Wake Up Retreat 2025
The Way Out Is In
Mindfulness Retreat for Young Adults aged 18-35
Wednesday, May 7th to Sunday, May 11th, 2025.
Dear Friends,
You are warmly invited to join us for The Way Out Is In, a Wake Up Retreat for young adults aged 18-35, to come home to ourselves and touch the peace and freedom available in each moment. Guided by the teachings of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh and the collective energy of the beloved community, we will explore how mindfulness can help us embrace our challenges, cultivate joy, and nourish true connection as we navigate a meaningful direction in life as young adults. Instead of searching for life answers outside of us, together, we will look inside the depths of our being through our meditation practices.
Together, we will practice:
Sitting, walking, and eating meditation to cultivate true presence and inner peace.
Deep relaxation and mindful breathing to care for our body and mind.
Loving speech and deep listening to nurture understanding and harmony.
Dharma sharing to support and inspire one another on the path.
Reconnecting with nature through mindful walking and periods of silent contemplation.
We welcome young adults from all backgrounds, cultures, and experiences. In this retreat, we will celebrate our diversity as a source of strength, wisdom, and collective healing. By practicing together in an atmosphere of inclusivity and kindness, we create a space where everyone can feel seen, heard, and supported just as you are.
In the midst of daily pressures and uncertainty, we may feel lost or overwhelmed. Yet, as Thầy reminds us, the way out is not through struggle or escape, but by going deeply within—embracing ourselves with tenderness, healing, and collective insight.
This retreat is a wonderful opportunity to slow down, breathe, and rediscover the simple wonders of life.
Whether you are new to mindfulness or already walking solidly on this path, we invite you to come as you are, with an open heart and a beginner’s mind.
Let us practice together and co-create a space of healing, joy, and true presence.
We look forward to being with you!
With Love,
Wake Up Retreat Organizing Team
For more info about the Wake Up movement, please visit: https://wkup.org/about/
Some important information that might be helpful:
– Camping (bring your own tent/camper van): $ 240.00
– Commuter (staying in nearby accommodation): $ 240.00
– Bed in shared room (dorm/cabin): $ 400.00
If waitlisted, we will follow up about these options – and/or you may include your rooming preference with friends or family in the Notes section.
A 20% discount for young adults (under 27) is automatically included when you register. 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.
Due to the renovations of the main dining hall and kitchen, we are obliged to cap the number of registrations this year as we have limited space for indoor seating. All meals will take place at the Brothers’ Hamlet, situated in the forest below the Big Meditation Hall.
If you have any mobility issues, please speak to the office before registering.
As registrations for this retreat often fill up quickly, do not delay your registration if you would like to join us this year.
Due to the cap of 120 retreatants, the intimacy of the retreat will allow for a more personal experience with the monastics and other practitioners.
If you would like to contribute to the construction fund, please consider offering what you can here:
The retreat opens on May 7th with onsite arrival between 2 and 5 pm CT, and the retreat ends on May 11th after lunch.
There will be morning meditations, mindful meals, walking meditation, Dharma teachings, chanting, singing, group sharing, mindful services, Five Mindfulness Trainings transmission, and Noble Silence (a period of restful silence from night till the following morning).
All meals will be vegan. Please be sure to let us know in the Notes section if you have certain food allergies when you register.
Wake up
Morning Sitting Meditation; Sutra reading / Touching of the Earth
Breakfast
Mindful Service
Dharma Talk
Walking Meditation
Lunch
Deep Relaxation
Dharma Sharing
Personal Time / Private Consultation
Dinner
Evening Sitting Meditation / Presentation
Noble Silence
Ongoing construction: Please be aware that we currently have an open construction site for the renovation of the main dining hall and kitchen. To ensure everyone’s safety, please do not enter the construction zone. You are more than welcome to visit once the renovation is completed, hopefully by the end of this year!
Offer funds to support Magnolia Grove Monastery
Donations are processed on our behalf through the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation.
