LaRonda Zupp, creator of Turtle Heart Retreats for the Deaf and ASL community, explains how attending retreats is possible for YOU!

Transcript coming soon.

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Transcript:

Hello. My name is LaRonda Zupp (signed with an “L” on my cheek). I want to let you know I have a new business. It’s called Turtle Heart Retreats. these retreats are for the Deaf community and for people who are fluent in ASL. This means if you are Deaf, hard of hearing, late-deafened, deaf-blind, hearing, interpreters, CODA’s, etc., as long as you are fluent in ASL, you are welcome.

Does this mean people who do not sign are not included? No. Once in a while, I will set up retreats specifically for the non-signing community. I will simply bring in an interpreter as I am Deaf and use ASL.

So, what are my retreats about? Well, I offer a variety of retreat themes. For example, I offer retreats on Personal Self-Care that are focused on wellness. I also offer retreats for Mother/Daughter’s day, Sister’s Day, Couple’s Retreats and Parent Retreats. I offer Labyrinth Walks, Nature Walks, Board and Staff Retreats. I also offer Birthday Retreats designed especially for you!

Additionally, I offer Day Away Retreats where just you and I retreat and focus especially on YOU (or perhaps you and a friend). I offer many kinds of retreats. They may be Spiritual Retreats, for example, where you turn inward and connect with your Source. I provide some retreats for Women only, or Men and Women together.

The point is that I offer retreats for the Deaf and ASL community. (PAH!) Finally! Not often do we Deaf people have access to these kinds of retreats. Well, here I am and this is what I offer to you.

So why did I choose the name Turtle Heart Retreats for my business? To find my story, you must visit my website: www.turtleheartretreats.com. There, you will discover how turtles inspire me and how they inspired the name for my business. If you look at the top on the slider bar, you will see the words “Turtle Wisdom.” Click that to read my story.

You know, Turtles teach us a lot about retreats, not just going away or getting away, but pulling back and going within. They know when to go inside and when to take care of themselves. They also know how to go at their own pace and flow with life. They are wise creatures indeed.

There is another reason why i chose the word Heart in my business name. Each letter of H.E.A.R.T. has meaning. H stands for Heal. E stands for Explore, (the kind of inner exploration we do, as well as the outdoor exploration we take to feel connected with our world). A stands for Awaken (as in coming to a new awareness or understanding). R stands for Renewal (that which comes after we rest, replenish and rejuvenate our energy). And finally, T stands for Transformation (change).

It is those five things that are the basis for my retreats. I welcome you to visit my website to learn of new, upcoming retreats. There are new retreats happening all the time. I hope to see you.

Give yourself that first of retreat. You deserve it!

Bye (ILY wave)

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In this day and age we are surrounded by an abundance of mentors. They come in every shape and form. They pop up in videos, movies, song lyrics or in books. Some are experts we have never met who can appear to give us instant advice. Perhaps we meet them in person, through the Internet, or from somewhere far across the globe. Sometimes, a wise mentor, guide or magical helper appears along our life journey in a form we least expect. This evening, I met a host of wise mentors while walking a labyrinth near my home.

Before I set foot on the labyrinth, I paused as I usually do. I breathed deeply, closed my eyes and opened my mind and heart to whatever gift of knowledge, insight or emotion I was about to receive. And then I began walking… slowly. Loosely focusing on the wind of the first turn, I suddenly noticed my surroundings within my peripheral vision. The labyrinth was sprinkled with little brown orbs all along the stone walk and near the bushes skirting the large labyrinth circle.

Snails! Helix Pomatia! Escargot!

I had not even noticed them before. I stopped in my tracks and observed. Then slowly, doing a 360 turn, I saw them everywhere! Hundreds of them! I even saw a few in the labyrinth itself, making their own hero’s journey. I no longer felt alone there. I was amidst a whole colony of air-breathing land terrestrials! I couldn’t help but laugh!

Can they see me, I wondered? What are they whispering to each other? Large and small, I imagined families. Parents schooling their little gastropod mollusks. Discoveries being made. Lessons learned. I continued my walk to the center of the rain washed labyrinth, thinking on the symbolism of snails.

Right away, I thought of snails as slow, steady, humble and benevolent creatures, much like turtles, which I so dearly love. They exemplify deliberation, perseverance and protection of providence. Like turtles, snails carry their houses upon their backs, and therefore, are symbols of self-sufficiency. Because they seal themselves in their shells during the winter and dry periods, re-emerging in the spring, snails could be also be viewed as symbols of death and rebirth.

As I reached the center of the labyrinth, I paused to meditate more on the curves and turns of their shells. The shape of the snail’s shell is often associated with symbolism of the spiral. How fitting to find them among the winding paths of the labyrinth, or along the outside as if they were orbiting the heavenly body of the earth or the sun itself.

What do spirals represent, I pondered?  I could almost hear the silky whispers from the colony surrounding me. “Cycles,” came a whisper. “Expansion” and “Contraction,” a couple more bellowed. “Mystery” and “Change,” some telepathically chanted. “Evolution” and “Continuity,” others wisely argued. “Beneficial spirals twirl to the right while destructive ones twirl to the left,” a long, studious snail seemed to distinctly and resolutely answer.

Do treasures and wisdom lie at the center of their spiral houses, I wondered, or do nightmares, Minotaurs, or other beasts dwell within?

Bending into a low squat, I followed the journey of one little fellow sharing the walk with me. Snails, I discovered, are indeed telepathic. It must be their antenna. Though I did not say it out loud, in my mind, as I watched his slippery little body inch its way along the path leaving a trail of shiny slime in its wake, I thought, YUCK.

And then I heard it, even past my own deaf ears: “I am not ‘YUCK’,’” he rightfully asserted. “I am as much a part of the natural world as you.”

He was right. Slippery, slimy snails are a part of it all. They are a part of us. We are One.

With a quick change of mind and heart, I bowed humbly in reply, “You are welcome here, little master.”

How fortunate for me that these snails seemed to magically appear on my winding labyrinth walk this evening, as if purposefully placed to be wise mentors along my journey at this point in my life.

The wisdom the snails gave to me this evening was this: That I cannot be at one with nature unless I am at one with ALL of nature, and being at one with ALL nature “out there” is a metaphor for being at one with ALL of my own internal nature. If I can’t enjoy my own garden unless it is free of pests, unless each leaf and flower is perfect, I will never enjoy my garden. Similarly, if I cannot accept myself because of my flaws and failings, or if I cannot accept myself as worthy of significance, belonging, abundance and love unless I am perfect, I will never enjoy my SELF.

That little wise snail reminded me of the importance self-love and acceptance, of significance and belonging, of being really comfortable with myself and loving myself just as I am.

When the student is ready, the master will appear. ~ Buddhist Proverb

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