Four Springs was at its best for the 50th anniversary celebration on October 21st. Friends of Four Springs ranging back nearly to its founding in 1956 up to those who were coming for the first time gathered to enjoy a warm fall day with Fall leaves drifting down across the meadow.

Many people came on Friday evening to enjoy informal time together, the beauty of the place in October, and the superb cooking of our chef, Hector Marroquin.

The formal celebration began under the Great Oak next to the lodge. Following a welcome by Four Springs Seminars Board President Karen Carlton, David Garrett offered his reflections on the role that Four Springs has played as a "monastic community" of seekers, like that in Hesse's novel Magister Ludi, committed to the inner journey. Garrett, a member of the original group of leaders trained by the founders of Four Springs, led seminars with the Guild for Psychological Studies and with Psyche and the Sea.

 

Hal Childs offered his reflections on the living symbols of Four Springs: the gate, the great oak, the hidden pool, and the center stone in the meadow. These places and emblems of Four Springs, he reminded the group, are living symbols, never exhausted as they continue to work in the psyches of all who encounter them. They can serve as guides in enabling individuals to discover their own depths of soul.

 

Four Springs Seminars Executive Director Timothy Locke concluded the morning program with reflections on the history of Four Springs and the contributions of many to the place and to the seminar work, acknowledging a number of those who were present at the celebration. He also shared an update on the renovation of the lodge and a look at plans for the future, and invited people to share their memories and experiences of the place.

 

While participants enjoyed a magnificent lunch prepared by chef Hector Marroquin, people continued to share about the significant role that Four Springs had played in their lives.

 

Afternoon provided time for Seminars in the Four Springs tradition: Four Springs as Living Symbol, led by Hal Childs; The Body and the Kingdom, led by Judith Peterson; Flowing Dragon Swords, led by Richard Squeri, Jr. and friends; and Jesus and Mindfulness, led by Tim Locke.

 

 

There was also time for catching up with friends, reminiscing about old times, touring the newly renovated lodge and anticipating new possibilities for the future.

The day ended with a gathering in the meadow, as participants lined up in the order of their first arrival at Four Springs. Each one was invited to express their response ritually at the center of the circle. Preparing to depart, everyone felt again that sense of profound connection with the place, committed engagement with the journey toward wholeness, and the grace of companions on the way that have been a hallmark of Four Springs for the past 50 years.