecstatic dance, and group coaching for more peace within ourselves and with others. A Samhain Retreat for Inner & Outer Peace What becomes possible when we stop fighting without giving up who we are? Samhain marks a threshold: the transition from the lighter half of the year into the darker half, a time historically associated with gathering, reflection, endings, and beginnings. Medieval Irish tradition even describes Samhain as a time of “peace and concord,” when people could set aside hostilities and gather without fear of one another. That idea is at the heart of this retreat. Laying down arms is not the same as surrendering. Within ourselves, we can have conflicting parts with very different ideas about what we need, who we should be, or what we should do. What might we learn if, for a little while, they stopped fighting one another long enough for us to listen? And what might change in our relationships if we could do the same thing with other people? This retreat begins with the question: Where would you like more peace within yourself? Through guided meditation, reflection, ritual, and ecstatic dance, we’ll explore the parts of ourselves that may be getting in the way of that peace. From there, we turn outward: Where would you like more peace in your relationships with others? In structured group coaching, we’ll practice remaining connected to our own bodies and center while exploring our conflicts with other people in our lives. Peace does not have to mean agreement. It does not require reconciliation, abandoning a boundary, accepting harmful behavior, or giving up something important to you. Sometimes peace begins simply by putting down the weapon long enough to understand what everyone is trying to protect. That reflects a philosophy at the heart of Centered Self: Love others. Take care of yourself. Love yourself. Take care of others. The inner work and the outer work are not separate. The compassion we learn to offer ourselves changes how we meet other people. And learning to remain curious about another person—without losing ourselves in the process—can teach us something about our own inner world. This year, Samhain falls at an especially fitting threshold. On November 1, daylight saving time ends in Washington, moving sunset an hour earlier as we quite literally enter the darker evenings of the year. We’ll gather in the late afternoon, move through ritual and dance as daylight fades, and spend the evening exploring what it means to carry our own center with us into relationship. Your facilitator Heather Hearn is the founder of Centered Self Integrative Coaching, a certified trauma-informed coach, and an International Coaching Federation Associate Certified Coach (ACC). The ACC credential reflects education, coaching experience, demonstrated coaching competencies, and commitment to the ICF Code of Ethics. Heather’s work is grounded in the belief that lasting change begins not with becoming who we think we should be, but with learning, knowing, and trusting who we already are. She incorporates parts work when useful and helps clients notice what is happening beneath patterns of behavior so they can make choices from a more centered place. This retreat is an invitation to practice that center—not only when you are alone, but when being in relationship makes staying there difficult. Come as you are. You do not need dance experience, knowledge of IFS or parts work, or a perfectly peaceful relationship with yourself or anyone else. Curiosity is enough.