And it's not just for the pic-a-nic baskets

I've been through a job loss or two, and I can attest that it can have a jarring impact on your life - especially if you've led a sheltered life and don't believe that it will ever happen to you. Probably the worst time in my life was when I was unemployed and even unable to get temporary work.

When people go through such emotions, it's no surprise that people turn to spiritual sources for help. The New York Times elaborates:

Shortly after Steven Odnoha lost his job at Intel, he drove three days from Rio Rancho, N.M., to the Himalayan Institute in Honesdale, Pa. For months, Mr. Odnoha had been wondering how he could get the time off to join a yearlong meditation program at the nonprofit yoga retreat. His pink slip, in September 2007, provided the answer....

The Himalayan Institute is one of many retreats where cash-strapped spiritual seekers can participate in work-study programs in which they pay typically $300 to $900 a month in exchange for a few hours a day of service, like washing dishes, cleaning rooms or weeding gardens....

The Himalayan Institute received twice as many applications for its summer work-study programs this year as last — its August session is full, with 22 people, compared with 11 last year — and so did two similar retreats, Tassajara Zen Mountain Center in Carmel Valley, Calif., and Satchidananda Ashram in Buckingham, Va. (which is better known as Yogaville).

The article briefly explores the motivations of some of the people who have gone to the retreats for a weekend, or a month, or a year.