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ODE TO JOY
A Love.Eat.Heal Retreat Where Conscious Change Meets Embodied Joy
Change Your Mind. Embody Joy. Nourish What Wants to Heal.
August 20–23, 2026 | Boulderwood, Stockbridge, Massachusetts
An intimate 3-night / 4-day immersive retreat for those ready for meaningful transformation.
6 overnight guests | 4 commuter spaces
My name is Carole
It means a song of joy.
I’ve thought about that a lot over the years.
Because life has certainly given me reasons to become someone else.
Wall Street.
Sexual harassment.
A legal battle.
Career reinvention.
Financial devastation.
The kind of experiences that can harden a person.
Years ago, an acupuncturist asked me:
“What do you hate most?”
The answer came instantly.
Mean people.
Because the truth is, I tend to fall in love with humanity.
And yes, that has led to heartbreak.
But I made a vow long ago:
If I ever stopped smiling…
stopped laughing…
stopped believing in people…
then they win.
And I lose.
This retreat lives in that vow.
Because joy, to me, is not naïveté.
It is not bypass.
It is not pretending life is easier than it is.
Joy is a conscious emotional state.
A way of meeting life without surrendering the best parts of ourselves.
As a caregiver, as someone who has walked through uncertainty, fear, healing journeys, and emotional exhaustion, I understand how quickly life can begin shaping the body.
Then I saw something that made me light up.
Tanglewood was offering yoga while the Boston Symphony Orchestra rehearses Beethoven’s
Ode to Joy.
And I knew.
Immediately.
This.
This is the retreat.
Because when we talk about transformation—real transformation—the emotional state so many of us are actually moving toward is joy.
Not fake positivity.
Not performance.
But aliveness.
Openness.
Presence.
Coherence.
Heart.
THE WORK
If we are what we think first… then learning how to consciously change our internal state becomes everything. At the heart of this retreat is Dr. Joe Dispenza’s Change Your Mind… Create New Results program—the same transformational work I teach in private coaching, immersive retreats, and corporate settings. Over four days together, I’ll guide you through the full 10-hour program and what I call: The Formula for Conscious Sustainable Change Together, we’ll explore: how thoughts shape biology how emotions become conditioned patterns how stress becomes memorized in the nervous system how we unconsciously rehearse old identities how to interrupt those patterns how to intentionally create a different emotional future This is not theory. This is practical, experiential, transformational work. We bring the body with us because change cannot remain intellectual. If the body has memorized stress, vigilance, fear, overgiving, or emotional looping… we have to teach it something new. Each day includes: Four Energy Gates Qigong breathwork guided meditation coherence practices nervous system regulation time in nature space to integrate Because healing is not something we think our way into. It is something we practice.
LOVE.EAT.HEAL LIVES AT THE TABLE
I have long said:
We are what we think first.
We are what we eat second.
Food is never separate from healing.
It is part of the conversation.
Throughout our time together, I’ll personally prepare our meals—beautiful seasonal food designed to support vitality, emotional resilience, nervous system regulation, and joy.
Because food, to me, is never an afterthought.
It is part of the healing conversation.
And because every body is different, I’ll thoughtfully accommodate dietary needs wherever possible so you feel nourished, cared for, and included at the table.
Shared breakfasts.
Colorful lunches.
Intimate dinners.
Snacks.
Recipes to bring home.
Food conversations rooted in consciousness, Chinese medicine, nourishment, and care.
Healing lives in the details.
The emotional centerpiece
Together, we’ll head to Tanglewood for yoga in the open air while the Boston Symphony Orchestra rehearses Beethoven’s Ode to Joy.
Pause there for a moment.
Movement.
Music.
Open sky.
Your body experiencing joy—not as an idea, but as a felt emotional state.
This is not simply an outing.
It is part of the transformation.
BOULDERWOOD
This retreat unfolds at Boulderwood—our beloved home in Stockbridge.
Late summer in the Berkshires is its own kind of medicine.
The light changes.
The harvest is in full force.
The crickets grow louder.
Dahlias, cosmos, and zinnias put on their final extravagant show.
My medicine garden is likely in that beautiful moment of becoming—flowers drying into tea, herbs becoming salves, the season asking to be preserved.
Knowing me, we may very well preserve something together.
Morning fog hangs low in the valley.
You may hear baby hawks calling overhead.
