The Experience: Since the start of 2023, Patch of Heaven Sanctuary has invited nature lovers, tree huggers, mindfulness practitioners and humans seeking respite, refuge and replenishment to spend a day in quiet contemplation on the grounds of our soothing, sacred spaces through the practice of retreat.
Our Chief Experience Officer, Suzanne Jewell, envisioned a “Signature Series” that would be held quarterly, each event recognizing the season and the tradition of meditation retreat centers worldwide, to take “a day away” (or more, in the tradition she practices since taking Vows of Refuge).
This daylong immersion experience welcomes you to truly set aside the hustle and bustle of the city and your daily life. Drop into what some call “slow living”, first by considering the first invitation of the day:
The day’s agenda invites further “arriving” and “dropping in” to the present moment:
This unique offering is meant to create a core of community practitioners that are drawn to Nature, to lay the foundation toward ways of living more gently within the Cycle of Life with all living beings and to explore ancient meditation and contemplation practices.
Grounded in the 2600 year old practices of insight (vipassana) and present moment attention, the day will guide retreat guests to “put down” the hectic hustle and open themselves to the soothing rhythms of “the nature pill at Patch” which permeates our 20 acre forest preserve and nature sanctuary.
Arrive, pause and learn the“Catch Your Breath” practice.
Learn about Patch of Heaven Sanctuary, the Mindful Pocket Park, why the science of focus and attention training helps mental wellbeing and the benefits of Nature-based Mindfulness.
Ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the official inauguration of the world's first Mindful Pocket Park.
Pause to “make a wish” and send lovingkindness to Nature, this sacred act invites a contemplation of what’s your highest aspiration for Nature and Earth
to be well.
Five Sensory Gardens “guide” the experiential aspect of the 5 Senses.
“Check-out” choosing two words to describe in THIS MOMENT NOW the state of their heart-mind upon taking “The Nature Pill.”
Pause to “make a wish” and send lovingkindness to Nature, this sacred act invites a contemplation of what’s your highest aspiration for Nature and Earth
to be well.
Pause to “make a wish” and send lovingkindness to Nature, this sacred act invites a contemplation of what’s your highest aspiration for Nature and Earth
to be well.
“Check-out” choosing two words to describe in THIS MOMENT NOW the state of their heart-mind upon taking “The Nature Pill.”
Pause to “make a wish” and send lovingkindness to Nature, this sacred act invites a contemplation of what’s your highest aspiration for Nature and Earth
to be well.
Pause to “make a wish” and send lovingkindness to Nature, this sacred act invites a contemplation of what’s your highest aspiration for Nature and Earth
to be well.
Mindfulness in Nature has been shown by the NIH (National Institutes of Health) to reduce anxiety and increase calm. Many of us “know” that a walk helps calm the savage beast, yet few of us know how to actually experience Nature as Nature itself.
We will guide you through the foundations of how earth-focused awareness practices began, weave you into the neuroscience of anxiety and offer the antidote of the Mindful Pocket Park’s “deep dive” into how to Pay Attention With Your Senses or P.A.W.S. When we learn through Sight, Sound, Scent, Touch and Taste how to offer ourselves present moment awareness, we open to the joys of birdsong, the sweetness of a breeze, the the lilting uplift of the chimes in our Sound Garden, and the sacred act of offering a prayer to the air before our Tibetan Prayer Wheel in the Touch Garden
Led by trained teachers of mindfulness, yoga, resilience and sound healing, you’ll experience first-hand the benefits of increased awareness, concentration, meditation and contemplation. Learn more about each of them below, check out the day’s treats of soothing spaces, tastes and time together.
