A Residential Meditation Retreat with Oren Jay Sofer and Matthew Brensilver
How can we live with an open heart and a clear mind? What is the relationship between wisdom and love? Though wisdom practices are often distinguished from practices for kindness and compassion, Buddhist psychology suggests a powerful connection between them. In Insight Meditation, we practice resting, looking deeply, and knowing moment-by-moment what it’s like to be human. The more deeply we connect with experience, the more reason we find to love.
This four-day, residential retreat will integrate traditional insight and heart practices. Our retreat will provide a structured immersion in meditation practice, guided instructions, small group practice meetings, Qi Gong and Dharma talks. All are welcome.
Registration and Logistics
This retreat is now full. We encourage you to join the waitlist at the link below. If you have questions, about the retreat. please check the FAQ further below before emailing us.
Opening: Please arrive to check in from 3:00-5:00pm PT, Wednesday May 31.
Closing: Retreat closes by 11:30am PT, Sunday, June 4 (optional lunch to follow).
Cost: $385 - $450 (depending on housing) Registration fees cover room, board, and basic expenses for running the retreat. This does not include donations for the teachers. (Read more about donations here; all donations will be shared equally by the teachers.)
Meals: Your registration fees include three vegetarian meals per day, beginning with dinner on opening day and an optional lunch on closing day.
Housing and Accessibility:
Housing options for this retreat are: double rooms, a six-bed dorm, and camping sites. Please choose your preferred housing option when you register. Most indoor rooms have twin beds; any rooms with double beds will be prioritized for people with larger bodies. Several of the double rooms are wheelchair accessible, in a building with a wheelchair-accessible washroom; one room has direct access to that washroom. Note that the campus is on a hill, with paved roads accessing all buildings.
The six dorm beds are for anyone who identifies as a woman (including trans women). We have designated the dorm as women only due to the higher percentage of participants that identified as women in our past residential meditation retreats, and who expressed a preference to room with other women.
If you require any specific access considerations, or have ny other accessibility needs not mentioned here, please email us at admin@orenjaysofer.com before registering to ensure an accessible space is still available and that we can accommodate your needs.
Health and Safety Requests for COVID19
In order to protect one another’s health, and the safety of those most vulnerable:
We require that all participants be fully vaccinated for COVID19 (a primary series of shots plus at least one booster).
We ask that you limit unmasked indoor activities for at least one week prior to the retreat, to reduce the chances of contracting COVID19.
Please bring a rapid antigen test with you. All staff and participants will test upon arrival. (We will have a few extra if you cannot obtain one)
Masks will be optional indoors and outdoors.
Details: Since our COVID protocol will make masks optional indoors and outdoors, we ask that you take extra care to avoid contracting the virus in the week prior to the retreat. Please reduce your exposure or wear a mask when you are indoors with large groups of people. For example, if you are flying to the retreat location, please remain masked for the duration of your travel. Thank you for your consideration.
Note: Should the trajectory of the virus change dramatically, we reserve the right to change COVID policies as necessary.
Retreat is currently full. Please add your name to the waitlist; we expect at least a few spots to open.
About the Teachers
Oren Jay Sofer
Oren Jay Sofer teaches workshops and retreats on meditation and communication nationally. A member of the Spirit Rock Teachers Council, he holds a degree in Comparative Religion from Columbia University, is a Somatic Experiencing practitioner for healing of trauma, and is a certified trainer of Nonviolent Communication. Oren is also the author of Say What You Mean: A Mindful Approach to Nonviolent Communication and the forthcoming book Your Heart Was Made For This.
Matthew Brensilver
Matthew Brensilver, PhD, is a member of the Guiding Teachers Executive Group and Teachers Council at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. For more than a decade, he taught for Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Society. He lectures at UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center about the intersections between mindfulness and mental health. Matthew has a background in research on addiction pharmacotherapy and is interested in the unfolding dialogue between dharma and science. He is the co-author, with Oren, of two books on mindfulness for adolescents.
