A Soft Place to Land: Meeting Life’s Challenges with an Open Heart

With Susan Reviere, Sharon Shelton and Laura Smallwood

December 5 - 7, 2025

Date and Time Details: Check-in is 3-4pm on Friday and check-out is at 1pm on Sunday.

Location: Bald Mountain Center

Address: 251 Elohee Drive Sautee Nacoochee, Georgia 30571

What to Expect: To help deepen your retreat experience, Elohee does not provide televisions or internet access (unless you bring your own hotspot). Cell phone service is excellent for AT&T and Verizon. Your car will be left in a secured parking lot, and you will be shuttled up to your room upon arrival and shuttled back down to your car at departure. Shuttle service to your car is available at any time. All facilities at the top of the mountain are within a 5 minute walk of each other, with some gravel roads. 2 cottage rooms are ADA compliant, and all cottage rooms are on ground level.

~Small Private Room/Shared Bath – $447.22
~Single Occupancy/1 King Bed/Private Bath – $649.22
~Double Occupancy/2 Twin Beds/Private Bath (Price is per person, must register separately) – $447.22
~Double Occupancy/1 King Bed/Private Bath (Price is per person, must register separately) – $447.22

Price includes a course fee, room (2 nights), vegan meals, and grounds fee but does not include taxes. Full price is shown upon selection of room type prior to registering. This price also does not include a fee for the teachers. As these transformative dharma teachings have been offered freely for more than 2600 years, we practice Dana, which is the Pāli term for generosity. The teachers and Atlanta Insight Meditation Community practice Dana in this offering to you. If you have been moved by the teachings over the weekend, you will have an opportunity to make an offering at the end of the retreat. Any Dana offerings will be received with a deep bow of gratitude for your practice, presence, and generosity. Registration closes 5 days prior to the retreat start date.

Challenges are part of life’s rhythm, something the Buddha acknowledged when he pointed to suffering as part of our shared humanity. The Buddha understood that hardships are part of our journey, but he also taught us that dwelling in the sacred homes of the heart – lovingkindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity – can help us weather any storm. When we practice and cultivate these qualities, we create a soft place to land—even in the midst of turbulent times.

We invite you to join us for a (mostly) silent weekend retreat focused on exploring how joy can accompany grief. Through contemplative practice, we will cultivate a spaciousness that can hold both sorrow and joy with grace. Led by teachers Susan Reviere and Sharon Shelton, and featuring yoga sessions facilitated by Laura Smallwood, the retreat will be held at the Elohee Retreat Center in the scenic North Georgia Mountains from Friday, Dec. 5 to Sunday, Dec. 7. Come practice with us and discover the comforting refuge of a heart open to all of life’s experiences.

Schedule

Friday

3:00 pm – 4:00 pm: Arrive, check-in, get settled
5:15 pm – 6:00 pm: Mandatory orientation
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm: Dinner
7:00 pm – 7:45 pm: Welcome & intention setting / Entering noble silence
7:45 pm – 8:30 pm: Dharma talk
8:30 pm – 9:15 pm: Sitting meditation
9:15 pm – 9:45 pm: Chanting (optional)

Saturday

7:00 am – 7:30 am: Yoga with Laura (Forest Studio)
7:30 am – 8:00 am: Sitting meditation
8:00 am – 9:00 am: Breakfast
9:00 am – 9:30 am: Morning instructions
9:30 am – 10:15 am: Walking meditation / Mindful Movement
10:15 am – 11:00 am: Sitting meditation
11:00 am – 11:45 am: Walking meditation / Mindful Movement
11:45 am – 12:00 pm: Free practice / Break
12:00 pm – 1:30 pm: Lunch
1:30 pm – 2:15 pm: Afternoon instructions and Q&A
2:15 pm – 3:00 pm: Sitting meditation
3:00 pm – 3:45 pm: Yoga with Laura or walking meditation / Mindful Movement
3:45 pm – 4:30 pm: Sitting meditation
4:30 pm – 5:15 pm: Walking meditation / Mindful Movement
5:15 pm – 5:45 pm: Sitting meditation
5:45 pm – 6:00 pm: Free practice / Break
6:00 pm – 7:30 pm: Dinner
7:30 pm – 8:15 pm: Dharma talk
8:15 pm – 8:45 pm: Chanting

Sunday

7:00 am – 8:00 am: Yoga with Laura (Forest Studio)
8:00 am – 9:00 am: Breakfast and packing / clearing rooms (in noble silence)
9:00 am – 9:30 am: Morning instruction
9:30 am – 10:15 am: Sitting meditation
10:15 am – 10:45 am: Break & Dana offering
10:45 am – 11:15 am: Q&A
11:15 am – 12:00 pm: Closing & leaving noble silence
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm: Lunch and Checkout

As an expression of compassionate living, all meals served during this retreat will be vegan.

For more information, contact Laura Smallwood at laura@atlinsight.org.

Check out Elohee’s Guest Information FAQs here.

About the Leaders

Susan Reviere

Susan Reviere, PhD, is a mindfulness meditation teacher and a clinical psychologist practicing mindfulness-based psychotherapy. She is one of the founding teachers of Atlanta Insight Meditation Community where she teaches regularly. She has studied Buddhism and mindfulness/meditation practices for more than 30 years. She has served as a mentor with the Insight Meditation Community of […]

Learn more about Susan Reviere

Sharon Shelton

Sharon Shelton is a Founding Advisor and Mindfulness Teacher at Banyan, serving alongside Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield on the Teaching Council, and a board member for both the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion and Peace at Any Pace. She mentors students in the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program and at Banyan, and offers Dharma talks […]

Learn more about Sharon Shelton

Laura Smallwood

Laura is certified to teach Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction through East Coast Mindfulness and is certified as an RYT-200 yoga instructor through Yoga Alliance. Laura teaches mindfulness in-person with Atlanta Mindfulness and online with East Coast Mindfulness. As a lifelong dancer and a longtime yoga practitioner, she is interested in the role that movement can play […]

Learn more about Laura Smallwood

Categories : Home, Meditation