Choosing Your Retreat

  • No.

    Complete beginners are welcome. Meditation is much simpler than people expect. Its simplicity is part of what makes it so powerful. It is not always easy, but it is simple, and with the support of a group, it is very possible—even if you have tried to meditate before and decided you could not do it.

    Try one more time.

    We will give you instructions and introduce you to several different ways of meditating during your retreat.

    The minimum age to attend is 18.

  • All of our retreats are open to beginners, but some are gentler entry points than others.

    For most people with no meditation experience, Mindfulness on the River is a good place to begin. It is a talking retreat with periods of silence, so you can experience the rhythm of retreat without immediately entering several days of complete silence. It offers an introduction to meditation, mindful activity, and the Zoetic River environment while still leaving room for conversation and questions.

    After Mindfulness on the River, you might choose a Three-Day Silent Retreat or a Lucid Dreaming Retreat. Both offer a deeper experience of practice while providing more structure and support than a longer silent retreat. The Lucid Dreaming Retreat includes periods of silence along with dreamwork and meditation practices.

    A Dark Retreat can also be an entry point, but it is a more concentrated experience. It includes complete silence and periods of darkness, so it may be better suited to someone who already has some comfort with meditation, silence, or extended time away from ordinary stimulation.

    For someone who wants to gradually deepen their practice, one possible progression is:

    Mindfulness on the River

    A Three-Day Silent Retreat or Lucid Dreaming Retreat

    A Dark Retreat

    A Four-Day Silent Retreat

    A Five-Day Silent Retreat

    This is only a suggestion, not a requirement or a prerequisite system. You do not have to complete the retreats in this order, and you do not need previous retreat experience to attend any particular program.

    If you are unsure which retreat is right for you, please contact us before registering.

  • Probably not at every moment in everyone’s life.

    Silent retreat can be challenging as well as restorative. If you are currently experiencing a severe psychological crisis, suicidal thoughts, significant psychological instability, or an extraordinarily traumatic or difficult period in your life, this may not be the right time for an intensive silent retreat.

    If you’re unsure, please contact us before registering.

  • Zoetic River is non-denominational.

    We don’t teach religious or political beliefs. We may use stories, terminology, practices, or ideas drawn from philosophical, scientific, and contemplative traditions when they illuminate the practice.

    You don’t have to believe anything.

    We are interested in practice and direct experience. We don’t need to know what you believe to know that we all have some very important things in common.

  • We teach several approaches to meditation, with a foundation in insight meditation, mindfulness, and Zen practice. Our teaching is also influenced by Stoic philosophy, contemporary philosophy, neuroscience, and contemplative tools and traditions both old and new.

    Our facilitators are experienced meditators at different points along the path, with different viewpoints and belief systems. That means they can offer different perspectives and different doorways into practice.

    We are all lifelong students.

    We would love to believe that we can create the experience for you, but ultimately we can’t.

    The most important teacher here isn’t the person sitting at the front of the room.

    It is the silence, your commitment to the practice, your willingness to follow the schedule, and your own direct experience.

    Those things will ultimately have more to do with the experience you have here than who leads a particular session.

  • During our Dark Retreats, guests are issued specialized masks that completely block visible light.

    While wearing the mask, you participate in guided meditation sessions in darkness.

    You are always in control of the mask. You can remove it at any time, and you can leave a darkness session whenever you choose.

    No previous meditation or darkness-retreat experience is required, although guests should understand that Dark Retreats are fully silent and include periods of darkness.

    Dark Retreats include multiple guided darkness sessions throughout the retreat rather than requiring participants to remain in darkness continuously. Between darkness sessions, optional activities may include meditation, river experiences, art sessions, guided nature experiences, and hikes.

Silence & Practice

  • Noble Silence is deliberate silence in all the ways we communicate.

    Because we communicate through much more than words, we also step away from eye contact, gestures, holding doors for one another, and the little social courtesies we normally use to acknowledge each other.

    This isn’t about being unfriendly.

    For a little while, no one has to take care of anyone else’s experience. You don’t have to smile, acknowledge, respond, make conversation, or wonder what anyone else is thinking.

    The silence itself becomes part of the practice—a tool and, ultimately, a teacher.

    If you need something, you can always communicate with us. Notebooks and pens are available throughout the property so you can write a note to a facilitator. If there is an emergency, please use your voice and let us know immediately.

  • Noble Silence formally begins at the end of the opening ceremony and ends at the conclusion of the closing ceremony.

    But you don’t have to wait.

    You are welcome to enter silence the moment you arrive, and you are welcome to remain in silence as you leave. There is never an expectation that you socialize simply because talking is permitted.

    How you enter and exit silence is up to you.

  • Sitting periods are generally about 30–40 minutes. Sessions usually begin at the top of the hour, with approximately 20 minutes between periods.

    Sitting and walking meditation alternate. When a session is designated as sitting, the emphasis is on stillness. When it is designated as walking, the emphasis is on active movement and the sensations of moving.

    Some sessions are guided. Others are completely silent.

    Mornings tend to have more structure. As the day progresses, we loosen that structure and spend more time outside.

    We also practice mindful eating, but we’re not going to explain that one ahead of time.

    You’ll find out.

  • Absolutely not.

    You can meditate in whatever position works for your body. We provide traditional meditation cushions, floor chairs, and regular chairs.

    Meditation is not about sitting perfectly still while you’re in pain.

    Part of the practice can be learning to meet a manageable amount of discomfort rather than immediately reacting to it. But pain is not the goal, and you are always allowed to move or change position.

  • No.

    You may skip a session, rest in your room, walk outside, or take care of yourself in whatever way you need.

    However, we strongly recommend following the schedule if you want to have the experience the retreat was designed to provide.

