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Bald Mountain Retreat Newsletters

Health Retreats l Yoga Retreats l Recreational Retreats l Spiritual Retreats l Artist Retreats Home l About Us l Programs l Photos l Staff l Writings l Location l Lodging l Contact Us Register l Newsletters l Guestbook l Blog l Links+ l Internships l Testimonials Detoxification Retreats l Weight Loss Retreats l Recovery Retreats Natural Treatments for Disease l Donations

Sign up for our newsletters     Bald Mountain Retreat August Newsletter "I've never been somewhere so remote." Magnificent Lake Willoughby, "Vermont's most spectacular lake," waits for you a short drive down the mountain. Enchanting woods stretch up the ridge from our meadow, and there is no Lyme Disease or poison ivy. The cabins have beautiful paneling and views. Alyssa brings Bach and Irish jigs to the wilderness. Angel graces us all with his Zen-like elegance. Personal Retreats Group Retreats Rentals   Contact us for special rates. 802-659-4347, drdavid@baldm.com   Please email, call or click on any link for more information: Health Retreats Detoxification Retreats Weight Loss Retreats Recovery Retreats Yoga Retreats Recreational Retreats Spiritual Retreats Artist Retreats Home - About Us - Programs - Photos - Staff - Writings - Location - Lodging - Contact Us - Register - Newsletters - Guestbook - Blog - Donations - Internships - Testimonials - Links+ - Natural Treatments for Disease     The wild majesty of our natural setting makes some folks uncomfortable. The power of spirit and healing at times overwhelms the casual visitor. Beneath the luxury of your wants lies the simplicity of your needs. Beneath the pretense and show lies the rawness of nature. Away from the distractions of self people get scared. Transformation requires courage and commitment. Healing occurs in the places that scare you. Like it or not the place confronts you. The lack of things human disturbs. Nature dominates and awes. Strategies blow away. Covers are stripped. You are left naked and free.       Bald Mountain Retreat in August is the Garden of Eden. We will exceed your expectations. I could promise you less. You are Welcome, Dr David   Simplicity, Sustainability, Sanity Bald Mountain Retreat is a natural refuge from the modern world and a human refuge in the the wilds of nature. We believe we have struck a good balance between the comforts of home and the rawness of nature. Experiencing a thunderstorm on our mountainside from the security of our Lodge is truly awe-inspiring. Coming back to your cozy cabin after an adventure in the big woods is reassuring. The warmth of the campfire complements the vast starry sky. Still some folks get spooked. We call it "latent agoraphobia." They might be okay outside in the suburbs, but up here where nature dominates they get uneasy; the quiet gets to them. We're just a half a mile from the end of the road, but people have exclaimed, "I've never been somewhere so remote." It's not the distance; it's the energy, what the Chinese call feng shui. Nature bursts in great waves from the wooded slopes, rolls across the meadow and breaks grandly right up against the Lodge's many large windows. It's like looking through a glass-bottomed boat into another world. Then, there aren't all the comforts of home. We've traded luxury for a natural simplicity. The knotty grain of our cedar paneling more than makes up for our spotty cell phone coverage. The view out the window is better than anything on TV. One guest said she wanted to get on line, "to see what's happening in my life." We accommodated of course (our high speed internet connection is usually great), but we believe that the best in life is off line. Also, we're not quite done. As someone said, almost every building in the Northeast Kingdom is "a work in process." There are a few dry wall edges waiting to be covered by molding and some exterior work yet to be done on the Lodge and the cabins also need some finishing touches inside and out, but the place is very habitable, especially when you realize how deep woods we are. What we lack in "spit and polish" we make up for in rustic authenticity. If it's a simpler life you want, we've got it. The kitchen is clean, but there may be a few blades of grass on the floor. The lawn is cut, but the meadow may need mowing. We are Vermont; the yard has some piles of lumber and a table full of pots where Alyssa plants. If you want a manicured, luxurious vacation, please look elsewhere. If you'd like an original adventure, come on up... and if you're lucky, Alyssa will play her violin.

