We imagine a world where every one of us awakens to the power of love and service. For one weekend this fall, we gather at Claymont Retreat Center to practice exactly that, meeting death not as the enemy of a full life but as one of its most honest teachers.

This is a weekend for the death curious, the death facing, and the spiritually seeking. It is for those who sense that the questions which make us most alive, how to be present, how to love well, how to let go, are the same ones that meet us at the threshold. There is a deep and often unspoken overlap between those drawn to inner growth and those who have come to see the end of life as a passage of profound transformation. Emberlight is one of the few places that holds both, living and dying, in the same hand and in the here and now. This weekend is a chance to explore, to network, and to broaden your resources, your contacts, and your practices among a community of kindred hearts.

Together we will move through interactive workshops and practices, guided meditation, a natural burial panel, musical offerings, a fire circle, and unhurried time for reflection and sharing.

Our contributors and presenters include Dr. Aditi Sethi, co-planner of the retreat and Emberlight's founder and executive director. A hospice physician, end-of-life doula, and musician, Aditi will be accompanied by musicians from Emberlight, and will offer a presentation and conversation around her documentary, The Last Ecstatic Days. Her TED talk, The Art of Living Before You Die, is available on YouTube. We are also honored to welcome Amy Wright Glenn, author of Holding Space: On Loving, Dying and Letting Go and founder of The Institute for the Study of Birth, Breath and Death. The weekend also holds a therapeutic music presentation and conversation, Music for the Journey, a panel on body disposition, guided meditations, a grief circle, and more.

We gather at Claymont Retreat Center, 667 Huyett Rd, Charles Town, WV 25414, from the late afternoon of Friday, October 9 through midday Sunday, October 11. You may join us as a residential participant, staying on site, or as a commuter, driving in each day for the sessions.

The early registration rate of $235 is held through July 31. We invite you to register early and join us for this weekend of learning, reflection, and connection.

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Schedule:

Friday, October 9, 2026

4:00-6:00p: Arrival and Welcome

6:00-7:00p: Dinner

7:00-7:30p: Introduce practices to weave through the weekend

7:30-9:00p: The Last Ecstatic Days Film and QxA with Aditi and music

9:00p: Fire and music in the evening with members of Emberlight

Saturday, October 10, 2026

7:30-8:00: Meditation

8:00-9:00a: Breakfast

9:30-11:30a: Workshop with Amy Wright Glenn

12:00p-1:00p: Lunch and Free Time

1:00-1:30p: Threshold Choir

1:30-3:00p: Natural Burial Grounds Panel (Reflection Park Natural Burial, Morris Orchard Natural Burial,and Cool Spring Natural Cemetery)

3:00-3:30p: Tea Break

3:30-4:00p: Observations check-in 

4:00-6:00p: Music Panel (Experiential)

6:00-7:30p-Dinner

8:00-10:00p: Ceremonial Grief Concert

Sunday, October 11, 2026

7:30-8:00a: Meditation

8:00-9:00a: Breakfast

9:30-10:30a: Death Meditation Bardo 

10:30-11:30a: Group Reflections and Connection

12:00-1:00p: Lunch and Departures

Pricing:

Early Registration (until July 31st): $235

Standard Registration (until August 31st): $275 

Late Registration (until October 2nd): $325  

Residential Supplement: +$265/person (room and meals)

Commuter Supplement: +$140/person (meals only)

You may attend the retreat as a commuter (staying off campus, driving in each day to attend the retreat sessions), or as a residential participant (staying on site at Claymont Retreat Center). 

Commuter rate includes meals but no lodging. 

Residential rate includes meals and lodging in shared rooms. Most rooms at Claymont have 2-4 single beds, 4 have double beds. There is 1 ground floor handicap accessible room. Rooms are mainly upstairs. Shared bathrooms. A schematic of the floor plan can be seen on the Claymont Retreat Center website. We will be in the Great Barn.

You may specify any lodging or roommate requests during checkout. 

Please note that all event tickets are non-refundable, though if Emberlight cancels the event for any reason, a full refund will be issued.

Click Here to Register