Reclaiming pleasure
An Exquisite Tenderness Women’s Autumn Retreat for Body and Soul
in the Lineage of Marion Woodman
Sunday, November 2nd – Friday, November 7th, 2025
in Little Compton, Rhode Island, USA — the ancestral home of the Sakonnet, Wambanoag people
“Sil’s presence opens the way for women to go where they wouldn’t have otherwise imagined they could go.”
Hi, I’m Sil.
I’m a mother, a grandmother, a crone, a best-selling author, a teacher, and a coach for women.
I guide women in transforming their lives from the inside out.
“Sil's fluency with the language of dreams (both sleeping and waking), in chorus with the solemnity, warmth, and humor she brings to each meeting, provides a rich container for what feels as much like a creative process as it does a home-coming—as emergent as it is familiar; as catalyzing as it is relieving; as sweet as it is deep.”
— Heather, student of Sil’s
A LETTER FOR YOU:
DEAR ONE SEEKING TO RECLAIM PLEASURE AT LONG LAST,
I’m so excited to be journeying back to the wild sea of my childhood in Little Compton, Rhode Island — the ancestral home of the Sakonnet, Wambanoag people — to lead another in-person retreat — and to gather with a circle of magical women from our Soul-making School. For 6 days, we’ll be free to move to our own rhythms and deeply hear and express our soul’s call. 🐚
This time… I’ve dared to do something especially BOLD (it feels to me at least) – I’m leading a retreat on pleasure.
My own relationship to pleasure began with the implicit and explicit knowledge that it was bad, dangerous, shameful, secretive, or just… lazy. I was taught as a ‘good daughter’ of the Puritan patriarchy to suppress pleasure of all kinds – the pleasure of a good meal, the pleasure of the wind against my skin on a walk through the high meadow grasses, or the pleasure of belly laughing loudly with my friends.
Above all… pleasure meant sex, and so that meant… it’s something we don’t talk about.
While I tried ever so earnestly to repress my body and soul’s need for pleasure… I snuck it in different ways. I had ‘guilty pleasures’ and an eating disorder as a teenager. I desperately wanted to be desired – so I got wrapped up in unhealthy dating and relationships – chasing the high of being wanted. I numbed out to avoid the pain of a life empty of real soulful pleasure… with more work, more caretaking of others, and more stuff and busy-ness I didn’t need.
It was finally with my beloved mentor, Marion Woodman, that I began to find permission and a pathway to reclaim my relationship to pleasure in my own body and soul.
Marion writes:
“Tell the image makers and magazine sellers and the plastic surgeons that you are not afraid. That what you fear the most is the death of imagination and originality and metaphor and passion. Then be bold and LOVE YOUR BODY. STOP FIXING IT. It was never broken.”
We can’t hope to be in our bodies without meeting our relationship to pleasure.
Marion taught me that pleasure is not just sex – it’s imagination, originality, metaphor and passion. It’s loving our bodies. It’s life force and creativity. It’s the energy that moves an idea into reality (conception, gestation and birth). It’s the sensual delight of being alive in this messy, beautiful, broken world. 20 years in her presence, and with her wise Jungian teachings of myth, soul, dreamwork, embodiment, and artful expression, I (at last) felt the truth in my bones… that a new way of living was possible – one with pleasure at the heart of my life.
I can’t help, but chuckle a little with mischief and delight to know that with this retreat in particular I’ll be returning to the soil and beaches of my childhood to reclaim pleasure together – a vital act which would make my Puritan ancestors turn in their graves (bless them, they needed a heaping dose of this healing).
Each of our Exquisite Tenderness Retreats are her lineage of what I call an ‘exquisitely tender’ relationship to one’s self — and yet each have their own theme. This November… we’re exploring ‘reclaiming pleasure’. What does reclaiming pleasure mean to you? What would change in your life if pleasure was inherently good, nourishing, and essential?
If you’re craving a body-soul shift, and a Jungian journey in-person with our deep, wise sisterhood from the School, I’d be so honored to have you read on and apply!
Love, Sil ❤️
“I sit and look out my window and the autumn trees are golden against the blue sky. I can feel their “food” coming into my eyes and going down, down, down, interacting inside, and I fill up with gold. My soul is fed.”
Does it sound like a dream to be in-person with our magical community?
Do you hunger to be held in-the-flesh by a team of wise Crones on Retreat?
How about deep sleep in a soft luxurious bed, delicious organic meals, dreamwork in the mornings, art practices and walks on the beach in the afternoon and myth, embodied practices and rituals by the fire at night?
