When Women Gather

A Rewild 4.0 Recap

10 of us gathered at the Dome on Oak Creek in Sedona last weekend. The fourth edition of Rewild. Wives, mothers, partnered, single, working in corporate, teachers, entrepreneurs, a therapist. Women in their 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s. One woman celebrated a birthday while we were there.

It felt so organic. So natural. Effortless. I wasn’t doing anything. I mean sure, I was cooking for 10, and holding space, but Ashley wasn’t doing anything. I’ve spent the better part of the last 6 months— and let’s be honest, the last 2 years— preparing for this weekend. Shelby and I put a lot of prep into this immersion. We called in the Goddess and our vibrant ancestors to be there first. We sat in ceremony many times, deep in self-inquiry and self-intimacy. Her and I have ruptured and repaired on repeat to lay the relational foundation: it’s spacious here, there is love here. We channeled the programming. We planned the menu. We did meet and greet calls with all of the women attending. We created an entire prep course. We held a group prep call. And from the moment I stepped foot on the property, I got out of the way. Simply offering my body as a vessel for the Divine and Dharma to flow through.

We did an Ancestral Lineage Healing drop in, ecstatic dance, somatic release breath-work, a rage ritual, a storytelling circle, intuitive movement, and a receiving circle. We had long, silent mornings until 10am. We ate lunches and dinners gathered around a giant table. We did cold plunges in the creek. We soaked in the hot tub under shooting stars. We hiked the red rocks. We cried, screamed, listened, fell apart, held each other, laughed, rested, created, purged, cleared.

I want to focus on the receiving circle. Words of affirmation is Shelby’s love language and a cornerstone of any container she leads. The first Rewild, we shared them as we all lounged in a hot tub. At the second and third Rewild, we wrote them down in each other’s journals. I still have the pages plastered to my fridge.

This time we sat in a circle and I recored the audio from each share so each woman could take home a voicenote of other women gushing about her. The ritual was 3 hours long. 3 hours of women singing the praises of 10 other women. The irony is that we had decided to skip an entire ritual. We had cleared a lot and moved a lot over 2 days, and a sort of exhaustion was creeping in like a fog. Shelby joked that she had pictured that ritual being about 3 hours long and we all laughed because hahaha that is too long for us right now. Too long for our tired hearts and bodies. Turns out that was what was needed. We sat in a circle and received. Oh my goddess did each woman receive. So beautifully. It felt so reflective of how much space had been created in our hearts: so much more room for love.

(Whenever I’m in a receiving circle, I always hear the buzzing of my ancestors: “This is what we’re always trying to share with you! This much specific love!”)

We sat down at 5pm and went well past 8pm. A few times we all checked in to see if we wanted to break for dinner? (No!) Do we want to break for dinner, and continue doing this in the dinning room? (No!) Do we want to bring our dinner into the room and finish here? (No!) Let’s keep going. Let’s stay in the circle! As the evening progressed, the shares simply became longer and longer. The first voicenote I have is 15 mins long, the 10th recording was 30 mins long. We tenderly, fiercely, and diligently chipped away at the patriarchy for three damn hours.

Here are some excerpts from how women speak to each other when it’s safe to share from the heart:

“You have such a beautiful, nurturing energy that's just so comforting and grounding, and also so expansive and liberating. There's so much depth and layers to you, and such a cool energy. You just have such a vibe. You are just such a vibe in and of itself. I don't know if there's enough words to adequately describe you, but you're fucking awesome and I so appreciate you.”

“I feel like a word that's not come up that feel like really describes you, too, is a fierce love, but in such a gentle way. You feel the wrath and the fierceness with it, but also in such a gentle package, that doesn't feel intimidating or overwhelming. It's fucking fierce. Also a rebel, but not like the traditional sense of how we see rebels, but so there's rebelliousness your nature that's so refreshing.”

“There's something about your like silence that fills a room. Even though we're all here to learn more about ourselves, I feel like you really know yourself.”

“You have strength, but it's soft. I see you as a leader. Deeply embodied, and confident in who you are, and in your body. It's really inspiring. You are so considerate. And your gaze is —is what's the word I want to use— penetrative, in the best way! Powerful. Majestic. I feel honored that you're like looking at me. You have a beautiful presence. And yeah, you feel like a leader. And I see what they're saying about like, taking up space in your silence. It's really inspiring, and it's inspired me to think about how I carry myself, and how I'm using my words, and when I can not use my words and still have that presence. It's something that I will continue to think about because of you. So I really appreciate you being here, and getting to cross paths with you in this way. Thank you.”

“When I see you, I see this firecracker, a subtle firecracker. You are experimenting, with pushing the edges of different things. Who can I be tomorrow? Who do I want to be next week? And I really admire that about you. An ever-changing energy, too. The way that you carry yourself is very ethereal. The elf fairy vibe is so there. I can tell that you were deeply spiritual and in touch with that part of yourself, and it's beautiful.”

“I feel really lucky to know you. You're so caring, and sweet, and easy to just love. You're very, very, very kind. And your kindness is like a childlike kindness in a way where it is so judgment-free. I love talking with you. You definitely allow me the space— I know that I could ramble and literally not be saying anything, and you'd be actively listening to every single word that I'm saying. And thank you for holding space for that. I have greatly enjoyed getting to be in your presence. I really have. I feel more gentle and I'm around you, but I also feel like I'm with family. And that feels very nice.”

