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 Join our tribe of queer spirits for a radical, playful and passionate exploration of the deep erotic wisdom at the heart of the Christian mystical tradition. In this four-day experiential workshop, we will free the teaching of Jesus from millennia of distortion, begin to heal our own shame and fear, re-awaken our erotic spirits, and celebrate ecstatic Christian ceremonies which unite us with the divine. This is a workshop for spiritual and erotic adventurers: gay and bi men who are willing to question their beliefs, feel their wounds, and explore their own erotic edges – a workshop for men who are willing to risk joy.
“I have spoken with you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” -Jesus. Christians, non-Christians, and curious gay and bi men are all invited! Our workshop will be clothing optional, and will invite participants to witness and touch each other sensuously and erotically, but participants will also be encouraged to refrain from habitual sexual activity and release during the workshop, in order to channel their energies into the process of self-discovery and self-transcendence. “Perfection is not the denial of pleasure, but the enhancement of it.” - Pelagius On day one, we will explore the original vision of Christianity, a vision distorted in western culture by centuries of fear and shame, but quietly preserved in the furthest mountains, deserts, and caves by hermits and small communities of spiritual and erotic athletes. This vision insists upon the holiness of the world as an icon and incarnation of God, and calls us to the “one thing needful”: making love with God in every impulse, feeling, thought, breath, word and gesture. In this way, desire, pleasure, and joy become crucial steps on the spiritual path of theosis, or union with God. “This is my beloved child, who gives me so much pleasure.” - God 
As we move into day two, we will begin to share and heal the profound wounds of shame and fear which have driven us to desperate suppression and compulsive indulgence of erotic desire. We will experience how the distortion of Eros has impacted every aspect of our lives, and we will create a safe space for each of us to recover our original erotic innocence, and to experience ourselves, each other, and our worlds with a thrilling, miraculous aliveness.  “We shall be gods, shameless, like Christ in our body, each part of our body the whole of Christ: our fingers, our organs . . . you were wrong to fear, for there is nothing shameful. It is truly a marriage, ineffable and divine” - St. Symeon
Once we have glimpsed the erotic power of Jesus’ message and begun to heal the wounds which make us flinch away from the power of our own pleasure and joy, we can begin on our third day together to follow in his footsteps. We will begin to recover our erotic and spiritual birthright as gay/bi men, and rediscover the ancient spiritual path of pleasure, longing, joy, and ecstasy as we explore the old rites: the star in the cave, the desert, the temple, the waters of light, the star on the mountain, the tree, the tomb, and the wedding banquet. On the final day of the retreat, we will join together in the feast of love, witnessing, touching, and celebrating each other as incarnations of the divine, and explore ways of taking this radical, joyful awareness back out into our lives. “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” - Paul Group processes will include presentations, talking circles, partner work, toning, breath work, movement, touch, sacred drama, and ceremony. Participants will also have the option to participate with the monks of the Bodhi Zen Center in their morning meditation and in working with the land, and to spend quiet time alone or with each other, exploring the unfolding mystery of their own discoveries. YOUR RETREAT FACILITATOR  Hunter Flournoy doesn’t know what he is, and he is completely happy that way! He serves as an apprentice to Love, a Toltec Master in the Eagle Knight lineage, and a pastor for Amigos de Dios, a fellowship devoted to the mystical path of original Christianity. Over the years Hunter has been blessed to spend a tremendous amount of quality time with amazingly wise and loving elders, teachers, and healers in many shamanic and mystical traditions. He has been leading workshops and ceremonies in awareness, creativity, healing, passionate living and personal freedom for nineteen years, and works as a licensed psychotherapist, shamanic healer, hypnotherapist, storyteller and poet-for-hire. To learn more about Hunter’s work, go to www.newdestinies.com.
 About the Bodhi Manda Zen Center: The Zen Center is situated at an altitude of 6,300 feet with natural hot springs on premises. The hot spring pools are accessible twenty-four hours a day and become a wonderful gathering place for day or night soaks, conversation and pure relaxation. In the evening hours the hot springs are clothing optional. There are three pools ranging from cool to warm and hot with a cold rushing river just steps away for refreshing dips. Participants frequently enjoy relaxing in these hot springs, especially at night under the heavenly New Mexico star-studded sky. Watch a video from the Bodhi Manda Zen Center .jpg) Lodging at the Zen Center is simple, rustic, and quaint - each bedroom accommodates two to four persons with several bathrooms throughout the center. There are enough sleeping areas for everyone to spread-out and be comfortable. The Zen Center recently renovated some of the bedrooms, bath facilities, and completed a new central meditation hall. The Center follows a vegetarian diet. Feel free to learn more about the Zen Center by visiting their web site at www.bmzc.org.
The Erotic Body Of Christ workshop begins at 5:00pm on Thursday, September 16. If you are flying in and renting a car to drive to the retreat, please arrive into Albuquerque Airport by 1:00pm. This should give you plenty of time to arrive at the Zen Center by 4:30pm and get settled-in. The retreat ends at 1:00pm on Sunday, September 19. Please book your return flight for 4:30pm or later. Jemez Springs is located 60 miles from Albuquerque Airport. There is no public transportation from Albuquerque Airport to Jemez Springs. The Zen Center will be providing round-trip airport transfers at specific times, see below for transfer details. Jemez Springs is 1 and ½ hours drive from Santa Fe. The temperature in Northern New Mexico mid-September is delightful, days in the 80's and nights in the 50-60's, making this an ideal time of year for our retreat.  AIRPORT TRANSFERS:
The Zen Center will be providing round-trip airport transfers for a cost of $30 per person. The pickup times on September 16 at the Albuquerque Airport, going to the Zen Center, are 12:00pm and 3:00pm. The return departure time on September 19 from the Zen Center to the Airport is 1:30pm. Please book your return flight for 4:30pm or later. Or stay longer in beautiful and very gay friendly Santa Fe.
Have questions?
Contact us at 800-754-1875 or info@spiritjourneys.com |
