MEDITATIVE REPARENTING
SILENT 5-DAY RETREAT
November 7-11, 2025
Seven Oaks Retreat Center, Madison, VA | Online via Zoom
Affiliated with the Insight Meditation Community of Washington (IMCW)
Teacher: Stan Eisenstein
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Reparenting is a powerful process for healing stored emotional and psychic tangles that keep us stuck and suffering in our lives.
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As we go through life, especially in childhood but also into adulthood, we encounter messages and challenging events that do not get resolved. These unresolved issues stick in our subconscious experience like thorns. Until they are resolved, these psychic thorns affect our mood and our capacity to navigate life challenges. New situations that remind us of the old ones that are unresolved are taken to be threatening, and we find ourselves getting unskillfully reactive.
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If we are to resolve some of these psychic thorns or tangles, we need to replay the old situations that brought them about – but in a new way, a way that resolves the situation. Our younger self needed someone to help us through the challenges. We needed a parent that could attune to our needs, understand the situation, and help us to navigate the difficulty. No external parent can do this all of the time. The one who is most capable of helping your younger self through challenges is the adult self you are now. You have lived through the experience of your younger self. You know intimately what your younger self was (and is) experiencing. And you have wisdom from life that can help you to discern what your younger self most needs to help them move through the challenges and come out the other side with a sense of well-being.
In the process of reparenting, we learn to use meditative imagery and body sensations to bring our wisest adult selves to our stored younger versions of ourselves. We learn to form a relationship with these younger versions. We learn to care for them, and they learn to trust us. Once a relationship is established, we learn how to guide our younger versions of ourselves through some of the challenging situations they encountered in a way that releases the psychic thorns or tangles. Each thorn that is removed brings a sense of relief or ease that has a direct through line to your current self.
This retreat will consist of talks about stages of reparenting and caveats for how to most safely work with the process, guided meditations, periods of unguided sitting and walking meditation, and group meetings with teachers.
Important Caveat: The practice of reparenting can be healing and powerful. However, it also has the capacity under certain circumstances to feel destabilizing, especially during periods of unguided practice. If you are currently working with a psychiatrist or psychotherapist, it is recommended that you consult with them regarding your readiness to engage in such an intensive practice. Furthermore, if you have difficulty identifying emotions or feeling them in your body, it would be best to first do some training in basic mindfulness and embodiment by attending Stan’s fall MBSR course or Self-Inquiry course. A licensed psychotherapist will be available onsite for consultation, if necessary, throughout the retreat. If you or your therapist has any questions or concerns about your suitability for participation in this retreat, contact Stan for a consultation.
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Hybrid Retreat: Please join us in person at the Seven Oaks Retreat Center in Madison, VA, or online via Zoom.
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Seven Oaks Retreat Center nestles in the beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains about 90 minutes southwest of the Washington, DC, area and 30 minutes north of Charlottesville, VA. Most rooms are shared and have shared bathrooms. Seven Oaks is not an ADA-accessible campus. Please contact Stan if you have any concerns about the accessibility of space and to discuss possibilities.
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Seven Oaks strives to nurture guests by providing delicious, healthy food at each meal. The chef cooks with fresh, seasonal ingredients and all meals are lacto-ovo vegetarian. If you have special dietary needs (e.g., dairy-free, gluten-free, vegan, allergies), please provide this information when you register.
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Fees: TBD. Scholarships available through IMCW.
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Please note that retreat fees only cover direct expenses for this event, such as room, meals, and administrative costs. In keeping with the Buddhist tradition, the teachers and retreat managers receive no payment. Donations offered by students at the end of the retreat are appreciated and support the teachers and retreat managers in continuing to make the teachings available to all. Dana offerings are tax-deductible.​​
REVIEWS FROM PREVIOUS REPARENTING RETREAT PARTICIPANTS
Even though I have been meditating for 15 years with many retreats and courses, this Meditative Reparenting retreat was the most transformative. I found so many old situations in my life that were still stuck, and in this retreat learned to address them with insight and love. I will take it again in order to keep growing by healing old wounds.
~Mo
This retreat exceeded all my expectations. Stan's wisdom, kindness, and unique approach to teaching have always resonated deeply with me. I feel his lessons speak to both beginners and advanced meditators alike, making his guidance accessible and impactful for everyone. He has a remarkable ability to connect with each individual on a personal level. The focus on inner child work during this retreat was profoundly meaningful to me and my healing journey. I believe this work has the potential to help not only myself, but also many others who feel stuck in life. It has been a transformative experience, and I am deeply appreciative.
~Sarah
Many advocate reparenting one's inner child as a way to heal childhood wounds, build self-love, and disarm mal-adaptive triggers. But how? This retreat provided specific and profoundly effective guidance, not only on how to make inner child contact but how to foster an on-going, loving relationship at different ages and in the midst of good and bad times. I can't recommend this retreat enough.
~Kent
As a long time psychotherapist and psychotherapy client I was delighted to experience an additional way to work with my wounded inner children. Stan offered the concept of developing a relationship with these children at their various ages and hold and parent them as they faced and grew through their various challenges. In addition, he suggested the work be done in the holding environment of Buddhist and Western psychological principles and mindful meditation practice. I found the work to be profoundly helpful. As a teacher Stan excels: he embodies his teachings; he presents the teachings in a systematic way, building idea upon idea; he communicates clearly; he listens with attunement.
~Diane
This was unlike any retreat I have ever been on. Stan... created an incredibly welcoming and supportive container for us to deep dive into meditative reparenting. I wholeheartedly believe that everyone would benefit from this retreat.