Frequently Asked Questions
I need to do some work during the retreat. Can I still attend?
We ask all participants to disengage from work, social activities, and other duties as much as possible during the retreat. This is a silent meditation retreat, which includes refraining from all email, social media, internet and cell phone communication. As part of the registration process you will be asked whether you agree to refrain from using electronic devices during the retreat, to support the development of concentration and insight in the retreat environment.
If I can’t use my cell phone, what happens if there’s a family emergency?
After registering, retreat participants will receive an emergency number that your loved ones can use to contact you during the retreat if something unexpected happens.
I need to miss part of the retreat. Can I still attend?
No, we ask that participants commit to the entire retreat from beginning to end (three full days and two part-days).
Are there pre-requisites? I’ve never attended a silent meditation retreat. Is this appropriate for me?
This retreat will introduce you to the foundations of Insight Meditation and lovingkindness. You will be practicing primarily in silence with guidance from the teachers interspersed throughout the day. There are no pre-requisites to attend this retreat and meditators of all levels/experience are welcome. That said, we generally recommend that you attend at least one or more daylong meditation retreats before doing a multi-day retreat like this one. This will give you a sense of both the challenges and rewards of putting aside all other activities and distractions and committing to the retreat structure.
Is vaccination required for attendance?
Yes, all participants must have had a primary series and at least one booster shot (e.g., the primary series of two Pfizer shots and at least one additional booster shot).
What happens if I test positive for COVID when I arrive, or I get sick during the retreat?
If you test positive for COVID19 on arrival, you will be unable to attend the retreat and will need to make your own arrangements to self-isolate elsewhere. Unfortunately we do not have the ability or resources to provide space for self-isolation. Accordingly, we ask that you come to the retreat prepared with a plan for self-isolation should you test positive on arrival or during the retreat. This plan should include places you could stay and travel arrangements for how to get there (that minimizes exposure to others). If you are traveling from a distance for the retreat, you may want to consider self-administering a COVID antigen test 24 hours prior to the retreat before traveling.
If you experience symptoms of any new illness during the retreat, you will need to notify the retreat manager and/or teachers and take another rapid test. If you test positive for COVID-19, we you will need to make arrangements to leave the retreat in order to protect the health and safety of other participants. If you tested positive, other retreat participants would be informed that there was a positive test result. We would not cancel the retreat for the remaining participants, but would implement a fresh round of rapid tests and wellness monitoring.
What is the cost of the retreat?
We have a sliding scale based on housing requests and disability accommodation: camp site = $385; dorm (six occupants) = $400; double room (two occupants) = $450. If you need a wheelchair-accessible room please email us at admin@orenjaysofer.com before you register. If you require wheelchair access and have difficulty paying the full rate for a double room, please email us and we will give you a special discount code to pay the same price as a camp site ($385).
Are there single rooms available?
If you have a medical need for a single room, please contact us as early as possible to let us know the extenuating circumstances. If there is still space we will assign you to a double room on your own. As this affects how many people can participate in the retreat, you would need to pay an additional $100 for this option so we can still cover retreat costs.
Do retreat fees provide support for the teachers?
No, we are offering this retreat based solely on the cost of the retreat rental, food, and administrative costs. If you wish, you can support the teachers with a donation at the end of the retreat.
If I choose the camping alternative, will gear be provided?
No, if you choose the camping option, please bring all the gear necessary for sleeping as if you were going on a camping trip. You will still have meals indoors (so don’t need a camping stove or food prep equipment) and have access to the same indoor bathrooms and showers as other retreat participants. Tent sites are bare earth (no wooden platforms).
I’m doing this retreat with my partner or a friend - can we tent or room together?
Couples and friends are welcome to do the retreat together. However we discourage people who know each other from tenting or rooming together to support noble silence. Each person needs to register separately, but please do indicate in the registration form if you know someone else who is attending, so we can take this into consideration when assigning rooms.
Who will I be sharing a space with? How are housing spaces assigned?