Or coyotes in the distance.
We’ll gather around the table.
Maybe around the fire pit.
Sharing meals.
Stories.
Vision.
Talking not only about our own healing—but the kind of humans we want to be in the world.
Because personal transformation is never just personal.
The more coherent, loving, conscious, and alive we become…
the more we contribute to the world around us.
This is not a hotel retreat.
It is intimate.
Personal.
Held.
MEETING YOUR FUTURE SELF
What if the person you're becoming is already waiting for you?
More present.
More joyful.
More resilient.
More alive.
Over these four days, we'll create the conditions for that future self to emerge.
My hope is that you leave this retreat with:
• a calmer nervous system
• greater emotional resilience
• practical tools you can use every day
• renewed trust in yourself
• a deeper relationship with your body
• meaningful connections and community
• a clearer vision for what's next
• a renewed capacity for joy
Not as ideas.
As lived experience.
Because transformation is not measured by what happens during retreat.
It is measured by who you become because of it.
INTEGRATION MATTERS
Transformation does not happen because of one beautiful weekend.
Practice does.
Repetition does.
Awareness does.
After retreat, we continue with:
4 live integration Zoom calls
AND
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guided meditations
-
your retreat workbook
-
recipes
-
ongoing practices to support meaningful, sustainable change
Because I care far less about giving you a lovely experience…
and far more about helping you create real transformation.
A likely rhythm
While some magic remains unscripted, your days will likely include:
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morning Qigong, meditation, or breathwork
-
nourishing breakfast
-
transformational Dr. Joe teaching + experiential work
-
seasonal lunch
-
nature, reflection, or integration
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afternoon sessions
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shared dinners
-
fireside conversation
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and our unforgettable Tanglewood Ode to Joy experience
If You Find Yourself Here...
You may be caring for someone you love.
You may be navigating a health challenge, a transition, grief, uncertainty, or simply the quiet realization that life is asking something new of you.
You may have accomplished much and still feel there is another chapter waiting to emerge.
You may long for meaningful conversation, nourishing food, beauty, nature, and genuine connection.
You may simply be tired of postponing your own well-being.
If something in these words feels familiar, trust that.
Sometimes transformation begins with a quiet yes.
COME SPEND FOUR DAYS WITH US
It's my birthday month and I love celebrating each revolution around the sun by sharing my love language and teaching this work!
Only 6 spaces
Includes:
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3 nights at Boulderwood in your own private bedroom (shared bath)
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all meals + snacks personally prepared by Carole
-
full 10-hour Dr. Joe Dispenza Change Your Mind… Create New Results program
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daily Four Energy Gates Qigong + embodiment practices
-
guided meditations
-
retreat workbook
-
recipes
-
Tanglewood yoga + Boston Symphony Ode to Joy rehearsal ticket
-
4 live post-retreat integration Zoom calls
Payment plan available:
3 payments of $595
Only 4 spaces
Everything listed under Overnight Experience except lodging
Payment plan available:
3 payments of $395
TRAVEL + PRACTICAL DETAILS
Boulderwood is approximately:
-
2.5 hours from Boston
-
2.5 hours from New York City
Closest airports:
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Hartford, CT
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Albany, NY
Driving is encouraged if possible.
FAQs
Do I need prior experience? No. This retreat welcomes both newcomers and those already familiar with Dr. Joe Dispenza’s work, Qigong, or yoga. All movement practices—including yoga at Tanglewood and Four Energy Gates Qigong—are beginner friendly and accessible. Yoga mats are not provided. What should I bring? Think casual comfort: comfy clothes, layers, cozy lounge clothes, sturdy walking or hiking shoes, slippers, a journal, and anything that helps you feel at home. What if my plans change? Because retreat planning requires deep preparation and commitment, payments are non-refundable. If life intervenes and you cannot attend, your investment may be applied to a future Love.Eat.Heal retreat within 12 months. Trip insurance is strongly recommended.
Joy is not frivolous.
Joy is medicine.
Joy is coherence.
Joy is heart-opening.
Joy is a high-frequency emotional state that changes biology.
And perhaps most importantly—joy is something we can consciously cultivate.
If something in you feels a quiet yes… come.
It would be my honor to be your guide and offer you a window into my world—where healing
is participatory, food is medicine, beauty matters, and joy is something we practice.
With love,
