Page created 05 AUG 2008 Last modified 07 AUG 2008
The Northeastern States HSP Group
A discussion, support and social group for the highly sensitive person living in Delaware, Maryland,
New Jersey, Pennsylvania and the Washington D.C. area
October 2008 East Coast HSP Gathering
Announcing the 2008 East Coast HSP Gathering
October 2-6, 2008
at Menla Mountain Retreat Center, Phoenicia, New York
Registration is now open!
Register early to receive a discount on the conference fee
This will be the first HSP Gathering to be held in the East since since the Pennsylvania event in 2005, and the first ever to be held in New York state.
The event will be held at the Menla Mountain Retreat and Conference Center in Phoenicia (about 2 hours north of New York City). The retreat center sits on 320 private acres in the heart of Catskill Park, and typifies the kind of "HSP Friendly" venue chosen for HSP Gatherings. The venue is just 225 miles from Boston, MA, 200 miles from Philadelphia, and about 350 miles from Washington, DC.
Workshops at the New York Gathering will be presented by Jacquelyn Strickland, Sarah O'Doherty, Jessica Thayer and Elaine Aron will present to the group on Sunday afternoon via teleconference. Non-workshop activities will include Creativity Night, Music and Dance Night and Art Night, as well as plenty of time to simply socialize and get to know fellow HSPs.
Registration for the event is now OPEN. To register, please visit organizer Jacquelyn Strickland's web site. Please register as soon as you can, the sooner you sign up the lower the conference fee will be. Although it's in the nature of HSPs to "pause and reflect," please keep in mind that registration may reach an "as available" stage if you wait too long.
I don't like groups-- why should I go to an HSP Gathering?
Gatherings are about learning, about going on a retreat, and about fellowship with other HSPs. We spend Thursday through Monday together, engaged in a mixture of workshops, social time, and just "quiet time" to reflect on the ongoing experience. I cannot overstate the "value" of going to an HSP Gathering. I say this from the perspective of what I have personally gained from going to six previous Gatherings... as well as from the perspective of watching 100s of HSPs experience major life transformations as a result of attending.
You might say "yeah, but it's a GROUP!" True. It is. And many HSPs have had negative experiences with groups. But I can also assure you that a group of HSPs is like NO other group you'll ever be part of. The level of emotional safety, validation and inclusion is-- literally-- "mind altering" for attendees... I have watched the MOST retiring and introverted of HSPs virtually "become extraverts," in a matter of 48 hours, as they discover that they are among people where they can be "100% themselves," without having to worry about someone thinking they are "odd" or "too sensitive."
If you are skeptical, or just want to get a better sense of how a Gathering really works, I encourage you to read Gathering attendee Marcia Norris' words on "Why HSPs Need To Gather" or read the online photojournals from a couple of previous Gatherings.
