I finally have the time to post a bit about my retreat. When I registered, I had no idea that it was a Celtic Journey. You can imagine that I thought of celtic and po quite a bit througout the week. It was lovely.

It was a daily life retreat which means that we had to commit to 30 minutes of reflection time each day of the week. It began in our chapel on a Tuesday evening with about 20 people in attendance. We began in prayer, introduced ourselves sharing what we hoped to accomplish throughout our week, listened to peacful music, lit candles and did some group prayer. I left feeling like a dish rag.

Each participant received a book with daily devotionals that were written for the retreat.

Each participant also agreed to meet with a spiritual advisor for one hour, twice during the week. I'd never met with a "spiritual advisor" so that piqued my interest.

The meetings were worthwhile and I'm considering continuing with the her to meet certain spiritual goals. She basically holds you accountable and suggests ways to meet those goals. She was an excellent listener.

The retreat was wrapped up with another meeting at the church, more prayer, music, candles, and everyone sharing how they benefited from the retreat. Hearing other's stories was most helpful and powerful.

Here's what I learned about the Celtic traditions of spirituality that I thought I'd share.

The Celtic soul yearns for all of creation to be filled with sacred presence. They believe we can look to creation just as we look to the Bible to receive God's word. His word, His beauty surrounds us. We need only open our eyes and give thanks.

They believe the visible and the invisible, the material and the spiritual are interwoven.

"Creation, all of nature, is often a "thin" place for us, where we touch and are touched by the Holy."

One yearns to have their ear on the heart of God, always listening for His spirit for guidance.

Listening deepens your relationship with God. Too often we are busy asking and telling, and never leaving time to listen. This is a great lesson to be learned from the Celts.

Because Celtic spirituality is tuned in with nature, it sees life moving and growing within the seasons. The scriputal verse that shares this beleif is the one that states, For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven... Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8

Celts celebrate the ordinary, the simple, the everyday of all of life. There is always reason to celebrate when you don't separate the sacred from the secular. In all things they give thanks.

Celts weave prayer throughout their days. In thier rising, daily activities, working, playing, sleeping, etc. Prayer is within them and all about them. Thier connection to God is their reason for existance.

Celtic journeys are not made alone. The Celts are connected to the earth and all of humankind. It speaks of harmony, unity, inter-relationships, interdependence and craves community.

The feeling of connectedness; to one another and to the earth, and to all of humanity is personal, warm and welcoming.

The Celtic soul knows the connection among the Trinity, humankind, and all of creation. They embrace all of life, knowing everything is a gift from God.

My heart yearns for Celtic spirituality. It appears to be a most belssed way to live.

What I found most interesting is that I entered this retreat wanting to draw nearer to the heart of God. When I learned the Celtic traditions, I realized it was exactly what I was yearning for. To see God in everyone and everything must be a miraculous way of living. Talk about getting the most out of life - wow.

I worked on trying to touch base with God at every new activity, or person I encountered within my days. It's an incredible goal to reach for, but I've got to tell you, when we think God before beginning a conversation, or a new task, or a new email, or phone call, or an encounter of any kind, we are living in the spirit and it's powerful and most uplifting. I contnue to work at it, and boy do I needs God's help.