RETREATS
July 25-29 or July 25-31
About the Experience
Summertime in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont is magical. The sky opens, the hills glow green, the raspberries are ripe, and possibilities open up. It is the perfect time to drop into your inner being and explore the world of sacred meditation and music.
Join us in entering the depths of embodied knowledge within the interconnected web of existence. This sacred ritual focuses on the profound power of meditation and vibration, initiating you into the wisdom of the Self and the Universe. You will be guided by live intentional music combining voice and acoustic instrumentation, and we will create a safe container where all experiences are held and honored together.
You will have the choice of either one or two sacred meditations. Everyone will arrive on the land by Thursday, July 25th. For those choosing one meditation, the retreat will conclude after lunch on Monday, July 29 and for those choosing to do two meditations, the retreat will conclude after lunch on Wednesday, July 31.
Because this is a deep journey, all participants are invited to meet with Wendy individually to discuss readiness, preparation, intention and motivation. Having this personal connection will provide the container for your experience as well as a place to return to in the integration process. Once you register, Wendy will arrange a Zoom meeting and provide you with the preparation materials.
Music
Music is a portal to the divine. It can open archetypal realms of our consciousness to experience aspects of ourselves that might have been previously hidden to shed light on them and integrate them into wholeness. Most people have had experiences with music that make them feel something so delicate that words fall short of describing it. Some things can’t be talked about, but they must be lived, and music is one of the great facilitators of experience. In the ceremony, when our senses are so intensely heightened, music becomes the most essential guide to walk us through the chapters of our interior worlds.
For this reason, sound and music have played essential roles in practically all spiritual traditions throughout time. One of the oldest relics of ancient humanity is a bone flute. The first sense that develops in a foetus in the womb is hearing. Sound is essential to humans and hits something deep within us.
With a mixture of live acoustic sounds and a carefully curated playlist, you will be held and guided through the many hills and valleys of your inner landscape. All the live components will be improvised to match your energy and guide you where you need to go. The sounds will not always be comfortable; sometimes, it is necessary to shake things up inside to clean them out, though rest assured you will be held safely to do the inner work and make it through to the many chapters that will also be beautiful, delicate, and full of light.
Meals
All meals are included in the price of the retreat and will be organic and locally sourced. Our menu will be gluten free and focus on plant-based menus accentuated with animal proteins. Everything will be lovingly prepared by Tara with Moriah’s assistance. Snacks, fresh fruit, water, and beverages will be available throughout the retreat. We want you to feel nourished in body, mind, and soul. If you have any special dietary needs, you can let us know once you register and we’ll make sure to take care of you.
Location and Transportation
The retreat will be held in a spacious, newly renovated, light and airy 200 year-old farmhouse where we will be immersed in nature. The setting is very private, situated on 135 acres that includes an antique barn, large open pastures, forest land with a network of trails, brooks, and a large pond for swimming or paddling a kayak.
The house has several large meeting spaces as well as two fireplaces for chilly summer evenings. Outside, there is a generous patio with a hot tub, outdoor shower, and fire pit. In late July, the local farms are exploding with organic produce that will be incorporated into our meals.
Approximately 2.5 hours north of Boston, the Northeast Kingdom is considered “the real Vermont” with many wonderful opportunities for hiking, mountain biking, gravel riding, kayaking, and fishing if you want to extend your stay and explore. You may also want to check out Dog Mountain, Kingdom Trails, Athenaeum, and Fairbanks Museum.
You can fly into Boston (2 hrs. 40 min to Concord) or Burlington, Vt. (1 hr. 40 minutes to Concord) and rent a car or take an Uber. Once you arrive in Concord, you will not need a car until you depart. Please reach out for more details if you are traveling by plane.
Schedule & Flow
Arrival Day (July 25)
Check in at 5 pm
Welcome Dinner
Opening Circle
Meditation
Day 1 (July 26)
Optional Yoga, Hike, or Swim
Breakfast
Individual Preparation Meetings
Lunch
Individual Preparation Meetings
Hiking, Swimming, Relaxing
Meditation & Creative Resourcing
Dinner
Sound Bath
Group Preparation Meeting
Day 2 (July 27)
Optional Yoga, Hike or Swim
Breakfast
Making Community Altar
Sacred Medicine and Music Journey
Free Time
Dinner
Integration Circle
Yoga Nidra
Day 3 (July 28)
Optional Yoga, Hike or Swim
Breakfast
Individual Integration
Lunch
Individual Integration
Hiking, Swimming, Relaxing
Meditation & Creative Resourcing
Dinner
Integration Circle
Day 4 (July 29)
Optional Yoga, Hike, or Swim
Light Breakfast
Closure Ceremony for those leaving
Lunch
Departure
Individual Preparation Meetings
Hiking, Swimming, Relaxing
Movement Practice
Dinner
Sound Bath
Circle
Day 5 (July 30)
Optional Yoga, Hike or Swim
Breakfast
Movement and Meditation
Sacred Meditation and Music Journey
Free Time
Dinner
Integration Circle
Yoga Nidra
Day 6 (July 31)
Optional Yoga, Hike, or Swim
Light Breakfast
Integration Circle
Community Altar
Closing Ceremony
Lunch
Departure
Pricing and Accommodations
It is our commitment to address privilege and the lack of equality in this work. We have created tiered pricing to help remove financial barriers to participation in this work. In choosing a rate, please consider what is true for you. The standard fee includes all activities of the retreat, including individual sessions with facilitators as well as healthy, freshly-prepared meals and snacks. It does not include accommodations.
