Retreat Program Overview

Please join Lev and Ore for a 3 day retreat featuring meditation, song and rituals in nature this May. This retreat is for Queer, Trans, Intersex, Gender Expansive People of Color (QTPOC) and LGBTQ+ Community. This retreat will be silent with opportunities for optional connecting and sharing under the guidance of the leaders.

We will practice meditating on self-compassion and engage and deepen our connection to the earth. We will incorporate ritual, song and embodied practices to root, play and explore our grief and joy of the more than human world.

This retreat is open to practitioners of all levels; no prior meditation or ritual experience needed. We will create an altar to honor ancestors, those who inspire us today, and/or symbolize that which we want to hold compassion for. Please bring photos and/or items for the altar. 

Retreat Site & Lodging

This retreat will reside at Shelterwood Collective, a Black, Indigenous, and LGBTQ-led community forest and retreat center. Comprised of 900+ acres, Shelterwood Collective is nestled above the Russian River in Sonoma County, CA, on Unceded Kashaya and Southern Pomo territory.

The majority of retreat practice will take place outdoors. There many gathering spaces in nature near camp. There is a loop trail that starts / ends at camp too. This trail is 3 miles on gravel and takes about 1.5 hours. There is another hike up to a natural clearing that looks out on neighboring ridgetops and a couple that meader along the creek. All of the hikes all require decent mobility. For more accessible paths, individuals are able to walk around camp and/or along the winding path for cars.

There are a couple lodges and a few smaller cabins that surround the camping meadow at Shelterwood. Each building has a fireplace, wood stove or portable electric heaters. And there are hot showers (indoors & out!) along with ADA accessible bathrooms. Participants in glamping and camping tents will need to walk to access bathrooms (less than 1 minute away).

Inside the Main Lodge, there is a commercial kitchen and a spacious meditation hall. Starting with dinner, we’ll enjoy 3 vegetarian meals / day along with access to snacks, tea and coffee throughout each day. The meditation hall faces large sliding glass doors that connect the space to the outdoors. If need be or after the sun sets, practice may be held indoors here. During nature retreats, weather and temperatures vary so we also provide a packing list to ensure comfort and safety.

Our sliding scale lodging options are listed below. Unless specified otherwise, lodging is all inclusive with a bed, bed frame, bedding and pillow. Visit our registration webpage for more (LINK AVAILABLE IN JAN 2026)

• Private fully furnished tiny cabins with private bathrooms

• Single bedrooms in shared cabins with bathrooms

• Single pre-built glamping bell tents (w/ elevated cot, sleeping pad, sleeping bag and pillow)

• Twin bed in large shared bunk-room with bathroom (up to 3 ppl / room)

• Twin bed in large shared bunk-room (up to 4 ppl / room)

• BYOTents or Vans (participants to bring their own sleeping ammenities - 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 webpage for more - LINK AVAILABLE IN JAN 2026.

Retreat fees do NOT include compensation for Lev & Ore (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 January 8, 2026 we're able to provide you a full refund minus an administrative fee (less than $100). If you request a refund between January 8, 2026 and April 8, 2026, we'll provide you with a 50% refund minus an administrative fee (less than $100). If you request a refund after April 8, 2026, we're not able to provide you with any refund.

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 retreat staff, 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

Lev Michael Moses, formally known as Fresh “Lev” White is a love and compassion activist.

He graduated from Spirit Rock’s Dedicated Practitioner and Community Dharma Leadership programs. He also received coaching and leadership certifications from the Co-Active Training Institute.

He is mindfully grounded at the East Bay Meditation Center. He teaches and coaches individuals, households and professional teams on secular mindfulness, non-secular meditation and diversity. He credits his ability to reach diverse audiences to his years growing up in multi-ethnic communities in New York.

The magic of this universe came alive for Ore Ganin-Pinto (they/them) in the backyard woods of their childhood home in NY, where they would imagine the world beyond binaries and dance until their body ached. With time, they grew more comfortable with the discomfort of the unknown and they grew their faith and commitment to justice. As an ordained interfaith spiritual care counselor and ritualist, they started Bones and Breath Chaplaincy to provide End-of-Life Doula services, Spiritual Counseling, and Life Cycle Ceremonies. They received ordination from the Chaplaincy Institute and a Masters of Divinity from Starr King School for the Ministry. They also served as an interfaith palliative and hospice Chaplain for the past 7 years. They weave their Ashkenazi and Moroccan Jewish roots with earth-based animist and liberation practices and are deeply grateful for the many beings seen and unseen.    

Lev & Ore may lead an abbreviated retreat teaching. Email asha@offgridretreats.org for Zoom info.