July Newsletter "Your food is delicious and so is your personality." Sean and Elise came and built us an inipi, a traditional sweat lodge. Rocks were heated until they glowed inside a blazing fire inside the stone circle. Then they were carried inside the inipi where they radiated heat and created steam when splashed with water. They conducted a ceremony that had three 30 minute sessions with prayers and thanks and invocations. Then everyone jumped in the pond. Each sapling was blessed before harvest. Each hole dug was sprinkled with corn meal and holy intentions. Many thanks to the wonderful couple, who created such a wonderful ceremonial center to focus the sacred energies of the land. (Here you can see the rocks.) With all the wetness last month in New England it has been hard to get in the garden. Still, Alyssa s green thumb has been working its magic, here with Jaguar Marigolds Then Don s three-bin, hot compost-maker is turning leaf mulch, food scraps and whatever else he finds to put in it into dark, rich soil pronto!   awe it is nature not as you know it not something in the backyard or down the street in the park or at the edge of town it is not something that needs our protection but something your ancestors feared and struggled against it is the power of thunder and storm crashing around the house lightening striking too close a big wind and torrential rain exploding against the window a fusillade pounding roof and walls it is night s jet black sky holding an infinity of stars unimaginable vastness and scale titanic mountains unbroken forests clouds billowing impossibly high on a bright sunny day it is big and unrelenting and though we may ruin our place in it its supremacy is never in doubt this mountain is like the sea not where families swim along the shore but out where oceans collide and ships are lost among gargantuan swells it is roaring calling you from within dare if you will to listen. 7/8/9   new innovation may be an improvement for one who is rooted in the past but the new without the old does not nourish or thrive nature programs on TV are no substitute for actual nature one friend of flesh and blood human or animal outweighs vast online social networks virtual reality is not 7/8/9   something different while you were all shopping at the mall and painting your toenails he was searching for the meaning of life if you can t anymore believe what the television tells you come on up he has it nearly figured out 7/8/9 -and the Joe Pye Weed sprouting up in it-   Personal Retreats Group Retreats Rentals Contact us for special rates. 802-659-4347, drdavid@baldm.com Click on any link for more information Health Retreats Detoxification Retreats Weight Loss Retreats Yoga Retreats Recreational Retreats Spiritual Retreats Artist Retreats Home - About Us - Programs - Photos - Staff - Writings - Location - Lodging - Contact Us - Register - Newsletters - Guestbook - Blog - Donations - Internships - Testimonials - Links+ - Natural Treatments for Disease It just does not get any better than summer in the Northeast Kingdom. Warm days and cool evening breezes. Pure mountain lakes and ponds to quench the heat of the day. Think, Garden of Eden. Think, Tom Sawyer Think, Huckleberry Finn. Come ready for an adventure. We are passed the end of the less-traveled road. Walk barefoot through our wildflower meadow. Meditate atop our 100 foot cliff. Enjoy nearby Bread and Puppet Theater. Explore spectacular Lake Willoughby. Thrill to Alyssa s virtuosic violin. Rejuvenate and heal.   nothing between it stands alert ears pricked in our direction listening it has heard me call upstairs though all the windows are closed and I spoke no louder than needed -Alyssa, deer by the cabins- it stands at the forest edge all senses trained towards us who give it neither sound nor smell nor sight matching our stillness to its own there is nothing between us nothing that separates or removes there is no time or need it is all now all here clouds weaving through treetops misting down mountain slopes a sea of wildflowers waving in the meadow the creek still gushing with yesterday s rain if you have an agenda you will miss it if you expect something you will not see it be still and quiet watch and listen the deer relaxes its guard lowering its head for a moment into the tall grass and ferns that already conceal most of its body then it turns and disappears into the trees. 