“The practice of presence is an essential means to live a fully human life here and now and to know those qualities that are described as ‘spiritual’”

— Kabir Helminski, ‘Living Presence’

In a time marked by speed, fragmentation, and uncertainty, we are easily pulled into identification with thought and reactivity. Yet within us remains the possibility of a deeper anchoring: a stable receptive presence not dependent on outer conditions, but arising from the essential ground of our Being.

In this Wisdom Retreat will explore the cultivation of this living presence as a three-centered awakening: sensing the body as an immediate doorway into reality, opening beyond changing emotional states into a deeper feeling, and clarifying the mind in alignment with attention.

Together, these centers form an inner coherence through which the heart becomes an organ of perception. We begin to experience ourselves not as fragmented, but as gathered, available, and responsive.

Drawing on Centering Prayer, embodied attention practices, chanting, and subtle sensing work, we engage presence as something we consent to—again and again—through the simple act of returning. We begin to notice what interrupts and sustains presence, and how it can be stabilized within the ordinary conditions of our lives.

As this capacity deepens, presence reveals itself not only as personal grounding, but as participation in a larger field of Being. Our inner state becomes part of the whole, and a more conscious, rooted presence becomes an offering—quietly available to what is being asked of us now.

To Register, contact rector@allsaintscarmel.org by June 17th.

Click here for flyer.

Schedule (subject to change)

Friday, June 26th

9:00 Centering Prayer & Introductions

10:00 Silent Break

10:15 Teaching Session

11:00 Silent Break

11:15 Conscious Practical Work

12:30 Lunch followed by Silent Contemplative Free Time

2:00 Teaching Session

2:45 Silent Break

3:00 Sacred Movement Practice

4:00 Silent Break

5:15 Centering Prayer *Day concludes by 5:00pm, dinner on your own

Saturday, June 27th

9:00 Centering Prayer

10:00 Silent Break

10:15 Teaching Session

11:00 Silent Break

11:15 Practical Work

12:30 Lunch followed by Silent Contemplative Free Time

2:00 Teaching Session

2:45 Silent Break

3:00 Sacred Movement

4:00 Silent Break

4:15 Closing Circle *Retreat Ends by 5:30