“When I emerged from the direct experience of who I am (at the retreat) I started to laugh. All of my worries about the future and my resentments about past hurts seemed, in that moment, very small when compared to the vastness of which I was a part.
In that moment I knew that joy- real joy that does not deny what is hard in our lives- is a choice. Joy finds us when we feel the elation that comes when we know that we belong- to another, to ourselves, to the world, to the Mystery that is larger than ourselves."

Oriah Mountain Dreamer from THE INVITATION
© 1999 published by Harper San Francisco. All rights reserved. Presented with permission of the author

“I saw myself as being exactly as I am. The beauty of it was beyond anything I could describe. I felt that every single thing I did was being done for the first time: food was unbelievable, my reflection in the mirror was beautiful and hilarious, my belly – which I typically have a negative relationship with – felt bountiful, solid and exactly the way it should be. I wanted absolutely everyone in the world to experience what I had experienced!

Brenda McMorrow - Singer/Songwriter,
Guelph, Ontario