“I have done quite a bit of inner work as an individual- but the way the group came together as one organism, supported/contained/mirrored by Sil, Sandra, Hojin and Anne was beyond words. It was as if the one heart of the world came into focus and I saw and felt how we are all connected, and tasted what I have been so hungry for. There is so much hot air in the world, but Sil and her team are the real fucking deal!”
— Paige, past retreat participant
Imagine with me…
6 days of living by the ocean and letting yourself slow down and feel the passion of your soul- through the five senses of your body- this November.
spending the morning sessions with me — fresh from a deep sleep — learning how to embody the wisdom of Marion Woodman through working with your dreams with a soulful group of 25 women.
spending afternoon and evening sessions with Sil (and Zen abbot Hojin, yoga teacher Anne, and storyteller Sandra) bringing your dream images to life with plenty of time to journal, to do active imagination, body movement, and make art.
walking just 10 minutes to the wild seashore, finding a magical shell that you may paint later, and returning for delicious chef-cooked, locally sourced meals.
sitting at night by a fire pit and taking in the wisdom of an ancient myth by the starlight, before heading into a luxurious bed for deep, restful sleep, and listening to your soul’s messages in your dreams.
being guided in reclaiming your relationship to pleasure — and therefore to your imagination, originality, metaphor, passion, and sensuality — as a vital life force for change, actualization and nourishment in these turbulent times.
This retreat is an invitation to reclaim your relationship to pleasure – as nourishment, as passion, as originality, and as fuel for the revolution of these times.
“Thank you all for your time, wisdom and creative spirit that offered us all such a satisfying week together. Personally, the workshop served the greater purpose I’d hoped for, inviting me to open to other women in community, in safety, and in my own personal way. The multi-generational aspect was something that I did not fully anticipate, but that enriched my experience in profound ways that continue to have a ripple effect in my life and in the work that I do. I look forward to staying connected.”
— Holly, past retreat participant
about our Retreat location:
The historic Stone house Inn in Little Compton*, RI
The beautiful Stone House Inn (aerial photo by Jack Vatcher) is my favorite place to rest — and you too will surely drop into a space to BE in Kairos time in one of a king-sized private bedroom with your own spa-inspired bath. With the support of the kind staff, we will be filling up the entire cozy stone house.
We’ll have the luscious privacy of being in our own retreat soul space together: moving from our art room to our dreamwork room and into the dining room for locally sourced feasts catered for any dietary needs.
*Fun fact: Little Compton and the East Bay of RI — the ancestral home of the Sakonnet, Wambanoag people — was recently described in a New York Times travel piece as a “hidden gem.” Of course, I’ve known that since my childhood, and I’m so delighted to share it with you!
“Coming to Rhode Island for the first time was like finding a new gem of a soul home — the food, the beds, the privacy, the care of the Inn staff, the ocean, the fields… it made the soul journey of the retreat that much deeper.”
— Dalia, past retreat participant
What’s included in the retreat:
Dinner time at the Inn.
Expert facilitation by Sil, Hojin, Anne and Sandra for morning, afternoon, and evening sessions. From Sil, you will receive a deep knowledge of Marion Woodman’s approach to using dreams (both sleeping and waking), archetypes, and the metaphorical language of the body and soul to guide you more clearly in your inner life, as well as in your outer life. From Hojin, you will receive Buddhist teachings on staying present to the pleasure of being in your true nature- guiding you with art and chanting practices. From Anne, you will receive a beautiful transmission of yin yoga and breathing practices which will help you to move more tenderly into reclaiming pleasure in your body and, therefore, embodying your soul’s work. From Sandra, you will receive her tender support of our community, and the pleasure of her magnificent storytelling, as well as learn how to find your personal myth/story in the Eros & Psyche myth we will be working with.
6 days and 5 nights in a beautiful solo or shared bedroom (based on your preference and investment) - with spa-inspired bathrooms- in the luxurious, historic, Stone House Inn by the sea.
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner made by our chefs — organic and locally-sourced when possible — for all retreat days beginning with Sunday dinner and ending with Friday lunch.
Snacks and beverages all day in our retreat space to nourish yourself between meals.
Access to the full Inn property and amenities including our gathering spaces for open art time between sessions, cozy reading and journaling spaces, a fire pit, the gorgeous grounds, bicycles, and just a 10-minute walk to the beach (to gather stones and shells, to feel the sun and wind, and to move in nature!)
