A Sacred Pause

In times such as these

There are moments in life when the usual ways of moving through the world no longer feel quite enough.

We are living through a time of extraordinary change. Socially. Politically. Ecologically. Technologically. Culturally.

The pace of life continues to accelerate, while many of us are also navigating our own seasons of transition, uncertainty, loss, caregiving, change, and questioning.

No one alive has lived through a convergence of change quite like this.

And yet, even within difficult seasons, there have also been moments of connection, discovery, healing, creativity, and joy.

Perhaps the question is not how we avoid the uncertainty, but how we meet it.

How do we remain grounded and connected to ourselves while everything around us continues to shift?

How do we honor what we have experienced, harvest the wisdom it holds, and listen for what is calling us forward?

This is the intention at the heart of A Sacred Pause.

The vital importance of pausing

We live in a culture that often rewards constant movement.

Doing more.
Accomplishing more.
Carrying more.

But there are seasons when the most courageous choice is to pause.

Not to escape our lives.

Not to withdraw from the world.

But to create enough space to return to ourselves.

A pause allows us to slow down long enough to notice what has been asking for our attention.

The emotions that haven't had room to be felt.

The questions that haven't had space to emerge.

The dreams and desires that have been quietly waiting.

The burdens we have carried without acknowledgment.

Because so much of what we carry is invisible.

The disappointments.
The changes we never expected, and even those we planned.
The uncertainty.
The losses both large and small.
The relationships that have shifted.
The responsibilities we hold for others.
The longing for something more.

These experiences are part of being human.

And they deserve a place to be witnessed.

At A Sacred Pause, there is room for all of it.

Nothing needs to be hidden, hurried, or fixed.

Together, we create a compassionate space where what has been carried alone can be acknowledged, honored, and, when the time is right, gently released.

The Heart of A Sacred Pause

We gather in community because there are some things we are not meant to carry alone.

Through reflection, creative process, SoulCollage®, ritual, and meaningful conversation, we create space to honor our experiences, explore our inner landscape, and reconnect with the wisdom already within us.

This is a time for:

Expression
Giving voice to what has been held inside.

Recognition
Seeing and honoring the experiences that have shaped us.

Release
Making space for what we are ready to set down.

Renewal
Reconnecting with creativity, possibility, and the next chapter that is waiting to emerge.

A Sacred Pause is not about arriving with answers.

It is about creating the conditions for deeper listening.

When we slow down and tend to ourselves with intention, clarity often begins to emerge.

What Pausing makes possible

Through this intentional experience, you may discover that you:

• Gain deeper self-awareness about what matters most in this season of your life.

• Develop greater clarity about what has been weighing on you and what your next steps might be.

• Experience the profound gift of being witnessed and supported by a community of women.

• Feel renewed in body, mind, and spirit through rest, creativity, reflection, and connection.

• Use SoulCollage® and creative expression to explore emotions, experiences, and inner wisdom beyond words.

• Begin to recognize what is calling you forward and imagine possibilities for what comes next.

A carefully held container

For more than 15 years, A Sacred Pause has been place where women gather to step away from ordinary routines and enter a deeper rhythm.

This retreat is intentionally small, allowing space for authentic connection, individual attention, and a sense of community that continues long after we return home.

Together, we create a supportive environment where you can:

Rest.

Reflect.

Create.

Share.

Listen.

Remember.

So much of my time was focused on others that it was hard to find the time I needed to be inwardly focused. I needed to have a dedicated chunk of time to check in with me.

This retreat allows me to stop everything and think only about me, which is something that I rarely do.

MaryBeth, Newport KY

Over the weekend, I had a profound change in my story about fear—moving out of thinking I needed to go into worry and stress whenever I felt fear and understanding that was simply my story – and my decision – about how to react to fear. With this realization I was able to write a new story for myself and respond to fear in a centered, accepting way.

This was an amazing group of women and Julie offered warm support, gentle guidance, deep reaching questions and experiences as she shepherded us through our time together.

It allows me the space and time to focus and pinpoint the issues that I need or want to deal with while at the same time feeling unconditional support from the other women.

For the first time in a very long time, I felt a part of a group, of the circle. I felt connected to the other women in many ways. There's an ease during the retreat, a camaraderie among the women who respect one another and offer unconditional affection.

You can be who you are, and there are no critics. There’s nothing more inspirational than the power of a group of like-minded women who are supportive of one another.

Marcia, Ames IA

I came to this retreat so broken. I felt like I had completely lost myself and my way. I had no idea what to do with my life. But once I was there amazing things happened to me.