Standard Rate
4-Days – $3,400
6-Days – $4,400
Offering from Abundance
4-Days – $4000
6-Days – $6000
We invite participants who enjoy financial abundance to consider an added contribution to support those who cannot afford this experience, many of whom are young adults, a group that is particularly in need of healing in this post-pandemic period. If you are interested in offering a full or partial scholarship, please reach out. If you are unable to afford the standard fee, please reach out to discuss a subsidized rate.
Accommodations
Given the depth of the experience, we would love to have all participants stay on the property or in the area. There are beautiful light filled single and shared bedrooms available as well as “dormitory” style accommodations (4 people in one large space with a bathroom). We also have cabin-style tents with camping cots or air mattresses. If you would like to bring your own tent, RV, or van there is plenty of space on the property for camping as well as outdoor electricity for plug-in. There is no charge for accommodations if you bring your own!
Single Queen
$50
4 days – $200
6 days – $300
Double occupancy
$25
4 days – $100
6 days – $150
Third floor-single dorm
$15
4 days – $60
6 days – $75
Single Queen
$10
4 days – $40
6 days – $60
Your Team
Wendy
Wendy Elliott creates magic and healing by bringing people together to open and connect with creativity, possibility, and love. Wendy lives in Ojai, California where she takes joy in nature, movement, and her work as a somatic depth psychotherapist, teacher at Pacifica Graduate Institute, and somatic psychedelic integration specialist. She loves being in wild places and holding space as a sacred witness and midwife to people on their healing journeys. Wendy believes that real transformation happens when the desire to change is greater than the desire to stay the same. She loves to support people as they take the big leap.
Moriah
Moriah Stapf is a registered Associate Marriage and Family Therapist and holds certifications in Mind-Body Eating, Somatic Psychotherapy, and Equine-Assisted Therapy. During the retreat, Moriah will act as a co-facilitator during the Sacred Meditations and will support with preparation, intention setting, and integration — helping participants feel safely held throughout their experience. She will also be assisting Tara in preparing deliciously nourishing meals. Moriah finds immense joy and purpose when co-creating intentional and connective healing experiences.
Amber
Amber Riya is an intuitive singer and multi-instrumentalist from Malta. She weaves melodies and textures together to create soundscapes that guide and accompany inner journeying in ceremony. She uses her voice to invoke deep ancestral melodies that speak to something far beyond what words are capable of describing. Amber has been singing and playing music for meditation and in ceremony for the last 14 years and considers herself to be an eternal student of sound. She loves to sing to life’s most meaningful moments and singing in ceremony is perhaps her deepest honor of all.
Tara
Tara Elliott is a lover of ritual, beauty, nature, and play. She splits her time between Midcoast Maine where she writes grants and manages events for an environmental education and marine research non-profit with a sustainable island campus (Hurricane Island) and New York City, where she directs and choreographs plays and teaches theater directing at NYU Tisch. She loves making theater for the same reason she loves hosting dinner parties: because it means bringing people together for meaningful shared experiences. She believes deeply in the healing power of food, and finds great joy in chopping vegetables.
FAQ
A sacred meditation retreat is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience breakthroughs and realizations that, if implemented, can significantly improve your quality of life. While these realizations are often described as “ineffable” or impossible to tell, the opportunities/realizations typically fit into one of these three broad categories: opportunities to change how you relate to yourself, to others, and to the world at large. New connections are made in your brain, and old ways of thinking can fade away; addictions can lose their appeal, and greater acceptance and joy become available.
Please email Wendy at info@somaticwendyelliott.com to register.
A deposit of $500 is required to hold your place. This is returned if, after the initial interview, it is clear that it is not the right time for you to go on this retreat.
We take a maximum of 12 people. There will be three facilitators and one chef. All participants will be interviewed for preparation and readiness.
Registration Information
Please email Wendy at info@somaticwendyelliott.com. All registration materials, including health and food questionnaires, requests, payment information, cancellation policies, and initial Zoom meetings, will be emailed to you upon registration.
