Get quiet, turn inward.

Operating a retreat center can feel like running a marathon with some pretty intense sprints in between. So for the past two months, I decided to take a personal sabbatical on Big Island, Hawaii to reflect on the year, de-clutter my priorities, and renew my intentions for this final stretch of the year.

I am now back in magical Mount Shasta celebrating the fall equinox and wanted to take a moment to share my discoveries with you and how it's shaping our priorities moving forward.

At the start of the year, our 4-month winter incubator space nudged us all to slow down, get quiet and turn inward. I witnessed each of our 6 residents break free from old, stuck patterns (some as deep as repeating family cycles of trauma and ingrained identities) to create a completely new way of seeing, being and creating.

Birthing a new paradigm, a new vision or creation often requires us to break free from our old internal operating systems.

On spring equinox, our residents birthed new identities, writings, economic models, healing modalities, songs… so many multi-layered forms of expression that grew from a space of inner freedom and radical self-acceptance.

I realized that this level of rooted depth and creative power can only come from pausing to be alone with yourself… to rest, reflect, reorganize and recalibrate with Mother Earth and her rhythms as the guide.

So I decided to reorient our whole business to invite people to spend a week or more on our sacred land to just stop and do nothing.

But, would people pay to come to the land to just do nothing? Is there much value without "programming", workshops or classes? What would I even call this new offering? Those were all thoughts running through my monkey mind.

The word “retreat” felt like it implied “getting away” and “escaping” from your life, which felt misaligned with my intention.

And then one day, the word “sabbatical” came to me. A guest showed up who was taking an extended break from their job. I looked up the meaning…

“Sabbatikos" comes from the Greek word sabatikos, which means “of the Sabbath”, the day of rest that happens every seventh day.

The word “Sabbath” from the Hebrew verb Shabbat, means "to rest from labor", the day of rest. Shabbat's (the Sabbath) origins go back to creation, Genesis 2:1-3, where God worked for six days then rested on the seventh day.”

It made sense that our ancestors devoted time for rest to restore their bodies from all the effort needed to just survive. Hunting, gathering, farming all take up a ton of energy!

But for some reason in our modern day lives, we have to call “self-care” a radical act and qualify our rest as “restorative” in order for it to feel justifiable.

I wanted to hold space for people to have those serendipitous, "A-ha moments" without even trying (a.k.a. the magic of Hestia).

The next step was even harder. I had to trust my inner calling and quell my #1 fear of being rejected by putting this sabbatical thing out there.

Then…. slowly…. slowly….

The requests started trickling in with people sharing their deepest wants, needs and desires:

➸ I am seeking a space to rejuvenate from the day to day stress of life. Desiring coaching and guidance to have a more clear understanding of my wants and needs.

➸ I've been so busy helping others and have placed my own creativity on stand by.

➸ I am looking to cleanse, rest, recuperate and gain focus again. I need balance… and that requires rest.

➸ I am in need of learning how to be more in tune with myself, heal from trauma, and break unhealthy habits I’ve been exhibiting.

➸ I need to make an important life decision and seek clarity for how to proceed.

➸ I want to use this as a transition period to close my current chapter and transition into the next one grounded and aligned with my highest purpose.

➸ I need solitude in nature and time to reset my mind and body. I need peace of mind.

➸ I feel like I don’t know myself in a good way and am self judging. I want to learn to love myself.

Can you relate to one or more of these needs, wants and desires from above?

I feel like every single one is something I've needed for myself in the crazy years of the pandemic. Which is why my husband and I kicked ourselves off the land during our busiest season of the year to pause, reset, and reimagine how we want our life and our business to flow, grow and evolve.

If rest, reset and recalibration is calling you now, join us for a weeklong sabbatical, monthlong immersion or a 4-month winter incubation.

The land is here to support you. Our community is here to remind you that we can be alone together.

With love,
Belinda from Hestia