Over three and a half days, we will move together through the Spiral of the Work That Reconnects, grounding in gratitude, honouring our pain for the world, seeing with new and ancient eyes, and exploring what is calling us to do as we go forth into today’s world. Alongside this Spiral journey, we will weave in peacemaking practices drawn from mediation, dialogue, conflict transformation, and trauma-aware facilitation.

The retreat invites participants to explore peace as a relational and systemic practice:
peace within the self, peace in relationship, peace across difference, and peace with the living Earth. Rather than offering techniques alone, the emphasis is on cultivating the inner capacities – presence, discernment, compassion, courage, and responsibility – that allow peacemaking to emerge with integrity in complex situations.

Time will be held in a rhythm of:

  • Shared ritual and group practices from the Work That Reconnects
  • Reflective dialogue and small-group inquiry
  • Embodied and contemplative practices including meditation, art and movement
  • Periods of silence, rest, and connection with the natural surroundings
  • Spaciousness for personal integration and informal conversation

    This retreat is designed for people who already have some familiarity with the Work That Reconnects, peacebuilding, facilitation, activism, or inner work, and who are seeking a deeper, more integrated grounding for their engagement in the world. It is not a training focused on certification or skill acquisition, but a nourishing and rigorous space for renewal, reflection, and re-orientation.

    The residential setting at San Damiano offers a quiet, held environment that supports both individual introspection and collective learning, allowing the work to unfold at a humane and attentive pace. The center is surrounded by hills, gardens, and trails.

    Register here

    When registering, you will be asked to select and pay for a room and board option. Included in the price is a $50 non-refundable registration fee.
    The facilitators will be offering their teachings and facilitation for Dana. You will be invited to make a donation to the teachers at the end of the retreat.

    All prices in USD: 
    Double occupancy:$895 per person (early bird until August 4th- $795)
    Single Occupancy: $995  (early bird until August 4th $895)
    Refunds for cancelations will be available through September 30th.

    • 9 thoughtfully prepared homemade hot meals – most food preferences can be accommodated.( non gluten, dairy, meat and nuts options available )
    • 1 spacious and lovely conference room
    • All rooms have a private bathroom with a shower
    • Comfortable beds , washcloth, towels and soap provided
    Make your Payment here

    Location: San Damiano Retreat Center
    sandamiano.org
    710 Highland Dr
    Danville, CA 94526
    USA

    For questions regarding the retreat please Contact Spiral Journey

    The Retreat Facilitators:

    Constance Washburn M.A. is a facilitator and trainer of the Work that Reconnects. She is Co-Director of the international Spiral Journey facilitator development program and Founding Weaver of the Work That Reconnects Network. She started studying with Joanna Macy in 1994. She started Buddhist Practice at the Zen Center in New York City in 1968 and is a Community Dharma leader in the Vajrayana Tradition and a long time yogi. She has over 50 years of experience designing and directing education and outreach programs. She brings her nature connection, mindfulness and shamanic training, theater and environmental education backgrounds together to create opportunities for people to reawaken to their interconnectedness to each other, the earth and to spirit.

    Rukmini Iyer is a leadership development practitioner, organisational transformation consultant, and peacebuilder with over two decades of experience working across corporate, civil society, academic, and community contexts globally. She is the founder of Exult! Solutions, established in 2008 as a values-led practice that consciously integrates for-profit consulting with pro bono peacebuilding and social change work.
    Rukmini’s work is grounded in ecocentrism, conscious leadership, and dialogic practice, supporting individuals and groups to engage complexity with clarity, compassion, and responsibility. Her facilitation bridges inner and outer transformation, drawing on systems thinking, trauma-aware approaches, and deep listening, particularly in contexts shaped by conflict, polarisation, or ecological and social uncertainty.

    She is a Work That Reconnects facilitator and serves on the facilitation team for the Spiral Journey Facilitator Development Programme, contributing to the ongoing evolution of this work with a focus on collective liberation, cultural context, and relational ethics. Her practice is further informed by training in Somatic Experiencing, narrative practices, mediation, and interfaith dialogue.
    Rukmini teaches mediation and conflict resolution at Maharashtra National Law University and serves on the international boards of Creators of Peace International and Gaia Passages, contributing to governance, ethical practice, and the integration of inner development with ecological and peacebuilding commitments. She is a Rotary Peace Fellow, a Vital Voices Fellow, and a Positive Peace Activator with the Institute for Economics and Peace.
    Her writing appears in several publications, including Coming Together in the Great Turning (New Society Publishers, 2025). Alongside her professional work, Rukmini engages deeply with contemplative, nature-based practices, including nature mandalas, which shape her facilitation and her lived commitment to ecological belonging and collective healing.