Those camping will be tenting alone and may choose their tent site upon arrival. For indoor housing, we ask about room-sharing needs and preferences as part of the registration process. We prioritize disability access accommodations, then will do our best to accommodate other requests around room-sharing on a first-come, first-served basis.
What is your cancellation and refund policy?
In order to make retreats accessible to as many people as possible, a full refund (less $50 cancellation fee) is only available if you cancel before May 10th. A 50% refund is available if you cancel between May 10th and May 17th. After May 17th, no refund is available.
Will the talks be recorded and available after the retreat?
To reduce the administrative work on our small team, we are not planning to record the talks and teachings from this retreat.
Is there a shuttle to the retreat center or how else can I get there?
The Retreat Center is at 1000 Hubbard Gulch Road, Ben Lomond, CA. A map is available here and directions may be viewed online here. To reduce environmental impact and expense, we encourage people to carpool to the retreat. This is self-organized among participants; we can’t arrange it for you. After registering, you will get access to a ride sharing document where people can post if they can offer a ride or are seeking a ride. There is a bus that runs between the Metro Center in downtown Santa Cruz and Boulder Creek, further north of Quaker Center on Highway 9. The closest stop to the Retreat Center is about one mile away. If you can’t walk that distance, we can ask someone driving to offer to pick you up.
Is this retreat wheelchair accessible?
Yes, all buildings are wheelchair-accessible and there is an accessible washroom and shower. There are a limited number of wheelchair-accessible rooms, so please email us at admin@orenjaysofer.com before you register to ensure a wheelchair-accessible space is still available and that we can accommodate your needs. Note that the campus is on a hill, with paved roads accessing all buildings.
I have chemical sensitivity, will this retreat be workable for me?
We will do our best to make the retreat a scent-free environment. We ask all participants to refrain from using scented products during the retreat, including scented shampoos, conditioners, lotions, essential oils, colognes, perfumes, etc. and will use fragrance-free cleaning products during the retreat. If anyone uses a topical medication that does not come in a fragrance-free option, we ask that they contact us ahead of time so we can discuss how to balance accessibility needs.
What are the bathroom and shower arrangements?
There are multiple washroom and shower facilities throughout the retreat center. Each of these are shared all-gender spaces, with private stalls so you have privacy while toileting or showering.
What does the retreat provide, and what would I need to bring myself?
We will provide three vegetarian meals each day, starting with dinner the night the retreat opens and an optional lunch after the retreat closes. We will have gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan options (if requested when you register). The retreat center will provide pillows, blankets, hand soap, and toilet paper. You will need to bring:
Your own zafu, meditation cushion, and/or sitting pillow for a chair. The venue does NOT have meditation pillows. Be sure to bring your own sitting gear.
A bathrobe and flip-flops or shower shoes.
Your own bed linens, towels, and toiletries.
Clothing: light layers for heat during the day, warm layers or a shawl, a pair of warm socks or slippers, and comfortable shoes if you’d like to take advantage of the trails. Note that there are no guest laundry facilities at the retreat center.
Water bottle, mug, or tumbler – with a lid that closes tightly.
Optional: Yoga mat, or anything else that helps your body feel alive and vital.
Optional: If you have special food needs that we can’t accommodate, feel free to bring a small amount of your own food to supplement what we provide.
We ask people to refrain from bringing laptop computers, scented products, alcohol, or recreational drugs. To support the clarity of the retreat container, we ask that all participants refrain from any use of marijuana, including medical marijuana, unless you have obtained explicit permission from the teachers for a specific medical need.
What is a typical day like?
The schedule generally revolves around sitting and walking meditation through the day. Most of the day is held in silence. We wake around 6 am, have periods of guided meditation and silent meditation, reflections from the teachers and opportunities to ask questions. Bedtime is approximately 9 pm although the meditation hall will remain open for anyone wishing to practice longer. Participants will have ample opportunities to ask questions and receive personalized guidance for their meditation from the teachers.