Does Jesus turn you on?
Not just in an exclusively spiritual way. I mean in a full-bodied, red-blooded, all tingly down there kind of way. Yes, that’s exactly what I mean: are you hot for Jesus? Or Mary? Or (strange as it sounds) maybe even that fine feathered Holy Spirit?
Or is it the exact opposite? Is the mere thought of “Jesus” a total turn off? A cock-block? Does the word “Jesus” immediately dry you up and shut you down?
Do you want nothing to do with Jesus or anything Christian, but can’t seem to wash yourself of it? Or on the flip side--do you love Jesus or Mary but can’t in good conscious align with modern Christian churches?
If you are:
- a ‘recovering Christian,’ Christian animist, Christian adjacent, formerly Christian person, or of Christian lineage
- none of those things, but curious about everything here and down with being in a Christian-informed space
- longing for a healthier relationship to your own lineage, body, sexuality, and the world
- not uncuriously offended by the word “slut” or sexy thoughts about Jesus
- at least a year or two into your contemplative practice, have some level of body awareness, and have some degree of practice regulating your own nervous system
- are down with open-ended, not-goal-oriented, TBD results, inquisitive play and exploration
...then I’m excited to invite you to the inaugural introductory retreat for Agape Sluts.
Already know this is for you? Enroll here.
Agape Sluts is an introductory experimental/ experiential retreat space in which to communally inquire, play with and build foundational somatic, energetic, and relational skills with which to explore relating to/with Jesus and other central beings of the Christian lineage as expressions and in the spirit of Eros, the elemental erotic essence/Being.
Ok, I know that last sentence was...a lot. But truly, I plan to keep this as down to earth as possible.
Through a foundation of simple, low-key, body-based contemplative practices engaged within an attachment-based relational framework, my hope is to gently support folks to individually and communally journey into the felt sense of Eros/Shakti/the Lover/the erotic cosmic element, and explore how these might shape and inform our relationship to Christian ancestral beings.
In this gentle, light-hearted retreat space, you will be supported to:
- learn or review some of the key conceptual frameworks from cultural somatics, as I learned them through the Ritual as Justice school and which have shaped my own understanding of this topic, including attachment theory, neurobiology, and animism
- nurture body-based skills for deepening a felt sense of connection to the ecology of resources that supports you: your body, the earth, your well ancestry, other human and more-than-human beings and your own version of the divine.
- develop spiritual and body-based musculature and resilience for sensing, being with and metabolizing the impact/presence of disruptions to that web of resources personally and collectively, particularly in the Christian lineage
- Lightly explore your own innate source of erotic connectivity and creativity
- Respectfully learn and engage animist principles and practices aimed to support better cultural and cross-cultural relating, specifically in/from a Christian context
- Explore the possibility of ‘good-enough’ relating to Jesus, Mary and other beings of the Christian lineage
Though high intensity experiences are likely to emerge, I am intending to hold a low-key container not focused on the pursuit of peak experiences.
Additionally, this retreat is designed to introduce themes and practices that will be deepened in the year-long Agape Sluts Immersion, a co-creative ‘research’ process I’m developing which you will have the option to join. In other words, this is some play time in the shallows, in preparation for the deep. Or, let's go on a few dates first and then see if we like each other enough to further.
btw, space is limited! Sign up here
Where does Agape Sluts come from?
A deep bow of gratitude to the earth that is my home, and from which the wisdom of living in good-enough relationship with all creation emerges. Thank you to the elemental forces, animals, plants, waters, sun and moon, and the more-than-human teachers, guides and allies that have nurtured this work in visible and invisible ways. Blessings and acknowledgements to the Coast Salish peoples, gentle stewards of the land I occupy and that has been a primary teacher and nurturer of this work. And a deep bow of gratitude to my teachers and the communities of practice from which this work emerges.
