Coming Home To Yourself
An Exquisite Tenderness Women’s Retreat for Body and Soul
in the Lineage of Marion Woodman
Sunday, October 13th- Friday, October 18th, 2024
in Little Compton, Rhode Island, USA
“Sil’s presence opens the way for women to go where they wouldn’t have otherwise imagined they could go.”
Hi, I’m Sil.
I’m a mother, a grandmother, a crone, a best-selling author, a teacher, and a coach for women.
I guide women in transforming their lives from the inside out.
“At the retreat, Sil was magic embodied. She did not arrive with a checklist. Rather, she came to be in the mystery, trusting the wisdom of what arose with whoever she sat with, be it a woman and her dream or a gathering of the women in our circle blooming into sovereignty. She weaves threads from the inner, the outer, and the unseen, to reflect what’s needed to reclaim the lost pieces of our innate wholeness. Sil is the Wise Woman so many need in their circle.”
— Cassie, past ET Retreat participant
A LETTER FOR YOU:
Dear one seeking to finally come HOME TO yourselF,
I’ve been called back again to the wild sea of my childhood in Little Compton, Rhode Island — to lead another in-person retreat — and to build on the exquisite tenderness of the retreat I just led in February 2024 with a circle of soulful women. For 6 days, we were free to move to our own rhythms and deeply hear and express our soul’s call. Since then, so many women have been asking me for more opportunities to learn and grow on retreat together. There’s nothing I’d rather do for the rest of my life than share Marion’s work in-depth by the sea. 🐚
For this upcoming autumnal retreat, Hojin, Anne, and I are opening a new retreat space for a circle of women to gather, and remember: how to come home to — in fact to truly be at home with — their body and soul. Maybe you’ll be there with us too? (I hope so.)
My own journey of coming home to myself began with self-rejection of my body. I remember feeling so overwhelmed by my developing body during puberty, and the intense awkwardness and self-consciousness that filled my days. I became an emotional eater, and carried weight that was not mine. My twisted ‘adolescent rite of passage’ of sorts was… my mother teaching me calorie counting. She did not have the capacity to translate the language of my eating behavior —which was (I know now) my whole being crying out for more attuned mirroring, and guidance in how to become a young woman of depth and soul. She did not know how to guide me home into myself, because she had never had her own experience of sovereignty.
For years I searched for ‘home’ in all the wrong places: the fullness of food, looking 'right’ enough to be liked, the fleeting pleasure of the approval of others, and an unhappy marriage — to name a few.
It was finally with my beloved mentor, Marion Woodman, that I began to find a home in my own body and soul. She taught me that soul is spirit in matter (AKA the body) — and how to tenderly honor the wisdom of my body’s many expressions, symptoms, hungers, and yearnings through the years — in essence how to listen to the voice of my body and soul. My relationship to my body became the way home to my soulful life. 20 years in her presence, and with her wise Jungian teachings of myth, soul, dreamwork, embodiment, and artful expression, I (at last) felt the truth in my bones… that a new way of living was possible.
Each of our Exquisite Tenderness Retreats are her lineage of what I call an ‘exquisitely tender’ relationship to one’s self — and yet each have their own theme. This October… we’re coming home to our body and soul. What does coming home mean to you? What would change in your life if you felt more at home in your body and soul?
Each ET Retreat is an ode to the Love that lives within all of us — and to the brave heroine’s journey home: to reclaim the parts of ourselves that were left behind so that we may finally ‘sit in the throne of our own hearts’ (as Marion said) in more of our embodied — human and divine — wholeness.
If you’re craving a body-soul shift, and a Jungian journey in-person amidst the beauty of New England’s crisp autumn landscape, I’d be so honored if you continue to read on and consider applying!
Love, Sil ❤️
Are you craving nourishment and rest in the hearth and inner harvest time of autumn?
Are your body and soul longing for the stillness and exquisite tenderness of finding ‘home’ with like-hearted women?
Do you want to dive into archetypal depth in community and bring inner treasures back home with you?
“Working with my dreams on Zoom with Sil has unearthed awe-inspiring and revelatory gifts — it has changed my life. Being with her in-person was so rich; I was in awe of her capacity with the group. There was not a single thing missed or not noticed during the retreat week. Time with Sil is a blessing.”
