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Delight in
3-1/2 days
of soul play

March 6– 9, 2014
Tucson, Arizona

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Photo credit: Jeff Greinke

Our Retreat Headquarters


Creative joy is your birthright

Invent new ways to expand, explore, enjoy and express your Essence...

The Sweet Spot Retreat is a scrumptious women's getaway that offers the perfect combination of practical, inspired whole-being support for living into your best-yet self, creative playtime, and deep, facilitated rest and replenishment... all while nestled amongst a warm and generous community of kindreds.

"The most visible creators I know are those artists whose medium is life itself. The ones who express the inexpressible— without brush, hammer, clay
or guitar. 

They neither paint nor sculpt; their medium is being itself. Whatever their presence touches has increased life.

They are the artists of being alive.

— Jane Stone          
Commit to your life as your greatest work of art. You’ll create a new home, a ‘new normal’ in harmony with yourself and the world—and your reason for being here, embodied.

Indulge in a smorgasbord of 
play-centered expressive arts,
all designed to align you with
what-wants-to-come-through-you

  • 'Visioneering' your next chapter
  • Guided exercises to help you reliably tap into your true flow
  • Movement + gentle restorative yoga/stretching
  • Visual journaling + collaging
  • Journaling prompts
  • Color play
  • And so much more, custom-designed for YOU since it's such a small group!

Experience life as sensuous nutrition...

You’ll get LOTS of practice in more fully inhabiting your body, opening up to the wholesome pleasure of simply being alive. Develop intimacy with flow. Allow your very presence to be your sensuous, soulful prayer to yourself.
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In the container of the sacred space of this retreat, you'll savor re-connecting with your Essence Self while finding love and support with thoughtful, awake women. You will be inspired and you will feel seen. You will dis-assemble the roadblocks between you and the magnetism that pulls you to your essential joys.
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We'll engage in practices that open us up. Practices that allow us to hear the sound of our own music. Practices that allow for whatever wants to come through, come through.

Savor. Create. Connect.

This retreat is about play, expansion, embodiment, self-expression, discovery, self-love, and fun—while still being HSP* and introvert-friendly. 

*HSP = Highly Sensitive Person

Much more than a retreat, this experience is truly a play-centered vacation, a 'playcation'! This is the space and the place to free your unique genius even more so that it can be the vital fuel for everything in your whole beautiful life.
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Quote by Katie Hendricks

This dee-lish retreat is for you if you're a woman who...

  • Sees your life as a big canvas, a divine work of art
  • Believes that creative self--expression—in ALL of its infinite forms—is the stuff of a truly vibrant life
  • Loves connecting with bright kindred souls
  • Wants to widen your practice of play and the making of everyday creative magic—in all parts of your life
  • Is interested in having a great time while learning
  • Is ready to give yourself a new kind of attention that will liberate your fullest You
  • Is called to living in ever-increasing waves of yum
It's for you if you want to learn how to open wide to your inborn creative flow and let it carry you deliciously downstream to all the places you really wanna go? Places like...
  • Sustainable creative joy
  • Reliably feeling 'in the flow', aka the slipstream
  • Whole-body knowing
  • Wholesome sensory pleasure
  • Inborn ease

Meet bright, creative women like you who are committed to the adventure
of their lives...

You'll be sumptuously supported and celebrated by ongoing community connection of the highest caliber with women you'll come to know and very likely love. And perhaps you'll come to wonder how you ever lived without them.

Wondering if you'll fit in?
Read this to find out!


Better yet! Bring a girlfriend... and really kick up the supportive play factor as you collude with your creativity and get in cahoots with the Cosmic Waitress!



Are you getting a 'Yes'?

Space is limited in this experience in order to foster an intimate container, so if you're getting a "Yes!", I invite you to act on it now. Scroll down the page for Registration and Pricing.



There's just ONE spot left!
Could it be yours?


    Is this retreat for you? 
    Take this short quiz to find out


    Totally optional section...

    You can leave the section below blank OR not -- it's up to you! Either way, you'll get your quiz results when you click 'Submit'.

    If you *do* fill in your name and email below, you'll get one quick (zero-pressure) email from me to check in with you one-on-one to answer any Sweet Spot Retreat questions you may have. No obligation, of course!

    ~Claire
Submit

No matter where you are on your path...

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You may just be beginning your journey as a consciously creative person. Or you may thoroughly consider yourself one already. 

Either way, you’ll be immersed in a powerful and practical body-centered, spirit-centered toolbox for collaborating and fully participating with the everyday magic in your life—and your chosen modes of creative expression, whether that mode is the canvas on your easel... or the canvas of your work or your life. (As if they're separate!)

No art/journaling/dancing/yoga/meditating experience is necessary.

What will you come away with?

