Events — The Portal

Join us this Autumn:

October 14-16, 2026

The Thyme | Salisbury, CT

Major transitions often appear practical from the outside: A role is changing, a relationship or family chapter is shifting, or a long-held definition of success no longer fully fits.

Underneath the visible decision, there is often a deeper question: what gives my life meaning now — and how should my daily choices reflect it?

The Portal is designed for these moments.

Our workshop agenda

Thursday Friday

Thursday

8:00 AM — Morning Outdoor Activity

A brisk walk or time outdoors helps participants arrive in the body before entering more reflective work. The morning begins with quiet, movement, and attention to the landscape.

8:45 AM — Gathering & Light Breakfast

Coffee and light breakfast are available as participants gather for the formal opening.

9:00 AM — Opening Container

The retreat begins by establishing the tone, purpose, and shared agreements for the two days. The emphasis is on confidentiality, choice, honesty, care, and the understanding that participants may share deeply without needing to perform, explain, or solve everything immediately.

9:45 AM — Naming the Transition

Participants begin by identifying the live transition, decision, or threshold they are bringing into the retreat. Through private reflection and brief sharing, each person names what feels unsettled, what is changing, and why this moment matters.

11:00 AM — Circle I: The Decision in Front of Me

Participants move into fixed circles of 4–5 people. Each person has time to share the context of the transition they are carrying, what feels unresolved, and what they most want help seeing. The circle’s role is to listen, witness, and offer careful reflection — not advice or quick answers. A working lunch is included during this session.

1:30 PM — Adaptive Patterns and Old Strategies

The afternoon begins by exploring the patterns that often emerge around major life decisions. Participants examine the strategies that may have helped them succeed, belong, stay safe, or remain in control — and consider where those same strategies may now be limiting their ability to choose clearly.

2:45 PM — Break and Preparation

A spacious break allows participants to hydrate, step outside, change into comfortable clothing, or take quiet time before the next session.

3:15 PM — Guided Breathwork and Embodied Practice

A guided, music-supported breathwork session invites participants to move beyond ordinary analysis and into deeper emotional and somatic awareness. The practice is held carefully and spaciously; the goal is not forced catharsis, but greater contact with what may be beneath the surface of the decision.

5:00 PM — Integration Walk and Journaling

Participants take solo time on the property to let the afternoon settle. This is a quiet period for walking, writing, and noticing what has become clearer before returning to conversation.

5:45 PM — Circle II: What Is Becoming Clear

Participants return to their circles to share what they are beginning to see about the transition in front of them and the patterns that may shape it. The circle helps each person distinguish fear from wisdom, old protection from present truth, and avoidance from honest movement.

7:00 PM — Dinner

Dinner is warm, relaxed, and unforced. The tone shifts from deep processing to connection, decompression, and ordinary human conversation.

8:30 PM — Evening Reflection and Close

The day closes with quiet reflection, optional sharing, and a deliberate transition into rest. Participants end the evening with the threshold more clearly named and the old pattern held with compassion rather than judgment.

Friday

8:00 AM — Morning Movement or Nature

The day begins with a guided walk, stretching, yoga, breathwork, or quiet time outdoors. Participants reconnect with themselves before moving into choice and action.

8:45 AM — Gathering & Light Breakfast

Coffee and light breakfast are available as the group gathers for the day.

9:00 AM — Opening Reset

The group begins by noticing what stayed with them overnight, what feels clearer, and what remains unresolved. The facilitator connects the two-day arc: Thursday was about seeing the pattern; Friday is about choosing forward with that awareness intact.

9:45 AM — Values and Orientation

Participants clarify what they want the next chapter to express. This session helps distinguish deeper values from fear, status, obligation, resentment, or reactive desire.

10:30 AM — Choice Mapping

Participants map the live decision in front of them: the real options, hidden options, needs, risks, tradeoffs, and people affected. The purpose is not to force a premature answer, but to reveal the true shape of the choice.

12:00 PM — Lunch

Lunch offers space to rest, walk, or talk informally before returning to deeper reflection.

12:45 PM — Circle III: The Choice I Am Now Facing

Each participant presents their updated decision frame to their circle. The circle offers careful reflection on what feels most alive, what may still be unsaid, and where a necessary tradeoff or courageous conversation may be emerging.

2:30 PM — Action Planning

Participants translate insight into a practical 30–90 day plan. Each person identifies commitments, conversations, likely obstacles, support structures, and early signs that old patterns may be taking over again.

3:15 PM — Circle IV: Commitment and Support

Each participant names the commitment they are ready to make and the support they need to carry it forward. The circle responds with reflection, challenge, and accountability.

4:45 PM — Closing

The retreat closes by marking the threshold crossed over the two days. Participants leave not with a perfectly resolved life, but with a clearer relationship to the transition, the pattern, the choice, and the next courageous step.

I want more information

If you are navigating a meaningful transition and want to explore whether participating in The Portal’s fall workshop might help, we would be glad to talk.