"THE NATURE OF WRITING"
A Writing Retreat in Nature
Please join us for our multi-day meditation retreat in the western North Carolina mountains. Watershed Retreat Center is located on 100 or so acres in a pastoral setting highly conducive to finding — or returning to — our true nature, all the while resting in the embrace of Mother Nature.
At Watershed, we leave the familiar terrain of the city and our daily routine, embarking on a journey into Nature, in the relative wilderness of the mountains and valleys of North Carolina. Which, of course, does not really exist, except as lines drawn upon a map. Which, of course, is not the territory. Bringing the familiarity of Zen's meditation to the strangeness of the piney woods, we realize the sameness within the difference. Once the "retreat" - which is actually a Zen "attack" (we don't retreat from anything) is over, we return to the fray refreshed.
Bring your favorite writing tools, along with a camera if you would like to engage in nature photography. We will alternate sitting meditation periods with writing, creative language exercises and sharing sessions.
Taiun-roshi will share poetry from the written record of Zen, introduce verbal design exercises, and offer opportunities for personal interviews (dokusan).
Shomōn Alan Rossi, a novelist, award-winning short story writer, and teacher of creative writing, will offer technique exercises that are inspired by Zen practice.
Registration limited to 7 to preserve intimacy and interactivity of the intensive.
Where: Watershed Retreat Center – 361 Albone Branch Road, Hayesville, NC 28904
Fees: Suggested Donation $240 (or pay what you can).
Questions Prior to Retreat Contact: