HOW TO PLAY IN THE DARK
Integration for Life + Work
22–26 OCT 2025 | Ojai, California
A Co-creative Emergent Retreat for Women(+) Visionaries, Leaders, and Creators
Themes We will Explore
• Belonging + Wounding
• Descent + Power
• Play as Medicine
• Deconstructing Leadership
The Experience
Salty Muse PresentsA Collaborative Experience
Guides + Weavers:
Courtney Smith — Transformational Guide + Circle Weaver -🌿word of mouth only
Application Process
This retreat is an intimate, emergent space. To honor the depth of the container, all participants must complete an application.
Applications ensure the group is aligned in intention and readiness.
Once your application is approved, you’ll be invited into the container.
🌿 A Note on Deconstructing Leadership
Through play, deep presence, embodied experiential learning, and deep dive practices, this retreat invites us to reimagine what leadership means.
This is not a top-down, “luxury escape” where everything is done for you. Instead, How to Play in the Dark is a living, breathing container of healing, remembrance, and co-creation. Each participant is an equal steward of the space—invited to share in the rhythms of care, from tending to meals and cleanup, to holding space for one another’s unfolding.
By dissolving hierarchy and practicing communal responsibility, we open the door to a different kind of leadership—one rooted in reciprocity, authenticity, and playful curiosity.
✨ This retreat is not for you if you are unwilling to:
Step into profound transformation and allow your life to change for the better.
Create deep and meaningful connections with other women in a safe, intimate space.
Engage in nervous system healing practices with openness and respect.
Be curious and playful about your inner child adventure.
Share responsibility by participating equally in cleanup, food preparation, and tending to the space we inhabit together.
Shared Participation Includes:
🍽 Meals: rotating sign-ups for helping with preparation and cleanup.
🧹 Tending the Space: keeping common areas clean, cozy, and cared for.
🌿 Personal Responsibility: tending to your own needs with mindfulness (e.g., water, rest, journaling, self-regulation).
🤝 Community Care: offering presence, support, and respect for the collective container.
🎭 Playful Contribution: bringing your creativity, humor, and willingness to co-create moments of joy and to process the shadow that is inevitable.
By dissolving hierarchy and practicing communal responsibility, we open the door to a different kind of leadership—one rooted in reciprocity, authenticity, and playful curiosity.
We are not here to “consume” an experience. We are here to co-create it—together. Every meal we prepare, every dish we wash, and every ritual we hold is part of the medicine.
By joining, you are saying yes to being both a guest and a steward, both a receiver and a giver. This is how we restore balance.
This is how we honor each other.
This is how we remember what it means to be in true community.
Investment
Early Bird Pricing: $3,333 (through September 22, 2025)
Standard Pricing: $3,888 (after September 22, 2025)
Your retreat investment includes:
✔ 4 nights in community space in Ojai, California
✔ Organic, locally-prepared meals
✔ Playful and nourishing surprises
✔ Daily practices + guided sessions in shadow play, movement, sound, and hypnosis
✔ Pre-retreat + post-retreat integration support via recorded zoom calls utilizing human design and astrology
✔ A collaborative, playful, visionary community
Next Steps
Submit your application.
Await your acceptance email.
Place your deposit to secure your spot. To secure your place, a $1,500 non-refundable deposit is required upon acceptance.
Begin preparing to step into the dark—together.
Limited to 8 participants.
This is a call for those ready to enter the mystery with courage, curiosity, and play.
Ready to Step Into the Dark?
Applications are now open.
Spots are limited, and acceptance is required before reserving your place in the retreat container.
If you have questions please send an email to: meg@saltymuse.com
🌿 Retreat Referral Program
We believe in the power of community and word of mouth.
To thank you for sharing this retreat with your friends, we’re offering a simple referral program.
How It Works
Invite your friends, colleagues, or community members to apply for the retreat.
On their application, they list your name as the person who referred them.
If they are accepted and attend the retreat, you receive $100 as a thank-you.
Details
Reward: $100 per attendee you successfully refer.
Payout: Issued within 7 days after the retreat concludes (via PayPal, Venmo, or check).
No limit: You can refer as many people as you’d like—there’s no cap.
Eligibility: Referral must be listed at the time of application.
How to Share
Here’s a simple blurb you can copy & paste to invite your friends:
“I’m attending (or supporting) this transformational retreat in Ojai this October. It’s a deep dive into play, presence, and healing. If you apply, just mention my name on your application—I’d love to share the experience with you!”
Thank You
This retreat is built on community and shared participation. Your referrals help us bring together the people who are meant to be here. We’re so grateful for your support!
