Tamya’s Time On Our Glastonbury Writing Retreat

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s another of our retreat attendee’s Tamya Bustamante’s write up of their time on our Writing For Our Lives Writers Retreat held in Glastonbury in July. We left it to her to tell her story in her own words.

You know when you go somewhere thinking you know what to expect and then you get something completely different?

As a volunteer for Alternatives who had organised the retreat, I often find myself reflecting like this and once again the thought reoccurred during the Writing For Our Lives retreat led by Jackee.

I feel I had quite a 2D perception of writing as a form of personal creative expression. It’s not that I don’t appreciate the art of writing, I love poetry, scriptwriting and verse, in particular, but I hadn’t extended the love to my own writing. It’s something I had put away in a box of things I wasn’t good at, along with maths & science, after some years of depressing feedback at school.

Nevertheless I went to the retreat believing that although I was no writer, (as writing was something that I did enjoy once upon a time) still, the holistic side of writing was something that definitely appealed to me.

The first day was all about settling into the beautiful Abbey House Retreat. What an incredible space to be in and go within. Jackee’s warm, open welcome made my soul feel re-acquainted with an old soul sister. She opened the space allowing each of us to tune into what we were there for, as individuals and sharing this collectively helped shape our collective aims for the weekend.

Jackee held us in a beautiful opening ceremony where we sat out in the grounds under a big tree and lit candles to represent our commitment to our aims for the weekend.

Jackee’s presence immediately facilitated peer to peer support and made our group feel more intimate. At one point a badger showed up at our opening ceremony, which I was told was very rare as they are shy creatures, but also very poignant as they represent courage.

I felt the badger was one of my guides throughout the weekend, reminding me to have courage and be open and in fact to extend that message into my current life. That was what really struck me about this writing retreat, it wasn’t just tools and exercises to practices whilst we were there, it was tools to use throughout ones life, to explore in wider areas.

The second day we got deep into writing. Each of our sessions were usually held indoors, but Jackee’s creative coaching encouraged us to go outside and use our environment to enrich our writing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tamya with one of the Journal cards she worked with on day 2 of the retreat.

After a very productive morning we walked to Challis Wells Gardens in the afternoon, found quite writing spots around the gardens and relished in drinking the pure water that sprung from the well. They said the water comes from so deep in the earth, they are unable to locate its exact source.

After we eagerly ate a deliciously prepared dinner, our silent ritual began. I feel this was one of the most important lessons, for all of us on the retreat. It cut out all the usual noise that distracts us from our inner voice and allowed us each to hold a sacred space of silence for ourselves and as a collective.

We woke at 4am on the third day and we greeted the morning with a walk to Glastonbury Tor, continuing our silent ritual. This was absolutely beautiful. The view, the sunrise, the huge Tor, the history of the place. I meditated and took many a deep mindful breath so as to lock this feeling securely in my life memories.

After another tasty breakfast, we broke our silence. It was like a soft awakening. We had a lot to share and write about that evening and we closed the night with a celebration with reading samples of what we had discovered, created and achieved over the past few days.

We couldn’t believe it when the last day arrived. It was difficult to think of leaving the beautiful place and going back to our usual lives. All that we had learnt, shared and received on this course.

We had a last couple of sessions before we had a closing ritual. It was difficult to say goodbye to the space, the retreat, Jackee and the other participants, but we all exchanged contacts and said we would continue to support each other with writing and attend Jackee’s retreat next year.

The last part I would like to share is a little more of my experiences of the sessions that Jackee held at the retreat. The sessions opened up the space for my quiet creative writing voice to emerge and for me personally, to be heard for the first time since the dreaded days of English language at school.

Jackee’s excellent facilitation of the sessions subtly held our group, as well as us individually in a way that made everyone feel secure and have the courage connect to our vulnerability and through it connect to our soul’s creativity.

Jackee encouraged us to ask ourselves the right questions, sit with them, breath with them and give time to allow the answers to come into our consciousness. Through her support we were able to uncover inner gems and be open with them and yet keep the newly uncovered gems close to ourselves. It was like revealing yourself to you.

I especially loved the different mediums we used to express and develop our creative writing. Through art, nature, music and using writing prompts, which touched different sides of our creativity my inspiration flowed out.

Jackee makes writing an easy and necessary thing to add to your life. She combines writing with many different aspects of wellbeing. This experience rejuvenated my passion for writing and I would recommend this retreat to everyone, especially those who do not feel they are writers.

Tamya Bustamante August 2013