Women’s Rite of Passage
Women in indigenous cultures often go through
rites of passage in order to enter into their full, sacred womanhood.
These rituals serve to awaken women to a deeper understanding
of female wisdom and of their connection to the feminine aspect
of the Divine.
Because the feminine has been repressed in our culture, such
rites of passage have been lost, leaving modern women without
an experience of their own unique sacred wisdom and power. RiverStone's
Women's Rites of Passage is an invitation to women in our culture
to explore trusting in something greater than themselves and
to reclaim the deeper female ways of being in the world.
The container used by the Women's Rites of Passage
for the challenge to awaken to this deeper way
of living is ritual. Ritual intention and action
will
be sustained through the use of delicious food,
beautiful clothing, sacred space, symbols, deep
sharing and prayer, music, artistic expression,
communion with the natural world and silence.
Both Christian and non-Christian ritual elements
will be used.
The next Women's Rites of Passage will take
place from May 6 - May 10, 2009 at the beautiful
Namaste Retreat Center, www.namasteretreat.com,
in Boerne, Texas. The cost is $650 and includes
lodging, meals and materials.
To
Register
Download the Registration Form (PDF)
Please send your nonrefundable, transferable deposit
of $100 along with the
registration form by March 1, 2009 to:
RiverStone
11304 Stormy Ridge
Austin, TX 78739
The balance of $550 is due March 31, 2009. We
accept cash and checks. An online registration
form can be downloaded here - Registration
Form (PDF).
- Early registration discount: The cost
is $600 if you register and pay by March 1,
2009.
- Two-person discount: The cost is $550
apiece if you and a friend register together
and pay by March 1,
2009.
We offer a limited number of partial scholarships.
Please email Daphne Levy at levwripc@flash.net
for an application.
If you have questions, please call us at 512-462-1521.
From Despair to Empowerment
Workshop
Being conscious in our world today involves awareness of unprecedented human
suffering and growing possibilities of global disaster. Living into this awareness
brings with it the dangers of despair, paralysis and a loss of faith in a benevolent
God. As the odds against planetary survival escalate, we need ways to deal with
our innermost responses so we can overcome our doubts, our psychic numbing and
our exhaustion to move out into the world as agents of change and hope.
RiverStone
offers this one-day workshop as a way through this despair to a feeling of
empowerment. Through personal sharing, guided meditation, art
and prayer, the workshop will help the participants to explore
a way through their pain for the world to find deeper levels
of faith, community, commitment, and hope.
If you would like to schedule this RiverStone workshop
for your group. Please contact us through our e-mail or call
us.
Silent Retreats
By special arrangement, RiverStone can host a silent retreat
for your group. Our silent retreats take place at Santa
Soledad, located just east of Giddings, Texas, in a remote
and peaceful setting. The cost of a weekend retreat is
$95 per person. RiverStone can accommodate a minimum of
5 and a maximum of 15 people for these rejuvenating retreats.
If you would like to schedule a retreat for your group,
please contact us through our e-mail us or call us.
Spiritual Direction
Some of the members of RiverStone offer either individual
or group spiritual direction. If you are looking for a
spiritual director, please consider contacting our members
through our e-mail or by calling us:
RITUALS:
Day of the Dead
The Day of the Dead is a Mexican custom with roots in both Aztec and Spanish
religious traditions. The essence of this feast is an invitation to join with
both the dead and the living in a celebration of the interconnectedness of
all life. The festival has other meanings as well. If fosters an acquaintance
with death. We come to understand death not as the enemy but as a natural part
of life, an intimate. It reminds us that life is fragile and that no matter
how important we may think we are in life, death will come for us all. The
feast allows for parody in portraying the futility of those who believe that
they can somehow save themselves. It emphasizes the call for social justice
and equality by reminding us of our ultimate equality in the face of death.
Lastly, the feast is a foretaste of the great messianic banquet at the end
of time when everyone is reunited with the Sacred in Love.
Every year, RiverStone offers an opportunity for
us to live into this interconnectedness of all life, the living
and the dead. Our ritual features the building of a Day of the
Dead altar, a communion with our beloveds who have departed this
earth and an communion with those of us still here, sharing Bread
of the Dead and stories from our lives, both past and present.
This ritual is celebrated at the end of October
or the beginning of November, around the time of the turning
of the year in the old European tradition, and All Saint’s
Day in the Christian calendar. More details will be forthcoming
as the time approaches.
Pesame
A vigil of remembrance and solidarity among women.
In certain regions of Mexico there is a custom in which, during
Holy Week, women join together in a vigil known as the Pesame.
The purpose of this lovely gesture is to accompany Mary, the
mother of Jesus, in her sorrow at losing her son to the forces
of violence and injustice.
Every year, RiverStone holds a vigil similar to
the traditional Pesame. We remember and honor Mary, not only
as a symbol of wounded motherhood, but also for her profound
significance to all people as a symbol of courage, receptivity,
faith, strength in adversity and steadfast love. In addition,
we will remember and honor all women everywhere who suffer the
effects of violence, injustice, ignorance, war, disease and poverty.
We will stand in solidarity with our sisters the world over and
pray for an end to violence and injustice in the world. |
