Return to Innocence – A Heartwork Retreat

Moving from the Naive Innocence of Childhood to Mature Spiritual Innocence

Led by Dale Goldstein, MSW

Thursday, June 18 – Sunday, June 21, 2026

As Sarah McLaughlin says, “We are born innocent.” …and then we lose it! In order to feel connected to our social, cultural group, we choose to abandon our True Nature and align instead with all the identities and beliefs that make us feel not alone. There is no blame; it is the best survival strategy we can adopt. However, we necessarily develop a deep longing to return home to our lost innocence. The truth is, we never really lost it. We just buried it deep in our unconscious. Many people, especially these days, are aware of this deep yearning, but few actually find their way back home. This three-day retreat offers a way to rediscover the openness, wonder, and aliveness that you thought you lost forever. Together we move through the path of Return – from the felt-sense memory of childhood innocence’s joy and freedom, openness and wonder, through a dignified honoring of the grief of what was lost, into a mature spiritual innocence – an innocence not of naïveté, but of eyes wide open: tender yet strong, playful yet grounded, full of wonder without denying what you know to be true.

Cost: $1,750 (a sliding scale is available to reduce the cost to as low as $1,250, depending on financial need)

This includes the retreat program, accommodations in a private room, and gourmet vegetarian meals from Thursday dinner through Sunday breakfast.

$250 reserves your space. Balance due by June 1st.

Registration: Click here to register

The retreat is limited to the first 16 people who register.

About Your Retreat Leader:

Dale Goldstein has studied and practiced psychotherapeutic modalities and spiritual disciplines since 1967 – primarily Zen and the Diamond Approach – and has taught at some of the foremost personal growth centers in the US and elsewhere. Having explored innumerable inner work methods, he keeps returning to Heartwork because it is the most direct and complete system he is aware of.

For more information: Email us at awakentheheart@gmail.com