Mountains of Western North Carolina
May 16-19, 2025
SENSITIVE-HEARTED ADVENTURER
You’ve been told again and again that you are “too sensitive”. You’re always going deep with your thoughts, exploring concepts, thinking through details. Friends know you to be contemplative and often quiet.
At the same time, you are creative, with a passion for making a difference. Whether you are an artist or a healer, or both, you are driven by a vision to make the world a better place, even if just for a few.
The last few years have left you feeling drained, wondering if you’ll have the energy to move forward and live your life with the fullness you dream of. You’ve thought of just running away to a cabin in the woods. At the same time, you know there is more for you to do and experience.
A retreat is just what you need! Taking time away to refresh, renew and recharge gives you the opportunity to fill back up, reconnect to your passions and dreams, and then go back into the world with renewed inspiration.
During this retreat, you will walk through my six step process – Pause, Notice, Listen, Feel, Heal, Choose – allowing you to dive deep, gleaning the insight and healing that are waiting for you.
Imagine…
PAUSE
You’re traveling the last mile to this beautiful retreat in the mountain forest of Hayesville, NC. It’s late spring, so you can smell the blooming flowers and see the fresh green leaves on the trees. You even pass a field with horses and cows.
In anticipation, you already feel yourself slowing down, but you’re still excited for the long weekend ahead of you. Finally, a place where you can actually take a pause and deeply notice what is calling you now.
Greeted at the Retreat House by true Southern hospitality and the offer of a refreshing snack and cup of tea, you check in and make your way to your private room with private bath. Oh, the views out of your window! Mountain vistas take your breath away!
NOTICE
Your Sensitive Heart has been in overload for so long. Finally, you are in a place where you can unpack it all, transform it and truly reconnect with your Adventurous Spirit. Tears of relief well up in your eyes.
You gather for the opening circle, only to discover a group of like-minded souls on similar journeys. The loneliness of your depth of processing melts away as you connect with other soulful spirits who are intuitive deep thinkers and feelers, just like you.
LISTEN
You begin to unwind. The spaciousness of this time allows your dreams and passions to resurface. You may notice nuanced details or subtle changes to the callings of your heart.
Most importantly, your enthusiasm and excitement are reawakened as you recognize the possibilities moving forward.
FEEL
With this unwinding, the emotions that have been trapped in your go-go-go world have the opportunity to come up and move through you. A SoulCollage® card may reveal grief or anger or even joy and contentment that you had pushed away. A labyrinth walk brings focus to the tightness of your shoulders, reflecting the stress of too much doing and too little being.
You know you don’t have to do anything other than observe whatever arises. And the emotions don’t have to consume you either. You simply allow the wave to flow through you.
HEAL
Healing begins to happen just because you’ve taken the time to stop, notice and feel. SoulCollage®, labyrinth meditations and simply connecting with the trees of the forest provide the framework for you to listen to the whisperings of your heart and deepen the healing.
A gentle yoga class helps you unwind even more, leaving you feeling refreshed and relaxed. An optional massage really brings it home Sunday afternoon.
CHOOSE
Sunday evening, after all the preparation of the previous couple of days, you’ll join in a burning bowl ceremony where you can release anything remaining that no longer serves you and make a choice for how you will move forward.
You’ll know that one choice is to schedule time for yourself regularly, whether attending group retreats or simply scheduling time away for reconnecting with yourself. You will understand that your best life is riding a wave where you go deep within, then take that wisdom out into the world, again and again.
Monday morning, your group will gather one last time, committing to moving out into the world with renewed enthusiasm and passion for what calls you next.
As you travel home, you will recognize that in just a few short days, you have been changed at depth and are ready to follow the call of your heart with confidence. You’ll have the opportunity to share how your path is unfolding during a virtual gathering a few weeks after the retreat.
THE VENUE
It’s quite likely that after a travel day to arrive at the Hinton Rural Life Center, you will be longing for some quiet. Home base for the retreat will be the Nadine Johnson Retreat House, where you will be delighted to have a simple private room with a private bath all to yourself. As you settle in, you’ll know that your fellow retreatants are gathering in their own rooms nearby.
Simple meals will be served cafeteria style at 8 am, 12 noon and 6 pm in the dining room of the Hinton Center. Please do let us know of any dietary restrictions, as the chef is happy to fulfill those requirements.
Located about 2 hours from both the Chattanooga and Asheville airports, if you fly, we can connect you with a shuttle service to bring you to and from the Hinton Center, as well as fellow retreatants you might share the ride with.
PRICING
TOTAL – $675
OPTIONAL MASSAGE – $100
Payment plans available.
WHAT’S INCLUDED?
- Pre-retreat consultation with Sara
- All meals from dinner Friday through breakfast Monday
- All materials need for retreat experiences
- Private room with private bath in the retreat house
- Post-retreat group videoconference to be scheduled 2-3 weeks following retreat
WHAT’S NOT INCLUDED?
- Airfare or car travel to and from the retreat center
- Shuttle to and from airport
- Souvenirs
- Travel insurance (recommended in case you need to cancel your trip for any reason)
THIS ALL SOUNDS GREAT BUT I STILL HAVE QUESTIONS
I am so busy! How will I ever make time to go away for this long weekend?
The Refresh, Renew, Recharge Retreat is an investment in yourself. You are worth that! You deserve to set aside the time to reconnect with yourself and your dreams. This retreat will help you come away refreshed and ready to fill your life with the experiences and relationships you dream of. With a bit of rest and focus on what’s important to you, you may begin to find that you have more free time once you return home!
How do I know if this is the best retreat for me?
I am so glad you are asking that question. A retreat that is a good fit for you is so important. To fully dive into a retreat and glean the benefits, you need to trust the facilitator and know that the focus of the retreat fills your needs. You can find out some things just by reading the description, but you likely still want to know more before choosing to sign up. That’s why I will personally speak with each retreatant by phone prior to registration. You’ll have a chance to ask me questions and we can explore whether this retreat will help you meet your goals for this time away.
What if I sign up, then something comes up and I need to cancel?
Payments are fully refundable through March 10, 2025. After March 10, 2025, the full amount of the retreat cost is due and not refundable. Life does happen, so we recommend that you purchase travel insurance for your trip. If we do not reach our minimum of 10 participants by March 10, 2025, you will receive a 100% refund of all payments made.
About Sara Dochterman, LCSW
I am so excited to be diving back into hosting retreats! I facilitated annual labyrinth retreats for a number of years at a beautiful yet simple retreat center in Delray Beach, Florida, sort of the tropical version of the mountain facility where we will meet this time.
I absolutely love the mountains and my spirit feels at home here, so this retreat seems a bit like coming home, yet bringing even more of myself, with the addition of the natural beauty of this space.
As a therapist and coach, I bring a soulful approach to working with clients, supporting them in seeing that who they are authentically is a gift. To me, retreats are a beautiful way of deepening that work even more.
I am an Advanced Certified Labyrinth Facilitator and a SoulCollage® Facilitator. Both of these modalities offer a path to holding space for people to discover their own inner wisdom in such a gentle way, perfect for Adventurous Spirits with Sensitive Hearts.
Reach out today to register!
We’ll schedule a 20 minute call to explore your goals for the retreat and to register.