Seven Oaks Retreat Center

05/12/2026

Come join us this spring for these IMCW May retreats!

There’s still time to register for IMCW May retreats at Seven Oaks Retreat Center.

Step away from the pace of daily life and reconnect with stillness, clarity, and community in the peaceful Blue Ridge Mountains. Whether you’re new to meditation or a long-time practitioner, these retreats offer a supportive space for deep practice, reflection, and renewal.

Join us for nourishing days of silence, mindfulness, and insight in a beautiful natural setting.

Learn more and register today at imcw.org

05/09/2026

Step away from the noise and reconnect with yourself through a Self-Guided Silent Retreat at Seven Oaks Retreat Center.

Held in a peaceful and secluded setting, these retreats offer the freedom to create your own rhythm of meditation, mindfulness, rest, and reflection while being fully supported in silence. Without schedules to follow or distractions to navigate, space opens for clarity, deep listening, and meaningful inner connection.

Whether you are an experienced practitioner or simply longing for quiet, a self-guided retreat can be a restorative way to reset and return to what matters most.

Includes 3 lacto-ovo vegetarian meals per day with vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free options.
For more information, dates, and to register: https://www.sevenoaksretreat.org/silent-retreat/

05/08/2026

Seven Oaks Retreat Center is honored to welcome Center for Wild Spirituality’s Sacred Conversations Retreat. 🌿

Led by Victoria Loorz—author of "Church of the Wild"—this four-day immersive retreat invites participants into contemplative presence with the living world.

"Together, we will wander meadows and forest paths, sit beneath ancient oaks, listen deeply to river and birdsong, and remember our kinship with the more-than-human world. Through eco-spiritual practices, sacred ritual, song, storytelling, journaling, ceremony, and spacious solitude, participants are invited into a profound experience of belonging and connection."

Retreat highlights include:
✨ Nature-based contemplative practices
🔥 Fire ceremonies and sacred ritual
🌌 Star-gazing under dark skies
🌿 Spacious wandering across 120 peaceful acres
🍲 Nourishing locally prepared meals

Private and shared accommodations are available.
For more information and to register: https://www.wildspirituality.earth/onland-retreat

04/09/2026

Seven Oaks Retreat Center is hiring a Kitchen Manager to join our team in Madison, VA! 🌿🍲
Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Seven Oaks serves as a refuge for people coming to practice, study, and heal. Our kitchen plays a central role in that experience—offering nourishing meals and a spirit of care that supports retreat life.
We’re looking for someone who brings strong culinary leadership, organization, and a calm, collaborative presence to help guide our retreat kitchen. This role includes menu planning, staff scheduling and development, budget management, and hands-on cooking—helping ensure meals reflect our values of mindfulness, wellness, and sustainability.

Position highlights:
✨ Full-time, salaried role (starting $48,000–$62,000 DOE)
✨ Focus on vegetarian, vegan, and whole-food-based retreat meals
✨ Health insurance reimbursement (QSEHRA)
✨ On-site meals during retreats
✨ Opportunities to participate in select retreat programs
✨ Possible on-site living accommodations

Ideal candidates have:
• 3+ years kitchen or food service management experience
• Strong vegetarian/vegan cooking background
• Excellent organization and leadership skills
• Food safety certification
• Interest in mindfulness, wellness, or retreat environments (a plus!)

Help us create a kitchen that runs with both skill and awareness—and supports a community dedicated to compassion and wise action. 💛
To apply: email [email protected]

04/02/2026

🌿 Now Hiring at Seven Oaks Retreat Center (Madison, VA) 🌿
Housekeeping Staff & Kitchen Team Members

Seven Oaks Retreat Center is looking for dependable, caring people to join our team! These positions help support a peaceful retreat environment where guests come for rest, meditation, and personal growth.

Housekeeping Team
Help prepare guest rooms and shared spaces so visitors feel welcomed, comfortable, and cared for.

