Join our first annual retreat!
We welcome you in November near Portland, OR for:
- Dances of Universal Peace
- Kirtan and Sufi Zikr (singing)
- Breath and Walking Meditations
- Ecstatic Dance and Yoga
- Group music making
- Rumi Cafe talent sharing
- Healing Ritual
- Spiritual Discussions
- Rest and Rejuvenation
Join us in co-creating nurturing, inspiring sanga, with a concentration on gratitude and thanksgiving.
"Come, come, whoever you are,
this caravan has no despair,
Even though you have broken your vows 10,000 times
Come, come again."
-Rumi
Join us in Vernonia!
When the weather is chilly, let's come warm our hearts!
When the weather is chilly, let's come warm our hearts!
When the weather is chilly, let's come warm our hearts!
Weekend only tickets also available
Deepen into the Dances of Universal Peace, meditation, kirtan, Sufi and other spiritual practices for a weekend, or 6 days.
Each practice will be fully taught, no experience is necessary. If you cannot dance, sit and sing!
Sharing hearts: Enjoy the company of those inclined to a spiritual path, with deep discussion and connection
Relax: and really enjoy a renewing vacation in the countryside, with time for meditation, song and interfaith prayer.
WE welcome you!
When the weather is chilly, let's come warm our hearts!
When the weather is chilly, let's come warm our hearts!
Guest Dance leaders are welcome! You can join in creating shared afternoon Dance sessions almost every day. We have spaces in the early mornings for participants to lead morning practice/ yoga.
We welcome all people, regardless of race, sexual orientation, gender identity, vaccination status or socioeconomics. We strive to make this a safe and welcoming spot for all those in our community.
We are not set up to accept children at this camp, so the minimum age of attendance is 14. People aged 14-20 can apply for scholarship funds from various local sources that we have gathered.
The Site
When the weather is chilly, let's come warm our hearts!
Samples from the program:
We will be staying at Camp Cedar Ridge which is a 32-acre property covered by trees and meadows in the gorgeous coastal range of northern Oregon. Camp Cedar Ridge is a year-round facility located about 45 minutes from Portland, in Vernonia, Oregon. During your stay at Camp Cedar Ridge, you will very likely see deer, elk, eagles, great blue herons, foxes and coyotes.
We will be providing wonderful meals including vegan, vegetarian, chicken and fish, and we will not need to help with cooking and clean up. We have a great indoor dance space. It is a rustic site, and very lovely. It is the same site as NW Sufi camp.
Samples from the program:
Samples from the program:
Samples from the program:
We have many wonderful offerings to delight you, presented by our very skilled leaders and other guest teachers including:
Kirtan (with Gayan)
Chanting in the Hindu tradition, being lost in the sweetness of invoking the Divine archetypes, from this devotional path with deep roots in India.
Dances of Universal Peace
Singing and chanting sacred, ancient phrases creates a heart opening, full body healing vibration, and when conscious movement is added it becomes a powerful spiritual practice.
Ecstatic Dance
(with Amara and others)
Ecstatic Dance is a time to drop into your body and move with the music freely, in your own time, in your own creative rhythm.
Dance alone or with others, stretch, recline, watch or participate.
All levels welcome, no previous dance experience necessary.
Connection Pods- a chance to connect and share hearts with a small group
Rumi Cafe and Creativity Sharing
Come and share your songs, poems, dance, stories or skits! Let's entertain and inspire each other!
Logistics and details
Samples from the program:
Logistics and details
We ask that people give an amount that is both generous and joyful.
If you are unable to contribute at bottom of the sliding scale, please contact us – we may be able to work something out! We have a few openings for part time work trade.
Those of you who are able to pay at the higher end of the sliding scale enable us to hold this retreat in a spirit of generosity and inclusiveness. Then we can give some discounts to others.
Early Discount deadline:
Pay in full by August 1st
and save $50! on Full tickets
*Full Retreat Residential ticket: $775- 950 sliding scale, includes 3 great organic meals a day, 5 nights lodging in dorm or RV space, and all 6 days of programming.
Youth Tickets Full Retreat ages 14-18: $600 Please attend if you want to participate in the main program, as there will not be a separate youth program.
We have some scholarship funds available, and can recommend other places to apply for scholarships such as:
Ruhaniat's Next Gen Sufi's has a scholarship fund for Dance Camps - apply six weeks ahead:https://nextgensufis.org/scholarships
After we send a confirmation, send in a $200 deposit as soon as possible, Balance due by Oct 1st.or pay in full by Aug 1st for an early bird $50 off on full retreat residential tickets.Register and pay a deposit before Sept 15th to avoid a $75 late fee.Final payment is due by October 1st 2023, or immediately if you register after that.You can use Venmo, Credit cards or Checks. We prefer checks. More payment info will be sent when you register.
More details
Samples from the program:
Logistics and details
Do you live in Portland area? See below:
*Weekend Tickets:
Friday evening- Sunday before dinner,
$350- 500 sliding scale residential tickets including 6 meals
*Youth Weekend Tickets aged 14-18:
Friday evening - Sunday before dinner,
$250 residential tickets including 6 meals
(We are not set up for you to make your own food. No kitchen or and only one personal food refrigerator.)
No one day drop in tickets.
Please come at the beginning of the event only.
Extra nights
You can choose to spend an extra night before the retreat on the 9th for an additional $100 charge and this includes 2 meals.
Arrange this by contacting Amara.
Refunds
Payments are refundable up until September 10th, less a $75 cancellation fee.
Cancellations after Sept 10 and before Oct 10 will be refunded 50%.
No refunds after Oct 10th, except we will refund all your payment less $75 if we can fill your spot.
