The Art of Loss: A Retreat for Grief, Remembrance & Renewal

You don’t have to be finished grieving. You don’t have to have made sense of what happened. Sometimes what we need most is simply a beautiful, quiet place to make room for what we have lost.
Join Gloria Baraquio and Lydia Hwang for a restorative weekend at Ratna Ling devoted to grief, remembrance, and the many ways we learn to live with change.
Loss comes to us in many forms. It may be the death of someone we love, the end of a relationship, a change in health or identity, children leaving home, a career transition, or the quiet realization that a chapter of our life has ended. Some losses are visible to everyone around us. Others we carry privately.
Whatever form it takes, grief asks something of us.
Often, everyday life gives us little space to listen. We return to work, take care of others, answer emails, and keep moving—even while something within us is still trying to understand what has changed.
This weekend is an invitation to make space for slowness, softness, and reflection.
Nestled among the redwoods of Sonoma County, Ratna Ling offers a peaceful place to rest, breathe, reflect, and gently turn toward what you have been carrying. There is nothing you need to fix or overcome here. You are invited simply to meet your experience with curiosity, tenderness, and care.
Taking place over the weekend of Halloween and the Day of the Dead, this retreat draws upon this ancient season of remembrance—a time when cultures around the world have traditionally honored those who have passed and acknowledged the mystery of endings and beginnings.
Through meditation, gentle yoga, journaling, sound, nature, conversation, and ritual, we will create space to remember what has been loved, acknowledge what has changed, and listen for what may be emerging now.
Together, we may explore questions such as:
What am I still carrying? What deserves to be remembered? What am I ready to release? What has this loss revealed about what I love? And how might I step into the next chapter of my life without leaving behind what has mattered?


Our time together will include:


Presence-based, accessible yoga
Guided meditation and contemplation
Reflective journaling and personal inquiry
Quiet time among Ratna Ling’s redwoods
Sound healing and deep relaxation
Meaningful conversation and community
A beautiful remembrance and letting-go ritual using flowers, color, and essences
Spacious periods for rest and personal reflection

Guests may also choose to deepen their experience with optional Massage, Spiritual Counseling, and Soul Memory Readings.
There will be time for community and time for silence; time to remember and time simply to rest.
Grief does not follow a schedule, and healing does not mean forgetting. Sometimes healing begins when we stop asking ourselves to move on and instead give ourselves permission to honor what was loved, what has changed, and who we are becoming.
Come as you are.
Bring the person, relationship, dream, identity, or chapter of life you wish to honor. Let the redwoods hold some of what you have been carrying.
And perhaps, in making space for loss, you might discover that there is still space for beauty, connection, tenderness, and joy.
*SPECIAL OFFERING*  Soul Memory Readings will be offered by Cecilia Addams at this retreat. If you are looking to heal through  pain, conflict, or grief, these sessions will help you tap into your deeper self, your spirit guides, and/or your ancestors, giving you clarity on how to move forward in your life. To book a session, call Ceci at 949-678-9530. To learn more, check out soulmemorydiscovery.com.
Schedule (Subject to change):
FRIDAY


3pm Check-in
4:30pm Grounding Yoga
5:30pm Dinner
6:45pm Opening Session

SATURDAY


8am Silent Breakfast
9am Discussion and Meditation: The Sweetness of Grief
11am Yoga
12:15pm Lunch
1pm Temple Tour (optional)
1-4pm Free Time, Nature, Journaling
4pm Ritual for Acceptance & Letting Go
5:30pm Dinner
7pm Sound Healing

SUNDAY


8am Yoga
9am Closing Circle
10am Brunch

For directions to Ratna Ling - Ratna Ling Retreat Center 35755 Hauser Bridge Rd Cazadero, CA 95421
Accommodations are beautiful lux cabins


ADDITIONAL DETAILS


Transportation to/from Ratna Ling is NOT included - carpooling encouraged
Payments are nonrefundable and transferable to a future Ratna Ling stay or retreat
Each cottage includes TWO private rooms with queen beds, large dining & living area, gas fireplace, spacious deck, jacuzzi tub, linens/towels/hand soap, kitchenette with tea & coffee, complimentary wireless internet. 
5 vegetarian meals are served during our weekend together.
For directions to Ratna Ling - Ratna Ling Retreat Center 35755 Hauser Bridge Rd Cazadero, CA 95421

All bookings are NON-REFUNDABLE. Should you wish to cancel your stay with us, Ratna Ling Retreat Center requires 30 days' notice for your full credit to be TRANSFERRED to a future retreat within 1 year of original booking.
What people are saying about this program:
"The leaders were amazing, the blending of words, scents, music, sound and touch was perfect."

"I so appreciated being with these beautiful, nourishing caring women - and the food was amazing."

"I was nourished body, spirit and heart  - the food was wonderful nourishment helping ground our experience."

"The leaders were amazing, the blending of words, scents, music, sound and touch was perfect."