Patience and Urgency: A Paradox of Our Time

A Courage & Renewal Retreat Saturday, November 10, 2018, 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM

When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you. (Lao-Tzu)

As virtues go, patience is a quiet one. Patience has many dimensions, in words and actions, silence and stillness. Do you recall a time when you abandoned patience, and wished you hadn’t? Our society works hard to extinguish patience: the express button on your microwave, high speed internet so we can quickly google the answer to that ever so pressing question, express lanes on highways and in supermarkets, and the Starbucks drive-thru to get that caffeine fix. We create a world of instant gratification – and immediate disappointment. No time to be curious, or live in the moment, or to consider where we have been, or where we are going. Yet patience can draw us toward reflective thought, a better understanding of ourselves and others, and according to recent research, toward better mental and physical health.

But a meaningful life requires more than patience. There are times when patience must ease, and urgency and agency are needed. Nero fiddled while Rome burned may be an exaggeration, but if we fiddle too long, opportunity might be lost. Timely action may be needed to correct the direction of our careers, relationships, lives or even our democracy. The action you take may not always be successful, but successful or not, action is a growth opportunity. As Buddhist monk Nhat Hahn teaches us, “Any thought you produce, anything you say, any action you do, it bears your signature.” So the question to ask: “What is your action signature?” And when is that action signature needed? Urgency and patience are each qualities that can enhance our lives, but we often need help in refining and implementing them. This retreat will explore the qualities of both, a cultivated patience and thoughtful action. When is patience called for, and when is action needed? Exploring the power and place of each in a safe space is one goal of our time together.

Click Here for Patience and Urgency Registration Form (PDF)

If you’d like to learn more about the event, you can click here to be redirected.

A Jewish Journey toward an Undivided Life

Saturday, March 18, 2017 1-5 PM

Life has a way of pulling us from our essence, our center. Sometimes it is simply everyday routines and distractions that grind us down, taking us on a path we do not want to travel. When this happens, we may feel a bit lost, aimless, overwhelmed, or even “burned out.” At more intense times, illness, loss of friends and family, job or career fatigue, relationship setbacks, divorce or empty nest syndrome can pull us from our center. Too often we choose to ignore the gap between who we have become, and who we intended to be. Ignoring this rift between role and soul creates a potential risk to our health, well-being, and ideals. This need not be the case.

What participants say about Courage & Renewal retreats:
An opportunity for me to explore honestly what my soul wants and needs in a safe, caring environment. I discovered insights into what will rejuvenate my soul and re-ignite my inner fire.

Our Jewish Courage & Renewal retreat offers individuals time away from daily pressures to reflect and grow. Rather than focus on specific techniques or strategies to “improve yourself”, we see meaningful change as one that comes from within. This retreat will help you:

• Resolve to live closer to your core commitments.
• Create a caring community that welcomes the soul and honors diversity.
• Explore Jewish practices that renew heart (lev), mind (sechel), and spirit (ruach).
• Discover principles and practices from our Circle of Trust approach that can be applied to your daily life and work.

What to Expect
A skilled facilitator will create a quiet, focused, and disciplined space—a circle of trust—in which the noise within us and around us can subside and we can begin to hear our own inner voice. In large group, small group, and solitary settings, we will explore the intersection of our personal and professional lives, making use of stories from our own journeys and insights from poets, storytellers, and Jewish traditions.
Are you ready to give yourself the time and space to engage in your life questions with clarity and intention? Then join us for this one day gift to yourself.

Registration Form (PDF)

There is something in every one of you that waits and listens for the sound of the genuine in yourself. It is the only true guide you will ever have. And if you cannot hear it, you will all of your life spend your days on the ends of strings that somebody else pulls.

Howard Thurman

Living Life on Purpose: Journey toward an Undivided Life

Who is the real you? Who is the genuine you who wakes you up in the middle of the night for a heart-to-heart chat? Not the inner critic, not one of the many voices that chatter in your head. But the calm, still inner voice you can trust. The most basic tenant of Courage & Renewal is that everyone has an inner teacher. We believe that every person has access to an inner source of truth, named in various wisdom traditions as identity, true self, heart, spirit or soul. The inner teacher is a source of guidance and strength that helps us find our way through life’s complexities and challenges. If we are to maintain our personal well-being, social commitment, and individual integrity, we need to find a place that allows us to hear our own inner voice, to rediscover and cherish our sense of purpose, and to be discerning in our life choices. Courage & Renewal retreats offer such a place.

In large group, small group, and solitary settings, we will explore the intersection of our personal and professional lives, making use of stories from our own journeys and insights from poets, storytellers, and various wisdom traditions. During our time together, you will have unique opportunities to:

• Resolve to live closer to your core commitments.
• Explore practices that renew heart, mind, and spirit.
• Create a caring community that welcomes the soul and honors diversity.
• Learn from and reconnect with nature.
• Discover principles and practices from our Circle of Trust approach that can be applied to your daily life and work.

Whether you are new to Courage and Renewal or a renewing participant, you are invited to be part of a Courage and Renewal Circle of Trust, joining in community to (re)discover what brings your life meaning, and to identify obstacles that deplete your energy. Please consider joining us.

Courage & Renewal Retreat Opportunities in Tucson

A Winter Pause

Saturday, January 21, 2017
9:00–1:00 pm

A Spring Pause

Saturday, April 29, 2017
9:00–1:00 pm

A Jewish Journey toward an Undivided Life

Saturday, March 18, 2017
1:00 – 5:00 pm

Questions? Contact David Sadker at 520-282-3431 or dsadker@gmail.com

All sessions are at St. Francis in the Foothills, 4625 East River Road (River and Swan)

Cost is $60 a session.  Winter and Spring together is $100.  Registration includes materials and refreshments.

Click here for Registration Form for Spring and/or Winter Pause

Click here for Registration Form for A Jewish Journey toward an Undivided Life

[Previously scheduled retreats]

Taking an inner journey toward rejoining soul and role requires authentic relationships, a rare but real form of community that I call a “circle of trust”.

Parker J. Palmer

Courage & Renewal® programs can be offered in a variety of formats,

from two hours to weekend retreats.

Questions? Contact David Sadker at 520-282-3431 or dsadker@gmail.com