“Definitely mother energy. You feel really rooted. You feel like kind of like a big oak. Safe to sit by, you know? Not gonna sway with the wind. I see you as a really natural healer, too. There's something about… healing requires relatedness. It feels like one of your gifts is that it doesn't matter if someone's talked to you once or twice or three times, or your partner who lives with you—there's a tether of relatedness that you're like available for with humans. I think that's why you're good at your job. I think that's an important gift. There's a safety and relatedness, and it's very easy for you.”

“I feel like the two words that came to mind for you are curious and inviting. Witnessing you here, there's this sense of curiosity and openness that you have. It really feels like you're here to do your work, and even the way you listen and hear…I just I love how open you feel, and how how curious you are to learn more. You have this really inviting and easeful presence that feels yeah like easy to be around. I feel like what I got from you when I first met you at night one, it was like a little bit more maybe reserved. If there were mock awards for retreats, whoever sort of blossomed the most that would be you.”

“You're so fun and funny. My time here has been a lot of seriousness, but you have been the easiest to just be like, inner child playful, back to my own roots in your presence. I feel like I can be giggly, and we can just laugh at nothing together and have a lot of fun. And yeah, I recognize you on your journey. I see myself in you a few years ago. You're already on this path at such a young age. I feel so much flourishing, blossoming coming, in this moment.”

“I feel like if you were a color palette, you would be like pastels. A a lot of white. That reminds me of the crown, and you being able to receive and articulate messages that you feel when you follow. And they feel really authentic. What I've witnessed you share in circle, it feels really powerful. You're competent in giving those messages and that also they need to be heard. And you trust that they need to be heard. So you're like, let me deliver this. And it lands. And you also feel like a Christmas card. Like your cheeks. I just feel like I could see you on a Christmas card. Jolly and joyful.”

“You have such a wealth of wisdom, and you're so generous and sharing it with others. I see how you deeply honor yourself. It's really inspiring. It feels like there was a lot of sacrifice to even be here, but you put yourself first. You're honoring yourself in a big way by even being here. Every day, in every decision that you make, is so intentional for you and your healing. And it's really beautiful to see. I love your motherly qualities as well.”

“I don't know about your history with the women in your family, but I feel like whatever they carried in strength, you also really, really carry right now and 2024. I can feel your connection to your ancestors in some way. I can feel that coming through.”

“You're a sister to all Beings. You're so safe. You're so safe for all Beings, and it's a gift to hold space for you. I don't know if you know how healing it is to witness your process. And how when you grieve it, it heals me. You're such a warrior. You're so dynamic Your ability to feel is a superpower. You're like a phoenix here.”

“You're just such a joy. It's so impressive how grounded you are amidst everything that you've been riding the past year. Plus, it's so impressive how much joy there still is. It really is a testament to how much grief you've grieved. You've grieved, and you've created so much space for love and for joy and for praise. Grief is praise. And you are that embodied.”

“Your voice is such a gift. It's really been an honor to hold space for you. You receive very well. It’s been such an honor to be able to pour into you, and it feels like you're drinking it up. That's a gift: to receive well. You are such a transmitter, an activator of love. You beam it out. You amplify it in every space, it feels very effortless. You're just like: me and all the love in the world just walked in the room.”

“The moment I first saw you: your eyes and your smile and loving energy captivated me like, immediately it was just like, so beautiful. Such a beautiful energy. And then your style, too. I'm like, oh, she's got some spunk! So unique and the sparkles. And last night, our time together was so beautiful. I felt so honored to receive you.”

“I really see you as someone who supports women— it's in your body and soul. I also came to this realization that you're the exact type of person— or friend I should say—where we have a shared experience, don't talk for a year, and then when I need something, I know exactly that I want to come to you. And you're going to tell me a different perspective. And I'm going to want to hear it. You see things differently than me. And I need people like that in my life. Not only that, you are really fun and cool.”

“So strong and steadfast and nurturing. I feel like I can lean my back against your trunk. It's a comfort to know that there are people like you in the world. So I'm so inspired by your keenness, you're very astute, and there's so much thirst for knowledge. There's this zest for life, but you're always a student. You’re feeding your brain.”

“You have been, and are still are there for me, in one of the most challenging years. The way that you see me is unlike anything, no one's ever expressed them seeing me like the way you do, and I can't thank you enough for your teachings. They're profound. And for holding space for so much of my vulnerability, and holding my shame when I didn't even know how I feel. You are a soul sister, a mentor, a teacher. You are full of wisdom, and have so much to offer and teach, and I'm honored to be here part of your retreat, and to work with you so closely for the past year. It's been truly life changing. I don't think I could have like done this past year without you.”

“It's funny: for many months, even maybe like a couple, maybe a year or two. I was like, let me support her. I'm also gonna go to her classes, or sign up for her newsletter, all the things right? Definitely want to support her. And then it's like, hh, no. You're here to support me. Crazy. Just flips. You're always like wise beyond your years. Even before this transformation, so smart, so smart. I only like being around people that I can learn from.”

And on and on and on and on…

We can’t do anything of this alone.

We need each other to mirror back our True Nature.

And so it is.

Shelby and I are feeling into Rewild 5.0: it will likely be in the late spring/early summer and on the East Coast (!) You can join the waitlist here.