Welcome to The Abode

Since 1975, the Abode has been a sanctuary for the human spirit, grounded in nature, and uplifted by the community that surrounds it.

Step into rejuvenation. Immerse into community. Awaken your creativity.

Support The Next 50 Years
relaxation on historic Shaker campus, at the Abode retreat center, located in Upstate New York and Berkshires
A bedroom with a large bed, two windows with white curtains, a small side table with a lamp, a chair, a round desk with a brass desk lamp, wall-mounted shelves with books, wooden flooring, and minimalist decor.

Community, Events, Programming, Retreats, and Rentals

With forest, gardens, farms, and back country roads, there is so much to explore on our 300+ acre historic Shaker site. You can participate in a retreat, take a class, book a room, go for a hike, join us for Sunday brunch, or reserve a space for hosting your own program!

People at a buffet line serving themselves food in a dining area.
Person sitting on the ground among trees, watching a sunset over distant mountains in a forest.
People attending a dance class or workshop under a large tent, with two instructors leading the session from the stage, outside on a grassy area.
Programs and Events
A spacious bedroom with a large bed, two windows with sheer curtains, a nightstand with a lamp, a small round table with a chair and a desk lamp, shelving with books, a mirror on the wall, and hardwood flooring.
Book A Room
A stone patio with curved stone and concrete bench, steps, and black metal railing, surrounded by green landscaped garden with purple allium flowers, trees, and houses in the background.
Campus Tour
A snowy scene with three people in a horse-drawn sleigh in front of a wooden building. One person is standing, and two others are seated in the sleigh. A sign on the building reads "The Above of the Message" with a winged heart design.
Dive Into the History

Featured Upcoming Programming

Featured
Sound Healing - With Elise Manzo
Feb 27
Sound Healing - With Elise Manzo

We all have our own vibration and frequency. We can fall out of tune or vibrational harmony and potentially develop illness. Stress and negativity create blockages of a healthy flow of energy.

Sound healing can open a new door into your consciousness and has immense healing potential. Healing with sound can support and offer relief from ailments such as stress depression anxiety addiction pain and moodiness. Join us for the 90 minute session with Sound Therapist, Elise Manzo.

Greening of the Soul
Mar 14
Greening of the Soul

This gentle workshop invites us to slow down, rest, and arrive in the present moment, refreshing our spirits and opening our hearts. From this place, we reflect on what we wish to cultivate and what we are ready to release.

The Creative Writer
Apr 18
The Creative Writer

Spark your imagination through simple yet powerful art and writing activities designed to bring your stories to life. Explore prompts, collage, and a Storyteller’s Oracle Deck to create characters and move plot forward in a playful, supportive space. Open to all, no writing or art experience needed. We all have stories waiting to be told.

When Women Gather
Apr 25
When Women Gather

Join five local facilitators for a nourishing day of inward reflection, creativity, and renewal. Together we will explore gentle practices rooted in song, meditation, herbal care, soul collage, and hands-on creative expression, all designed to help you slow down and reconnect with your inner wisdom

Emerald Earth - A Retreat Of Spring Renewal
May 1
Emerald Earth - A Retreat Of Spring Renewal

We will gather in retreat during the renewing energy of Spring, immersed in the beauty of the Abode in the Berkshire Mountains. Together, we attune to the sacred wisdom of Nature, seeing through the eyes of Sophia - the creative feminine - and drawing from the earth-based, alchemical, and Ziraat teachings of Hazrat Inayat Khan. Through meditations in nature and elemental and astrological walks and dances, we deepen our relationship with the living universe and the archangelic presence of the elements.

The retreat weaves Sufi and Buddhist practices to purify the heart, awaken the natural self, and explore the alchemy of the soul’s journey. As we reconnect with our essential nature, we clarify our purpose and affirm our participation in an earth of beauty. This retreat is open to all, whether new to spiritual practice or deeply experienced.

Native Plants and the Garden
May 10
Native Plants and the Garden

Plant your own Native Plant Garden for beauty and environemtal benefit. Planting native plants can be beautiful, give you food, give the local animals food and a place to complete their life cycle. You will tour our gardens and learn about al the plants that grow in our area. You will go home with 6 plant starts to plant in your garden.

Herbal Facials
May 31
Herbal Facials

All natural Ingredients with foot bath and relaxation. Nourish your soul and face. Go home with a facial treatment to do at home again after event

Kids and Plants!
Jun 7
Kids and Plants!

Come explore our garden with your family and discover the wonders growing all around us. Children will learn about edible plants, helpful insects, and the basics of gardening through hands-on exploration. Each child will make their own potted herb to take home and enjoy with the whole family.

Shaker Herbs and the Medicinal Garden
Jun 21
Shaker Herbs and the Medicinal Garden

Shaker Herbs for your own Medicinal Garden. Learn about the plants the Shakers grew for medicinal purposes and tour our gardens as we learn first hand how to grow them, what they need, and all the uses these herbs were used for. At the end of the workshop you will be taking home 6 Shaker herb starts for your own garden.

Salves and Creams
Jul 19
Salves and Creams

Come learn to make your own homemade salves and creams with herbs grown on the Abode land. We will tour the garden, looking and discovering different herbs we can use from our own home gardens, and we will experiment with scents and medicinal herbs to nourish your skin naturally.

As we officially stroll into 2026, we are reminded of what a beautiful year 2025 was. We celebrated our 50th anniversary here at the Abode, hosted wonderful teachers and programs, nurtured old friendships, and welcomed new ones in. We are continuall
From all of us here, we wish you a warm and soulful holiday. May this season be filled with deep laughter, good song, and simple harmony. With warmth, The Abode
“Let the beauty we love be what we do. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.” - Rumi
With the first snow day of the season, we’re reminded of the many storms this campus has weathered and the cozy company we’ve shared them with over the past 50 years 📷 @idealife.young
We strive each day to practice gratitude, gratitude to the Stockbridge-Munsee Mohicans who first called this land home; to the Shakers, who built this campus and shared their craft; and to the Sufi community who brought continued spirit and life to t
We received our first snowfall earlier this week. The mountain was blanketed with fresh snow, steps crunching on the walk up, and the campus glimmered quietly in it's first wintery scene for the season. This season is always such a cozy one here, a
We had a great wreath building workshop over the weekend, using lots of dried flowers and herbs from the Apothecary! The back dining hall was so cozy ☕
An elderly man with a beard wearing an apron cooking in a rustic kitchen.

“While I hope that some of the skills and meditations that I have presented will be helpful to you, they are useful only as a ladder in attaining the essential objective—awakening consciousness and conscience in everyday life.”

Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan