Appo deepo bhava. The words of the Buddha. Be a light unto yourself. Not a commandment toward self-reliance, but a recognition: the light was never outside you. It is the nature of what you already are. That power. That radiance.

This is what we come to the fire to remember.

In the golden turn between summer and fall, I am gathering a small group of women at the pristine waters of Rangeley Lake in the northwestern mountains of Maine for something I have never offered before.

For 15 years I have been working with the medicines of sound and sacred fire. This October I am weaving a third strand into that container: a sacred plant ally whose gentle, sustained nature makes it a rare and trustworthy companion for this kind of work. This medicine has been carried by indigenous traditions for thousands of years. It is known for opening the heart not through intensity, but through frequency, vibration and support from the quantum field.

These three — plant ally, sacred fire, and mantra — have always belonged together. The gentleness of this medicine meets the transforming witness of fire and the vibrational field of sacred sound. Yes!

In the Sri Vidya tradition, the heart is understood as svayam prakasha – self-luminous, self-revealing. It does not need to be opened by something outside it. It needs only the conditions that allow it to recognize itself. Fire. Sound. The held silence of women gathered in devotion. These are those conditions.

Rangeley is my childhood happy place — a lake I have returned to again and again for five decades. The indigenous people knew these waters as a place of healing. The land holds that memory. You will feel it.

This is a private, invitation-based offering — not publicly listed. Max 11 participants.

A peninsula on healing waters

The Indian Point retreat property sits on its own peninsula, surrounded on three sides by Rangeley Lake — one of the most pristine bodies of water in the northeastern United States. The indigenous people knew these waters as a place of healing, and the land holds that memory in everything it offers.

🔥  Granite Fire Circle    

♨️  Sauna & Hot Tub    

🌀  Labyrinth Walk

🚣  Kayaks & SUPs    

💧  Lakefront Access    

🏡  Cozy Common Spaces

The property accommodates our entire group in comfort across the main house, a private cottage, and a bunkie — all steps from the water. Meals are prepared on-site. You will not need to go anywhere for anything. The land provides.

Mantra 9 of Sri Sukta

Gandhadvārāṃ durādharṣāṃ nitya-puṣṭāṃ karīṣiṇīm

Īśvarīṃ sarva-bhūtānāṃ tām ihopahvaye śriyam

"I invoke the Divine Mother Sri, who is the gateway to inner fragrance, who is invincible and eternally nurturing. I invoke the Divine Mother Sri, who is fuel for the fire, the omniscient goddess of all living beings."

Woven throughout our time — in morning practice, in ceremony, in the closing fire — is this ninth mantra of Sri Sukta, one of the oldest devotional hymns in the oral tradition. It is a verse not of petition but of recognition: calling toward us what is already present, already moving through the field of life – the inherent abundance, nourishment and support from the natural world.

Over the five days, we learn the verse, practice its melody together, and anchor its mantra shakti through repetition, fire, and the particular alchemy of group practice. Mantra works through resonance — through the slow accumulation of devoted repetition. By the time you leave Rangeley, this verse will live in your body. That is the intention. You carry it home as a living practice. A new reality.

Women who know this work

✨ Steph

SOUND · MANTRA · SACRED FIRE

Steph brings 24+ years of training in the Sri Vidya Tantric tradition and the lineage of the Himalayan Sages. She holds the sound, mantra, and fire container — practices she has devoted her life to. Rangeley is her hometown. She knows this land.

✨ Munay

SACRED MEDICINE PRACTITIONER

Munay holds the medicine container with deep experience and care. She brings clear protocols, compassionate presence, and a commitment to the safety and integrity of the ceremonial space. Integration support continues beyond the retreat.

✨ A NOTE ON PREPARATION

This retreat is for women. A brief conversation with Steph or Munay is required before registration. We work with sacred medicine ceremonies and ask that participants come with either previous contemplative practice or prior medicine experience. Medical screening is part of our intake process — we want to make sure this container is the right fit for you.

You arrive not as a guest but as someone stepping across a threshold. The afternoon and evening are unhurried — time to settle into the land, meet your fellow travelers, and let the body exhale from travel with a sound bath.

• Arrival, room settling, first look at the lake

• Sacred space creation together as a group

• Dinner together

• Opening circle: intention setting and introductions

• Evening sound bath to land the nervous system

The day is devoted to preparation — physical, energetic, and relational. We meet the medicines before we receive them. An herbal tea ceremony — a custom blend of plants and flowers from the local region — opens the heart channels gently and begins a conversation that the plant ally will deepen the following day.

• Morning mantra practice at sunrise

• Teachings: working with the medicines, fire, and the heart space

• Herbal tea ceremony — a locally foraged blend to access the heart

• Afternoon rest and free time: sauna, labyrinth, nature walk, lake time

• Optional massage add-on available by appointment (advance booking required)

• Evening fire for releasing what no longer serves

• Early close — rest is preparation

The center of our time together. The morning is quiet — a gentle preparation of the body and the field. The medicine is received late morning. We move through the afternoon in quiet — with the land, with the fire as it is kindled at sunset — and remain in ceremony through the dark hours.

✦  The Nonverbal Container

The afternoon-into-evening ceremony is held in complete silence except for occasional instrumental sound — singing bowls, drone, gentle percussion — and the tending of fire. Participants are invited to remain with their own inner experience while held in the collective field. After sunset the fire becomes the living focal point: the presence that witnesses and transforms. Sound arises in waves, never disrupting the deep quiet, only supporting it.

The design of this ceremony allows you to feel held, seen, and opened by the land, the fire, and your own heart.

• Morning water ritual and gentle movement

• Breakfast together

• Ceremony begins late morning

• Quiet afternoon — land, water, inner experience

• Sacred fire kindled at sunset

• Nonverbal ceremony continues through the dark hours

• Fire tending as meditation throughout

• Gentle instrumental closing as the fire quiets

• Light nourishment, quiet evening

What opened yesterday asks to be met with care. Integration is not a debrief but rather a continuation of the ceremony in your waking life. The day holds structure lightly, allowing space for what needs to settle and what needs to move.

• Morning integration circle — sharing from the heart

• Forest bathing

• Journaling and individual time

• Hot tub and sauna available throughout

• Optional massage add-on available by appointment (advance booking required)

• Closing fire ceremony with Sri Sukta offerings

• Celebration dinner together

The final morning. A closing practice together, departure blessings, and the carrying of what has opened back into the world.

• Early morning mantra and group meditation practice

• Breakfast together

• Closing circle and individual departure blessings

• Check-out by noon