Kitchen Team
Support the preparation and service of simple, nourishing meals that are an important part of the retreat experience.

✨ Work in a beautiful natural setting
✨ Be part of a supportive, mission-driven team
✨ Ideal for people who enjoy meaningful, behind-the-scenes service work
✨ Opportunities for both part-time and ongoing roles

If you appreciate quiet environments, teamwork, and contributing to a place that supports wellbeing, we’d love to hear from you.

To learn more and apply, visit the Seven Oaks Retreat Center website at https://www.sevenoaksretreat.org/job-opportunities/

03/31/2026

Seven Oaks is happy to welcome Oneness Wellbeing for a
Women’s Wellness Weekend
Food & Mood: The Gut–Brain Connection and Women’s Emotional Wellbeing
📅 June 12–14, 2026
📍 Seven Oaks Retreat Center, Madison, VA

Join Liila Hass for a nourishing weekend exploring how what you eat—and how you care for yourself—directly shapes your mood, brain health, and emotional wellbeing. Grounded in the latest research in Nutritional Psychiatry, this retreat highlights the powerful gut–brain connection and the essential role your microbiome plays in supporting balance, clarity, and resilience.

Through learning, reflection, and restorative retreat time, you’ll gain practical tools to support your mental and emotional health from the inside out. 🌸

Come reconnect with your body, deepen your understanding, and leave feeling informed, supported, and refreshed.

Learn more & reserve your space today.
https://onenesswellbeing.com/virginiaretreat2026

03/12/2026

Join us for upcoming Insight Meditation Community of Washington, D.C. - IMCW retreats at Seven Oaks this spring!

🌿 Upcoming Residential Retreats with IMCW at Seven Oaks Retreat Center

Step away from the pace of daily life and immerse yourself in silence, reflection, and community. Our upcoming residential retreats offer an opportunity to deepen meditation practice, cultivate compassion, and reconnect with what truly matters.

Join us this season for inspiring retreats including:
✨ Wise Effort: The Path of the Restful Warrior
✨ Jewish-Buddhist Intersections
✨ IMCW Spring Retreat
✨ Taking Refuge: Cultivating Clarity & Compassion
✨ Deepening Into The Mystery
✨ Awakening The Pure Heart

Held in the peaceful foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Seven Oaks provides a supportive environment for meditation, insight, and renewal. Whether you are new to retreat practice or returning to deepen your path, these retreats offer a powerful opportunity to rest, listen deeply, and awaken the heart.

Learn more and explore all upcoming retreats with Insight Meditation Community of Washington. https://imcw.org/events/?notCategoryId=205

03/10/2026

Trees that have fallen have a role in supporting local wildlife. Can you see what this fallen tree provides for a woodland creature?

The blue outline is the focal point. What is different from the inside of the blue circle, vs outside the circle??

Answer: A deer used this for a sleeping area. The logs provide cover, protection and you can see the grass is flat in the circle, where the grass is tall and fluffy outside the circle.

We have dozens of deer - to many to count. I have counted over 22 Turkeys in one flock this winter, raccoons, my favorite the Opossum (eats ticks), ground hornets, skunks, ground hogs, wasp see second picture, stink bugs, lady bugs, the invasive fake lady bugs that bite, and snakes (a beautiful black snake lives on sight helping us keep away other snakes and mice.
We are in nature. Come visit with appropriate expectations.

03/10/2026

Oh, I found the new neighbors home... The red circle outlines the work completed in the water.
I didn't see this activity, or wood damn, in the fall. Did anyone else see any of this construction at its beginning? I am wondering if it started in Nov? or January, or even more recently? The wood chips on the ground from several fallen trees are only days old.

03/10/2026

We have new activity with a new neighbor at SORC. Can you name the new neighbor?? These are all pictures of different activity from the new neighbor.

02/09/2026

If you want to meet up with a group from the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, D.C. - IMCW, they will be on the National Mall on Wednesday. See more information below.