Since launching The Reflect & Reconnect Retreat I’ve had a few questions, and a fair bit of intrigue as to how it came about so wanted to share the story with you. You can read on or watch the video here.
Firstly, I am mega excited about this because I don’t think I’ve ever felt more aligned with something I’ve created than I do with this.
And I’m not super woo woo but literally every element, from idea to concept, has (as if by magic!) just fallen into place.
And so I know with every fiber of my being that this is meant to be.
The seed got planted early this year at a conference when a few people came up to me after I delivered my blurred lines and burnout talk to ask if I offered retreats.
I didn’t at that time and it just didn’t feel like something I wanted to entertain either.
But then a few weeks later I was driving through the beautiful countryside of Wales, off to explore another mountain with the dogs and this random thought popped into my head. It was a very clear sentence, and it ‘sounded’ loud’ and that sentence was’
I should run a retreat for burnt-out business owners
As I heard it in my own head this huge smile began to grow on my face, I got goosebumps, and this is going to sound crazy but I remember the view outside my car windows of the sky, mountains, trees, etc. got super bright, and vivid, with colour.
It was already a super sunny day but I swear the sun got brighter and just started beaming crazy amounts! And I was driving along having this really weird experience thinking:
What is going on?! What is this??
and then thought
OK, maybe I need to follow this feeling…
However, at the time, I was on a self-imposed pause with any new work-related activities because I, myself, was on a little reflect and reconnect mission. It was this mission that had led me to move away from London in February so I could give myself the space to decompress my mind, stop running myself into the ground on autopilot, and gain some clarity with my direction both in life and business.
But that moment in the car didn’t leave me.
And it prompted me to reflect back on the last few months of getting away from London and what spending time in calmer surroundings had actually done for me.
And upon reflection, there was no mistaking my personal transformation! The image I conjured up of the woman who moved here in February was far different from the one I was looking at 4 months later.
The countryside had given me space so I could actually hear my own thoughts.
It had given me the space I needed to process them.
It grounded me and reconnected me with my heart and soul.
In fact, I didn’t realise how out of touch and lost I had gotten myself.
I was now able to regulate myself properly again and I could handle external stress and manage my emotions far better.
So this retreat isn’t just me creating a random retreat for the sake of creating one.
It’s me combining my own experience with the tools and resources I know that work to guide other people to regain balance within their lives and reconnect with themselves.
The countryside is calming and grounding for sure – that’s a given – but a transformative retreat isn’t just about the setting, it’s also about the people who are there with you.
It’s about the aligning of energies.
It’s about being gently guided to ask the right questions and focus on the right places.
And It’s about the time in immersion with all these things.
People get a lot from my talks and my workshops and I love delivering them because when I do I see enlightenment being to spark, I see little lightbulbs in people’s heads begin to flicker, and I see these beautiful bonds beginning to form in the group or audience or when I do accountability pairings.
But honestly? 45-60 minutes is not enough time. I can only scratch the surface and plant a seed or two.
And that’s why I felt called to create a far more impactful and immersive experience.
So I can dive deeper with people and uproot all those limiting thoughts and beliefs that are holding them back and create new, empowering, and far more self-serving thoughts and beliefs.
So I can guide people back to themselves so they can reconnect with all the things that light them up to experience more calm, joy, and fulfillment in their lives.
And most importantly build solid foundations for a transformation that goes the distance and lasts.
There’s immense power in taking yourself out of your normal environment, removing yourself from all those day-to-day triggers, and stepping out of your zone of comfort which has you running numbly on autopilot.
Because it’s only then that can you fully disrupt your thoughts and allow yourself time and space to unravel. And only by doing this can you regain clarity with what you want, and remember why you want it.
We only get one go on this rodeo and it’s a complete waste of our precious life chasing things that we don’t actually need or want simply because we never gave ourselves space and took time out to think for ourselves.
Allowing yourself experiences like this isn’t “treating” or “gifting” yourself, it’s doing right by yourself.
And so if any of the above resonates with you then I hope you do right by yourself and join us in Wiltshire in January 2024 for some much-needed rest and relaxation, reflection, and reconnection.
Head to camilacollins.com/retreat to find out more about it and secure your place, or book a call with me to have a chat so we can make sure it’s the right fit for you.
Lots of love,
Camilla x