Meet Our Retreat Team:
Sil Read
(she/her)
Lead Facilitator: Dreamwork, Myth & Jungian Process
Sil is a mother, a grandmother, crone, and co-author (with her daughter Eliza) of Mothering & Daughtering: Keeping Your Bond Strong Through the Teen Years. She has worked as a women’s health nurse practitioner, a psychotherapist specializing in emotional eating and body image issues, and a Mothering & Daughtering coach. Her concentration at Brown University was in Women’s Studies.
For two decades, Sil was a senior student of the renowned Jungian author and analyst Marion Woodman and she learned from her mostly in retreat settings. Now Sil devotes her time to leading retreats, teaching for her online Soul-making School, and 1:1 coaching — helping women to use their dreams, intuition, and body wisdom to guide them into living more at home in themselves while on this precious Earth.
Sil on pleasure: For me, reclaiming pleasure is a necessity, not a luxury. Especially in these turbulent times. At retreats, Marion used to point to the beauty of the outdoors and- with a twinkle in her eye- ask us, “Who do you think is giving The Party???” Her answer was Sophia, her name for the Divine Feminine. To her, life wasn’t worth living without this exchange with goddess in matter.
Marion embodied pleasure and showed us (her students) what it is to live fully through one’s five senses. Because of this, I have healed my Puritan inheritance of disembodiment and shame. I have reclaimed pleasure in what Marion called “the interchange between the embodied soul and the outside world that is a dynamic process.” Marion showed us how to enjoy The Party of life, and make love with the world.
Justina Pengel (she/her)
Enrollment & Logistical Support
Justina is a mom of 3, wife, committed servant leader, and the driving force behind her business Digital Hive. She is also the driving force behind the smooth running of Sil’s business and the production of her retreats. Justina specializes in assisting female entrepreneurs in streamlining their technological systems for seamless business operations. She passionately advocates for leveraging technology to humanize, unite, and address citizen-centric challenges. Sil is in awe of her technological prowess and grateful for her warm-heartedness.
For Justina: Reclaiming pleasure is about unapologetically embracing joy, rest, and sensuality—not as a response to hardship, but as a conscious choice to live fully, feel deeply, and stay intimately connected to my desires.
Hojin Kimmel (she/her)
Co-Facilitator: Buddhist Teachings, Art + Creative Expression
Jody Hojin Kimmel is a Zen Buddhist monastic and teacher in the Mountains and Rivers Order, and the Abbot of the Zen Center of NYC-Fire Lotus Temple in Brooklyn. She is devoted to the path of easing stress and suffering, freeing the body-heart-mind, and rediscovering our natural state through the practices of meditation, compassionate inquiry, and creative processes.
Hojin is a rare example of a contemporary Zen teacher who uses artistic practices as her primary means of teaching. And through years of study and collaborative teaching with her co-crone Sil, Hojin feels a deep affinity with the work of Marion Woodman in her use of intimate language — metaphor, arts, myth, humor, and dreamwork (to name a few) to explore our being human.
To Hojin: Practicing within the Buddha dharma and engaging the work of Marion, reclaiming pleasure —skillful pleasure—is a practice of waking up from the dream of dualism and entering, realizing the state of unity. Non —separation in a real thing! What an utter pleasure to realize the true nature of so-called ‘things’. That nothing is ever fixed in time and space. Moment to moment experiencing this joy, this pain, this suffering, and enter the complete fundamental acceptance of changing, impermanent experience. We are all the children of truth. What pleasure!
Anne DeBevoise (she/her)
Co-Facilitator: Gentle Yoga + Movement
Anne is a former special education teacher who dedicated her career to championing the whole child— body, mind, and spirit. In midlife, she trained as a yoga instructor and specialized in teaching yoga to people with cancer or recovering from cancer treatment. Her continued interest in an integrative approach to living led her to Reiki and Healing Touch — both of which she has become trained in as a practitioner.
Anne is a mother of 3 adult children and a grandmother of 5 grandchildren. As a self-taught painter she is often seen at the table with her grandchildren, their pens, paints, pastels, and colored pencils spread out everywhere. She lives by the ocean in Maine — and her and Sil’s love for the ocean and each other began some 60 years ago in Little Compton, Rhode Island (our retreat location) where they frolicked on the beach together as children. They have always shared a spiritual affinity, and in recent years as crones, Anne has been deeply impacted by their conversations about Marion Woodman.
