Program & Site Info
Join us for a unique meditation retreat combining traditional Buddhist practices with recovery work in nature. Primarily conducted in silence, the retreat focuses on insight meditation and heart practices, along with interactive exercises, talks, and meetings. Led by Kevin Griffin, Greg Pergament & Joanie Lane, we learn to practice mindfulness in all activities, whether formal meditation, movement, speaking, listening, or eating.
Participants practice Noble Silence outside of the interactive exercises and 12-Step-style meetings. All recovery paths are welcome, whether Twelve Step, Recovery Dharma, substance, process, or relationship-oriented. The intensive nature of the retreat allows for profound personal openings, insight, and transformation. The support of the community carries us through the sometimes challenging, sometimes inspiring elements of this deep inner work.
Participants must be at least 30 days sober and clean. But no prior meditation experience is required.
This retreat will reside at Ben Lomond Quaker Center nestled in the redwood forests of the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Our sliding scale lodging options are listed below. Visit our registration for more.
Private bedroom in shared lodge
Shared double room in lodge
Shared female identifying dorm room (up to 6 participants)
BYOTents or Vans (participants to bring their own sleeping amenities - cot, pad, sleeping bag and pillow)
Retreat Cost
Our retreat fees only cover basic costs: food, cook, site fee, administration costs, and other incidental expenses. These fees are priced on a sliding scale (based on the lodging you choose) to allow each participant to pay for what is most appropriate for themselves. We also provide a scholarship option for those who are unable to pay our lowest sliding scale fee. Visit our registration for more.
Retreat fees do NOT include compensation for Kevin, Greg & Joanie (time spent planning & teaching) or for Off-Grid Retreats (time spent organizing). On the final retreat day, you will be invited to share dana (AKA to donate) to the Retreat Teachers and to Off-Grid Retreats.
Dana, the Pali word for generosity, has supported Buddhist cultures for 2500 years. In Asia, monks & nuns offer teaching and lay people fill their begging bowls each morning as they walk through the village on alms rounds. It is a beautiful exchange in which the hearts of both giver and receiver are opened in joy and gratitude.
Cancellation Policy
If you request a refund before November 21, 2026 we're able to provide you a full refund minus an administrative fee (less than $100). If you request a refund between November 21, 2026 and January 21, 2027, we'll provide you with a 50% refund minus an administrative fee (less than $100). We’re unable to provide refunds after January 21, 2027.
To keep the retreat as affordable as possible, our retreat fees are set to simply cover the expenses of putting on the retreat—renting the venue, compensating our cook, etc. When someone drops out, we still incur all of those expenses. For this reason, we are unable to make exceptions to our cancellation policy—even when you have a very good reason for canceling. Thank you for your understanding.
Retreat Teachers
Kevin Griffin is best known as the author of One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps. A longtime Buddhist practitioner and 12 Step participant, he is a leader in the mindful recovery movement and one of the founders of the Buddhist Recovery Network.
He trained with leading Western Vipassana teachers Jack Kornfield, Joseph Goldstein, Ajahn Amaro, etc. His teacher training was as a Community Dharma Leader at Spirit Rock.
He began teaching meditation in 1996 while working as a technical writer. He teaches internationally in Buddhist centers, treatment centers, professional conferences, and academic settings. His events range from evening classes, to daylong workshops, and longer silent retreats.
Greg Pergament is the author of Chi Kung and Recovery and has been practicing and teaching Tai Chi Chuan and Qigong for over 20 of his 32 years in Recovery. Greg brings a grounded, wise, and playful presence to his teaching. He also leads Desert Dharma a Buddhism and Recovery group and is President of Lotus In The Desert Sangha in Las Vegas, Nevada. In addition he is a firetender for Lakota Inipi and Sundance ceremonies, and has helped facilitate many Vision Quests.
Joanie Lane is the founder and meditation teacher at "A Positive Light" meditation center and is a 2021 graduate of Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program. With more than 30 years of meditation practice and training, she also teaches Qigong, Reiki, is a Certified Life and Spiritual Coach, Author & Poet. Joanie began her meditation practice in 1989 and considers her education in the Buddhist practices "mixed" receiving training in Theravada, Mahayana and Zen Buddhism.
Herself being clean and sober since 1989, Joanie offers life coaching and support groups to those in anonymous recovery from drugs and alcohol. Her initial training was received through Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Marin County, Ca. and gratefully acknowledges Jack Kornfield, Kevin Griffin, Mark Coleman, James Baraz, Deb Kerr and Ayya Anandabodhi, among some of her teachers. She continued her education at Brahmavira Arama Buddhist Monastery in 2008.
She lives at her meditation center in Kelseyville, CA where she teaches and leads classes. She has developed several of her own unique energy healing systems such as "Royal White Tiger Qigong" "Healing Movement Qigong" and "Prasava", a mindful childbirth course.