Well Being Retreat Center
"Where Silence Is Expressed"
Well Being Retreat Center Events
Covid-19 Precautions: Even during these pandemic times, we are able to offer in-person retreats due to the uniqueness of our facilities. We have 12 separate cabins and three cabinettes. We limit occupancy to one person per cabin except for couples and mutually consenting friends. So we have a retreat capacity of 15 - 24 people. We can seat up to 24 people at six foot minimum spacing in our open-air Powell River Pavilion directly on the bank of the scenic Powell River. The Pavilion also has eight foot square picnic tables for socially distanced meals served from the outdoor take-out window from our commercial kitchen. Cabins are ozonated and rested between groups in addition to our normal thorough cleaning.
June 15, 2021 - 6:30 pm EST- "Tuesday Evening At-Home Retreat" with Don Oakley
Don Oakley will be speaking online talk Tuesday evening at 6:30 pm EST. These talks will be extemporaneous presentations with a brief guided meditation to begin and time for Q&A. All sessions are non-denominational and experientially based. More information on the upcoming Tuesday evening session can be found HERE.
Video Recordings of the previous sessions are on Don's YouTube Channel.
More information HERE
Wednesday June 16, 2021 online from 2:00 - 3:30 pm EST- "Well Being Shared Space" with Patty Bottari
Patty will host an online Zoom space in which participants in Don's Tuesday evening Satsangs can "meet" to share their thoughts, experiences, realization, challenges, and joys during this time of relative isolation. An invitation will be sent with the Zoom login link.
Please share from your own perspective, refrain from offering advice to others, and listen lovingly. Sometimes it is helpful to say things out loud - it helps to clarify our intentions - even to ourselves. It is also helpful to hear that what may seem like personal struggles may not be all that uncommon.
We are each on our own unique journey but we can learn and rejoice in the company of others. More information here
Jun 17 - 20, 2021 "An Ivy House Retreat" - with Corrine Champigny
Reconnect back to yourself with this three night profoundly restorative retreat led by Corrine Champigny from the Ivy House Retreat Center in Nashville. As we begin to move about in the world, now is the time to redefine what your life is going to look like. Will you go back into the busy, frenetic life you had before 2020 or are you ready to approach and in-joy life in a new way? Trained by Deepak Chopra, Corrine has over thirty years experience in the healing arts and specializes in helping people find balance in their lives through yoga, meditation and mindfulness, More information HERE.
July
July 9 - 11, 2021 "Exploring Our True Identity" a Well Being Weekend Retreat - with Don Oakley & Patty Bottari
This in-person weekend retreat will be led by Don Oakley & Patty Bottari will be held on the weekend of July 9 - 11, 2021 . The event will be held in the Powell River Pavilion, an open-air, covered Powell River Pavilion on the bank of the river. We have electric wraparound stadium blankets and electric foot warmer pads for everyone. Please plan to bring your own meals which can be stored and prepared in the cabins. Cabin occupancy is limited to one person except for couples and consenting cabin-mates. $125 including lodging. More information HERE.
July 23 - 25, 2021 The Art of Belonging Retreat with Chelsea Green
Chelsea Green will return to lead a weekend retreat of exploration at Well Being this July which will include meditation, art and Constellation work. Chelsea is an accomplished artist, Certified Meditation Instructor (C-MI) and holds a Masters degree in Counseling. More information HERE.
August
August 23 - 26, 2021 Creation's Way Retreat with Rahkwees Keh and Jon Patton (by invitation)
Rahkwees Keh, a Native American Tuscaloosa Elder, and Jon Patton, Managing Director of Stop-at-Nothing, Inc. will lead this dynamic three day retreat which will explore the "Fifth Way" and the connection between our inner world and our external experiences. More information HERE.
August 27 - 29, 2021 Silent Retreat with Alaya Dickinson
Alaya Dickinson will return from Asheville for her 7th retreat at Well Being Retreat Center August 27 - 29, 2021. Bask in Alaya's loving presence and clarity for a two-night silent retreat at Well Being Retreat Center where you will be well cared for, well fed, and have the opportunity to experience profound inner and outer silence. More info HERE.