    The schedule isn’t there simply to keep you busy. Your commitment to the practice and the structure is an important part of what makes retreat different from spending a quiet weekend alone.

    We do require guests to check in during the designated arrival period and attend the opening ceremony.

  • During a silent retreat, we ask guests not to read, journal, draw, make art, listen to music, take photographs, knit, or do other handwork in the common areas.

    The practice is simplicity—being with your own immediate experience rather than continually giving the mind something else to do.

    What you do privately in your own room is up to you. We don’t police people’s private spaces. However, we strongly recommend continuing the practice there as well.

  • That’s one of the things people worry about before coming.

    Another is that they won’t be able to sleep.

    Those concerns generally haven’t matched what people tell us about their experience once they’re here.

    There is a difference between having nothing to do and finally having enough space to notice what is already happening.

Rooms, Meals & What to Bring

  • All guest rooms are private unless you specifically choose to share a suite with someone.

    Our suites have private bathrooms.

    Our four private single rooms share a bathroom bank with two bathrooms and two showers, shared among a maximum of four guests.

    Linens and towels are provided, and all bedrooms are climate-controlled.

    First-floor rooms are available for guests who cannot comfortably manage stairs.

  • You may attend together, and you may share a suite if you choose.

    We generally discourage sharing a room during a silent retreat because maintaining Noble Silence with someone you know can be harder than people expect.

    But we allow you to discover that for yourself.

    During Noble Silence, people who arrive together practice independently just like everyone else.

  • Everything served at Zoetic River is vegetarian.

    Our meals emphasize healthy, seasonal food, with organic ingredients when available. Vegan and gluten-free options are plentiful.

    Please tell us about food allergies or dietary needs before you arrive, and we will do our best to accommodate them.

    You are welcome to bring supplemental food for yourself if you need it, but all food brought onto the property must be vegetarian.

    Coffee and tea are available.

  • Not much.

    We provide almost everything you need for the retreat, including linens, towels, meditation equipment, yoga mats, life jackets, sunscreen, bug spray, and many of the practical things people assume they need to pack.

    Bring comfortable clothes that allow you to breathe and move easily, and pack for the weather.

    For retreats involving the river, bring sturdy river shoes if you have them and whatever you like to swim in. Athletic, or quick dry clothing works well.

    Please bring any medications you normally take and any allergy medication you may need, just in case.

    You’re also welcome to bring your own water bottle and hot-drink cup.

    We’re casual here. Wear what you want.

  • Six miniature goats, two giant Flemish rabbits, and Yonggi, our outdoor cat, live here too.

    Guests are welcome to interact with them.

    If you would like to bring an emotional support animal, please contact us before registering. Animal requests are considered case by case.

    Service animals are welcome.

Safety, Accessibility & Support

  • You are not trapped in silence.

    You can request a check-in with one of the retreat facilitators at any time. A check-in might simply mean taking a walk together and having a private conversation.

    You can rest in your room. You can retrieve your phone. And you can leave the retreat early if you decide that’s what you need.

    Silence is a practice you are choosing to enter.

  • We have a safe where phones are securely stored during the retreat.

    Your phone is still yours. You may ask for it back at any time.

    If someone at home needs to be able to reach you in an emergency, we provide a Zoetic River contact number that is monitored during retreats.

  • We have several types of rooms available to rent. There are private rooms we call Monk Suites with a shared bathroom.

    There is a large room with two queen-size beds and copious amounts of natural light.

    There is a large private bedroom with a desk in front of a big window.

    We also have a tiny house a little ways away from the main lodge for those who want even more privacy and seclusion in nature. The tiny house has a half kitchen, but you will have to walk to the main house to shower.

    View More information

  • You don’t have to be particularly athletic to attend.

    Some optional river activities require the ability to carry approximately 30 pounds. Some hikes involve walking for 5–10 minutes at a time over uneven ground.

    If you can’t do those things, you can still participate in meditation and art sessions, sit with the animals, and enjoy the river from more accessible areas such as the dock.

    We have regular chairs and floor chairs for meditation, first-floor rooms for guests who cannot manage stairs, and we can bring meals to a guest when necessary.

    If you have accessibility needs, contact us before your retreat so we can talk about what will work for you.

  • Life jackets are provided, and all river activities are optional.

    The river is nature, not an amusement park. We have to flow with the weather and the conditions we are given. We cannot promise that every planned river activity will happen.

    Safety comes first.

  • No.

    Alcohol and recreational substances are not permitted during retreats. Zoetic River is an alcohol-free property, including during private events.

    Smoking or vaping is permitted only in the designated area.

Registration & Arrival

  • Yes.

    We offer one scholarship space for every silent retreat for someone who otherwise could not afford to attend.

    You do not need to prove financial hardship or explain your circumstances to us.

    Scholarship arrangements may be completely free, pay-what-you-can, or include helping us with retreat cleanup.

    Simply complete the scholarship form HERE

    We want financial circumstances to be as small a barrier as we can reasonably make them..

  • Our standard cancellation policy determines whether a registration is refundable.

    When a registration is no longer eligible for a refund, we will often work with guests to transfer their registration to another retreat when possible.

    Zoetic River cancellation policy:

        •    60+ days before retreat start: 100% of deposit refunded

        •    30–59 days before retreat start: 50% of deposit refunded

        •    0–29 days before retreat start: 0% of deposit refunded

    Cancellations can be made within 48 hours of booking.

  • Please plan to arrive during the designated check-in period.

    If something happens and you expect to arrive late, contact us as soon as possible. Late arrivals are handled case by case.

  • Once the silent retreat begins, we ask you to remain on the property for its duration.

    If you decide to leave the property, your retreat has ended, and you cannot leave and then return to the same retreat.

    Part of retreat is temporarily stepping out of ordinary life and allowing yourself to stay inside the experience.