ON-SITE RETREATS

Foundations of Daoist Practice

The Foundations of Daoist Practice 修道基本 (FDP) weekend retreat is the foundational training in the Daoist Foundation community. This offering is specifically intended to help individuals develop and strengthen an authentic root in tradition-based Daoist practice-realization, including fundamental Daoist approaches, practices, principles, and views. It assumes commitment to the two core Daoist foundations, namely, conservation and virtue. This training also is the prerequisite for attending longer retreats and for fuller participation in our community.

We will hold two on-site FDP retreats during late spring/early summer and late summer/early autumn of 2024. These will occur at Stone Bowl Farm/Stone Valley Abode from May 10-12 and September 20-22. In the future, these retreats will be held on the second weekend of May and September. The cost is $450/person, which includes retreat materials, meals, and lodging in double-occupancy rooms. (Some single-occupancy rooms are available at an additional cost, with priority given to individuals with special needs.) Spaces are limited to 16 people. A $200 registration fee is required, with full payment due on the Friday preceding the retreat week. Please note that our retreat center is quite rustic at the present time, so retreatants need to be comfortable with simple accommodations. This may be thought of along the lines of cenobitic monasticism rooted in voluntary simplicity.

Register for May 2024 Retreat

Register for September 2024 Retreat

Cancellation Policy: Upon request, cancellations 7 days prior will receive a full refund. Cancellations up to 72 hours prior will receive a half-refund. Except under extraordinary circumstances, no refunds will be issued thereafter.

Please contact the Daoist Foundation Registrar with any registration questions or Lauryn Axelrod, the owner/manager of Stone Bowl Farm, about accommodations, amenities, facilities, and logistics.

First-Year Seminary Retreat

Members of the Aspen Group of the American Daoist Seminary program will have their cohort retreat at Stone Bowl Farm/Stone Valley Abode from June 6-8, 2025. The cost is $450/person, which includes retreat materials, meals, and lodging in double-occupancy rooms. (Single-occupacy rooms are available at an additional cost.) In addition to being on retreat with fellow “Daoist seminarians,” this retreat is the culminating event of the first-year training and a requirement for continuing on to the second-year curriculum.