SARANAC LAKE — Kathleen McPhillips embarked on a spiritual journey at a young age.
Relentless in her pursuit of the spiritual, she has attended retreats since she was 20. Thirty-four years later, she leads retreats such as "The Power of Surrender II — Retreat for Women" set for May 22 at the First Presbyterian Church in Saranac Lake.
"I had a Catholic upbringing," said McPhillips, a Yoga teacher, certified Reiki master of the Usui System of Natural Healing, spiritual adviser and author of "Adirondack Retreat: My Mid-life Journey to Wholeness."
"I love the yogic path, too. The essentials in all of the great religions and philosophies are the same. It's the nonessentials that are different. People get caught up in the nonessentials. We are really all one."
A few months ago, McPhillips led the "Power of Surrender I," which was so well received, she decided to do a follow-up.
"That's one of the gifts of these retreats, forming that bond and forming that community and allowing women to reclaim their voice, but with that comes a tremendous responsibility to be very clear and very centered. It comes from a place of your spiritual center. The spirit within you."
The purpose of "Power to Surrender II" is for women to explore the possibilities beyond controlling behaviors and behaviors that control them.
"There are many layers of the self that separate us from our spirit and God," McPhillips said. "As we move through and heal these places and make peace with these places, we find our inner beauty and light and ultimately are led to one with God and all."
The four-hour retreat includes a Hatha yoga class.
"That is all gentle movements and breath to connect us to ourselves. The premise behind that is if as we open our body and open our breath, we calm our mind. After the Hatha yoga class and a little meditation to set the tone for the retreat, we have some refreshments. We form a big circle, and everybody has a meditation cushion. Then I facilitate the process of exploring."
CONNECTED STORIES
McPhillips is a member of the retreat team for Creative Healing Connections based in the Adirondacks.
"It's a healing retreat for women with cancer and chronic illness. Being part of that and my own experience with retreats, I realized the benefit of having women together. I think the most powerful part of that is we all walk away realizing that we aren't alone in our story. Our stories are all connected, and that's the beauty of sharing our story. We realize that we have so much in common and through finding that common ground, we support one another and hold that sacred space for our own healing and our own growth."
In 2007, McPhillips relocated from Orange County to a cabin in Tupper Lake.
"I moved up here to retreat, heal and to write. I had cancer. Because of my cancer and problems resulting from that, I ended up losing my job. I had gone through a divorce. My entire world completely unraveled."
She learned the tremendous power of surrender through her own experience.
"It's not about giving up or giving in. It's about allowing what is to be. I moved here because I knew this was the only place I would really heal because of the beauty everywhere around, just living near the water and in the woods protected by the magnificent trees and the creatures. I never lived so alone and felt so alone and never felt so protected."
McPhillips embraced the mountain lifestyle.
"It's just so easy," she said. "The people up here are as wonderful as Mother Nature. That's why I teach what I teach. I teach what I live. That's where the real power is. It's never about telling people what to do. I guide. I always direct anyone who comes to me back to themselves. All the answers are within us."
E-mail Robin Caudell at: rcaudell@pressrepublican.com