I thought this retreat was AMAZING!

Amber, Hoschton, GA

Everyone was so accepting and wonderful. With the community of women there I gained clarity and acceptance which allowed me to remember who I was. The group was supportive but gave me space and didn't try to solve my problems—they let me do this on my own.

The retreat was the best thing I have ever done for myself, and the experience changed my life. The whole experience has left me feeling like a large weight has been lifted off my shoulders which makes me feel lighter. I feel whole again.

For me the retreat exceeded my expectations and I feel like I achieved more than I could have hoped for. The time to really check in with myself and get some guidance was huge. I could not have done this at home!!

I feel a HUGE sense of peace with my situation. I feel like I am not fighting with what "is" anymore, I'm just accepting it.

The women that attended were some of the warmest, caring souls I have come in contact with. I can't think of another time I have ever felt that comfortable and supported by a group of women.

Donna, Marietta OH

Where we'll be

Hope Springs Institute provides the perfect setting for our time together.

Nestled on 130 acres in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in southern Ohio, Hope Springs is a place where many people feel an immediate sense of exhale and belonging.

The land itself carries a deep sense of history and reverence, from its ancient roots and proximity to the Serpent Mound to the generations of care and intention that have shaped this remarkable place.

Here, surrounded by woods, walking trails, gardens, and quiet spaces for reflection, you are invited to slow down and let the natural world become part of your own process.

Comfortable lodging, nourishing locally sourced meals, and beautiful gathering spaces create a supportive environment for rest, reflection, creativity, and connection.

What we'll do

Our days together will invite you into a deeper relationship with yourself through creative exploration, reflection, and connection.

The art and practice of SoulCollage® will be one of our primary tools, offering a unique way to explore your inner landscape, give voice to what wants to be seen, and discover wisdom that may not emerge through words alone.

Throughout the retreat, you’ll also experience guided reflection, meditation, imagery, meaningful conversation, and spacious time for rest and integration.

Everything is held within a supportive community of women where your experiences can be witnessed, honored, and met with compassion.

And while our time together can be deeply meaningful, it is not all introspection and quiet contemplation.

There is also laughter.

There are campfires and singing, drumming and storytelling, conversations that can stretch late into the evening, and the occasional raucous hot-tub gathering.

Transformation needs room for joy, too.

Wednesday, Oct 28 - Sunday Nov 1, 2026

You're invited to arrive after 3pm on Wednesday to settle into your room and relax on the land.

We'll gather for dinner together at 6:00pm, officially beginning our time as a community.

Our closing circle concludes after lunch on Sunday, usually around 2:00 pm.

For those who are able to stay, there is also an optional Integration Day following the retreat. This unstructured time is a beautiful opportunity to continue processing, resting, and gently bringing your experience home.

You will also be invited to attend Weaving the Threads: A pre-retreat Gathering via Zoom the week before the retreat. This allows us to get to know each other a bit, lay the groundwork for our time together, and answer any questions you might have.

When we'll gather

The Sacred Pause Experience

Wondering if this is for you?

The women who gather in the circle each year come from a variety of ages, stages, and places. What unites the women who attend is a desire, perhaps a need, to step away from the pace and demands of everyday life and create space for reflection, renewal, and connection.

You may be navigating:

• A personal transition or life change

• A season of uncertainty or questioning

• A desire to reconnect with yourself

• A longing for deep, shared community

• A feeling that something new is emerging, even if you can't yet name it

You do not need to arrive with a clear intention or a specific outcome.

You simply need a willingness to pause.

If this resonates, stirs a sense of longing or recognition, or a quiet yes, then A Sacred Pause is for you.

Before the retreat I was cracking and felt paralyzed inside.

It's the best gift you can give yourself, that time to check-in, reevaluate, heal, grow and just be with yourself.

Cathy, Sitka AK

I was struggling with “who am I?” Family complications, work transitions, doubt in myself, regrets, etc. I was not aligned, and felt lost with no inner peace within myself.

Hope Springs is an incredibly powerful place. The container of this retreat, here on this land, allowed me to do the very hard, deep work I needed to do to move forward. In just five days, I am less critical and more accepting of myself. I have found my heart, soul, light, peace and power again.

Before the retreat I was feeling the need to have a grounding practice in my life. I loved the evolution of the circle, how everyone came ready to do their work and be ‘seen’. It created a very cathartic opening on many different levels for me.

