Summer Solstice Festival

Location icon
141 Monastery Road, Sand Springs, OK, USA
Date
June 21 - 23, 2024

About this Retreat

Your Guides

Details of this retreat

Let's gather together to celebrate the summer solstice at the Forest. The summer solstice is midsummer, when the sun is at its highest peak in the sky. It's the longest day and shortest night of the year, the tipping point to the downward path to the dark, nourishing rest of winter. Now the power of the sun begins to wane and the days grow shorter and the nights longer.
The sun has bathed the earth in its warmth, heating up the soil so that when autumn rolls around, we'll have a rich and bountiful harvest. It’s a time of celebrating the fullness of life and being grateful for the abundance in our lives. It’s a time of celebrating our own inner radiance, power, beauty, and the work of our hands.
This is the midpoint of the growing season, when life is at its peak. There is an energy of abundance all around in our natural world.
The summer solstice is also a time to rest, especially in a culture that encourages us to be constantly in a summer season in our lives, constantly productive, working, growing, being fruitful, and burning our power. Together we'll hold this space of rest, of learning to conserve our energy and not burn it completely out, of balancing the intensity of heat and fire with stillness.
We'll come together to:


Hold sacred ceremony for this threshold of the year.
Practice gratitude for the abundance in our lives.
Cook a festive meal together and enjoy our summer bounty.
Pause for individual periods of silence.
Collaboratively create an outside nature mandala on the Forest floor with leaves, stones, sticks, feathers, or other elements we gather from the forest land.

If you'd like to experience the summer solstice with us on the actual date of the solstice, Thursday, June 20, we warmly invite you to add an extra night when booking.

Getting Here

Location icon Osage Forest of Peace, 141 Monastery Road, Sand Springs, OK, USA

Directions

FROM TULSA:
Take Hwy 64 West past the town of Sand Springs; exit at 177 West Avenue.
Turn RIGHT on 177 West Avenue and drive about 1 mile to Anderson Road.
Turn LEFT on Anderson Road.
Continue about ½ mile to the entrance to the Shell Creek West housing division.
Turn RIGHT into Shell Creek West housing division.
Turn RIGHT at Lakeview Drive.
Continue until you see Monastery Road.
Turn RIGHT onto Monastery Road until you come to the parking lot for Osage.

Accommodation

Our guest cabins provide a cozy and simple spot in the Forest to focus on what truly matters during your retreat. Many guests comment that they experience deep peace upon arriving at the Forest. Staying in a guest cabin allows you to experience the serene rest that comes with sleeping in the woods. STANDARD CABINS Our standard cabins feature a full bathroom, heating and air conditioning, and WiFi access. They include: Twin beds Bathroom with shower Bed linens, pillows, blankets, and towels Hair dryer Desk Dresser Comfortable chair Alarm clock Hand soap Makeup remover wipes Tissues Insect repellent Umbrella Flashlights GUEST HERMITAGE Our guest hermitage cabin is located in a private spot with big picture windows for looking out at the forest. This cabin features two rooms and a larger bathroom. There is a microwave, small refrigerator, plates, mugs, and eating utensils. A private deck is perfect for experiencing the wonder of the forest in solitude. This cabin includes: Twin beds Bathroom with shower Bed linens, pillows, blankets, and towels Hair dryer Desk Dresser Comfortable chair Alarm clock Hand soap Makeup remover wipes Tissues Insect repellent Umbrella Flashlights

Single Occupancy Retreat Registration

Accommodation
Includes overnight lodging, all retreat sessions, all meals, in a private cabin. All cabins feature a full bathroom, heating and air conditioning, and WiFi access. They include: Twin beds Bathroom with shower Bed linens, pillows, blankets, and towels Hair dryer Desk Dresser Comfortable chair Alarm clock Hand soap Makeup remover wipes Tissues Insect repellent Umbrella Flashlights Photos shown are for a typical cabin setup. Cabin layout and furnishings may vary.

Double Occupancy Retreat Registration

Accommodation
(Doubly Occupancy rate only available to those planning on sharing a cabin. Rate is $70 per person.) Includes overnight lodging, all retreat sessions, all meals, in a shared cabin with a roommate. You can request a specific roommate. If no roommate is requested, you'll be matched with a roommate of the same gender. All cabins feature a full bathroom, heating and air conditioning, and WiFi access. They include: Twin beds Bathroom with shower Bed linens, pillows, blankets, and towels Hair dryer Desk Dresser Comfortable chair Alarm clock Hand soap Makeup remover wipes Tissues Insect repellent Umbrella Flashlights Photos shown are for a typical cabin setup. Cabin layout and furnishings may vary.

