Personal Retreats

Retreats: Personal Retreats and Themed Retreats

Here at Magnolia Grove Monastery, we offer two kinds of retreats: Personal Retreats and Themed Retreats.

Regardless of the length of retreat you choose, we invite you to join us for a deep experience of mindful living as we continue to celebrate the wonders of life and the joy of living mindfully in the present moment. This is a wonderful opportunity to truly come home: to rest, refresh, heal, and cultivate mindfulness in daily life. Join the community of monastics and lay practitioners in following the daily rhythm and practice schedule of the monastery. We are open for individuals, couples, families, and small groups. Please kindly note that the duration of your stay will depend upon whether the monastery is open and this availability is provided on our calendar.

For a Personal Retreat, please arrive on a Friday between 3-5 pm CT.
For a Themed Retreat, please arrive on the opening day of that retreat (a separate retreat description is posted closer to the themed retreat dates) between 2-5 pm CT.

We ask everyone to arrange to arrive in the slot of time mentioned to settle in before our 6:00 pm Dinner and 7:30 pm Orientation. Please understand that we may not be able to accommodate late arrivals. (We would appreciate it if you could arrange accordingly.)

Please register in advance. For a Personal Retreat, we ask that you register at least by Monday for your arrival in the week following that Monday to help us have ample time to plan and prepare for your visit.
You may not be allowed to stay if you arrive without having registered in advance. Your timely registration supports a myriad of teams: our office team, guest team, kitchen team and meditation hall team to prepare for your arrival in a timely manner.

Practical Information:

Please note that for Personal Retreats, not all Fridays are arrival days and not all arrival days are available for one or two-week retreats. See our calendar on our registration page for the latest information.
Please register for your retreat a few weeks in advance in order to have enough time to receive and read through all confirmation information.

To support stability in our practice, we observe designated arrival and departure days. All Personal Retreats start on Friday afternoon with a check-in time between 3:00-5:00 pm. Please arrange to arrive during check-in time. One and two week-long retreats end on Fridays, typically after 7:30 am breakfast. Weekend stays end on Sunday around 2 pm, following our Day of Mindfulness schedule. Themed retreats also end around 2 pm, following lunch. If you need to leave earlier on closing day of your retreat, this is no problem – and kindly ask to let us know so that we can plan our meals accordingly.

Personal Retreats

Tend to be a smaller group with an average of less than 30 retreatants each week. Personal Retreats offer a glimpse into our monastic everyday schedule and have a variety of options: a Weekend, One Week, One Week + a Weekend, and Two Weeks.

Personal Retreat sample schedule

5:00 AM – Wake Up
5:30 AM – Sitting Meditation
6:45 AM – Exercise time/Walking Meditation
7:30 AM – Breakfast
9:00 AM – Working Meditation/Dharma talk
11:00 AM – Walking Meditation/Personal Practice Time
12:00 PM – Lunch with the Five Contemplations
1:30 PM – Mindful rest period
3:00 PM – Working Meditation/Dharma talk
5:00 PM – Sitting and Chanting Meditation
6:00 PM – Dinner
7:30 PM – Orientation/Circle Sharing/Personal study time
9:30 PM – Noble Silence
10:30 PM – Lights out and bedtime

Important Information

Due to the ever changing situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, we ask for your understanding and support whenever Magnolia Grove Monastery deems that immediate closure is necessary to ensure the health and safety of our monastics and lay friends. We strongly suggest that registered guests get travel insurance and/or refundable travel tickets, as we may not be able to give much notice before an imminent closure. In the case that the monastery closes prior to your arrival, your registration payment would be fully refunded as quickly as conditions allow.

If you have symptoms and test positive for Covid-19 during your stay at the monastery, we kindly request you to return home to care for yourself.

Pets

Due to our communal life where we aspire to make this a safe space for everyone, including friends with allergies or cynophobia, we request that you leave your pets at home.

What to Bring – Overnight Guests

If you are planning to stay overnight, you are encouraged to bring basic items necessary for your comfort. An example may be:

Water bottle
Flashlight
Alarm clock
Towel
Insect repellent
Personal items such as your toiletries
Umbrella
Good walking or hiking shoes
Warm clothing and footwear, particularly for winter months
Sun hat in the summer
Bedding or sleeping bag
(We only provide a bottom fitted sheet, a pillow case and a pillow.)
Good ear plugs, eye mask, small reading light, Breathe Right Nasal strips
Camping equipment (e.g., tent, sleeping pad, etc.), if camping

Pricing for a Personal Retreat

We do not want the cost of our retreat to prevent or discourage anyone from participating in our retreats. If you cannot attend a retreat due to the cost, please do not hesitate to ask for a reduction.

DORM/CABIN bed in a shared room $80 per night
TENT/RV/COMMUTER $50 per night.
(For RV camping: unfortunately we do not have any electrical or water hookups available. You are welcome to come with your RV, but please prepare for dry camping accordingly.)

Payment

A 20% discount for seniors (over 64) and young adults (under 27), 30% discount for teens (under 18), and 40% discount for children (under 13) is automatically applied when you register. There is no charge for children under 6. For students who require financial assistance, please mention this in the Notes section at the bottom of the registration form. For anyone else who requires financial assistance, please contact our office.

If you are put on the waiting list, do not make a payment. If you are accepted, we will send a payment link.

* If you need a ride or can offer a ride, please click here to fill out this Google form. We will try our best to coordinate friends arriving on the same day to the monastery and send you a confirmation 3-5 days before the retreat starts.

Themed Retreats

Tend to be a larger group ranging from 50-100+ retreatants. A Themed Retreat lasts for 5 days and has a particular theme: Family Retreat, Silent Retreat, Holiday Retreat… etc. We require all participants to attend the entire 5 days without exception. If you are unable to attend the entire duration, we kindly ask you to explore our Personal Retreats to opt for a Weekend or Day of Mindfulness instead.

Themed Retreat sample schedule

The schedule is similar to the Personal Retreat schedule but differs depending on the theme. Generally we have additional activities like Dharma Sharing in groups, Five Mindfulness Trainings Presentations, Beginning Anew Presentations, workshops… etc. We also offer a Children’s and Teens’ Programs for the Family and Holiday Retreats. Please refer to our calendar of events for Themed Retreats.