Upcoming Retreat: Remembering Our True Nature Through Poetry, Meditation, and Movement

Alton L Collins Retreat Center for John Brehm and Alice Boyd Retreat Beneath the layers of habit and conditioning, beneath the strategies we devise and the identities we construct to feel safe in the world, there is an untainted essence, a mysterious and ever-present awareness that is our true nature. But for most of us, most of the time, we lose touch with this naturally awakened state. We live from the fearful ego rather than the open heart. In this five day retreat, we’ll explore three related practices—Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement lessons, guided meditations, and mindful poetry discussions—to help us remember and stay rooted in a felt sense of who we really are. When we live in alignment with our innate wisdom, we regain a sense of ease and peace that is profoundly nourishing, not just for us but for the field of consciousness we all share. We’ll also be adding some writing practices to this retreat, but sharing your writing will always be optional.

Rates (4 nights & 12 meals) Single Room: $750 Double Room: $600/person

*No one will be turned away for financial reasons; please contact us to discuss if needed. alice@aliceboyd.com; john.brehm1@gmail.com Retreat details and registration »

September 17 - 21, 2023

Alton L Collins Retreat Center

Eagle Creek, OR

Rattlecast Interview and Reading

A wide-ranging conversation with Rattle editor Timothy Green. We talk about consciousness, the intersection of poetry and spiritual practice, the limitations of academia, and much more. And I read some poems from No Day at the Beach. My part of the program begins ten minutes in.

Yoga Hour Podcast with Laurel Trujillo

How can poetry open up new ways of thinking, feeling, and being in the world? Author, teacher, and poet John Brehm shares how we can enter a poem, allowing its power to be a gateway to experience a deeper sense of wonder and mystery. Listen here.

Review of No Day at the Beach

John Brehm’s pilgrimage began in Nebraska and took him to Brooklyn. There he honed a rather sharp edge which now, as he seeks illumination in Portland, Oregon, he sometimes deprecates as an obstacle to compassion for other people...

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Livestream talk on The Dharma of Poetry, hosted by Annie Bloom’s Books

John Brehm in Conversation with Heather Sellers on The Dharma of Poetry.

   

Podcast on The Dharma of Poetry

Interview with Wisdom Publications publisher and CEO Daniel Aitken.

April 9th, 2021

John Brehm reads with Chelsea Rathburn for the Dali Museum’s poetry series. (My reading starts at the 25 min. mark.)