September 22-25, 2021

Crestone, Colorado

CANCELLED DUE TO COVID

As we watch the Delta variant of COVID-19 surge, we are called to put safety first and cancel this event. Those of you who have already registered will receive full refunds. We deeply regret any inconvenience. We also regret that we will not be able to come together in Crestone as we had hoped. We shall keep you informed as the pandemic calms down and we can reconsider hosting this event. Thank you for your kind understanding. Stay safe. Be well. Until we (can) meet again.

Our roads to Personal Leadership are many. And, for many of us, the road to Personal Leadership went through Crestone. We came away with fresh insight and deep integration thanks to the energies and experiences uniquely available in Crestone.

Come experience Crestone and PL. For the very first time. Or, again…for the very first time.

THE PROGRAM

Our program begins at 6 pm on Wednesday, September 22 with a Welcome Dinner and concludes after Closing Lunch by 2 pm on Saturday, September 25.

Overview

• Arriving: Engaging the Six Practices
• Being: Living Mindfulness and Creativity
• Integrating: Dancing between Being and Doing

Why Show Up in Crestone?

The natural beauty of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the palpable positive energy and creative community combine to provide the unique container in which to experience the embodiment of Personal Leadership. Guiding questions accompany us as we visit Crestone’s stupas and temples, teachers and healing practitioners and take in the Big Picture magnificence of the mountains, valley and skies.

Who will you be after three days of intensive PL practice? Who will you be after three days supported by the energies of Crestone? Who will you be after three days of continuous practice in PL community?

Join us to find out!

Register here

The Program: Details

Wednesday Evening

Setting the Container

• We start with a Welcome Dinner and set the container. We connect to ourselves, each other, Crestone and the quest we are embarking on.

Thursday and Friday

The PL Practice Quest

• Explore the teachers, practitioners and experiences unique to Crestone, as we carry a focus on PLs Six Practices.

 Making Meaning of PL Practice Quest

• Gather to make and share collective meaning of how our experiences are deepening us in the Six Practices.

Engaging Mindfulness and Creativity  

• Engage activities of creation and heighten awareness within and without, as we create and pay attention.

Making Meaning of Engaging Mindfulness and Creativity

• Gather to make and share collective meaning of how our experiences are deepening us in Mindfulness and Creativity.

Saturday Morning

Integrating: the Dance between Being and Doing

• Gather to make sense of living three days in intensive PL practice.

PROGRAM COSTS

Early bird (before August 14^th)              $300

Regular (after August 14^th)                    $350

Includes:

• Meeting venue costs
• On-site program materials
• Meals as follows:
  • Wednesday Sep 22    Welcome Dinner
  • Thursday Sep 23        Group Dinner
  • Friday Sep 24             Group Dinner + Dance Party Snacks
  • Saturday Sep 25         Closing Lunch

The registration fees include meeting venue costs, on-site program materials, and four meals. Please be aware that the costs of travel, housing, individual meals, and fees for elective activities are NOT included and must be paid directly by participants. Be sure to bring adequate cash to cover these costs, especially teacher/practitioner fees.

Refund Policy

Participants may cancel registration up to 30 days prior to the event and will be refunded the registration costs minus EvenBrite processing fees (approximately $25). No refunds are available for missed meals included in registration fee.

Register here

EVENT LOCATIONS

Seminar House: 1461 Horseshoe Trail, Crestone, CO 81131

• Conversations and integration opportunities take place at the Seminar House with our host and PL Founder, Sheila Ramsey.

Social House: 911 Brookview Way, Crestone, CO 81131

• Gather at the Social House to enjoy delicious group meals prepared by long-time PL practitioner and foodie, Megumi Sugihara, and to celebrate community at our Friday evening dance party.

YOUR ROAD TO CRESTONE

By Air:

• If you are traveling by air, fly into Denver or Alamosa.
• The drive from Denver to Crestone is about 4 1/2 hours. We suggest you coordinate with others traveling to Experience Crestone to share a rental car from Denver Airport; those interested in ride sharing will be added to a WhatsApp group chat to facilitate this process.
• From Alamosa the drive is about an hour. You can rent a car at the Alamosa airport. NOTE: Only small planes with limited luggage capacity fly into Alamosa. Your luggage can be delayed and come on a flight a day later.

By Road:

• Crestone is located halfway between Salida/Poncha Springs to the North and Alamosa to the South off Highway 17. The drive through wide-open spaces can be one of the charms of coming to Crestone.

CELEBRATE!

Friday Evening Dance Party

Somewhere in the early years of PL Foundations in Crestone, after days of focused teaching and studying PL, another kind of joy bubbled up…time to cut loose and dance! A tradition was born.

We’ll have a group dinner then dance to our hearts content, fueled by further yummy treats…Think of it as bodily integration!

ACCOMMODATIONS

Crestone offers a variety of short-term rentals well suited to our needs. For your convenience, we have listed some recommendations below. There are many more – we invite you to research on your own!