This offering draws heavily on the work and mentorship of Larissa Kaul, Dare Sohei, Tada Hozumi and the now-dissolved Ritual as Justice School. It is also informed by 15+ years of contemplative embodiment practice, study and facilitation in the realms of trauma-informed yoga, Kashmir Shaivism, interspiritual contemplative practice, Christian spirituality and church history, earth-based spirituality, Chinese medicine, the Celtic calendar, intercultural pastoral care, and psychic energy medicine.
Deep thanks to the additional mentorship and loving guidance of Najeea Leslie, Nancy Rebecca of Intuitive Mind, Kathleen Bellefeuille-Rice and Diane Whalen of the Holy Wisdom Inclusive Catholic Community; and also to the scholarship, mentorship and intellectual labors of Dr Angela Parker, Dr JP Kang, Dr Jennifer Fernandez, and Dr Kj Swanson.
It is with gratitude to each of them, all my teachers and guides, and all of the stewards of the wisdom traditions worldwide, known and unknown, that I make this attempt to respectfully hold, share from, and evolve my small piece of the puzzle. May it be one small offering of restoring/returning my Christian lineage back to the composting earth.
What’s so unique about Agape Sluts?
If I’m being honest...I don’t know anyone else out there who is publicly working in this way. And also to be honest--I am terrified! I honestly don't know what the end game is--it is something very much in process, a process I hope you’ll be a part of shaping. Some pieces of my intention are to attempt some honesty about my own experiences (Jesus didn't make any sense to me and I was basically done w Christianity until he showed up in various surprising forms, including the literal Lover). I also think I have something in the way of "hope" or at least longing/desire (my own erotic pull) to be re-incorporated into the body/life-death cycle of creation. More at the fore is that these beings (and my mentors) won't really leave me alone about it, so.
My intention is that this one-of-a-kind retreat will allow you the freedom to explore your own erotic impulse with a level of acceptance and ease, unparalleled to any other experience you've had.
Why is Agape Sluts so important right now?
In my opinion the Christian tradition has sterilized the erotic force in innumerable ways, desexualizing Jesus, demoting the divine nature of Mary, and preferencing Agape over Eros. Very boring, and probably why Jesus is always wearing that silly loin cloth.
But this has also had very real and devastating consequences to the world impacted by a sex-phobic, hypermasculine, white, colonially-driven Christianity devoid of an erotic sense of embodied connection to creation.
For many people shaped by this legacy, it has left us spiritual orphans, devoid of truly nourishing cultural and ancestral resources, addicted to business and burnout, in constant replay of the savior-victim dynamic, and with dry, stiff, shame-ridden, dance-phobic, turned-off bodies.
Does this sound familiar?
This is why I just know: we need to try this whole Jesus thing in a radically different way.
Confused/slightly turn-on/but also kinda curious? Join here.Ok. I'm interested. Give me the deets!
The retreat takes place remotely over Zoom,
Friday March 25 through-Sunday March 27, 2021.
Here's the day-by-day line-up. All times are Pacific Coast Time.
Please note: sessions are intended to be light dips into each theme, to inspire play and curiosity, but not be exhaustive or fully immersive...hopefully to leave you wanting more :)
Friday:
4-6pm Happy Hour Meet & Greet + Opening Practice
Saturday
10:30am-1pm: Foundations of BYOB (Bringing Your Own Belonging) or “How not to join a Cult”
2:30-5pm: Tending the Temple of Jesus/Shakti--Pleasure Practice, Death Practice, and Trauma Beings
Sunday
10:30am-1pm: Erotic Play with Christian Ancestral Beings: Mary, The Bible and “the Church”
2:30-4pm Integration, Aftercare and Closing Practice
Optional Support: Add an Integration Session with Kate
At the time of enrollment, all participants have the option to book an additional 60- minute somatic resilience and integration session at a reduced rate. This is to provide you with some additional support and space to metabolize after the retreat. I highly recommend setting up this or any other kind of processing space you may want prior to going into the retreat. You will of course have the option to book time with me afterwards, but at my normal rate.
Enroll here.Additional Details:
Location: All circles will take place remotely, via Zoom.
