by The Speak Well Being Group
(Nov. 30, 2007, Vol. V Issue 21)
When Debbie Denitto first contacted me regarding a speaker for a breast cancer survivors’ retreat, it was immediately clear to me that this was a very special assignment. Sponsored by Wellspring, a service of Winchester Medical Center (WMC) in Winchester, Virginia, they wanted to create an intimate retreat for women in their first year of recovery from breast cancer. This was not to be a discussion of treatment options or other medical topics, but to focus on emotional and spiritual issues and to have some fun!
Debbie, who was diagnosed with breast cancer five years ago when she was 44, helped organize it along with fellow breast cancer survivor Phebe Burgess. They both work at Valley Health, parent company of WMC and were inspired by a retreat sponsored by Johns Hopkins that was rejuvenating for both of them after their first year of cancer treatment.
It was clear that she didn’t want someone to come in and just speak to the women. What she was looking for was someone who could go deep – an empathetic and compassionate facilitator, and as this was their first retreat, someone who could help them design it. Pasha Hogan, a 3-time breast cancer survivor and psychotherapist I’d recently connected with came immediately to mind. I’d been impressed by her holistic and creative approaches to re-igniting the fire in women’s souls. As a survivor, she had the credibility of shared experience. As an artist, she brought creative innovation into her programs. As a psychotherapist, she had professional counseling skills. As a practitioner of meditation, yoga and Reiki, she was tuned into spiritual and holistic healing modalities. As luck would have it, Pasha, who lives in New Mexico, was scheduled to be a guest speaker at the Young Survival Coalition annual conference in Virginia, where Debbie and Phebe could go meet her in person months before their event. As things turned out, it was a match made in heaven.
The retreat was held in September at Capon Springs Farm, a family run resort, surrounded by forested mountains, miles from civilization, with no televisions, computers, cell phones or locks on the doors. “I almost expected Nellie Olson to skip in front of me as I walked down the dirt road in response to the dinner bell,” Pasha said. “All the meals were home cooked and delicious. The venue really was extraordinary in that it truly was out of the ordinary. I felt as if I had stepped into another time and into the heart of nature. We were surrounded and held in a container of natural beauty which helped set the stage for the magical and transformative experience the women experienced in such a short time.
Capon Springs
“I was so thrilled to participate in this retreat,” Pasha said. “Twenty-two women from the area congregated for a day and half not knowing what to expect. Almost all of the women were strangers to each other except for the fact that cancer was no stranger to all of them. We came together to reduce the sense of isolation and fear that a cancer diagnosis can bring.” Each participant paid a $49 registration fee. The food, lodging, and the guest speaker’s fee were paid for with proceeds from the Pink Ribbon Luncheon held earlier in the year.
“We served as compassionate witnesses for each other as we agreed to confidentiality and set some guidelines on the values we would like to live by together for the next couple of days,” she said. “I shared some personal stories and experiences as a means of connecting with them before their personal introductions began. One of the things I did was introduce the 'Myth of the Half Girl' and we formed a new circle based on where people identified with the story. The entry point for our journey together was wherever they were in their own journey, honoring how far they have already come and acknowledging it is a spiral -- it is not a linear journey and no place is better or worse than another."
Pasha led them through various exercises, all designed to guide them in getting in touch with their hopes and dreams and expressing themselves from a heartfelt place “It was wonderful to see the women so excited, trusting the mages that emerged, without
knowing why, discovering buried parts of themselves, and witnessing them trust the process and their intuition. They were fully engaged in realizing that this is a time to live.
“The breathing and meditation exercises I shared with them were also very popular and I have been receiving emails on how many of them are using the techniques and experiences of the retreat to create more loving and kind relationships with themselves and opening up to all the wonderful possibilities that they are now seeing for themselves going forward -- creating a life and lifestyle that serves who they are now.”
“The retreat gave the women time away from family obligations and the luxury of concentrating totally on themselves,” Debbie said. “Their lives have been turned upside down after a cancer diagnosis and year of treatment. I had been wanting to do this retreat for a very long time and couldn’t have been more pleased with how it all turned out. We plan to have Pasha back next year.”
“It was incredible to me how deeply and honestly the women connected,” Pasha said. “My intention was to create a container of beauty where their own beauty could be reflected back to them in the eyes and voices of each other. I feel truly blessed to have been connected with this group of amazing women. Basically, by the end of the retreat, it felt like a big love fest!
“My work feeds my soul. My life has been my greatest teacher. There are no detours, only magnificent opportunities to become more fully alive!” Pasha concluded.
Pasha is not only a talented facilitator and workshop/retreat leader, she can inspire an entire room to embrace life fully. Through her workshops, speaking engagements and private practice, Pasha’s mission is to empower individuals to live passionately and transform life challenges into profound learning and healing experiences. To learn more about Pasha Hoganand her background, please visit our website.
