Last week, a pilgrimage and its counterpart, the vision quest, were introduced. A retreat includes tenets of pilgrimage and vision quest, while offering more. A retreat is a place of refuge which provides privacy and safety.
Instruction takes many forms.
It can be religious in content, or life courses such as cooking, basket weaving, sewing, creative writing, music, or dance. Retreats are not only for the monastic or the monastically inclined. A few years ago, I made a private two-day retreat in a Carmelite Monestery. It was a wonderful experience that provided me the opportunity to put aside problems for a short space of time. The nun who was assigned to me was available for counseling, if desired.