I went from not knowing if this process really would work for me, to being blown away by the layers it was revealing. I feel blessed to have found SoulCollage® at this point in my process.

Gerri, Charleston WV

A truly transformative weekend with the perfect blend of silence, creativity, nature and fellowship.

I was looking for a time away from everything to just be. Letting go of a long held shame has made me feel lighter and happier and more able to move forward in my life. It ALL was fabulous for me - feeding my soul where I needed to be fed!

As a first timer to a somewhat established group, I felt welcomed and included. I am so grateful for the safe space Julie created and the amazing group of women who were vulnerable and courageous!

Christine, Dayton OH

The retreat surpassed all my wildest imaginings

I know from past experience that this is one place where I will be seen, heard and held.

Laura, Newport KY

This was the first retreat at Hope Springs in which I did not spend much time hiking on the land. I was totally absorbed in the process and the participants. I am hooked on SoulCollage®. The process of making and reading my cards is such a fun, intriguing, and informative way to dive deep within my unconscious self.

My heart is made happy to have been held in such sacred space doing deep work!

I felt like I was out of alignment with who I am from all the challenges in my life that were pulling at me in uncomfortable ways. Rather than leading from fierce love I often felt fierce frustration and wanted to run away!

The sisterhood that develops almost immediately in this circle is profound in ways that someone who has never experienced this depth of opening up and vulnerability might not be able to imagine. The collective connection to one another and the work that gets done here is nothing short of magical.

Laura, Columbus OH

This has been a time for "me" for several years now, and it is always the best thing I do for me all year. I always come away in a calmer state of mind, body and soul.

The retreat always brings together like-minded women in search of something more in life. And you walk away with such a connection with these women that it is almost tangible.

The structure is wonderfully organized and balanced with free time. SoulCollage is an incredible way to reach deep into yourself to heal, listen to your heartfelt voice and to move forward. It is usually not easy work, but it's always what's needed for that moment in my life.

Karen, Stephenson VA

Room Options and Investment

Reserving your place

Your retreat registration includes:

• Five days of thoughtfully facilitated retreat experiences, creative exploration, reflection, and community.

• Four nights of comfortable lodging at Hope Springs Institute. Most participants enjoy a private bedroom with a shared bath, offering a quiet space to rest and reflect between sessions. Three shared rooms are also available on a first-come, first-served basis.

• Three nourishing, locally sourced meals each day.

• All SoulCollage® materials and creative supplies.

• Exclusive use of the Hope Springs property for our retreat community.

• Plenty of unstructured time to walk the labyrinth, explore the trails, soak in the hot tub, rest in a hammock, or simply be.

A few practical details:

RESERVING YOUR PLACE

A $650 non-refundable deposit reserves your place, or pay in full.

If you register by August 15, you may pay your balance in two installments of $350 (or $300 for a shared room):

• $650 deposit upon registration

• Second payment due September 1

• Final payment due October 1

From August 16th to September 15th you can still place a deposit, with the full balance due October 1.

Shared Room

Share accommodations with another participant and enjoy a lower registration fee.

Early Registration $1250

Standard Registration $1400

Early Registration open thru 8/15

Private Room

Your own quiet space to rest and reflect between sessions.

Early Registration $1350

Standard Registration $1500

Early Registration open thru 8/15

CANCELLATION AND REFUND POLICY

Life doesn't always unfold according to plan, and sometimes circumstances change.

Because I make substantial financial commitments to Hope Springs and intentionally keep this retreat small, cancellations affect both the retreat and the women who hope to attend.

If you need to cancel, here's how I'll handle it:

• Your registration deposit secures your place and is non-refundable.

• If I am able to fill your space from the waiting list, I'll gladly refund any additional payments you've made, less any non-refundable processing fees.

• A space is considered filled when a replacement participant has completed registration and payment.

• Because replacement registrations may occur close to the retreat date, final determination of refund eligibility may not be known until shortly before the retreat begins. Any applicable refunds will be processed as soon as possible following the retreat.

I strongly encourage purchasing travel insurance if your plans involve significant travel expenses or if unexpected circumstances are a concern.

REGISTRATION DEADLINE

Registration remains open until October 9 or until the retreat reaches capacity.

Because the retreat is intentionally limited to approximately 15 women, registration may close before the deadline if all spaces are filled.

If you feel a quiet yes as you read this page, I encourage you to reserve your place while space is still available.

OPTIONAL INTEGRATION DAY

Because returning is part of the process.

One of the things I hear every year is, "I feel like I've finally settled into retreat... and now it's time to leave."

