Walk to Emmaus
April 30, 2007 by Tracee Sioux
Filed under Parenting
Hi fabulous people! I’m just coming off my spiritual high after being at a 3 day retreat, The Emmaus Walk. This non-denominational interactive experience was just what my soul needed. Absolutely no hellfire and damnation and total grace, love and joy. Bible recap: There were two men who were walking 7 miles or so to the town of Emmaus and talking about the very recent crucifixion of Jesus. Stranger comes and walks and talks with them about what had happened and interprets Jesus words. They invite the stranger to stay and then realize that the stranger actually is Jesus, right before he disappears. Obviously, my recap holds nothing to the King James Version, which can be found in Luke 24:13.
I can’t recommend this retreat enough. Not only did my husband’s experience transform our marriage, but I am feeling super-connected to the soul of the world with a faith that I can impact it in a positive way. And the intention to do so. Who wouldn’t want that?
I have been on other retreats and I seriously and with all genuine concern recommend that you schedule one immediately – as if your life depended on it. Really, here are some obvious reasons why a retreat is a wonderful experience.
Not one time did I have to think up something for dinner and wonder if we had all the ingredients? Nor did I have to change anyone’s diaper, get anyone a snack, clean a single thing, think about my work, think about my friends or husband or kids or anyone else who might be depending on my doing something. I didn’t have to remember any appointments or obligations. I didn’t even have a watch so I didn’t have to worry being anywhere at any particular time. I don’t know what time they woke us up or what time they sent us off to bed. Didn’t care. I didn’t have to worry about what I looked like. I didn’t have to worry about my hair or makeup or outfit – all casual all the time.
When was the last time that you have savored a total lack of responsibility? Perhaps you never have, in which case I must say – it is TIME.
Another great reason is what I’ll coin Commando Study. I’m a fan of what I’ve heard Dr. Phil call commando parenting, but what I originally learned from The Baby Whisperer. It’s where you put all of your focus on the issue at hand for say 3 days. You try to clear your schedule or put a lot of focus on say weaning the baby from his bottle of milk to prevent him from continuing to be a milk tyrant (my current commando parenting task). Spend 3 days of temper tantrums while offering only a sippy cup and refusing to give into demands for a bottle. Commando parenting totally sucks for 3 days – but then the struggle is over and you don’t ever have to deal with the issue again.
For instance, you might be having marital trouble and one thing you might do is go to a therapist. This might be effective. Every week you go in and try to work out what is going on and how you might be able to fix it. This approach will likely take months and months just to find out what is really going on in your relationship dynamic. It’s a long and painful process and seems to never end. Meanwhile you have to keep living together and struggling, (Well, maybe you’ve had better and quicker results than I have, but I’ve found this to be the case for therapists we have sought help with.) You might read a bunch of marriage books together about how different you are and how to overcome that.
An alternative to that long process would be commando marital intervention like the retreat offered by Gary Zukav and Linda Francis called Spiritual Partnership for Couples. I’ve not been to this 5-day retreat, but God-forbid we ever need it again, this is the first stop. It’s just better sometimes to get out of your comfort zone and climb right into the feelings, painful or not, and DEAL with them quickly and efficiently. And a 5-day retreat in which to focus on your marriage or spiritual partnership can’t be a bad thing. I think it would be great to get out of town and spend 5-days – all day and night – intensively talking about your most significant relationship.
I’ve gone on writing retreats as well and have found them to be wonderful. One of the greatest parts of a retreat is that there is no box they’ve prepared for you. You know, the convenient box people put you in and keep declaring this is who you are. Whether its mom or employee or the loud one or the shy one – there’s a million boxes and they are all probably just as confining for the person in them.
But, when you go to a retreat no one has any expectations of who you should be. You can go and completely reinvent someone new and they wouldn’t know the difference. Or you can go and be your authentic self and might find it interesting how the others interpret your authentic self differently than those you see everyday. Sometimes the people who love us the most expect us to keep being the same and don’t take our transitions, evolutions and growth very well. It’s great for us to go be that new self with people who didn’t know us when we had this job or that, used to party too hard, or just expect us to be a specific way.
I’m always a little bit surprised that people like who I authentically am as much as they do. When I’m on a retreat people tell me they enjoyed my company and I’m friendly and fun – sadly, I’m always a little bit surprised because I don’t hear that very often when I am at home trying to be my authentic self.
I’d love to go on a yoga retreat. I have been practicing yoga at my gym 3 days a week for about 9 months. I love it. I feel so much stronger than when I started. I always feel so powerful and empowered when I do it. Best of all I think it’s so spiritual, I feel my mind get some rest as it connects with God and the spiritual soul of the world and I really feel relaxed and connected during my yoga classes. I would love to go on a 3 day retreat and just really master a lot of poses and get really in that meditative zone and see where God might take me. I usually get a lot of inspiration for writing while I am in my yoga class, who knows I might walk away with the inspiration for the Great American Novel after a 3 day yoga class.
