top of page


Your 48‑Hour Presence Retreat: A Simple Guide to Being Here
Reset your nervous system with a 48-hour presence retreat designed to help you slow down at Deer Creek Retreat in Old La Sal. This simple weekend blueprint drops the pressure of productivity and offers your soul a practical canvas to downshift and exhale.

Justin Shannon, Ph.D.
May 28 min read


Little Things, Great Love: How We Host You on Purpose
Discover how the principle of Little Things, Great Love shapes our remote hospitality and quiet property stewardship in Old La Sal. We choose function over flash, ensuring a seamlessly prepared space where your soul can finally catch up.

Justin Shannon, Ph.D.
Apr 287 min read


Turning Down the Noise: Silence, Solitude, and Your Nervous System
Explore the clinical link between silence and your nervous system, and learn how to turn down digital noise in Old La Sal. Most of us live with more daily static than our brains were built to handle; here is a simple blueprint to help you finally unplug.

Justin Shannon, Ph.D.
Apr 288 min read


The Kitchen as a Cathedral: Sacred Among the Pots and Pans
Our kitchen isn’t fancy, but it’s intentional. Standing at the sink with a view of the La Sal Mountains and well water in your glass, even doing dishes can become prayer. This reflection explores how the Deer Creek kitchen can become a small cathedral of presence, gratitude, and slow, simple meals.

Justin Shannon, Ph.D.
Apr 279 min read


The Sanctuary of the Ordinary: Practicing Presence in Small Moments
Learn how practicing presence in small moments can transform ordinary daily routines into deep spiritual rest in Old La Sal. Step away from the constant digital scroll and find an intentional, quieter way of being present to the world around you.

Justin Shannon, Ph.D.
Apr 277 min read


Old La Sal History: Roots, Memory, and Living Presence
Discover the legacy of Old La Sal roots, where family memories, rugged history, and deep desert silence meet under the mountains. Long before faith or a retreat had a name, this landscape was quietly teaching me how to listen to the soul.

Justin Shannon, Ph.D.
Apr 2711 min read


A Spiritual Connection to the Beauty of Old La Sal: A Legacy of a Man with a Dream
I thought he was crazy. In the 1990s, my brother Todd bought five acres of "nothing" near Moab. It took his tragic passing for me to realize he was building a legacy. Read the story of how that raw mountain desert became Deer Creek Retreat, and find your own invitation to a deep spiritual connection.

Justin Shannon, Ph.D.
Feb 108 min read
bottom of page
