Through the Dark Woods
A Virtual Retreat on the Divine Comedy Through Art, Music and Storytelling,
Guided Journaling, ritual and reflection led by Kayleen Asbo, Ph.D
Now Available for Video Streaming- purchase here
$120.00 for six classes
Dante's Divine Comedy has been called the most beautiful poem ever written- but it is much more than that: it is a brilliant work of imagination that weaves together Greek and Roman myth, European history and a pathway of universal psychological development with deep cross cultural resonances. Written during the "dark woods" of Dante's midlife, amid a series of catastrophes, it is an epic achievement that saved the author's own life- and can immeasurably enrich our own.
In this four-day online retreat, we will experience Dante's story through storytelling, art and music and images, We'll also connect Dante's story to our own lives and spiritual development through guided journalling, collage and art making, labyrinth rituals and small group sharing.
One of last year's participants in Kayleen's Dante Retreat wrote, "This was an amazing experience. I had no knowledge of Dante before this retreat. Kayleen's energy, enthusiasm, passion and wisdom planted a seed inside me that continues to grow. During the challenges of this year, going further with Dante became an obsession that got me through the pandemic and helped me make sense of the world and keep my soul buoyant. The story, art and I encountered were inspiring, but it has been the personal insights that this retreat offered that really blew me away. What people promised was true: this retreat changed my life. and I am forever grateful"
In this four-day online retreat, we will experience Dante's story through storytelling, art and music and images, We'll also connect Dante's story to our own lives and spiritual development through guided journalling, collage and art making, labyrinth rituals and small group sharing.
One of last year's participants in Kayleen's Dante Retreat wrote, "This was an amazing experience. I had no knowledge of Dante before this retreat. Kayleen's energy, enthusiasm, passion and wisdom planted a seed inside me that continues to grow. During the challenges of this year, going further with Dante became an obsession that got me through the pandemic and helped me make sense of the world and keep my soul buoyant. The story, art and I encountered were inspiring, but it has been the personal insights that this retreat offered that really blew me away. What people promised was true: this retreat changed my life. and I am forever grateful"
Register Here with Santa Sabina Retreat Center
Sessin One:
Lecture: Love, Loss, Longing and Disaster: Dante's World
Compline
Suggested Films to Watch on Your Own: Camille Claudel
The subject of this award winning French biographical film is the tempestuous, enmeshed and hellish relationship between sculptors Camille Claudel and Auguste Rodin as they work on the Gates of Hell- meant to depict Dante's Inferno. Many of the sculptures featured will be part of the next lecture.
Session 2:
Inferno Part I
Hot Sins and the Ways We Fool Ourselves
Session Three:
Inferno Part II
Where Our Hearts Grow Cold
Compline
Suggested Film: What Dreams May Come. or Groundhog Day
Both of these films exemplify "Purgatorial consciousness": the long, slow and arduous process of transformation that ultimately is connected to community and the healing of wounds.
For opera lovers, watch one of the many versions of Francesca Da Rimini available on you tube by Rachmaninoff or Zadonai. Especially recommended is the version by the Nancy Festival Opera.
Session Four:
Purgatory Part I
The Shores of Humility and the Journey of Hope
Guided Ritual: Labyrinth Journaling
Session Five
Purgatory Part II
Regaining Innocence and Eden
Guided Ritual: Waters of Forgetting and Remembrance
Compline
Suggested Films to Watch On Your Own : Babette's Feast; Biggest Little Farm
These are two films about "Paradisal consciousness": the state of harmony and unity, where there is a place for everything and a sense of nurturing, balance and love
Session Six:
Paradise and Homecoming
Guided Activity: Letter from the Ancestors
Closing Circle
