Sufi Retreats in Norfolk: Dhikr, Sohbet and the Return to the Heart
What a Sufi retreat is, how a small tariqa or dhikr circle can hold one well, and what to look for in a venue — written from a homestead in rural Norfolk.
Blog
Guides and journal notes from the homestead.
Practical planning guides sit alongside personal reflections from Home House Homestead in rural Norfolk.
Looking for a place to start? Explore our main retreats in Norfolk page, compare quieter Norfolk holidays, or browse the guides below for solo retreats, women's retreats, and countryside stay planning. We also write for groups: see our Muslim retreat venue in Norfolk and Sufi retreats pages, with supporting guides in the list below.
Planning guides
Muslim Retreat Venues in the UK: What To Look For
How to choose a Muslim retreat venue in the UK — prayer space, halal food, alcohol-free settings, group privacy, and the questions worth asking before you book.
Can You Go On a Retreat Alone? Yes — Here's What to Expect
Yes, you can go on a retreat alone. Pros, cons, who it suits, and how a hosted Norfolk stay differs from going completely solo.
How Long Should a Retreat Be? Weekend or 3–5 Days
How long do retreats last? A short stay is a weekend; 3–5 days is the usual rest length. Compare weekend to a week, then pick dates that let you settle.
How To Plan A Solo Retreat In Norfolk
A practical guide to planning a solo retreat in Norfolk, covering dates, daily structure, what to bring, and how the countryside setting supports a slower stay.
Retreat Or Guest House Stay In Norfolk: Which Is Right For You?
Not every countryside break needs to be a retreat. Here is how to choose between a retreat stay and a quieter guest house stay in Norfolk — and where Home House Homestead sits between the two.
What Is a Homestead Retreat? (vs Hotel or Retreat Centre)
What a homestead retreat actually is — and how it differs from a hotel stay or a formal retreat centre — for slower, more personal countryside breaks.
What To Pack For A Countryside Retreat In Norfolk
A practical packing guide for a countryside retreat in Norfolk, including seasonal clothing, comfort items, and the difference between packing for a retreat and a guest house stay.
Quiet Weekend Breaks In Norfolk
Ideas for planning a quieter weekend break in Norfolk, with a focus on countryside stays, slower days, and places that help you properly switch off.
Digital Detox Retreat In Norfolk
How a quieter countryside stay in Norfolk can support time away from screens, deeper rest, and a more grounded daily rhythm.
Peaceful Norfolk Holidays For Rest And Reset
How to choose a more peaceful Norfolk holiday if your real goal is rest, quiet, countryside, and a slower pace.
What To Expect On A Women's Retreat In Norfolk
A practical guide to the pace, atmosphere, and experience of a smaller women's retreat in the Norfolk countryside.
Journal
Personal reflections written by Hawa Hummingbird — experiential notes from life at the homestead, separate from the practical guides above.
Just Be : A sacred spiritual womb for women in seasons of becoming.
From darkness into Light. Our journey begins in darkness. Hidden within the womb. Formed by a wisdom beyond our own.
The Softening of the Body, the Heart and the Soul : when Hardness Becomes a Way of Being
Have you ever noticed how hard we can become? Hard in our bodies. Hard in our words. Hard in our opinions. Hard in our behaviour. Hard in the invisible walls we build around our hearts.
Love is the collateral of a life lived fully.
10 years ago, when my 17 year relationship and marriage ended...it felt like I had lost a limb. Along my journey to heal and somehow return to wholeness from what felt broken and shattered inside of me, I made a commitment to love harder than any other emotion.
When We Feel Stuck: The Body, the Past, and the Way Through
There are times in life when we find ourselves stuck. Stuck in our bodies. Stuck in old emotions. Stuck in patterns that keep repeating. Stuck in relationships, in fear, in people-pleasing, in overwhelm, in anxiety, in pain, in shutdown, in habits we cannot seem to break.
The Moon, the Heart and the One Who Holds Them Both
A Sufi Full Moon Ritual: Returning Creation Back to the Creator On this powerful full moon…I sit tonight in retreat and return to the One who is the Creator of the moon, the stars, all that exists in this world and beyond. Full moons have always invited me into moments of illumination, reflection and opening…and this one feels particularly potent.
The Hearth Project
Creating spaces of belonging for young adults struggling in a disconnected world
The Woman who became the Garden
On flowering, fruiting and tending what was once only a seed Ive been reflecting on the life cycle of plants as I recently noticed some plants already flowering and those flowers then become more seeds. It never ceases to amaze me how nature continually mirrors where I am in life. Things I have observed many times before suddenly land in me differently when I am finally ready to truly see them.
The Weekend That Planted a Seed in My Heart
How one retreat quietly changed the course of my life.
Where Sufi and Native American traditions meet
I recently went to participate in an Inipi sweat lodge from the traditions of the Lakota Tribe in North America. The native American ways and traditions were a path that I was walking for a while in my past through Forrest Yoga. The ceremonies, the prayers, the medicine songs were a huge part of my healing and bringing me back into my body, healing layers of trauma and unblocking my voice and the music of my heart and soul to be expressed in the world.
Author
Hawa Hummingbird
Hawa is a Sufi healing practitioner, spiritual guide and mother whose work is rooted in lived experience, devotion and deep personal transformation. Drawing from Sufi Spiritual Healing, breath and bodywork, sacred sound and Holy Hijama Therapy, she offers compassionate spaces for healing, remembrance and reconnection to the Divine. Based at Home House Homestead in the Norfolk countryside, her path is one of surrender, simplicity and the unfolding journey of the heart.