A brief description of the Group, its Origins, and its Motives.

We are a group of people who share a love of the Movements and a wish to live more consciously and responsibly. We are from many different cultures and we come with differing perspectives, teachers, and lineages. Many of us work or teach in independent study groups near our homes. Many of us first met each other at Movements workshops that occurred in various settings around the world.

Despite our diverse backgrounds, we recognize that we share a common wish.   We wish to learn the Movements in a setting in which leadership is shared and not based on a pre-determined hierarchy. This differs from other groups that may be associated with a dominant Teacher or other traditions of group work.

We are blessed with instructors who have extensive knowledge and appreciation of the Movements.  They are willing and able to guide classes while respecting our progressive attitudes. Our first ten-day Movements Retreat was realized at Claymont Court, West Virginia, in the Spring of 1999. We have met annually since that time, usually alternating between North American and European locations.

The practical needs of the event and some elements of its content are managed by an organizing group of volunteers who are dedicated to the principles of conscious relationship. Our hope is to maintain a lively context in which Movements practice helps foster and catalyze a process of personal evolution for the participants.

Thus, our purpose is to create conditions for group work that will:

• deepen our appreciation of the gift of the Movements as an embodiment of the mystery and a way to approach the Mystery.

• deepen our practice of conscious relationship as an extension of and support for our work with the Movements and each other. 

• support practical, personal investigations into the nature of: attention, relaxation, effort, receptivity, mindfulness, and worship.

Through numerous challenges we have held our wish and stayed a course. We continue to work our way toward common ground, open hearts, and deeper Being. The most tangible results of our work are the successful organization and completion of the annual retreats focused on Movements practice in an atmosphere of mutual respect among the participants and towards the Movements.

We welcome new participants who demonstrate substantial, practical familiarity with Movements practice. The content of our Movements classes can be very demanding and the pace of presentation can be very rapid. As such, the ability of participants to remain attentive for prolonged periods and to cooperate effectively with the class are prerequisites for study in this group. Seekers who are new to Movements practice and those who are unable to practice in this manner are guided towards alternative work groups that may be more suitable for them.