Whatever your interest, I strongly recommend a retreat of some sort. You deserve it!
Sounds completely awesome!
I hate to say this, but I savor a complete lack of responsibility quite frequently.
I think a yoga retreat sounds divine.
Aaahh, Pre-Baby life. No responsiblity. Yeah, I think I remember weekends where I didn’t have to do anything at all.
Now, not so much.
Go on a retreat! Go on an Emmaus Walk – you won’t regret it for a second.
I would say most Christians think because they only think of yoga as an excersize that is all it is..think again.
The philosophy behind yoga is much more than physically improving oneself. It is an ancient practice derived from India, believed to be the path to spiritual growth and enlightenment.
The word “yoga” means “union,” and the goal is to unite one’s transitory (temporary) self with the infinite Brahman, the Hindu concept of “God.” This “God” is not a literal being, but is an impersonal spiritual substance that is one with nature and the cosmos. This view is called “pantheism,” the belief that everything is God, and that reality consists only of the universe and nature. Because everything is God, the yoga philosophy makes no distinction between man and God.
Finding your take on Emmaus is just what I needed to prove my point to someone who asked me about Emmaus. I was trying to explain to my friend that Emmaus is one of the myriad ways that people are trained in Diaprax.
A Diverse Group of People
Dialoguing to Consensus
Over a Social Issue
With the Aid of a Facilitator
And a Pre-determined Outcome
The Emmaus Walk is presented as something Christian but as those who read your blog quickly learn, you are into a number of non-Christian activities. That means that any Christians who attend the Walk with you and understand that Yoga is anti-Christian would be kept from correcting you for the sake of “unity-in-diversity”.
As the official Emmaus word tells us we can’t be intolerant and legalistic if we want to be part of their ecumenical mind-meld. You don’t see your error and won’t see your error and there are millions more like you. You need to repent.
i pray for the people who slammed you for mentioning yoga…i pray that their minds be pryed opened, their hearts melted and their preconceived notions of God obliterated…but that’s just me…
i’m glad you’re emmaus weekend totally rocked! have you ridden that spiritual high for the last year? if not, when did it fade?
oh, and DE COLORES!
Thank you.
To clarify they do not teach or do yoga at Emmaus Weekends.
When I do Yoga (not related to Emmaus) – I pray. To GOD. It is my most powerful meditation because it engages my mind body and spirit so my mind is not distracted and does not wander.
I’ve not ridden the high for a year. But, my awakening has not faded either. I didn’t rest after Emmaus, I continued meditation and yoga, and prayer. I did a lot of spiritual reading on my own and pursued God with gusto. I’m really blossoming spiritually. I’ve started taking the Bible pretty literally, especially verses like “ask and ye shall receive, knock and it shall be opened.” I did and I do and I learned that it works – like a charm!
De Colores!
Hi all I went on the Springfield Area Mens Emmaus walk 35 and sat at the table of Mathew, what can I say that has not already been said well I have to be honest with you I DID NOT like the first night when we had to have silence, IAM NOT A QUIET PERSON so I did not cope with that too well but with God’s help I made it.
It was something I have never experenced before you see I have been a member of a share group for about 6 months and everyone was talking about how great the walk is and it is an experence I will never forget well Im a very skeptical person very well I figured Hey I better go, not thinking I would get in so fast but it had to be the right time because the blessings just flowed out of the walk besides missing my wife I had the time of my life, been married 20 years and this was the first time I have been away from my wife so this was hard but the blessings from God made up for it.
Im not so sure this is the place forthis but I need to ask you all for prayer, were real close to loseing our home and this is something that just cannot happen we need a $ 2000.00 miracle by June 6 or our house will go on the auction block, I cant let this happen to my wife and kids Im disabled and not able to work I have been looking for a sit down job that I can do at home but nothing has panned out and my wife is not able to work yet she had major reconstructive sugery on her foot and the Dr said it will probably be another year befor he releases her, PLEASE PLEASE keep us in your prayers,
and thank you
mcraig15@woh.rr.com
i have just come back from my Emmaus Walk 86 in South Africa and am just excited i just want to talk about it to whoever i meet. i had 72 hrs of personal growth and introspection. i have now come up with things that i need to change in my life before i can influence other people. i need your prayers and will also pray for those that think they do not need prayers and those that do. God bless you all!
I went to the Emmaus Walk in April this year. Believe it or not- I could not explain to my friends who haven’t been. It is as if I was taken from planet earth and taken to Heaven. I have been to retreats but this one was the best.I felt reconnected and was pampered all the way.