If your schedule allows, I invite you to consider staying one additional night. There is no formal program, just a spacious day to rest, create, walk the trails, soak in the hot tub, or simply allow everything you've experienced to settle a little more deeply before returning home.

Integration Day includes an additional night's lodging, Sunday dinner, and Monday breakfast and lunch.

Cost: $195 You can add Integration Day when you register or decide later if space is available.

Meet Your Guide

Julie Henderson, MS, LMT has been guiding women through seasons of profound inner and outer change for more than three decades. She began her work in 1994 as a licensed massage and craniosacral therapist, where she witnessed firsthand how mental, emotional, and cultural stress live in the body. Those years shaped her deep respect for the intelligence of the nervous system and the quiet wisdom carried in the cells.

Over time, Julie returned to her academic roots in developmental psychology, deepening her understanding of adult development and women’s lived experience. Today, as a Creative Depth Coach and retreat facilitator, she weaves guided meditation, movement, music, and creative process into deeply experiential spaces where insight can take root in the body and become lived transformation.

Julie’s work is grounded, intuitive, and relational. She does not position herself as someone who fixes from above, but as one who walks alongside women as they return home to themselves. Again and again, she has witnessed what becomes possible when a woman reconnects with her own center and begins to trust what she knows from the inside out.

A gentle invitation

If you have been longing for time and space to step away, listen inward, and reconnect with yourself, consider this your invitation.

A Sacred Pause is a place to come home to yourself.

To honor where you have been.

To acknowledge where you are.

And to begin listening for where you are being called next.

Feeling intrigued but a little uncertain whether this is for you?

Don't know me and wondering if I'm the right facilitator for you?

Click here to book a 15-minute chat and I can answer any questions you have and help you find the clarity you need.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to be an artist or to have done SoulCollage® in the past to get something out of this??

Absolutely not! There will be info for those new to the SoulCollage® process, and plenty of support from me as well as others who have experience.

And “artistic skill” is never a requirement. In fact, I’ve frequently found that people who previously thought themselves to be lacking in that particular gene have been deeply moved by discovering just how beautifully they can express themselves through SoulCollage®.

Can you accommodate my special dietary or health needs?

Hope Springs will do its best to meet any special needs you may have. You will have a chance to detail those upon registration. Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

Do I need to have a “burning issue” to attend?

Some women come to the retreat with the intention of addressing a particular challenge or issue that is “up” for them. Others come as a part of their regular self-care and mindfulness practice in their lives. Still other women come out of curiosity or because the experience “calls” to them in some way. All are perfectly fine!

Do I have to participate in all the activities?

While there is a structure to the retreat and an intentional flow through the process, I am more interested in supporting women to tune in and listen to their own inner wisdom and meet their own needs than I am in forcing my agenda.

I do my best to help you meet any needs you may have for rest, relaxation and solitude and still keep you integrated with the larger flow of the weekend.

You're a midlife coach. Do I have to be “middle-aged” to attend?

Not at all.

A Sacred Pause is for adult women of any age who long for time and space to slow down, reconnect with themselves, and tend to whatever is asking for their attention in this season of life.

Women ranging from their 20s to their 70s have joined us over the years, and the diversity of ages can be one of the retreat's greatest strengths. While our experiences may differ, we often discover that the themes beneath them, change, uncertainty, joy, loss, longing, renewal, and hope, are deeply shared.

Gathering across generations reminds us that we are not alone in being human.

What exactly is SoulCollage®, anyway?

SoulCollage®, developed by therapist and author Seena Frost, offers a tool through which you can access your own intuitive wisdom and hear the voice of your soul. A simple and delightful creative process, SoulCollage can give shape and form to the sacred time you create for yourself in your personal journey to wholeness. It is a unique and fun tool that can be used when you don’t know how or where to start the process of cultivating your spirit, and can provide form and structure for journaling, meditation or prayer practices, or even therapy.

SoulCollage requires no artistic experience or talent. All that is necessary is a willingness to be open to the experience.

Perhaps This Is Your Time to Pause

If you've found yourself taking a deeper breath as you've read this page, or quietly imagining yourself here, perhaps something within you is already recognizing what it needs.

You don't have to have everything figured out. You don't need a perfectly defined intention. You simply need a willingness to step away for a few days and make space for yourself.

If A Sacred Pause feels like the right next step for you, I'd be honored to welcome you.

And if you're uncertain, click here to book a 15-minute chat and I can answer any questions you have and help you find the clarity you need.