For Anne: Reclaiming pleasure has come most readily to me as a grandmother. When I spend time with my six year old grandchild, I hear, feel, and see the full expression of sensuality. We were all six once, and these days I strive to relive and reclaim the unabashedly free wheeling way of living where the fragrances released by nature, the sounds exploding around us, the delicious flavors of foods, and the full felt sense of life, is what is absorbed and released with each inhale and exhale. I am rediscovering what it is to touch, feel, explore and wonder. As with the six year old child, the wisdom of yoga is two paths to the same place.
Sandra Hilton (she/her)
Community & Ceremony Support
Sandra is a mother, integrative therapist, coach, and witness to those on the inner journey. Sandra has studied with Sil for several years in the lineage of Marion Woodman and brings her Jungian approach more and more to her own clinical practice.
Sandra’s professional journey began in the corporate world with almost 25 years of experience as a lawyer and business leader — and coaching leaders within that field. She answered the inner call to become retrained as a therapist a decade ago now — realizing through the process that her energy to “prove herself’ and “get somewhere” had dominated so intensely that she often missed the full experience of the present moment and truly knowing herself. She is devoted to learning to trust and honor the Feminine within her wise body, heart, and soul.
Sandra is trained as a modern Medicine Woman by shaman Christa Mackinnon, and integrates the Medicine Woman skills into her practice, honoring the feminine through ceremony, storytelling, and journeying.
Sandra lives in the UK and is crossing “The Pond” to be with us in New England!
For Sandra: Reclaiming pleasure is an undoing, unfreezing, untangling, unlearning of all the teachings and conditioning about what it means to be a woman, and a reclaiming of my true nature as an erotic, sensual and feeling being whose purpose is to follow my desire and delight in this body and in this life.
Jessi Larssen (she/her)
Retreat Producer & Support
Jessi is an entrepreneur and creative spirit who loves bringing ideas to life. A lover of all animals—especially dogs—she has been guided to a deep desire to work with our natural instincts and energy bodies. Owning her own business for the past 14 years has been an education in learning to wear many hats.
While holding big questions and facing a crossroads, Jessi discovered Sil’s work and the lineage of Marion Woodman. It was everything she had been searching for after exploring various modalities and healing systems. Viewing both our inner and outer lives through the lens of Marion’s work—using a Jungian approach, dreams, metaphors, and myths—felt like a homecoming and a profound remembering for her.
For Jessi: Reclaiming pleasure is a slowing down — all the way down — so I can feel it all. It’s messy, juicy, vulnerable… and absolutely liberating. Maiden, Mother, Virgin, and Crone are all invited to my table, each with their own wisdom and take on what pleasure means to them. Reclaiming it means trusting them all — and finding the courage to be present enough to listen.
“I contemplated on the way home, why was this retreat the most special, amazing retreat I had ever experienced? Slowly I realized as the plane crossed this sacred land from east coast to west coast, it was the love.”
— Josefa, past retreat participant
“This is your body, your greatest gift, pregnant with wisdom you do not hear, grief you thought was forgotten, and joy you have never known.”
— Marion Woodman
A sample retreat day*
7-8am: Yoga with Anne**
7:45-8:45am: Silent breakfast
9am-12pm: Archetypal Teaching and Dreamwork in the Lineage of Marion Woodman with Sil
12:30-1:30pm: Lunch
2:30pm-5:30pm: Art and Movement (sometimes in Nature) with Hojin & Anne
6pm-7pm: Dinner
7:30pm: Evening session with Sil, Hojin, Anne & Sandra
*this is a tentative example and our schedule may shift
**depending on the day, Anne may offer yoga in the late afternoon
“The best part of the retreat was the people that were there. Each and every person contributed in such a beautiful way. Especially the facilitators! I loved the rhythm and ritual of each day. I can't wait to come back.”
— Lynn, past retreat participant
Hojin, art instructor and Zen monastic and teacher, gives retreat participants a watercolor demonstration with a paint box that everyone is given for the week and to take home with them.
Wondering how to know if this retreat is for you?
We trust you to explore and land in your own knowing — and, reading this below may be helpful.
This retreat is likely for you if you resonate with some or all of these:
You’re drawn to Jungian psychology and know about the teachings and lineage of Jungian scholar Marion Woodman and you may have read one of her books, watched her documentary, and studied in The Soul-making School and want to dive deep in-person!
The theme of ‘reclaiming pleasure’ for the retreat lands for you on a body and/or soul level — that phrase might even give you chills — and this journey of remembering feels deeply personal and needed.