7/7/9   sun and shade June was rainy in the meadow the Joe Pye Weed has taken advantage of the wetness to assert itself in a way not seen since it dominated before we put the creeks back into their beds repairing the watershed from the ruin of the loggers with their skidders dragging out trees in the early 80s today the sky is blue in earnest half-covered with billowing clouds the kind Maxfield Parrish painted just over in New Hampshire the sun so long a stranger shines strongly making amends for its absence the wildflowers yellow, purple, pink, blue, orange and white enjoy the heat swaying in the breeze half-naked on this bench I do too relishing the solar fire after so much gray bathing in the glow then as I start to bake a cumulous mass blown on high winds interposes itself hiding the sun imperfectly above the coolness is delightful in the shadow below like jumping in the pond on a hot summer day then sitting in the shade a while breeze adding to the chill my flesh begins to quiver bees buzz by birds sing from the apple tree inside Alyssa practices scales upon her violin sun and shade heat and cool June and July it all takes time improving the soil in the garden finishing the cabins cultivating love the sun makes a final appearance before a big bank of clouds rolls in I look around for my shirt if the mower were back from the shop I would cut the lawn and the Joe Pye Weed sprouting up in it 7/5/9

June Newsletter "You cannot put it into words." Moose and deer are in the meadow. Apple blossoms are on the trees.   Dandelions are the first flush of the many wildflowers to come. Wild strawberry blossoms are almost as plentiful, but smaller.   The cabins are coming along nicely.   We have four beautifully sited, tucked neatly into the forest along the edge of the meadow. Each has privacy and a great view.   Each is at a stage of completion, ready for occupancy ...and we are finishing them up more.   A balsam tree at the edge of the meadow blew down in a recent wind. (Nature on this mountain is strong.) The question of whether there would have been a sound without someone there to hear it remains undecided as I heard (and saw) it "snap, woosh, thud."     detox our lights are the sun, moon and stars candles and oil lamps brilliant flashes of lightening our sounds are only the wind's many voices water rushing downstream frogs in the pond birdsong a coyote's rare wail... rare also the sound of an engine coming up the drive or some big machine heard dimly off in the distance when the wind is just right soft so you have to listen rare enough so that you do "what's that?!" some are disquieted by the quiet this flood of nature buoying them up off familiar ground this wavy, forest-green sea covering mountains and hills breaking where the tree-line meets the meadow's shore and even this is too much for some the huge views the open space too open they sit inside our ark of a lodge and stare out the big windows like looking through the bottom of a glass-bottom boat still the wildness confronts them it is like jumping in a lake on a hot summer day the heat and sweat all washed away pressure and haste dissolved "come on in. the water's fine" but like a diver rising from the depths some come up too quickly separated from the lights and noise they get disoriented "where is the hurry? where are the stores? what am I without them?" this is not another experience to be bought, consumed or acquired not an event you attend a movie where you go in are entertained or fall asleep and then go out this is not a state of mind this is your mind in its original state it is a meditation a freeing from distraction a paring down of senses and thought to reveal things as they are the fundamental truth the awe of oneness after so much separation the frog slowly cooking in the pot jumps out the fish becomes aware of water you don't know until you stop 6/11/9   We will exceed your expectations. Dr David   Personal Retreats Group Retreats Rentals Contact us for special rates. 802-659-4347 drdavid@baldm.com Click on any link for more information Health Retreats Detoxification Retreats Weight Loss Retreats Yoga Retreats Recreational Retreats Spiritual Retreats Artist Retreats Home - About Us - Programs - Photos - Staff - Writings - Location - Lodging - Contact Us - Register - Newsletters - Guestbook - Blog - Donations - Internships - Testimonials - Links+ - Natural Treatments for Disease Bald Mountain Retreat is a jewel in the crown of Vermont's natural beauty, which is the Northeast Kingdom. In a region known for spectacular beauty ours is a very special place Hikers come from all around passing through on their way up to nearby Bald Mountain with its stunning fire-tower views For its views our third floor has been called "the prettiest room in the Kingdom." People say, "I've been to Vermont," but now come see a Vermonter's Vermont. In the heart of the Lake Willoughby National Recreation Area unique, secluded, spectacular, idyllic, peaceful, rustic, charming... nature, natural healing, recovery, stress reduction, perspective, belonging... This year get away from it all close to home. You cannot get away as quickly as far. Exotic and affordable. We offer authentic wilderness experiences and the comforts of a lodge. We offer affordable residential natural healing immersed in nature with a naturopathic doctor as your guide.   