Linwood Spiritual Center
Rhinebeck
Founded by the Sisters of St. Ursula in the 1960s, the Linwood Spiritual Center, which is adjacent to the 19th-century historic estate of Wilderstein just south of the village, notes on its website that it is “rooted in the Ignatian tradition of finding God in all things.” Retreats are offered to anyone seeking “spiritual freedom and growth.”
Susie Linn, director of development and marketing, said that writers, artists and other creative types seeking quiet and rejuvenation stay anywhere from a night to a month. The rate of $75 includes a private room with shared bath (some rooms have sinks), three meals a day (with a vegetarian option), access to an outdoor, Olympic-sized pool and bicycles and helmets. Attending daily mass, held at 5 p.m., is an option though by no means required. The 50-acre grounds offer a spectacular view of the Hudson River and include a labyrinth, gazebo, gardens and numerous flowering and ornamental trees. There’s a well-stocked library specializing in spirituality and philosophy, a small meditation room with pillows and a conference room; massages are available for $65.
Linwood offers both silent retreats and directed retreats, in which a visitor can schedule regular meetings with an experienced director, who will oversee a program of journal-writing, reading and exercise; the cost is $500. The next directed retreat will be held from June 29 through July 6. Linwood will be hosting a $450 yoga retreat from July 16 to 20, which will combine yoga with periods of silence and prayer, walks by the river and swims in the pool. A hand-quilting retreat will be held in August. For information visit www.linwoodspiritualctr.org or call (845) 876-4178.
Holy Cross Monastery
West Park
Dating from 1902, this brick Anglican Benedictine Monastery, which is located on 26 acres overlooking the Hudson, is on the National Register of Historic Places and is open for both individual and group retreats. It’s one of the largest monasteries owned by the Episcopal Church, and its 43-room guesthouse attracts approximately 5,000 visitors a year. The rooms are open from Tuesday through Sunday and have shared baths. Guesthouse director Lori Callaway said that the rate, which includes all meals, is $75 on weekdays and $95 on weekends. Stays range from one to four nights. There are trails, a labyrinth and daily services in the chapel, with visitors welcome.
The Holy Cross website notes how time spent at the Monastery is an opportunity for “prayer and reflection, renewal and recreation and deepening one’s sense of communion with God, nature and other people.” There are 12 resident brothers and one postulant. “What the community hopes for is that people will come and join in the rhythm of the community by going to the services, eating meals, to get a sense of what life is like here,” said Callaway. There’s morning prayer at 7 a.m., followed by breakfast, eucharist at 9 a.m., more prayers at noon followed by lunch, vespers at 5 p.m., supper at 6 p.m. and evening prayers at 8:05, after which the monastery is dedicated to silence.
Special programs are also scheduled, such as the recent flute masters’ retreat: a nondenominational meeting of flautists from around the world. The monastery manufactures incense and operates a book and gift shop. For information visit www.holycrossmonastery.com or call (845) 384-6660.
Sky Lake
Rosendale
Sky Lake is a Shambhala Buddhist retreat, located in a wooded setting on the northern crest of the Shawangunk Ridge. The center runs a “contemplative bed-and-breakfast” that offers eight rooms with private bath, access to a deck overlooking the pond, gazebos and a walking trail. The rate includes breakfast, and there’s Wi-fi, a guest refrigerator and microwave oven. Rates are $115 for a single and $150 for a double on a weekend night and $90 single and $125 double during the week.
Sky Lake director Katy Bray said that many guests come to hike (the center is located near the Mohonk Preserve), rock-climb or ski in the area, while others simply enjoy the quiet, peaceful atmosphere. The retreat belongs to an international community of contemplative centers founded by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, who promulgated a more secular type of Buddhism in which spiritual practice is combined with being in the world – what Bray refers to as “the path of the warrior.” “People from all different paths take Shambhala training,” she said. “Level One is a very straightforward and wonderful body of teaching about the art of being human.”
Every Tuesday and Thursday evening and Sunday morning the center holds a free meditation session. In September, it will hold a two-day “Level I of Shambhala Training” course. For information visit www.skylake.shambhala.org or call (845) 658-8556.