NOTE: Keep in mind – Crestone is spread out. You will need a car to get around. You may find it most convenient to coordinate accommodation rental and ridesharing with the same people. We invite you to connect with other participants to coordinate and share housing through a designated WhatsApp group; indicate your interest in joining the group on the ticket order form.

AirBnB

• Beetch House – Phone +1 (719) 256-4498 (use Sheila’s name)
• Coll House – Phone +1 (719) 256-4475 (use Sheila’s name)
• Rainbow House – Phone +1 (719) 480-1867

Vajra Vidya Retreat Center

Crestone Baca Grande Accommodations

• Higher-end 1, 2 & 3 bedroom townhouses. Fully equipped kitchens, large living/dining rooms and decks. We invite you to coordinate with others and share a townhouse.
• For reservations, email crestonebacath@gmail.com or
  call +1 (719) 256-4243

Accommodation Near the Experience Crestone Social House

• Highly recommended by Sheila. Master bedroom with queen bed and full bathroom. Small, but cute, upstairs “observation room” with views, a small day bed, and a toilet/sink behind a screen. Main floor living room has a pullout couch. On the ground floor are two twin pull out couches, mini-kitchen (sink, mini-fridge, microwave, and coffee maker), full bath dining room table and sliding glass door separate entrance. It has great views on main floor/upper level and porch and very pretty artwork.
• $250/night with 100 cleaning fee. We invite you to coordinate with others and share this house.
• Cancelation policy: 20% deposit is nonrefundable unless the cancellation is due to COVID breakout/issues.
• Contact house owner, Sharon Mar Adams at Sharon.adams@colorado.edu.

WHAT TO BRING

• Journal and writing implements
• Summer Clothes with evening layers (plus, some bling for the dance party if that’s your style). It will be late summer at 8000 feet elevation. Warm days, cool nights and a measure of unpredictability…
• Easy on, easy off shoes – most homes and many sites in Crestone are shoeless
• Sturdy walking shoes/boots – much of Crestone is un- or unevenly paved, so you will be most comfortable in walking shoes even if you don’t end up hiking
• Bathing suit – one of the favorite Crestone experiences are local hot springs – Joyful Journey is a down-home spa facility just outside of Crestone that is on many people’s must-visit list. There are also natural hot springs opportunities in the area, where clothing is optional.
• Sun hat and sun screen – This is high desert. At 8000 feet, you are close to the sun!
• Water bottle – This is high desert. At 8000 feet, you need to keep hydrated to mitigate the effects of altitude. If you find hydration salts a useful addition to your water, bring those as well.

COVID Precautions: Mask, hand sanitizer. We intend to spend as much time when we gather outdoors to enjoy the setting and to be COVID-safe. We invite everyone to take care of themselves and others appropriately, depending on the state-of-COVID affairs in September.

CRESTONE – NO TOWN LIKE THE PRESENT…

Navajo and Hopi peoples, miners, developers, seekers…this land nestled in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains has been home to many. Testimony to its peaceful energies, legend has it that, this high desert valley has never seen war. Since the mid-1970’s, several spiritual communities have taken root in Crestone, including a Hindu temple, a Zen center, a Carmelite monastery, and several Tibetan Buddhist centers. Crestone attracts artists, musicians, and alternative healing practitioners.

PERSONAL LEADERSHIP’S ROAD TO CRESTONE

Sheila Ramsey, Barbara Schaetti and Gordon Watanabe, the founders of PL, knew each other from working together at the Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication (SIIC) in Portland, Oregon. The threesome came to Crestone for the first time to attend meditation classes with their teacher, Dawn. These shared paths gave rise to Personal Leadership.

In 2000, Sheila purchased Dawn’s house at 42 Crestone Overlook and it became the “spiritual home” to Personal Leadership. From 2002 to 2015, PL Foundations and Training of Facilitators, plus various community, governance and meditation events were held at “42”.

During that time, "the road to Crestone” and the “road to PL” were inextricably interwoven. As the community of practitioners and facilitators grew, PL moved out into the world with courses offered in other locations in the US and in Canada, Europe and Asia. In 2017, Sheila sold 42 Crestone Overlook.

In 2020, Sheila made the decision to return to live in Crestone and purchased the house where she will host Experience Crestone.

MEGUMI’S COOKIN’!

Sure to be a highlight of our Experience of Crestone, will be the group meals cooked for us by the skilled and loving hands of Megumi Sugihara.

Those of you who know Megumi probably know her to be a long-time PL practitioner, author of powerfully illuminating case studies in the PL book, and engaged community member in both the US and Japan. You may also know her to have a seriously impish sense of playfulness. What you may not know, is that Megumi is seriously committed to food. The raising of it, cooking of it, and eating of it. In her own words

…while I am a huge local, community based, food system advocate, I cannot give up on food from around the world. Thus, I try to create the flavor from the world with local ingredients. In any case, eating well and staying healthy is the most powerful act of sovereignty that we can practice in this time of pandemic! (in my humble opinion that is :))

We will eat good and do good!

Register here

Questions? PLCrestone2021@gmail.com