Beauty is a difficult word to describe, particularly for women who have been sold versions of beauty for centuries but retain a deep intuitive knowledge that something much deeper is at work. During our Healing Beauty Day Retreat last week, Dr. Pia Chaudhari invited us into the nuance of beauty and its meaning in our lives as Orthodox women.
Beauty, she reminds us, is something we all recognize even if we find it difficult to put into words. It is something intrinsically delightful and full of unity. And it is a generative and life-creating experience.
Participants shared many reflections on what about the Healing Beauty retreat invited them to attend.
“One of the faces of God is beauty. I’ve been drawn simultaneously to beauty and goodness,” said one participant.
Or, as our most recent Woman of the Week Jenny Schroedel put it, “The kingdom of God is sending us beauty to guide us home.”
Dr. Chaudhari also connected our understanding to our theology of the human person as an icon of God. “Theosis is a process of becoming fully ourselves,” she noted, “which means it has to do with beauty.”
If beauty is connected with our theology of theosis, then it goes deeper than simply becoming (as Dr. Chaudhari called it) “pretty, pleasing, or pious.” In this, the Theotokos is our model as “the font and root of human freedom” (St. Gregory Palamas). Following in the footsteps of the one who contained fire within her as a free act of will, do we also need to make room for fire and courage in our definition of beauty?
After lunch, Axia board member and contemplative guide Jen Nahas led us in a walking exercise that attuned us to the beauty of God in nature. Classical homeopath Laura Josephson then led us through a workshop in the footsteps of the Myrrhbearing Women, exploring the healing nature of the essential oils myrrh and frankincense.
As one participant noted, “The church is so beautiful because it’s so experiential. It is not a sterile place. Beauty wants to be shared with others.” And as we looked around at all the fantastic women this event had brought together, we couldn’t agree more.