— Nell, past ET Retreat participant
Imagine with me…
6 days of living by the ocean and letting yourself slow down and come home to your body and soul this October.
spending the morning sessions with me — fresh from a deep sleep — learning how to embody the wisdom of Marion Woodman through working with your dreams with a soulful group of 20 women.
spending afternoon and evening sessions with me (and Zen abbot Hojin and yoga teacher Anne) bringing your dream images to life with plenty of time to journal, to do active imagination, body movement, and make art.
walking just 10 minutes to the wild seashore, finding a magical shell that you may paint later, and returning for delicious chef-cooked, locally sourced meals.
sitting at night by a fire pit and taking in the wisdom of an ancient myth by the starlight, before heading into a luxurious bed for deep, restful sleep, and listening to your soul’s messages in your dreams.
being guided in reclaiming treasures within yourself — perhaps rejected or forgotten parts — so you can more fully live at home in your body and soul, no matter where you are.
This retreat is an invitation to experience your body and soul as your home in this lifetime.
“The retreat experience was a complete exploration of trust, remembrance, interconnection, and weaving the unconscious into the unconscious. Thank you, Hojin, Anne, Sandra and Sil, for the brilliant and exquisite tenderness from which we were each midwifed into the true, full versions of Self.
— Kelsey, past ET Retreat participant
about our Retreat location:
The historic Stonehouse Inn in Little Compton*, RI
The beautiful Stone House Inn (aerial photo by Jack Vatcher) is my favorite place to rest — and you too will surely drop into a space to BE in Kairos time in one of a king-sized private bedroom with your own spa-inspired bath. With the support of the kind staff, we will be filling up the entire cozy stone house.
We’ll have the luscious privacy of being in our own retreat soul space together: moving from our art room to our dreamwork room and into the dining room for locally sourced feasts catered for any dietary needs.
*Fun fact: Little Compton and the East Bay of RI was recently described in a New York Times travel piece as a “hidden gem.” Of course, I’ve known that since my childhood, and I’m so delighted to share it with you!
“Coming to Rhode Island for the first time was like finding a new gem of a soul home — the food, the beds, the privacy, the care of the Inn staff, the ocean, the fields… it made the soul journey of the retreat that much deeper.”
— Sophia, past ET Retreat participant
What’s included in the retreat:
Dinner time at the Inn.
Expert facilitation by Sil, Hojin, and Anne for morning, afternoon, and evening sessions. From Sil, you will receive a deep knowledge of Marion Woodman’s approach to using dreams (both sleeping and waking), archetypes, and the metaphorical language of the body and soul to guide you more clearly in your inner life, as well as in your outer life. From Hojin, you will receive Buddhist teachings on staying present to your true nature- guiding you with art and chanting practices for coming home to yourself. From Anne, you will receive a beautiful transmission of yin yoga and breathing practices which will help you to move more tenderly into the home of your body and integrate your soul’s work.
6 days and 5 nights in your own king-sized bedroom with a private spa-inspired bathroom in the luxurious, historic, Stonehouse Inn by the sea.
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner made by our chefs — organic and locally-sourced when possible — for all retreat days beginning with Sunday dinner and ending with Friday lunch.
Snacks and beverages all day in our retreat space to nourish yourself between meals.
Access to the full Inn property and amenities including our gathering spaces for open art time between sessions, cozy reading and journaling spaces, a fire pit, the gorgeous grounds, and just a 10-minute walk to the beach (to gather stones and shells, to feel the sun and wind, and to move in nature!)
There will be a special honoring of the Indigenous Sakonnet People on Monday the 14th, Indigenous Peoples Day. At the time English settlers invaded their land where Little Compton is today, the Sakonnets were led by Awashonks, who was a saunskwa- a female chief. She became a saunskwa not by inheritance, but through quality of leadership. We will honor the Sakonnets’ stewardship of the land and their elder’s past, present, and future.
BONUS: want a private (1 hour) integration session on Zoom with Sil after the retreat?
This is all about getting that extra layer of support bringing home the inner treasure of the retreat with you and deepening it into your ‘at home’ life? This bonus is available ($300 value) for all who pay-in-full for the retreat.
Meet Our Retreat Team:
Sil Read
(she/her)
Lead Facilitator: Dreamwork, Myth & Jungian Process
Sil is a mother, a grandmother, crone, and co-author (with her daughter Eliza) of Mothering & Daughtering: Keeping Your Bond Strong Through the Teen Years. She has worked as a women’s health nurse practitioner, a psychotherapist specializing in emotional eating and body image issues, and a Mothering & Daughtering coach.
For two decades, Sil was a senior student of the renowned Jungian author and analyst Marion Woodman and she learned from her mostly in retreat settings. Now Sil devotes her time to 1:1 coaching and retreats — helping women to use their dreams, intuition, and body wisdom to guide them into living more at home in themselves while on this precious Earth.
