Last week found me simultaneously researching sabbaticals, house siting in a house with a pool/spacious yard and needing to get a huge chunk of creating 
done, both on my book about women living their visions of success and the new Vision Quest Retreats website (check our cool new landing page, while the site is under construction).
The word Sabbatical comes from the Latin sabbaticus, and Hebrew shabbat, i.e., Sabbath, literally a “ceasing.” It is a rest from work, or a hiatus, often lasting from two months to a year. The concept of sabbatical has a source in shmita, described in the Bible where there is a commandment to desist from working the fields in the seventh year. Therefore, in the strictest sense, sabbatical lasts a year.
In modern times, “sabbatical” has come to mean any extended absence in ones career to achieve something e.g., writing a book or traveling for research. In its broadest sense sabbatical or a sabbatical is a period away from your normal routine – a time to immerse yourself in yourself in a different environment. It can also offer rest, a chance to see your life from a different perspective, and to gain new insights.
My current work situation does not really permit me to take 2 mos to a year off right now so I decided to take my own mini stay-home sabbatical.
- Rainbow one Morning
My goals were to 1) write a draft of “my story,” how I came to be living my vision for the book I’m, 2) produce a draft of the content for the new Vision Quest Retreats, 3) get some rest and exercise and 4) Just Be!
The Results:
While I still engaged minimally in my Organizational Development practice no appointments involved me leaving the house, so after a brief stint with procrastination I got down to work. I did manage to accomplish what I set out to do; getting a huge chunk of writing done. I also squeezed in an appointment with my body worker. This visit helped me to gain deeper insight during this time. He also gave me an interesting prescription of backstroke. I brought my aching neck and blocks to him and told him that I had been swimming freestyle for exercise. He told me to swim back stroke to give my neck and ego a break. He was right. I know how to swim backstroke but freestyle is easier for me and I can swim faster. The energy of freestyle was very ego driven for me while backstroke felt awkward but more like improving the back of the house or inner me. This exercise also connected with my insight that I needed to exercise more discipline both in my work and spiritual practice. I took rest after my work and swimming in the evenings and was able to enjoy watching the birds dart about and the fireflies come out.
My Conclusion:
If you can carve out even a mini sabbatical take it! Especially in the current economic climate many people are afraid to take sabbaticals for fear of losing their positions. A mini 
sabbatical could be just the right thing for you.
Give it a try and drop us a line and let us know how it goes!
