Write. Transcend.
Black History Month is in February. Women’s History Month is in March. Now is the time to commit to writing your story.
Thursday to Sunday, March 27 -30
Many of us carry around the notion or goal of writing our story, which naturally grows as a task as we gain more life experience. Decades pass, and energy becomes valuable. Our story is still unwritten.
It can seem overwhelming even thinking about writing your story. So much happened. I wouldn’t even know where to begin...
This retreat offers the guidance and the focused, supportive space for bringing your story to life and let it reach its fullest expression.
What You’ll Experience
By the end of the retreat, you will have written your story—whether as a memoir, a collection of poems, a stage play… The form it takes will reveal itself to you at the beginning of the retreat.
Participants often write 20,000 to 30,000 words during the retreat—whether or not they consider themselves professional writers.
After the Retreat, You Will:
✔ Feel a weight lifted – You will have transcended the task to tell your story, feeling freer for future creative endeavors. Having it out of your system, onto pages, may also feel profoundly healing.
✔ Own your narrative voice – You will have found an authentic voice and unique way to express your story.
✔ Be amazed by your own accomplishment – You’ll discover what you’re truly capable of.
✔ Check off a life goal – Telling your story will no longer be a “someday” but a completed achievement.
✔ Have renewed sense of security in your writing and creativity, knowing you can now step into the flow state whenever you wish and create with confidence.
Your Impact
By sharing our story, we can honor our commitment to future generations. The more we are pressured to be quiet and disappear, the more valuable our testimonials become. The relief that can come with having written your story is impactful not only because of the accomplishment itself, but because of the legacy.
If you wish, you can publish your story as a book, read it to your loved ones, or even share it with the world as an audiobook—closing the circle to our rich oral traditions.
Facilitator
Swami Dhyānānanda Saraswati (formerly known as Noah Sow) is a monastic in the traditions of Yoga and Advaita Vedānta, with over three decades of experience in Afrodeutsche civil rights and empowerment. They rose to prominence in the early 1990s through a successful career in music, radio, and television. A decade later, their books and seminars became essential resources in German-speaking countries for understanding the history of racism in Germany and learning effective strategies for resistance.
After six years of dedicated monastic study in Vedānta and Sanskrit, Swami Dhyānānanda was ordained and now serves an intersectional community, offering non-sectarian guidance and support.
Credentials as a writer (click to open)
*
Their book, “Deutschland Schwarz Weiß”, published by Random House in 2008, has become a cornerstone for understanding structural racism in German-speaking countries and was a national Bestseller as recently as 2021, over ten years after its first edition. Their fiction and nonfiction writing is featured in numerous anthologies and they have authored internationally published and acclaimed radio plays and comedy for radio and television. With hundreds of lectures and keynotes delivered worldwide over the last two decades, they continue to create courses for universities, cultural institutions, government bodies, and NGOs.
Is This Retreat for You?
This retreat is for you if you’ve always wanted to write your story, but one or more of the following sounds like your present experience:
- You’re unsure of your writing ability.
- You know you can write but haven’t yet found the moment to start.
- You don’t know who would read it.
- You worry about spelling or grammar.
- You find it hard to make time.
- You’ve started writing but didn’t continue.
- You wonder if writing your story is self-indulgent and aren’t sure of its purpose.
Participation and Pricing
This retreat is centering the Black experience. LGBTIA+ are particularly encouraged. The retreat is ADHD, ASD and CPTSD informed.
Part of the retreat fees (20-50% depending on number of participants) will fund upcoming community classes and free retreats and classes for intersectional healing for economically marginalized and financially vulnerable individuals and communities. The remainder enables the long-term sustainability of these offerings.
Fee
Fee is €399 with 20% discount for °BGHRA 2025 conference registered attendants, ° Long term community activists / volunteers ° Retreats E-Mail List subscribers.
The fee is non-refundable; however, if you’re unable to attend, you can transfer your seat to one of the upcoming online retreats.
You may be considered for a stipend if you struggle to cover essential living expenses and have volunteered or contributed to community work in the past or present.
Schedule
Thursday March 27: Opening Ceremony and Beginning to Write
EST (New York): 4 PM – 6 PM = CET (Berlin): 10 PM – 12 AM
Friday 28th and Saturday 29th : Full Retreat Days
EST (New York): 8 AM – 6 PM = CET (Berlin): 2 PM – 12 AM
Sunday March 30: Closing Ceremony and Celebration
EST (New York): 10 AM – 12 PM = CET (Berlin): 4 PM – 6 PM
Timing may be subject to change.
What you need for the retreat
Additional details will be shared in videos and emails after your registration confirmation. There will also be writing exercises, warm-up prompts, and optional meetings via Zoom to answer questions, prepare, and get into creative flow before the retreat.
Requirements for participation (click to open)
.
• Confirmation of your registration – Ensure you’ve received this before the retreat begins.
• Availability – Please only apply if you can commit to the full retreat schedule From Thursday to Sunday full time. It may not be in your time zone (likely either Germany or U.S. East Coast). If you’re unable to attend during the entire time, email us to be notified about future retreats.
• Your computer
• Stable internet connection
• A comfortable, undisturbed space – A place where you can fully immerse yourself in the retreat without distractions. This might mean stepping away from your usual routine. In a family environment, interruptions can happen—by Day 3, small acts of sabotage from the surrounding can begin. Consider relocating to a friend’s place, a hotel, or even a cabin with WiFi to ensure uninterrupted focus.
How to apply
Please get in touch via the form. After the first applications we will determine if groups can be split up in different time zones, and will get back to you asap. Important: this application is not a confirmation; seats are limited and your registration needs to be completed before you receive confirmation. Thank You.
If you are not sure yet whether you want to apply, you can specify in the form to get included in the Q&A session or free writing session without applying for the retreat (check this in the last field in the form).