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Cultural Journeys--The Retreat

© Virginia Marin

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While folklore has to do with legends and tales, it also includes all aspects of life including, but not limited to, family history, music, dress, arts and crafts, food, religious beliefs, and basic folkways known as mores (mor'az). Last week, a pilgrimage and its counterpart, the vision quest, were introduced. This week continues with a third type of mores, cultural journey, or quest--the retreat.

Have you ever felt that you need time away from the daily grind of work or family? Do you feel the need to be alone with your thoughts, but there is no time? Do you need to re-evaluate where you are in your life right now? Would you like to pursue some activity which a normal day will not allow? Do you ever dream of indulging in new experiences? Is it time to rediscover what it is that is truly important to you? If so, a pilgrimage or a vision quest may be right for you--OR you may want to consider a retreat.

A retreat includes tenets of pilgrimage and vision quest, while offering more. A retreat is a place of refuge which provides privacy and safety. It is usually held in an enclosed building--where a group of individuals withdraw for prayer, study, meditation, and instruction under a director. Instruction takes many forms. It can be religious in content, or life courses such as cooking, basket weaving, sewing, creative writing, music, or dance.

Retreats are not only for the monastic or the monastically inclined. A few years ago, I made a private three-day retreat in a Carmelite Monestery. It was a wonderful experience that provided me the opportunity to put aside problems for a short space of time. The nun who was assigned to me was available for counseling, if desired. Except for the cloister, all areas are opened to the guests. During my three days at the monestery, I was able to rediscover those things that are important in my life which had, some time previously, been placed on a temporary back burner. The back burner turned out to be non-temporary. This environment is what I needed to sort through things, but if one is not religiously inclined, even a short stay at a spa rejuvinates physically and emotionally.

Retreats come in all sizes and persuasions: Protestant, Ecumenical, Buddhist, Catholic, Quaker, Jewish, New Age, and other. Most are spread equally across the United States and Canada representing a variety of costs, programs, and cultural identity. The cost for retreats listed here range from a $60 donation to over $1000 depending on choice of program and other factors.

The copyright of the article Cultural Journeys--The Retreat in Folklore is owned by Larry Low. Permission to republish Cultural Journeys--The Retreat in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.