  • A secure knowing of what feeds your creative joy
  • Heart-centered focus and clarity
  • Renewed self-trust
  • Sustainable reservoirs of energy and delight
  • Inspiration
  • A quieted 'monkey-mind'
  • A thoroughly rested and rejuvenated body, mind and spirit

And, most importantly...

Your Self, warmly befriended... like never before.


Play and filling up your well without an agenda is the doorway to so much that you want in life. 

From feeling more fully alive to finding your voice to being less judgmental to creating work that makes your heart sing—it’s all tied to allowing yourself spacious time and space for pure creative joy. 
— Jen Louden
The Sweet Spot Women’s Retreat is a sacred space with the sole (soul!) intention of inviting you and teaching you to make a permanent home in your Sweet Spot.

This retreat is a magical space to reconnect with your dreams and sense of possibility... all the better when surrounded by the golden-light-splendor of the lush Sonoran Desert in the throes of springtime glory. Be enfolded in the heavenly scent of chaparral, happy and bushy-tailed among the mesquite, acacia, palo verde and agave under a cornflower blue sky.

Join me, Claire O’Connor, and a bevy of other beauties, as we journey together to the Land of Ease and Flow--The Sweet Spot! 

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Scroll down for Registration Information and Pricing


Meet your Retreat Facilitator 
Claire O'Connor

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Learn About Me
HERE

Read Testimonials
HERE


Rave Reviews

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Hi my dear! Just a very, very quick note to say what a smashing success your retreat was! It was such a blessing to spend the time with you and to have you hold the space for me to come back to me :). Thanks sweetie -- you're the best. With lots Love and Light, and to many more special gatherings. Hooray!

Cindy McKee
Annandale, NJ


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Dear Claire, Thank you for a thoroughly eye-opening and fun-filled 3-and-a-half days. I learned a great deal about myself, and I feel equipped with tools for further exploring. Who knew that 'learning opportunities' doesn't have to be painful!? 

Lots of love to you,
Eleanor
Tucson, AZ


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Thanks for the wonderful weekend retreat. It was such a lovely experience--I truly loved everything about it!  It was so fun and inspiring and I'm still enjoying the after-effects--the retreat just keeps on going.

Hugs,
Holly
Sedona, AZ



Retreat Logistics

What's included?
Retreat pricing includes:
  • Extraordinarily personalized attention—only 5 lucky participants!
  • Professional facilitation
  • All sessions
  • All materials
  • One pre-retreat conference call—live & interactive
  • Scrumptious Welcome Dinner & Farewell Dinner, including dessert and optional 'adult beverages'!
  • All lunches
  • Scrumptious morning & afternoon snacks
  • Unlimited tea, coffee, water

Location
I'll be hosting the retreat at my own Sweet Spot—my home and studio on the east side of Tucson, Arizona, near Saguaro National Park East. The nearest major intersection is East Golf Links Road and Harrison Road. 

I recommend flying into the Tucson airport rather than Phoenix if possible; it will save you 2 to 3 hours of drive time and in general is worth the added airfare cost.
Weather
In early March, you can expect warm, sunny days in the 70s and cool, comfortable nights in the 40s and 50s, with humidity around 20%.

Tucson, also known as 'The Old Pueblo', is the sunniest city in the United States, with more than 350 days of sunshine every year. While Tucson is located in the Sonoran Desert, the landscape is surprisingly lush. A huge variety of plants thrive here, thanks to our two rainy seasons in late summer and early winter and our elevation of 2700' (compared to Phoenix at 1100', which tends to be hotter and drier).

What should I wear?
Comfy clothes! Leave the pinching bra straps and tight waistbands behind. We will do some movement and stretching each day, so comfort rules. 
Lodging
Choose from any number of nearby B&Bs, home stays, hotels or resorts, according to your own budget. You might like to share a room with a fellow retreat participant. Scroll down to bottom of page to see some of your lodging options.
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Meals
Included in the retreat pricing:
  • All lunches
  • Welcome Dinner on Thursday and Farewell Dinner on Sunday, including desserts, wine and Prickly Pear Margaritas (After all, it is Tucson!)
  • Morning and afternoon snacks
  • Tea, coffee and water available throughout retreat 
Gourmet, healthy and dee-vinely dee-lish meals catered by the transcendent Rani Olson of Food for Ascension Cafe! Special dietary needs easily accommodated. A fridge is available to store any of your own special foods and snacks.
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Rani Olson, Chef
Breakfasts are not included. Also, dinner on Friday and Saturday are times when you can dine on your own, or join up with one or more of your fellow participants to sample from Tucson's amazing restaurant scene. See restaurant recommendations at the bottom of this page.

Start & End Times
Our retreat kicks off with an Opening Circle at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 6, 2014, followed by a Welcome Dinner (included).