Commuter Retreat Registration Saturday Only

Accommodation
Includes retreat sessions on Saturday only and meals from Saturday breakfast through Saturday supper. Overnight lodging is not included.

Commuter Registration Full Retreat

Accommodation
Includes all retreat sessions and all meals from Friday supper through Sunday brunch. Overnight lodging is not included.

Venue & Amenities

A/C in Rooms icon A/C in Rooms
Free Wifi icon Free Wifi
Spa icon Spa
Sauna icon Sauna
Pool icon Pool
Towels icon Towels
Free Parking icon Free Parking
Kitchen icon Kitchen
Tour Assistance icon Tour Assistance
Hot Tub icon Hot Tub
Coffee/Tea icon Coffee/Tea
Cafe icon Cafe
Restaurant icon Restaurant
Fitness Center icon Fitness Center
Yoga Studio icon Yoga Studio
Housekeeping icon Housekeeping
Bicycles For Rent icon Bicycles For Rent
Entering the Forest is a peaceful experience and you'll have the opportunity to meditate in a beautiful Meditation Chapel with large windows looking out into the woods. Other meditation areas include a traditional Zen Garden, a woodland labyrinth for walking meditation, and an underground meditation chamber (the Cave of the Mothers) with wonderful acoustics for chanting.

Our retreat center also has a trail system along wooded bluffs with views of Shell Lake and downtown Tulsa. You can rent a cabin to experience the peaceful setting overnight for your own personal retreat. Our rental rates include three meals a day in our dining room, where you'll eat alongside other guests and residents of our community. The Forest also offers a full range of programs and retreats on meditation and spiritual topics.

You have a range of options to experience meditation in a way that suits you. You might choose to join our resident community for meditation held Tuesday through Saturday at 7:00 a.m., 12:00 noon, or 4:45 p.m., and on Sunday at 9:45 a.m. in our Meditation Chapel. Here you'll experience a meditation of 25 to 45 minutes with others who can help guide you.

Or, you may wish to simply rake the Zen Garden as you contemplate the prayer flags in the trees overhead. If you prefer to move while meditating, walking the labyrinth or hiking the trails will give you a chance to reconnect with nature. The Cave of the Mothers provides you with a dark, quiet place where you will be amazed by the sound of your chanting reverberating all around you.

Meals

Menu Types

Breakfasts are a self-serve buffet style with cereal, oatmeal, yogurt, toppings such as nuts and raisins, hard-boiled eggs, and a variety of milks from dairy to dairy free. On weekends, we additionally offer a variety of breads and toppings for toast. Lunch is our main meal of the day and is eaten together in community. Before the meal, we all circle around the table for a blessing and to introduce ourselves. Food options typically include a meat, a variety of vegetables, tofu or other protein for vegetarians, salad bar, and a healthy dessert. Supper is a light meal and is eaten together in community. Food options typically include a hearty soup, a meat, a variety of vegetables, crackers, salad bar, and a healthy dessert.

Customer Reviews

4.86 out of 5.0 average rating

5.0
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Connection
The variety of activities during the recent retreat were wonderful! We experienced the sacred process of collecting gifts of love offered at the Forest over the past years and honoring them together. We cooked, ate, participated in a tea ceremony and had meditations daily. All the activities were optional, but too good to miss any of them. A joyous time full of rest and community at its finest.

5.0
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Day of Zen with Tulsa Zen Sangha
This was my first time to participate in a Zen experience. It was very refreshing to see how being quiet and listening to my inner voice brings such peace.

5.0
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Learning, laughter and Love
Learning about worldwide historic and cultural traditions is one of my passions. The Gaelic Traditional Festival at the Forest provided a relaxing atmosphere to learn as community, laugh as we experienced and participated in the cooking and Brigid’s cross making, and Love during the midnight lighting of the candle and meditations in the chapel, around the table at each meal and listening to the playing of the bagpipes. I hope the Forest expands offering this type of retreat. Unforgettable.

5.0
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Powerful Meditation Retreat
New Years Eve: Under the ancient trees, I parked my car and quietly entered the Main House, then checked into a simple, comfortable cabin for the night. I took part in a community Peace Prayer service in the chapel, which has been hallowed over decades by the prayers of Benedictine nuns, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Fr. Bede Griffiths and many other spiritual giants of our era. This night we prayed for every country of the world by name to be at peace. After prayers we feasted together and rang in 2024, then I retired to my cabin in the woods for a good night's sleep.

4.0
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personal retreat
have been coming to this magical place since 1980 and it never fails to give me what I need at the time. We are so lucky to have such a wonderful community right in our backyard. Thank you to those who support the vision