You’re nourished by the idea of being held by a team of elder teachers embodying tenderness with each other and a group of women.
You’re excited to show up to each session ready to learn!!
Being in community with around 25 other soul seekers in this lineage sounds like heaven.
You’re able to make the retreat investment at this time.
This retreat is likely NOT for you if one or more of these below feels true:
You’re so tired and what you actually need is an R&R retreat (honestly, this retreat sounds nice, but you’re fantasizing about sneaking away to nap during a group session or 5…!)
You’re not really sure who Marion Woodman and what Jungian psychology is about, and/or you haven’t explored her work/Jungian work before.
You’re feeling in a state of personal emergency/crisis/rawness at this time and you’d be better fit for 1:1 support or some immediate care to help you center or heal (being in a shared group space might not be the best fit!)
You’ve never really been in shared group experience before or don’t feel confident this dynamic would be supportive for you.
The retreat investment is not financially doable for you at this time.
Retreat Investment:
Your investment varies with room selection — and includes 5 nights of accommodation, full retreat programming, all meals (starting with dinner Sunday night and ending with lunch on Friday), and art supplies.
🌸
PRIVATE RETREAT ROOM
$4,500–$5,000
Your own King, Queen, or Double bed with private ensuite
SHARED ROOM WITH YOUR OWN BED
$3,500 – $3,750
Your own King or Queen bed in a room shared with another woman on a foldout sofa or large sectional couch bed, and a shared bathroom
SHARED ROOM WITH SOFA OR COUCH BED
$2,750 – $3,250
Your own foldout sofa bed or large sectional couch bed in a shared room with another woman in a full bed, and a shared bathroom
Payment plans of 3 or 10 months are available on request.
🌀 pay-in-full bonus: group integration session with Sil after the retreat (recording sent out if you can’t join live) 🌀
a note on financial aid: All financial aid is first come first served, and financial aid spots open based on other retreat participants enrolling at full cost. All financial aid is need based and trusted based — no proof needed. Please reach out to info@silread.com to join the waitlist.
Frequently Asked Retreat Questions:
When does the retreat start on Sunday? When should I arrive?
You’re welcome to arrive anytime between 1pm and 5pm. Dinner is at 6pm and our first retreat session begins at 7:30pm. Special arrangement can usually be made to stay on Saturday night- the night before the retreat begins.
When does the retreat end on Friday? When should I plan to leave?
The last session ends at noon and you can stay for lunch. Special arrangement can usually be made to stay an extra night if you would like to leave on Saturday morning.
what are you looking for on the application? i really want to get in to this retreat!
Oh, we’re so honored! If you scroll up on this page and read the section titled “Wondering How to Know if This Retreat is for You?” you’ll get a pretty good idea. Additionally we’re aware of co-creating a group field and often look for beautiful difference and synergy amongst our participants.
Can I share a room with someone?
Yes, many of the rooms are shared with one person on a foldout sofa or large sectional sofa bed — and the other in a normal bed. You can select your room preferences in the application and indicate interest in rooming with someone in particular if accepted.
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT ROOM ARRANGEMENTS? WHEN CAN I CHOOSE MY ROOM?
All different room arrangements are listed on the application (and briefly above on this page as well). You can list your preferences and needs in the application and we will do our best to accommodate them if you are accepted to the retreat. Your room is confirmed when you enroll in the retreat.
IS THIS RETREAT ABOUT SEX? OR TRAUMA?
This retreat is not about sex or trauma – it’s about an embodied Jungian perspective on pleasure through practices in dreamwork, myths, art, and gentle yoga. Understandably given our cultural context, pleasure can be a tender or painful subject for some – and we ask that you reflect on whether you feel prepared at this time to explore this topic with this group. If you are in a healing process around past trauma and feel raw, we suggest you get more 1:1 support at this time and consider a future retreat.
What’s the best/most local airport? Train? How do you suggest I arrive?
There are great options in Providence, RI (TF Green Airport) — including direct trains from New York City (many airports) and Boston (Logan Airport). Little Compton is approximately a 45 minute drive from Providence’s TF Green Airport and a 90 minute drive from Boston’s Logan Airport… depending on traffic. Please email support@silread.com for more travel suggestions as needed.
What’s the next step if I want to attend the retreat?
Fill out the application which goes directly to Sil. You’ll hear back within 5 business days.
Retreat photos credit: Jessi Larssen