about us we are a home, not a hotel it is like going to visit your dear brother and sister-in-law or aunt and uncle or the kids if they had a house off-road in the backwoods of Vermont my buddy, Chris, who showed me this land having wandered it growing up on Mad Brook Farm the (now former) commune just down the road and mountain a ways commenting about a certain house along Lake Willoughby said "people come up from Connecticut and build houses just like there are in Connecticut" Farley Mowat wrote in his book, The Siberians (not my favorite of his) about the simplicity of their country homes, dachas rustic and plain how they leave the city behind and how they complained when they came to America about our bringing our city ways and things to the country bringing our city/suburban homes to the country we are what up here they call a camp off-grid we make our own electricity with a whisper-quiet Honda generator but prefer candles and lamplight for illumination electricity is a wonderful thing but like most wonderful things in our culture we use too much we are excessive in our consumption your cell-phone might not work but you can make calls and check your email on our high-speed internet connection although, internet and phone seem a lot less important up here in the woods here again, as a culture we are obsessive most everyone just lets the messages go for a day or three truth is it is great to watch guests shed the hustle and bustle still clinging to them when they arrive and let the quiet and peace seep in the flatlands become more distant as the mountains and meadow become more immediate now, I like to talk as much or more than most still I like to think that I know when to be quiet I have seen the change, the quiet come over people here some sooner than others the nervous energy dissipates it just seems that there is less need to talk and more reason to listen to the wind, the quiet or the occasional story about life in these parts people are changed like the fellow who was a lot quieter coming down Bald (Mountain) after spending time in the fire-tower than he was going up meditative as opposed to chatty less of that illusory self I actually wanted to talk but as I say, I know when to keep quiet we are being in the woods without camping the luxuries we have are natural not the kind you buy in a store we have plenty of convenient, easy living what we lack in shopping convenience we make up for in hospitalities we are very accommodating hosts and the place is built for guests we are here to provide for you to keep you comfortable to guide and to entertain and independence is encouraged private time for reflection and meditation is a big part of the retreat still we are here to serve you not like hotel staff but in a homey, family way Bald Mountain Retreat is our home and we would like to share it with you while I am able and do provide instruction in formal meditation I am quick to point out that this place is a meditation the property, the environment, the atmosphere is conducive to meditation people sitting on the first floor couch looking out over the meadow, ridge and beyond get a tranquilized look in their eyes you can see their brainwaves deepening and slowing someone responding to my characterization of the place as paradise volunteered after his first week here, I know what you mean now, but you cannot put it into words   naked here nature dominates, there are few signs of man, the quiet can disquiet, the peace may disturb, humility is a challenge to those craving power, some people get anxious waking up from the technological hypnosis.   Please call or write: 802-659-4347 drdavid@baldm.com   You are Welcome

April 2009 "Most people have never seen such beauty."     Looking up towards the wobbly ridge of Bald Mountain Retreat (left) you can see that there is still snow on the mountain. April 1st with some great folks from Burlington I took the last snowshoe of the season around the meadow. It was sunny and warm, strange and fun being out on snowshoes in shirtsleeves. The Burlington folks came to see the facilities because they are interested in offering a retreat this June. They loved the place; everyone does. As I say, When you come, you will come back.   Up on the mountain the snow was still deep enough to need snowshoes, but down along the Clyde it was all but gone. The Clyde River is part of a National Water Trail network coming down from Maine. It is great for paddling, even when it is not swollen with spring melt.   I went north to the border town of Newport to get some supplies. (There are great country stores nearby, but we are 22 miles from the nearest supermarket or building supplies store.) Beautiful Lake Memphremagog straddles the frontier with Canada on its far shore.   . The thaw spills in exquisite waterfalls down the cliffs of Mount Pisgah closer to home along the shores of Lake Willoughby.   The ice on Pisgah that brings ice climbers from around the world has just about disappeared.   The ice on Lake Willoughby is breaking up. A 300-foot-deep, spring-fed lake it will take a long time to warm up.   But there are a dozen other nearby bodies of water which will invite a swim sooner, including our three ponds. Although, I admit, it would take a blazing sauna to invite a plunge in any of them anytime soon... but then that can be arranged.     clumsy you must do something different or it will remain the same change arises from the observer put on the robes extend yourself go off into the woods to listen and pray you are the ever-present center yet all the while look outside enlightenment searches frustrated only by your clever hiding importance misconstrued the whole forsaken for the parts the pieces fit together in a way yet unimagined winter's snow melts off the mountain water liberated from frozen form cascades down rocky faces singing past ice yet adorning shaded northern walls emerging from the barn in spring after their long confinement wild agility long bred out of them clumsy cows will yet scamper and leap 4/5/9   When you come, you will come back. You are Welcome, Dr David     Bald Mountain Retreat is unique, secluded, spectacular, idyllic, peaceful, rustic, charming...                   This year get away from it all close to home. You cannot get away as quickly as far. Exotic and affordable. Contact us for special rates.                 Nature, Natural Healing, Yoga, Recreation, Spirit, Music, Art, Peace, Meditation, Recovery, Vegan and Vegetarian Cuisine, Raw Foods, Herbalism, Natural Health, Alternative Healing, Alternatives to Medicine, Juicing, Detoxification, Weight Loss, Stress Reduction, Alternative Health, Naturopathic Lifestyle, Perspective, Belonging               We offer authentic wilderness experiences from the comfort of our mountaintop lodge. With only a few guests at a time we are able to provide individualized attention. Let our staff personalize programs to your interests or explore on your own. Come share our bit of paradise in Vermont's most spectacular region.                   The Northeast Kingdom is where Vermonters go to get away and play and Bald Mountain Retreat is in the heart of the Kingdom. "I woke up, looked out and thought I had gone to heaven." "The sweetest piece of land in Vermont."           Personal & Group Retreats & Rentals                 In the heart of the Lake Willoughby National Recreation Area Westmore, Vermont                 Health Retreats Spiritual Retreats Recreational Retreats Yoga Retreats Artist Retreats Kabbalah Retreats Quantum Retreats           Our retreat center offers affordable residential natural healing. Immerse in nature with a naturopathic doctor as your guide. The spell of the wild rebalances body, mind and spirit. The land is the best healer.               Weight Loss Retreat Find a new metabolic ground. Let nature support your resolution.         Detoxification Retreats Purify your physical and emotional bodies beside streams of living water.         Please call or write: 802-659-4347, drdavid@baldm.com

March 2009 Dr. David snowshoed up to the cliff   with a guest.   The snow was still a couple feet deep across the meadow and into the woods, as witnessed by this lawn chair left out alongside the lower pond.   ... The peace was beyond words, but the pictures tell a story.   The snow was quiet, pure, pristine.   It was great to come back to the big woodstove on the first floor of the lodge. We got the stove in place and finished the forty-two-foot chimney to which it is attached just as the first snows started last November.   Our human nest in the wilderness just gets more and more accommodating, without sacrificing its rustic charm.   Here you are not just close to nature, you are nature.   My recent attempt to put the atmosphere up here into words:   offering it is a place where you cannot help but see floating immersed amidst the green quiet like a turtle at the bottom of the pond the unbroken spell of the wild turns to a deeper self a world alive hills skip mountains leap trees raise their voices the stone on which you sit imparts a seamless revelation here away is remembering putting together fragments made whole fractal clouds spinning constellations what is it that the wind is saying? what babbles the brook? the height allows no coming down no after but continuous awakening and unfettered dream the unencumbered epiphany of now below the surface wide currents flow behind the veil of becoming lies the immensity of being I could promise you less   Spring is coming and we hope you are too. You are Welcome, Dr David   ***