Recordings: All sessions will be recorded for internal use only. By signing up you are giving your consent to being recorded, and take responsibility for managing your own needs around this (being on/off video, etc). Session recordings will be available for you to view for 30 days after the retreat.
Reflection and Dreamwork: The session times are designed to leave the weekend spacious and restful. Though of course folks may have other aspects of life needing tending throughout the weekend, you are encouraged to attend as much live as possible and to block out the unscheduled time for your own rest and integration. Suggestions and prompts for reflection, integration and dreamwork will be provided.
Community Space: All participants will have access to an online community space for further connecting, reflecting and resource sharing
Cancellations: You may cancel with a full refund up until 1 week prior to the retreat start date (February 11th). You may cancel with a half refund up to 48 hours prior to the retreat start date (4pm, February 9th). Cancellations or no shows after this point are non-refundable.
Maximum Participants: 16 people
SPACE IS LIMITED
"To reproach mystics with loving God by means of the faculty of sexual love is as though one were to reproach a painter with making pictures by means of colors composed of material substances. We haven’t anything else with which to love." Simone Weil, French philosopher and mystic
Just to sum it up, here’s what you’ll get in Agape Sluts:
- 5 one-of-a-kind, not-happening-anywhere-else, dynamic, explorative sessions of over 3 days; access to all content for 30 days (Value $1500)
- Prompts for reflection, integration and dream work (Value $200)
- Weekend Access to lightly curated online community space (Value $200)
- Optional Follow-Up 90-minute somatic resilience & integration session (Value $250)
TOTAL VALUE of Agape Sluts Introductory Retreat: $2,150
(don't worry--you won't pay that)
(and did I mention-- space is limited??)
A spell for economic balance and mutuality:
My desire is to gather/nurture peers and co-conveners in the long run, which may call for a different relationship with money. In the meanwhile, it is my commitment and a work in progress to practice ethical economics, as wonky and perhaps inherently flawed as that is in late-stage capitalism. I recognize the inherent classist, racist and ableist dynamics that inevitably are at play when being in business in the dominant cultural and modern world. I also am aware that the rivers of lineages I stand in have long been impacted by the ways dominant culture diverts power and resources. Please explore the financial investment options and details prayerfully and in your body, and consider your choice as a kind of spell-casting into the web of resources that you are participating in. I ask folks of financial means, particularly if you are white and/or you have access to ancestral wealth, to pay at the supporting (highest) level. This allows me to redistribute a portion of my earnings and be more flexible with low-income folks and folks from cultures from which many of the modern ‘healing’ practices are derived—black, brown, and indigenous (see below).
Please feel into your belly and consider: what would feel just right, reciprocal, sustainable, generous and joyful to give? What would be in alignment and an expression of myself and all of creation having everything it needs to be well? If you find yourself asking: "what's the best deal I can get??" please repeat the above.
Supported: $500
Sustaining: $650
Supporting: $800
Add a 60-minute 1-on-1 Post-Retreat Integration Session with Kate for an additional $200.
Early-Bird: Save $100 if registered by February 16th. Use promo code EARLYBIRD at check out.
Restorative Culture Sliding Scale for BIPOC:
Black and indigenous folks, as well as folks of color (BIPOC) are welcome and encouraged to pay on a sliding scale starting at $0. You do not need to pay more than that and this is not a scholarship. Additionally, this is not an assumption of your access to financial wealth, and if you’d like to offer a financial gift of any kind it is welcome. You can simply register below. I am trying this on as an attempt be in relationship and balanced responsibility for the violent history of my white christian ancestors and their impact on black and brown peoples worldwide, whose cultures were destroyed and stolen from, and in more recent decades have been ‘discovered’, white-washed and repackaged as ‘western’ therapeutic modalities.
Thanks to my many mentors, colleagues and teachers at large who have spoken to this dynamic. I’m particularly appreciative to Pınar Sinopoulos-Lloyd for their articulation of ‘lifeways back’, to Weaving Earth: Center for Relational Education for their economic modeling, and to my friend and colleague Kate Morales for connecting me to their work and helping me wrestle with and flesh out the details of this spell.
