Nonverbal Creativity Retreat
Where the spacious presencing of a silent retreat meets the juicy aliveness of a whole-brain, whole-self creativity workshop.
A unique one-day silent creativity workshop for feeling centered, expansive, and resourced in challenging times...in a vibrant, safe, co-created group field.
Getting creative nourishment from the inside out for enhancing resilience and reducing stress in chaotic times. Treat yourself to a day out of the noise of the world, and into the nourishing richness of your inner creative landscape.
"Thank you for a safe space and leading us so generously through a day of connecting to our creative selves!
You really attracted, and created, such a loving community." ~ Atieno Fisher, April 2025 participant
In a chaotic world, finding a sense of calm can be challenging, and requires focus and tending. Creativity offers us a quick and life-giving path to shifting energy and our way of being. Research shows that immersing ourselves in creative activities has a positive impact on our inner well being, even with so much unstable in the outer world .
Creativity flourishes when we break our patterns. By creatively engaging without words, we bypass the left brain editor/evaluator/judge, and get into the vibrant, flowing, and fun aspects of our right brain and our bodies.
In this highly engaging, nutrient-rich-creativity* workshop, we will use silence as a creative resource, along with a variety of focused creative experiences using a variety of arts, movement, improv, and more (which will be verbally explained before each activity).
The entire day is an immersion, exploration, and collaboration - with times for both individual and group creations. We will experience whole-brain, whole-self creative immersion for:
- connecting to our creative selves and creative imagination
- feeling more centered and less anxious
- enhancing resilience and creative empowerment
- increasing confidence in unknown emergent space
- having fun and generating more aliveness
- Day's structure
- 9:30 - Arrive and settle in
- 10:00-10:30 - Start time, and some whole-group verbal sharing
- 10:30-4:00 - Move into silent creating and co-creating time for participants
- (with time for lunch)
- 4:00- 4:30 - Debrief with verbal sharing again
- 4:30 - Retreat ends
- Is this workshop facilitated?
- Yes! This workshop is facilitated with little words. On occasion, I will talk briefly to give instructions or prompts on we will be doing next. There will be a variety of types of engagement that tap into different parts of your creative self - and that anyone can do.
- Leave with:
- an expanded concept of your creative self
- new ideas, insights, or perspectives
- enhanced presence and in-the-moment awareness
- new connections with other awesome humans
- easier access to the creative-flow state
- a day of light-heartedness and playfulness
- life-giving surprises
FAQs
Is this an art class? No. This isn’t about technique or making “good” art. It’s about exploration, creative process, and play—no artistic experience required.
What if I’m nervous about the silence? Totally normal. The first few minutes can feel a bit unfamiliar, but past participants have shared how free, unburdened, and creatively alive they felt as the day unfolded. People always report how the silence helped them feel free to create in new ways.
Will we be interacting with others? Yes...just without words! Some activities will be solo, while others will involve silent interactions. The group plays a role in the creative field we co-create.
Are we silent during lunch? Yes. The silent container stays intact during lunch to allow for deeper integration and presence.
Is this an art class? No. This isn’t about technique or making “good” art. It’s about exploration, creative process, and play—no artistic experience required.
What if I’m nervous about the silence? Totally normal. The first few minutes can feel a bit unfamiliar, but past participants have shared how free, unburdened, and creatively alive they felt as the day unfolded. People always report how the silence helped them feel free to create in new ways.
Will we be interacting with others? Yes...just without words! Some activities will be solo, while others will involve silent interactions. The group plays a role in the creative field we co-create.
Are we silent during lunch? Yes. The silent container stays intact during lunch to allow for deeper integration and presence.
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Nutrient-rich nutrition means you get high amount of
nutrients in your body for the calories consumed.Nutrient-rich creativity means you get a high amount
of creative nourishment for your mind, body,
heart, and spirit for the time engaged.
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Workshop Facilitator Michelle James has been designing and facilitating whole-brain/whole-body/whole-being creative process for over two decades with thousands of people. She recently published a book, Pattern Breaks: A Facilitator's Guide to Cultivating Creativity, with a huge trove of creative practices from various domains - including nonverbal ones! - you can do yourself, with work teams, or with communities of practice.