September
September 20 - 24, 2021 HILS 3/4 Retreat with Stop-at-Nothing, Inc
This is a training event for those who have already taken High Impact Leadership Seminar Levels 1 & 2. For more information click HERE.
October
October 1 - 3, 2021 Harvesting Wisdom - AAIT Retreat with Melanie McGhee & David Patterson
Melanie McGhee, L.C.S.W. an award-winning author, psychotherapist, and the founder of Acceptance and Integration Therapy (AAIT™). and David Patterson, PhD, a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Teacher will lead this Nourishing Presence Retreat which will include Acceptance and Integration Training (AAIT) Retreat. More information HERE.
October 7 - 10, 2021 Yoga Retreat with Frankie Hart
Frankie Hart is a Yoga Teacher with over 10,000 hours of teaching experience. She has owned and operated Satya Life Yoga in Lakeland, Florida since 2004. Frankie leads Yoga Teacher Training certification programs yearly. She has been teaching the art of movement and healing for over thirty years. Her credentials include ERYT500, YACEP, RPYT, MFA, Master Level certified Qigong Instructor and Certified Lifeline Practitioner. More information on this 3-night retreat to follow.
October 14 - 17, 2021 T'ai Chi Retreat with Frankie Hart
Frankie Hart is a Yoga Teacher with over 10,000 hours of teaching experience. She has owned and operated Satya Life Yoga in Lakeland, Florida since 2004. Frankie leads Yoga Teacher Training certification programs yearly. She has been teaching the art of movement and healing for over thirty years. Her credentials include ERYT500, YACEP, RPYT, MFA, Master Level certified Qigong Instructor and Certified Lifeline Practitioner. More information on this 3-night retreat to follow.
October 21 - 24, 2021 Embodied Life & Feldenkrais Retreat with Brenda Rasch
Brenda Rasch is a licensed Physical Therapist, Feldenkrais® instructor and Healing Touch Instructor. This popular three-night retreat is a celebration of Embodied Life™ and will include body awareness practices, meditation, some river paddling, a fire ceremony, and much more. More information HERE or contact Brenda at 865-363-6416 or at .
October 28 - 31, 2021 The Joyfully Together Retreat with Leslie Rawls
Leslie Rawls (Chan Giac Xu) is a Dharma teacher in the Plum Village tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh, who has been her teacher for nearly 30 years. She has studied in his monasteries in Europe and North America and traveled with him to Vietnam. In 1995, Thich Nhat Hanh ordained Leslie into the Order of Interbeing. In 2009, he transmitted the Dharma Lamp to her, authorizing her to teach as a Dharmacharya. More details HERE.
YEAR 2022
March 16, 2022 - March 20, 2022 Retreat with Upali Upasaka (Paul Peterson)
Upasaka Upali (Paul Peterson) is a Chattanooga meditation teacher from a style that combines ancient meditation techniques with modern cognitive science. He has taught a wide array of meditators, from federal prison inmates to elementary school students. The Pragmatic Meditation Retreat is open to beginning and advanced practitioners alike. The only prerequisite to attend is a history of consistent meditation practice. It will largely be taught in the style of The Mind Illuminated by Upasaka Culadasa (Tucker Peck, PhD), but all traditions and styles of meditation are welcome. More information HERE.
NOTE: If you registered for last year's cancelled event and rolled your registration forward to 2022, you are due some money back because this is a shorter retreat. Please contact
April 27, 2022 - May 1, 2022 "Our Essential Thread" Retreat with Therese Fitzgerald
The retreat will be mostly in silence and is recommended for both beginning and experienced meditators who feel drawn to mindful living, contemplation, and inner work.
Therese Fitzgerald trained for eight years at the San Francisco and Tassajara Zen Centers and then with Thich Nhat Hanh for fifteen years. She was ordained as a Dharma teacher by Thich Nhat Hanh in 1994. Therese lives on the island of Maui, where she is a Dharma teacher and a hospice chaplain.
More information HERE