To Sil, “coming home to yourself” is: being at home in one’s body and soul. This ‘at home’ experience can be described as an unmistakable feeling of safety and security within oneself; an experience where there is no one you would rather be, and no place you’d rather be, than sitting where you are- and as you are- in the present. You are whole unto yourself.
Justina Pengel (she/her)
Enrollment & Logistical Support
Justina is a mom of 3, wife, committed servant leader, and the driving force behind her business Digital Hive. She is also the driving force behind the smooth running of Sil’s business and the production of her retreats. Justina specializes in assisting female entrepreneurs in streamlining their technological systems for seamless business operations. She passionately advocates for leveraging technology to humanize, unite, and address citizen-centric challenges. Sil is in awe of her technological prowess and grateful for her warm-heartedness.
To Justina, “coming home to yourself” is: a reunion with oneself, a return to your own place of familiarity and belonging. Physically, it's a release of tension, a relaxation into comfort. Emotionally and spiritually, it's a sense of peace, acceptance, and alignment with one's true essence. At home, you find solace, rejuvenation, and connection with what truly matters in life.
Hojin Kimmel (she/her)
Co-Facilitator: Buddhist Teachings, Art + Creative Expression
Jody Hojin Kimmel is a Zen Buddhist monastic and teacher in the Mountains and Rivers Order, and the Abbot of the Zen Center of NYC-Fire Lotus Temple in Brooklyn. She is devoted to the path of easing stress and suffering, freeing the body-heart-mind, and rediscovering our natural state through the practices of meditation, compassionate inquiry, and creative processes.
Hojin is a rare example of a contemporary Zen teacher who uses artistic practices as her primary means of teaching. And through years of study and collaborative teaching with her co-crone Sil, Hojin feels a deep affinity with the work of Marion Woodman in her use of intimate language — metaphor, arts, myth, humor, and dreamwork (to name a few) to explore our being human.
To Hojin, “coming home to yourself” is: the beautiful, awful, joy of bringing heart-mind back to its original pure state. Rocking and touching the heart strings to their ultimate nature by examining & undoing views and conditioned habits that seem to undermine this sincere effort. Taking refuge in the powerful teachings of the Buddha, Marion Woodman’s work, and creative processes have been core medicine in my life to discover the wisdom, vision, and body of the Buddha, present within each of us —coming home at once, alone —together.
Anne DeBevoise (she/her)
Co-Facilitator: Gentle Yoga + Movement
Anne is a former special education teacher who dedicated her career to championing the whole child— body, mind, and spirit. In midlife, she trained as a yoga instructor and specialized in teaching yoga to people with cancer or recovering from cancer treatment. Her continued interest in an integrative approach to living led her to Reiki and Healing Touch — both of which she has become trained in as a practitioner.
Anne is a mother of 3 adult children and a grandmother of 5 grandchildren. As a self-taught painter she is often seen at the table with her grandchildren, their pens, paints, pastels, and colored pencils spread out everywhere. She lives by the ocean in Maine — and her and Sil’s love for the ocean and each other began some 60 years ago in Little Compton, Rhode Island (our retreat location) where they frolicked on the beach together as children. They have always shared a spiritual affinity, and in recent years as crones, Anne has been deeply impacted by their conversations about Marion Woodman.
To Anne, “coming home to yourself” is: a settlement so profoundly felt in the bones that no disturbances around will shake the foundation. I tap into this feeling while in meditation or when I'm outside walking in nature feeling the gentle wind on my skin. Or sometimes as I am taking that first sip of hot honeyed tea in the morning. I felt it when nursing my babies. There was a sense that I was at home with myself, and that there was nowhere else I should, could or would be. It has nothing to do with the things of the world or about failures and successes. In coming home there is a purity of just being; it’s when the leaving is equal to the arrival.
Sandra Hilton (she/her)
Community & Ceremony Support
Sandra is a mother, integrative therapist, coach, and witness to those on the inner journey. Sandra has studied with Sil for several years in the lineage of Marion Woodman and brings her Jungian approach more and more to her own clinical practice.
Sandra’s professional journey began in the corporate world with almost 25 years of experience as a lawyer and business leader — and coaching leaders within that field. She answered the inner call to become retrained as a therapist a decade ago now — realizing through the process that her energy to “prove herself’ and “get somewhere” had dominated so intensely that she often missed the full experience of the present moment and truly knowing herself. She is devoted to learning to trust and honor the Feminine within her wise body, heart, and soul.
Sandra is trained as a modern Medicine Woman by shaman Christa Mackinnon, and integrates the Medicine Woman skills into her practice, honoring the feminine through ceremony, storytelling, and journeying.
Sandra lives in the UK and is crossing “The Pond” to be with us in New England!
