Finding Your Own Voice
An Exquisite Tenderness Women’s Spring Retreat for Body and Soul
in the Lineage of Marion Woodman
Sunday, April 12th – Friday, April 17th, 2026
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:
A LETTER FOR YOU:
DEAR ONE SEEKING TO FIND YOUR OWN VOICE,
I’m so excited to be journeying back again to the wild sea of my childhood in Little Compton, Rhode Island this spring — 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 our soul’s call. 🐚
In our modern culture, ‘soul’ and ‘spirit’ are often used interchangeably, but to my beloved Jungian teacher, Marion Woodman, “soul’’ means “embodied essence” – or as she writes: “when we experience ourselves and others in our full humanity - part animal, part divine.” She believed that true healing came through the sometimes messy and painful, often pleasurable and divine embodiment of the soul. It is in this embodiment of our full humanity where we can best find our own authentic voice.
My own experience of losing my voice began early; I was raised by a mother who was raised to please others, and so she had no idea how to meet and mirror my big feelings and bold dreams. They frightened her, just as her feelings and dreams had no doubt frightened her own mother.
Marion writes:
“There is no growth without real feeling. Children not loved for who they are do not learn how to love themselves. Their growth is an exercise in pleasing others, not in expanding through experience.”
I learned to not listen for my inner voice in childhood and in my teen years, because I forgot I had one. As an adult, I was clueless as to how to find that inner compass: I had dreams that repeated – knocking relentlessly at my inner door, but I had no tools to interpret them or integrate them into my life. I left my body trying to transcend into more spiritually “good” practices and yet at the same time I struggled deeply with my relationship to my body and food. I tried to keep pleasing my mother even though she was un-please-able (changing my clothes, my hair, and even trying to choose a husband she would be impressed by – ending up in a deeply unhappy marriage), and when my own big feelings bubbled to the surface… I felt flooded and overwhelmed.
It was finally with my beloved mentor, Marion Woodman, that I began to remember how to listen to the voice of my own embodied soul, and magically, wonderfully, bravely… my outer life came to reflect that soul alignment.
Marion writes:
”There is no sense talking about "being true to yourself" until you are sure what voice you are being true to.”
I came to find my own inner voice amidst the inner chatter of criticism and perfectionism that almost consumed me. I left a marriage where I was unheard. I followed my heart’s calling and boldly gave my gifts to the world as an author, teacher and coach. I healed my relationship with my body and food, and passed on that new positive inheritance to my daughter. And most of all… I learned to listen to my soul’s voice and speak the language of my soul — and I reclaimed my relationship to my creativity: to wonder, synchronicity, to my dreams and the symbolic world.
Right now, as the world burns and is reborn, more and more of us are hearing the call to act, and wondering: what is mine to do now? What is my thread in the great weaving of these times? I believe that this question must be answered with soul at the heart of it, or we are out of authentic integrity. Having a clear outer voice that is expressed with courage comes first from daring to listen to our own inner voice. Who have you always been? What is your soul longing for you to remember?
Each of our Exquisite Tenderness Retreats are inspired by Marion Woodman’s lineage of cultivating what I call an ‘exquisitely tender’ relationship to one’s self — and yet each retreat has its own theme. In April we’re exploring how to be true to our own true voice. What does listening to your soul’s voice mean to you? How does it express itself through your body? What would change in your life if you met the next deeper layer of soul and moved from there?
If you’re craving a body-soul shift, and a Jungian journey in-person with our deep, wise sisterhood from the Soul-making School, I’d be so honored to have you read on and apply!
Love, Sil ❤️
“There is no sense talking about “being true to myself” until you are sure what voice you are being true to. It takes hard work to differentiate the voices in the unconscious. I spend at least an hour every day writing in my journal, separating out what is real from what is unreal, what stays, what goes.”
Does it sound like a dream to be in-person with a magical community devoted to soul?
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 listen to the voice of your body and soul in springtime.
spending the morning sessions with Sil — 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 and artist Hojin, Continuum: Movement, Breath, & Body Awareness teacher Bonnie, and myth weaver 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 to remember how to listen to your soul – to find your own voice- and create a life that is true to you, rippling out from your deepest truth.
