Higher Haven Retreat Center — South Haven, United States

A woodland retreat house of meditation and ceremony near Lake Michigan in South Haven

The Higher Haven sits in the woodlands of South Haven, Michigan, a short drive from the Lake Michigan shore. It is one hour from Grand Rapids, two from Chicago and three from Detroit. The grounds cover wetlands, grasslands and twenty wooded acres. Its own description is of a place where practice, stillness and nature merge. Its retreat calendar archive reaches back to September 2017. Two threads run through the programming. The first is meditation. The Noble Silence Meditation Retreat weekends are built around sitting and walking practice, gentle Yin yoga and light meals, with a zendo or meditation hall open for ongoing practice. The pages cite Shinzen Young as the teacher behind the approach, and they frame it around four skills: concentration, relaxation, insight into the nature of reality and unconditional love. A monthly three-hour afternoon class, Meditation + Mindfulness 101, covers the same ground for beginners, with several sits. The second thread is ceremony. The monthly Way of the Contrary weekends study the sacred clowns of the Pueblo, Hopi and Lakota traditions. They include an inipi, or sweatlodge, which is optional, followed by a Wopila feast. A newer offering is the first Hanblecha, or vision quest, weekend, a sunrise-to-sunset fast and prayer that the pages describe as a first step toward the traditional four days and nights. The pages state that no fee is ever charged for ceremony. Costs cover meals and lodging, and a contribution of any proceeds goes to the Sicangu people of Rosebud, South Dakota, and the Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe Tribe of Park Falls, Wisconsin. Guests stay in the retreat house, in dorm rooms or in private rooms for couples. The Higher Haven says plainly that it is not a for-rent center. Outside teachers are considered only if their teaching is one the house knows and feels in accord with.

Traditions: Meditation, Mindfulness, Yin Yoga, Inipi (Sweatlodge Ceremony), Hanblecha (Vision Quest), Lakota Ceremony

Programs: Noble Silence Meditation Retreat Weekend, Meditation + Mindfulness 101, Way of the Contrary Ceremonial Retreat Weekend, Hanblecha (Vision Quest) Ceremonial Retreat Weekend, Inipi (Sweatlodge Ceremony), Wopila Celebration and Feast, Fire Circle, Talking Circle