Community Service:
Everyone contributes one or 2 hours of Karma Yoga service to help camp run smoothly.
This can include tidying shared spaces, etc. Performing Karma Yoga service offers the opportunity to bond more deeply with each other as we share in the joy of co-creating community and making camp happen.
Housing in dorms
Housing in cabins or private rooms
Housing in dorms
Accommodations include beds in a large dorm, or smaller dorms, on the bottom bed of a bunk bed.
You may also bring your own RV. We have a few electrical hookups. Tents will not be an option in November.
Housing In RV
Housing in cabins or private rooms
Housing in dorms
You may also bring your own RV. We have a few electrical hookups. Tents will not be an option in November.
Weekend Tickets are dorm beds only, or your RV.
Housing in cabins or private rooms
Housing in cabins or private rooms
Housing in cabins or private rooms
Rent a space in a cabin, we have several available at an extra $200 cost, but they may be chilly in November. They have space heaters. There are a couple of private rooms reserved for couples.
An offsite option of getting a private room in a nearby vacation rental in Vernonia is also a possibility. You would need a car.
travel and weather
Foods, music, container
Housing in cabins or private rooms
Airport Pickups: We can help provide pick ups from the Portland airport, which is 1 hour away from the site, for $50 per trip for one person, or $30 per person if more than one. We will also help you carpool. This provides a benefit to those who can arrive on the afternoon of the beginning of camp. If you arrive at an odd time, expect to get an Uber or Taxi.
Weather: Typically changeable. Expect cold and wet to dry. Mostly wet.
We will be taking many steps to insure all of our safety, including:
*requiring a period of you moving in a relatively tight bubble at least 5 days beforehand:
*refraining from risky practices such as going to large events with people you are not familiar with,
*avoiding anyone who is sick,
*We will do a rapid testing of everyone the day the event starts at the site, regardless of vaccination status.
*If you have any symptoms of illness, please do not come to the event.
Foods, music, container
Foods, music, container
Foods, music, container
Personal Foods: There will be limited room for personal food in one refrigerator and some coolers. Our menu is omnivore with focus on organic and humanely raised. We provide a rich variety of dishes to cover the various dietary needs of today's health issues, but we are not able to cater to all special diets.
Please list special requirements on the registration form and our kitchen coordinator will reach out to you as needed. There will be several town trips for special needs grocery shopping. Bring extra cash to cover your requests.
Leave at Home: Alcohol or recreational drugs, valuables of any sort, pets of any make or size.
Foods, music, container
Foods, music, container
Participatory Music: All music-making is encouraged & greatly appreciated. Bring your instruments, voices, and talents. Be the live music & let's celebrate you! There will be a quiet time curfew of around 9 pm, because of our neighbors. This just means no really loud stuff after that, singing and playing guitar is fine.
Safe Container: It is essential that everyone attend Orientation which begins the first. evening. This puts us all on the same page with our group agreements.
Early Departure: If you can't stay for the entire time, Gratitude Camp can still be a powerfully transformational experience. There is no discount for leaving early.
Murshid Allaudin Ottinger
Allaudin was born in Kansas City, Missouri. A lifelong dedication to music, gathering people together and pursuit of the miraculous, led him to a study of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky. This in turn led him to find "Sufi Dancing" in the college town of Lawrence, Kansas circa 1976. More experiences in Sufism followed, which led to a deep darshan with Murshid Moineddin in the spring of 1978.
Throughout the next decade Allaudin led hundreds of Dance and Sufi meetings in Kansas City, worked closely with the Sufi Order Center in Lawrence in sponsoring Pir Vilayat and many other traveling teachers, took teachings with Korean Zen Master Soen Sa Nim and had an intense personal encounter with Sheikh Muzaffer Effendi in Chicago. In 1982 Allaudin along with Midwest dervish brothers and sisters, would begin the still continuing Ozark Sufi Camp, where thousands have learned about the path of Sufism, especially as practiced in the Sufi Ruhaniat International. His career as a traveling musician was blossoming through all these years as he played drums in every kind of ensemble but especially the internationally recognized jazz and world music collective, BCR Band.
These days Allaudin spends a lot of time with an award winning children’s music group, working for an event production group and traveling worldwide for the Sufi work. Three Sufi inspired CDs produced by Allaudin in the last few years include the Two Niles for Imam Bilal Hyde, his own well loved collection of Dances, Zikrs and Tavern Songs called, In The Everywhere and Always and most recently, the release of Saladin, the epic poem by Murshid Samuel Lewis, as read by Wali Ali. Current projects include working to make his Kansas City home and land a green oasis in the city.
Sheikh Gayan Gregory Long
Gayan is an acclaimed drummer, composer, leader of the Dances of Universal Peace, spiritual mentor, retreat leader, and storyteller. He has dedicated his life to awakening human potential through music, devotional practices, pithy teachings, and community celebration.
Gayan is a direct disciple of Pir Shabda Kahn, the lead teacher of the Sufi Ruhaniat International’s school of western Sufism.
He has shared the Dances world wide and and led retreats with some of the foremost spiritual leaders of our time.
Sheikha Amara Karuna
Amara has been leading the Dances of Universal Peace since 1985 and is a Senior Dance Leader, and has been involved in mentoring new Dance leaders.
She has been on teaching staff for five NW Sufi Camps has led many weekend retreats, zikrs and rituals which included the Dances.
She served as Secretary, and then President, on the Core of the International Council for the Dances of Universal Peace, working as a volunteer to oversee the organization for several years.
She specializes in Dances from the Goddess and Earth traditions, and leads with lively humor and devotion. She is a Sheikha in the SRI lineage of Sufism.