It can be difficult to hear yourself when everyday life is constantly asking for your attention. In this intimate weekend retreat with poet and teacher John Roedel, you’ll step away from the noise and into a slower rhythm of meditation, silence, and reflective writing. There is nothing to perfect and nothing to perform. Instead, you’ll create space to notice what has been waiting beneath the surface and let the page become a place where honesty, tenderness, and your own inner voice can emerge.
SAVE! Add a day or two and save 20% off our R&R rates. Select your added day(s) on the Registration page.
Inner Listening
Create enough quiet to notice the thoughts, feelings, memories, and truths that can be difficult to hear in the pace of everyday life.
Heart Connection
Strengthen your relationship with your inner voice and give language to what your heart may have been trying to express.
Creative Freedom
Write without pressure to impress, polish, or produce, allowing curiosity and honesty to guide what reaches the page.
Mental Quiet
Step away from distraction and experience the restorative simplicity of meditation, silence, and uninterrupted time for reflection.
Authentic Expression
Put words to experiences and emotions in a way that feels personal, unfiltered, and unmistakably your own.
Shared Belonging
Experience the warmth of gathering with others who are also making space for reflection, vulnerability, and meaningful creative practice.
Over the course of the weekend, you’ll begin approaching writing less as something you have to create and more as a way of paying attention. With time set aside from ordinary responsibilities, you can become curious about what surfaces when there is no demand for an answer, a polished piece, or even a particular outcome. The experience invites you to meet yourself with greater patience and honesty, allowing words to arrive from a place that feels more instinctive than analytical. You’ll return home with a renewed relationship to your own voice, along with simple meditation, silence, and heart-writing practices you can continue using to listen inward and stay connected to what matters.
Settle the mind and create a quieter internal space from which reflection and writing can naturally begin.
Let the pen follow what arises through attentive, pressure-free writing designed to reveal rather than perform.
Spend intentional time without conversation or distraction, allowing subtler thoughts, emotions, and observations to come forward.
Move slowly through the natural surroundings while practicing presence, noticing, and receptive awareness.
Connect with fellow participants through thoughtful conversation and optional sharing rooted in honesty, listening, and mutual respect.
SAVE! Add a day or two and save 20% off our R&R rates. Select your added day(s) on the Registration page.
Check-in Begins 4:00 pm
Dinner 6:00–7:00 pm
Property Orientation 7:00–7:20 pm
Session 1 7:30–9:00 pm
Breakfast 7:30–9:00 am
Session 2 9:30 am–12:30 pm
Lunch 12:30–1:30 pm
Session 3 2:00–4:00 pm
Free Time 4:00–6:00 pm
Dinner 6:00–7:30 pm
Breakfast 7:30–9:00 am
Session 6 9:30–11:30 am
Room Checkout 11:00 am Luggage may be held at Reception.
Lunch 12:00–1:30 pm
John Roedel is a poet, teacher, and former stand-up and improv comedian whose work explores faith, grief, mental health, self-love, and the complicated beauty of being human. He is the author of ten books of poetry and prose, and his plainspoken, deeply relatable writing has resonated with a wide audience, including many people who may not consider themselves poetry readers but recognize themselves in his words.
Prices include daily vegetarian meals from dinner on the night of check-in through lunch on the day of checkout. (Rates below are per person.)
Ideal for individuals, couples, or friends seeking hotel-style comfort and amenities.
Ideal for friends seeking hotel-style comfort and amenities.
Ideal for individuals, couples, or friends seeking simple surroundings for peace and clarity.
Note Room may contain extra single beds.
Fully furnished 665 sq.-ft. apartment (max: 2 persons)
Note Furniture may vary; each apartment is different.
Fully furnished 995 sq.-ft. apartment (max: 4 persons)
Note Furniture may vary; each apartment is different.
Free activities include
Interactive Nature Hikes
Cooking Demos
Meditation & Movement Classes
Wellness Workshops
Paid activities include
Pottery Classes
Ayurvedic Wellness & Healing Arts Treatments
Take your rejuvenation to another level. Our spa offers treatments and therapies that integrate ancient Ayurveda with contemporary wellness.
Call to check availability during Shankara Ayurveda Spa business hours; seven days a week, 9:00 am–6:00 pm.
For room reservations, Ayurveda Wellness Retreats, and Art of Living Retreat Center (AOLRC) signature retreats, we have the following cancellation policy:
AOLRC reserves the right to cancel a program at any time. If AOLRC cancels a program, you will receive a full refund. Some programs may have special cancellation policies; see individual workshop descriptions. For all other retreats, please be sure to check the registration page specific to that retreat.
Unless otherwise indicated, our programs are open to participants 18 years of age and older.
To encourage a healthy environment, we ask that guests not consume alcohol or meat in our public spaces. However, guests may enjoy these items in their rooms.
Our property is always smoke-free.
Yes, we ask that guests with food allergies simply inform us so we can communicate those needs to our chef. Typically, we label potential allergens such as gluten, dairy, and nuts. You may email us at info@theartoflivingretreatcenter.kinsta.cloud.
Thanks to the cool climate of the Blue Ridge Mountains, air conditioning is rarely needed. For the occasional warm day, there is a fan in each room to help keep you comfortable.
We do have lodging and event venues that are ADA-compliant. Due to the topography of our mountain campus, some are easier to access than others, so please speak to Guest Services (800.392.6870) prior to registering to ensure we can best accommodate your needs. We also have shuttles that run frequently throughout the campus.
We are committed to the safety of our guests and staff. Our mountaintop location and the surrounding areas are spacious, remote, safe, and secure.
You can help!
Transportation Options Between Charlotte and the Center
Hickory Hop Shuttle Service Book online hickoryhop.com The Hickory Hop shuttle goes from Charlotte airport to Boone five times daily. Reservations are required, so book ahead online and be sure to confirm shuttle times coordinate with your travel plans.
High Country Limo 828.898.9595 highcountrylimo.com
Oscar’s Car Service 704.965.5800
Edwardo’s Car Service 704.949.6775
Blue Bird Transportation 828.989.7286 Blue Bird of Boone
Abby Cab 828.475.2988 abbycab.com
Uber or Lyft Book in app on arrival.
Other airports within driving distance from the Art of Living Retreat Center include
Tri-Cities Regional Airport (TRI) in Johnson City, TN (80 miles)
Piedmont Triad International Airport (GSO) in Greensboro, NC (110 miles)
Visit our directions page for more information.
Step into a world where mindfulness meets beauty. Our gallery captures the essence of the Art of Living—from serene moments of reflection to vibrant celebrations of life, wellness, and connection.
SAVE! Add a day or two and save 20% off our R&R rates. Select your added day(s) on the Registration page.
