Every silent meditation retreat is different — even if you attend the same retreat multiple times. The most important attitude to have in a silent retreat is to let go of expectations. A spirit of openness to what unfolds is essential to welcoming a retreat experience.

Your hosts, Grace & Aaron, have over a decade of experience leading people through their personal transformation of trauma-informed practices, meditation and silent retreats. We start with the basics of orienting towards our physical bodies, emotions and mental patterns, build a context for staying centered in these embodied awareness throughout the retreat. Practices are accessible for most, and include gentle movement, walking and sitting/lying down meditation practices.

Our silent retreat atmosphere is a safe space for you to try out different practices and somatic unwinding which invite a holistic experience of yourself. There’s no expectation that you do anything “right” or that you can even sit still. We practice together and increase our stamina in the practice with the support of our silent community. Your humanness is welcome — exactly as you are.

We’ll have several hours to share, reflect on and integrate your retreat experience on the last day, and we highly encourage everyone to witness each other's process and share your experience. This is sometimes the most profound session of the whole retreat after being in silence with fellow students.

In addition to practices of how we relate to ourselves in silence, the theme of our retreat is a deep contemplation on unrested labor, lynching and dismantling oppression in America. One of our modalities to explore this expansive topic is with large visual images of the erased history of lynching. We want to do this collectively (in community/village) to create a thoughtful interruption to the historical white look-away from culture shaping terror that lynching has perpetuated and still continues in 2024. 

Please note that this is not an intro to racism event. If you have not already done a course on racism in America or started looking at your own responses to whiteness, you may want to invest time into those practices first before embarking on our silent container. 

There is an incubation in silence that brings surprisingly loud echoes and multi-faceted awareness. This container of silence is offered to provide an uninterrupted 3 days of being with your own material in an undistracted container. In contrast, we usually drop into workshops for a few hours, or perhaps read a book or listen to a podcast for a limited period of time, and then go back to our filtered societal gaze. Whereas sometimes we may be able to (depending on our heritage) pause or opt-out from the reality of Black carnage in America in other settings, our weekend together will offer an extended period of time to just be with what is, what arises, and how we feel. Again, without fixing or doing, just being.

Our Grief to Action Retreat is created to intimately experience what integrated practice is and to feel the inner transformation it can bring when combined with inner and outer silence. We offer trauma-informed practices centered on connecting with the energies that move through and around us. Practices may come from a variety of traditions, some spiritual or therapeutic, but without any dogma or belief or faith. All religious and spiritual backgrounds, faiths and lifestyles are welcome. The atmosphere is one of love and strong spiritual support.

No previous meditation experience is necessary as this silent retreat is designed to be accessible for all.

Silence starts with not talking… but it’s so much more.

We start with the intention to not talk or communicate once we set our container and begin the retreat. You are welcome to write notes to retreat leaders or support staff when you have questions or need assistance. Otherwise, we ask there to be no communication between guests, including not looking at other people’s faces, not making eye contact and not touching others. This may seem strict, but it opens the gateway to really focus internally, the whole point of a silent retreat. Once you get into the rhythm, you’ll be grateful for the space away from pleasing people or worrying about how they’ll react to you.

We ask all guests to maintain this noble silence throughout the retreat, which includes: no books, no electronics, no music, no phones or devices or other distractions. Again, this might feel extreme. The point is to not let yourself go to any distraction from what you’re really experiencing in the present moment. If taking a few days away from social media scares you, then you’re very ready for this journey.

We do encourage journaling to assist in the processing of your experience.

If you’ve never experienced the intimacy of silence — especially in today’s fast-paced, notification pinging, constant news driven, social media addicted, instant gratification world — you’ll never forget the spaciousness it brings. You’ll leave with more inner and outer love, tools to calm and center yourself, an understanding of what it means to let go, practices for deeper connection with other people, and the ability to be more present, conscious and to let go.

You will be given a retreat emergency contact number to share with loved ones should an emergent need arise.

All of our practices are designed to be accessible as possible — for diverse bodies, hearts and minds. This silent meditation retreat can be a wonderful place to begin a practice of meditation, as we will learn different practices you can experiment with and take home the ones that fit.

As a more experienced meditator, you’ll have the opportunity to start with a depth of self-awareness and tune in to the practices on an embodied level from the first day. Our orientation in the Grief to Action Retreat is on integration — making our meditation practice a place where we can metabolize the realities of oppression around us and move through big energies and beliefs. Therefore, any previous meditation experience will be supportive in your own inner work.

The Grief to Action Sanctuary is located about 45 minutes away from the Ontario airport in the High Desert with an elevation of 4,000 feet. We may be able to arrange airport pickups from Ontario if you are not bringing a vehicle. You can let us know on your application and registration form if you are in need of local transportation support.  

Group sessions will be both inside and outside. The desert can vary in temperature, and in the fall can still be extremely hot and can get very cold and windy. We encourage you to bring hats, sunscreen and layers so that you can find comfort and be able to turn inward. Bring a water bottle and reusable thermos/tea cup so you can stay hydrated as well. Drinking water is provided.

Grief to Action includes 11 acres of land, most of which is bare desert land. The buildings are simple and rustic, and Grief to Action prioritizes earth building and using natural structures whenever possible. 

For this retreat, accommodations will be camping or BYO vehicles to sleep in. We have a few tents that can be shared with guests, and guests will need to provide their own bedding. There are also a few indoor places to sleep if needed.  Note: we do not recommend large RV’s as the shared space for accommodation is limited and there are no RV hookups. Vans or SUV's are fine, as well as tent camping. 

All food is provided and there is fridge/cooler space if you’d like to supplement with your own snacks or dietary needs.

Our retreat will be both indoors and outdoors in the high desert of Southern California. Participants will need the ability to move over dirt ground and up a wheelchair accessible ramp into the indoor space to be able to access all of the sessions and the kitchen. 

A few more things to be aware of: 

Restrooms – Both indoor and outdoor toilets will be available. 

Showers – There is one outdoor shower that all guests will share.

Group sessions will be both inside and outside. Indoors there will be benches and cushions to sit on. Outdoors there are a chairs and benches. We invite you to bring what you need to sit comfortably for 3 days (blankets, cushions, meditation bench, etc.). Much of our practice will be movement oriented, too.

We will offer daily movement as a meditative practice focused on orienting inward through the energy and movements of the body. It is accessible for most bodies and modifiable for any injuries or conditions. Don’t worry about whether you’re experienced at different movement modalities or flexible.

Our onsite cook will lovingly prepare three meals a day (vegetarian base with an option of meat for some meals), plus a variety of snacks. Our meals will include sustainably sourced meat, vegetables, fruit, grains, and dairy options on the side. We'll do our best to accommodate restricted diets, including vegan and gluten free — please let us know your food needs and preferences on your registration form. For highly restricted diets you may need to supplement your own meals. We do ask that everyone bring snacks, as needed.

We will serve lovingly prepared organic, vegetarian meals. We will do our best to accommodate restricted diets, including vegan and gluten free – you will need to let us know preferences on your registration form. For highly restricted diets you may need to supplement your own meals. A refrigerator will be available to store your personal items. We do ask that everyone bring snacks, as needed.

A list will be provided after registration. You don’t need to bring anything to “do,” just the things that support you in being.

The desert can vary in temperature, and in the fall can still be extremely hot and can get very cold and windy. We encourage you to bring hats, sunscreen and layers so that you can find comfort and be able to turn inward. Bring a water bottle and reusable thermos/tea cup so you can stay hydrated as well. Drinking water is provided.