Retreat

Tomorrow I will pack up and head to the mountains again, this time for the annual Lichtenbergian Retreat. As I mention in the book — coming SOON! — the Retreat is one of the two great RITUALS of the Lichtenbergian Society. (The other is the Annual Meeting, which is next month.)

The Retreat was started as a joking way to catch up on all the work we had been procrastinating on all year so maybe we could achieve a Lichtenbergian goal or two before the Annual Meeting.  Underneath that, of course, was our desire to celebrate and enjoy our scenius together.  Who doesn't like getting away for the weekend to the mountains? (And yes, I understand completely how privileged this is.)

It's probably worth repeating what RITUAL means as a Lichtenbergian Precept: a ritual is an action repeated over time or at specific intervals, the purpose of which is to provoke change in the participants. That change might be a transition in a state of “work-mind,” or it might be to refocus your energies in a particular direction, to name just two examples.

From the book, an even simpler image:

The shape of RITUAL.

Here's how our Retreat works as a RITUAL.

• Thursday, we arrive, claim sleeping quarters, unpack, settle in.  Supper is snacky, and we talk about what we hope to achieve over the weekend.  Cocktails are probably involved.
• On Friday, people wake up, get their coffee or whatever, and then get to work.  This has been true since the very first Retreat, and we didn't plan it, we just did it: there's no chitchat or dilly-dallying (!),  we all just get to work.
• Lunch, we mosey in, fix sandwiches, perhaps touch base with each other, but then back to work.
• By 3:00, though, we're all ready to stop working.  It's hot tub time, or dinner prep, or cocktails. We spend the evening enjoying each other's company, in conversation or games or movies or hot tubbing or cocktails.
• Saturday, we do it all over again.
• Sunday, we arise and do the whole packing-and-cleaning-up cabin thing, and we're off, leaving our workspace behind as we reenter the "real world."

This shape — our expectation of and commitment to this shape — is how we create the space where we work. Over the years I have worked on the Cello Sonata; the Six Preludes (no fugues); orchestrating Christmas Carol; starting the process of transcribing my WASTE BOOK notes on Lichtenbergianism into Scrivener, i.e., writing the book (coming SOON!), and more.  This time I will focus on the music for the ballet I'm supposed to be writing.

You might very well ask why, since I'm retired, I can't do all of this in my study, every day, and the truth is I do, for the most part.  But going away is itself a powerful RITUAL. You are telling the Universe, "This is different. I don't have to worry about laundry or the Assistive Feline™ or taking down the Halloween decorations."  All you have to worry about is the work.

I'll report back on the results.  In the meantime, remember as you're looking for ways to give me money, that I could actually emcee a Retreat for you and your group as well.