To Sandra, “coming home to yourself” is: the feeling of softness and comfort when I feel just the right shape for the container that is my body; when I give myself to myself just as I am and feel love and compassion for all of these unruly parts, embracing all of me. Then my soul hums and is ready for a cup of tea.
“I contemplated on the way home, why was this retreat the most special, amazing retreat I had ever experienced? Slowly I realized as the plane crossed this sacred land from east coast to west coast, it was the love.”
— Josefa, past ET Retreat participant
“This is your body, your greatest gift, pregnant with wisdom you do not hear, grief you thought was forgotten, and joy you have never known.”
— Marion Woodman
A sample retreat day*
7-8am: Yoga with Anne**
7:45-8:45am: Silent breakfast
9am-12pm: Archetypal Teaching and Dreamwork in the Lineage of Marion Woodman with Sil
12:30-1:30pm: Lunch
2:30pm-5:30pm: Art and Movement (sometimes in Nature) with Hojin & Anne
6pm-7pm: Dinner
7:30pm: Evening session with Sil, Hojin, & Anne
*this is a tentative example and our schedule may shift
**depending on the day, Anne may offer yoga in the late afternoon
“The best part of the retreat was the people that were there. Each and every person contributed in such a beautiful way. Especially the facilitators! I loved the rhythm and ritual of each day. I can't wait to come back.”
— Lynn, past ET Retreat participant
Hojin, art instructor and Zen monastic and teacher, gives retreat participants a watercolor demonstration with a paint box that everyone is given for the week and to take home with them.
Wondering how to know if this retreat is for you?
I trust you to explore and land in your own knowing — and, reading this below may be helpful.
This retreat is likely for you if you resonate with some or all of these:
you’re drawn to Jungian psychology and have heard about the teachings and lineage of Jungian scholar Marion Woodman and you may have read one of her books, or watched her documentary, and want to dive deep!
The theme of ‘coming home’ for the retreat lands for you on a body and/or soul level — that phrase might even give you chills — and this journey of remembering feels deeply personal and needed
you’re nourished by the idea of being held by a team of elder teachers embodying tenderness with each other and a group of women
you’re excited to show up to each session ready to learn!!
being in community with around 20 other soul seekers in this lineage sounds like heaven
you’re able to make the retreat investment at this time
This retreat is likely NOT for you if one or more of these below feels true:
you’re so tired and what you actually need is an R&R retreat (honestly, this retreat sounds nice, but you’re fantasizing about sneaking away to nap during a group session or 5…!)
you’re not really sure who Marion Woodman and what Jungian psychology is about, and/or you haven’t explored her work/Jungian work before
you’re feeling in a state of personal emergency/crisis/rawness at this time and you’d be better fit for 1:1 support or some immediate care to help you center or heal (being in a shared group space might not be the best fit!)
you’ve never really been in shared group experience before or don’t feel confident this dynamic would be supportive for you
the retreat investment is not financially doable for you at this time
Retreat Investment:
$3800 [pay-in-full]*
— or —
$1299 x 3 months [payment plan]
*pay-in-full bonus: private 1:1 integration session with Sil after the retreat (on Zoom, one hour), $300 value
a note on financial aid: All financial aid is first come first served, and financial aid spots open based on other retreat participants enrolling at full cost. All financial aid is need based and trusted based — no proof needed. Please reach out to info@silread.com to join the waitlist.
Frequently Asked Retreat Questions:
When does the retreat start on Sunday? When should I arrive?
You’re welcome to arrive anytime between 1pm and 5pm. Dinner is at 6pm and our first retreat session begins at 7:30pm. Special arrangement can usually be made to stay on Saturday night- the night before the retreat begins.
When does the retreat end on Friday? When should I plan to leave?
The last session ends at noon and you can stay for lunch. Special arrangement can usually be made to stay an extra night if you would like to leave on Saturday morning.
Can I share a room with someone?
A few of the rooms have fold out sofa beds and if that’s your preference you’re welcome to share with someone you know or reach out to us for a pairing. We won’t be assigning anyone a shared room without your specific request. By default all bedrooms and bathrooms are private.
What’s the best/most local airport? Train? How do you suggest I arrive?
There are great options in Providence, RI (TF Green Airport) — including direct trains from New York City (many airports) and Boston (Logan Airport). Little Compton is approximately a 45 minute drive from Providence’s TF Green Airport and a 90 minute drive from Boston’s Logan Airport… depending on traffic. Please email info@silread.com for more travel suggestions as needed.
What’s the next step if I want to attend the retreat?
Fill out the application which goes directly to Sil. You’ll hear back within 5 business days.
Retreat photos credit: Jessi Larssen