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, we begin the Morning Session at 9:00 a.m. We will have a 2-hour break for lunch and wrap up each day between 5:00 and 5:30 p.m. All lunches are included.

Our retreat concludes on Sunday, March 9, 2014, with a Closing Circle at 5:00 p.m., followed by a Farewell Dinner (included) at 7:00 p.m. 
Questions?
Great! 
Contact Claire HERE.

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REGISTRATION + PRICING

March 6 - 9, 2014
$690 
(or 6 payments of $115)
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Includes:
  • All facilitation
  • All materials & supplies
  • A retreat prep conference call
  • All lunches
  • Welcome Dinner on Thursday
  • Farewell Dinner on Sunday
  • Snacks, desserts & beverages (including the 'adult' kind at dinner)
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 Have questions?
Contact Claire HERE. 
To keep things delightfully intimate and to give you individualized attention, retreat enrollment is limited to 5 lucky women. 
NOTE:
Just ONE spot remaining!
Registering now gives you the chance to have creative input on the content and structure of the retreat! Yay!
REGISTER NOW: Full Payment Option
REGISTER NOW: 6-Payment Option
Alternately, you may opt to pay by personal check. Contact Claire here for mailing address.
NOTE: 
Retreat pricing does not include airfare, transfers, transportation, accommodation, dinner on Friday and Saturday, or breakfasts.
Cancellation Policy
If you need to cancel before December 10, 2013, you are eligible for a refund of everything except $100. After December 10, refunds are not available but you are welcome to give or sell your spot to someone else. I will assist however I can to help you fill your spot. If I need to cancel the retreat for any reason on my end, you'll receive a full refund of retreat tuition. As with all events of this kind, you are advised to purchase travel insurance. Check out TravelGuard. 
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Tucson sunset. Photo credit: Lynn Geoffroy
Leave the familiar for a while. Let your senses and your body stretch out like a welcomed season onto meadows and shores and hills.

Like a blooming night flower, bestow your vital fragrance and giving upon our intimate gathering.

Greet yourself in your thousand other forms as you mount the hidden tide and travel back home to your self.

All the hemispheres in heaven are sitting around a campfire chatting, while stitching themselves together into the great circle inside of you.

— Hafiz  

Lodging options nearby:

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Tanque Verde Guest Ranch
  • Airbnb.com (homestays)
  • Desert Trails Bed & Breakfast
  • Jeremiah Inn Bed & Breakfast
  • Hacienda del Desierto
  • Inn at Civano
  • HomeShare Civano
  • Civano Bed & Breakfast Inn
  • Tanque Verde Ranch: largest guest ranch in North America
  • The Arizona Inn: one of the Top 10 boutique hotels in the US
  • More options HERE...
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The Arizona Inn

Restaurant recommendations:

The retreat pricing will include the Welcome Dinner and the Farewell Dinner and all lunches.

So, for dinner on Friday and Saturday, consider these Tucson faves:
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4th Avenue Tucson streetscape, watercolor by Bonnie Bedillion
  • Food for Ascension Cafe
  • El Charro's Downtown
  • Penca Restaurante
  • Hub Restaurant & Creamery
  • Zivaz Mexican Bistro
  • Anthony's in the Catalinas
  • Caruso's
  • Delectables
  • Feast
  • And a plethora of other options

Stay a few extra days
in Tucson to enjoy:

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Mission San Xavier
  • Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum: named #5 of the Top 10 Museums in the US
  • Tucson Botanical Gardens
  • Tohono Chul Botanical Gardens
  • Madera Canyon: #3 birding hotspot in the US
  • Sabino Canyon
  • SkyNights at Mt. Lemmon SkyCenter
  • Kitt Peak National Observatory
  • Mission San Xavier
  • Tombstone
  • Tubac 
  • Bisbee
  • Biosphere 2
  • World-class golfing
  • Miraval
  • Canyon Ranch
  • Sabino Canyon Tours
  • Arizona National Golf Club



C  r  o  s  s  r  o  a  d  s

I came upon a crossroads
Where I sought only shelter for a brief time.
But as I lay down my sack and kicked off my shoes,
I noticed that this crossroads was like no other I had found.

The air in this place held an inviting warmth
And a vibrancy permeated all things.
As I introduced myself to the travelers here,
I felt no hesitation or discouragement
But sincerity and optimism in their place.
In their eyes, I saw something I could not name
But that felt very much like home.
In this place, together, we shared and encouraged
And rejoiced in the abundance of life.

by D. Carpenter
from Flourish by Martin Seligman
.
yummy e-courses  +  sweet retreats  +  a vibrant virtual neighborhood of kindreds  =
 a rich community-of-practice for conscious creative souls
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