This retreat is an invitation to be in nature and in sweet sisterhood; to gently slow down to the pace of your heart and deeply listen to the voice of your feminine soul.
“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, Bonnie 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 in the experience of being in your true nature- guiding you with art and meditation and chanting practices. From Bonnie, you will receive a masterful transmission of the movement practice Continuum, which will help you to move more consciously and tenderly into your body. From Sandra, you will receive her tender support of our community, and the pleasure of her magnificent myth weaving, as well as learn how to find your personal myth/story in the 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:
The Spring 2025 teaching team meets in between sessions
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.
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!
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.
Bonnie Gintis (she/her)
Co-Facilitator: Continuum: Movement, Breath, & Body Awareness
Bonnie Gintis is a Doctor of Osteopathy with 23 years of experience in private practice before she retired in 2009 when she was diagnosed with widespread metastatic breast cancer. Marion Woodman’s book Bone was a profound inspiration in navigating this initiation.
Bonnie studied Continuum extensively and was mentored by Emilie Conrad, the founder of Continuum, and taught in collaboration with her from 1997 until the time of Emilie’s death in 2014. She first heard Marion Woodman present in 1987 in New York; when Marion kicked off her shoes as she stepped up to the lecture, Bonnie fell in love, and began her lifelong unfolding curiosity with the Jungian approach. She is the author of Engaging The Movement Of Life: Exploring Health And Embodiment Through Osteopathy And Continuum.
Bonnie’s innovative movement approach combines Osteopathy, Continuum’s fluid movement exploration, and mindfulness, expanding the possibilities for experiencing our bodies and more deeply care for ourselves.
Meredith Johnson (she/her)
Continuum, Movement & Body Awareness Co-Facilitator
Meredith is a mother, mover, somatic psychotherapist, and creative who has been a devoted student and teacher of transformational embodiment practices for over 25 years. Her foundational trainings in Zen Buddhism and Somatic Experiencing shaped her path as a body-centered therapist and mindfulness teacher. Studying in the Marion Woodman lineage with Sil has deepened and refined her devotion to knowing, loving, and trusting the body’s wisdom as a path of liberation from suffering and into wholeness and Love.
Over the past decade, movement has become central to her work. She is a Continuum Teacher and an apprentice instructor of the Fajardo Method of Holistic Biomechanics, integrating conscious movement into therapeutic and spiritual contexts. Meredith offers invitations to listen and learn more deeply from the body with heart-centered curiosity, presence, and compassionate witnessing.
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.
“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
"Only by discovering and loving the goddess lost within our rejected body can we hear our own authentic voice."
— Marion Woodman
A sample retreat day*
7:00-8:00am: Morning Movement and Meditation
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 & Bonnie
6pm-7pm: Dinner
7:30pm: Evening session with Sil, Hojin, Bonnie & Sandra
*this is a tentative example and our schedule may shift
**depending on the day, Bonnie may offer movement 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 have some experience with Jungian psychology and you know about the teachings and lineage of Jungian scholar Marion Woodman and may have read her books, been in The Soul-making School, watched her documentary, and want to dive deep in-person!
The theme for the retreat of “finding your own voice” 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 by room choice and includes: 5 nights of accommodation, full retreat programming, all meals (beginning with dinner on Sunday night and ending with lunch on Friday), art supplies, and a group integration session with Sil after the retreat on Friday, April 24th at 12:30 PM EST (a recording will be sent if you cannot join live).
🌀
PRIVATE RETREAT ROOM
$5,000 – $5,500
Your own King, Queen, or Double bed with private ensuite
SHARED ROOM WITH YOUR OWN BED
$3,750
Your own King or Queen bed in a room shared with another woman on a foldout sofa or large couch bed, and a shared bathroom
SHARED ROOM WITH SOFA OR COUCH BED
$3,000 – $3,250
Your own foldout sofa bed or large couch bed in a shared room with another woman in a full bed, and a shared bathroom
10-month payment plans are available upon request for an additional fee
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.
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