If you have questions about which level is right for you or any technical difficulties with check-out, please contact me: [email protected].
A final note on being a white-led/white-dominant space:
Folks of any racial/cultural identity are absolutely welcome. Additionally, I want to be upfront that I, Kate, am white, most of my audience are white folks, and it’s possible/likely this space will be predominantly white. My intention is to take responsibility for that, and leverage the opportunity of mostly white/white-conditioned folks to do our own work. The desexualization of Jesus and subsequent negation of the erotic--and all things thus associated, including Blackness, indigeneity, femininity, physicality, queerness, etc-- is largely a western/white problem. I envision this as a place where dominant-culture folks (which includes, but is not limited to whiteness) can unwind dominant cultural behaviors and relational patterns, and learn to relate more skillfully to our diverse complex world. I am committed to addressing these dominant patterns as they (inevitably) arise in our process together, and aim to build towards being a place where multi-racial and cross-cultural exchange and healing can happen.
Additionally, 10% of all program profits are redistributed to local black, brown and indigenous led healers and organizers, as one incomplete gesture towards reciprocity.
Like everything related to unlearning my troubled ancestral inheritance, I have definitely over-thought this whole section lol, and it is a work in progress.
May the financial exchanges of this offering be a gesture of deep gratitude, and a spell cast for the well-being of all of creation, and particularly for the reparation and restoration of the black, brown and earth-based cultures and the lands they tend that have and continue to sustain all of life. May all of creation have all that it needs to be well.
FAQs
Who is this NOT for?
Why the focus on Jesus, primarily, and Mary only secondarily?
What if I canā€™t make it to all the sessions?
This would be my first experience with you, Kate. Is there any way to connect with you before I sign up?
Iā€™m excited but a little scared. How do I know I wonā€™t be pushed past my comfort zone?
About Kate:
I am psychic, priest/ess-at-large, founder and steward of a center for trauma resilience and cultural restoration called The Sanctuary Northwest. I’m also a recovering ‘nice white lady’, workaholic and angry activist, trying to live in a better way to my body, my ancestry, the world, and all visible, invisible, human and more-than human beings within it.
In 2015, years after having left the Catholic Church of my upbringing, Jesus came unexpectedly back into my life--not as triumphant victor, not as dewy eyed shepherd, but as a lover: tender, nurturing and...very very sexy. Mary Magdelene showed up not long after that. It was confusing and electrifying and hot af. So much about my tradition I had decided to abandon began flooding back, shifting the trajectory of my nervous system and my life.
I did not know it at the time, but these relationships were teaching me how to relate differently to my body, my sexuality, my heritage, other people, and our beautiful world in a way that I didn’t yet have words for. I am starting to have more words, as well as practices, stories, and contextual frameworks--largely emergent from the work of Tada Hozumi, Dare Sohei, Larissa Kaul and the now dissolved Ritual as Justice School-- that are helping me integrate and synthesize this long-closeted love affair of mine. I have only recently been able to name that Eros made themself known to me and (I believe) to the early followers of The Way by the name “Jesus."
To be clear, though I bring many years of group facilitation, spiritual care and personal practice, I am not an ‘expert’ in eroticism—rather, the core of this offering is my own surprising experiences of sacred sexuality through encountering Jesus as Lover/Eros/Shakti, and a desire/unavoidable ancestral push to explore that dynamic with others to just see what happens.
A few final personal details: I recently got an expensive piece of paper (i.e. completed a masters of divinity at The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology), am discerning a call to ordination with the Roman Catholic Women Priests, and live with my sweetie Coda and their swarm of animals on Coast Salish territory (so-called Tacoma, Washington). I’m a Saggitarius Sun, Cancer Moon, Libra Rising; Enneagram - 4; Meyers-Briggs - INFJ. Also I love whales and dolphins! So that’s me.
