A Blog About Love’s 1-Day Love Boot Camp

I grew up with an unhealthy level of distrust for “non-Christians” specifically when it came to emotional and spiritual health. The “non-Christian” terminology is a phrase used in the evangelical church for people who are not evangelical Christian. I consider myself to have grown up in the Christian fundamentalist movement, which is a lot of what I experienced before the age of 18. I do not consider my college church to be fundamentalist, just to be clear.

With this kind of background, I am not too quick to sign up for “non-Christian” emotional/spiritual healing events. In fact, I have never signed up for one, until last weekend. Last Saturday, I went to a one day retreat in Portland with the founders of A Blog About Love. They called it a “1-Day Love Boot Camp”. It was outside of my comfort zone, specifically because of my fear based background. For a very long time, I had believed that “non-Christians” couldn’t be trusted for inner emotional wellness, but going to naturopathic medical school at Bastyr changed that erroneous belief for me (lots to say about that some other time!).

Although I have to admit, I really didn’t know what to expect. What was going to happen there? Would there be a seance? Would people start communicating with other worlds? Was this really a safe place?

A tiny factor helped me feel a little safer. Danny and Mara, the bloggers behind A Blog About Love, have a Mormon background, although Mara has shifted away from Mormonism. It’s kind of funny that this little Mormon factor made me feel more comfortable with going. Another thing I was taught in Christian fundamentalism was that Mormons were “non-Christians”, and that they were going to Hell with the Catholics. So they wouldn’t have been a trustworthy source for spiritual growth.

I felt like I was supposed to be at this retreat. It’s very important to honor those inner knowings of what you feel called to do or not do.

The 1-Day Love Boot Camp wasn’t Mormon nor did it have any kind of religious bent to it. And, surprisingly (I say surprisingly only because of my history), it wasn’t new-agey at all, imagine that!

My 81 year old spiritual director always says to “follow the life”. Life is an example of fruit. What makes me more alive, makes me more of who God has made me to be.

Going to the Love Boot Camp brought a lot of life, healing, love, and freedom to my life: It helped me identify where I’ve been putting my self-worth on the line, when it should never be on the line in the first place. I forgave myself for a huge thing I’ve been regretting. I forgave a friend I didn’t know I needed to forgive. I thanked both God and my body for my small intestines — the organ in my body that gives me the most trouble — which helped to heal the mind-body disconnection I have with my guts. (The thanking God part was silent, inside my heart.)

I felt safe and accepted, free to be myself there, among STRANGERS.

Danny and Mara are trustworthy people. I trusted them to speak love into my life, and they did a really good job of it.

It really was all about love.

I recommend their retreats if you can go to one!

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