Southland Offers a variety of Locales for Prayer, Meditation and Peace of Mind : A Place to Retreat

Most Southern Californians seeking an oasis of spiritual reflection and psychic tranquility can’t follow Henry David Thoreau’s example and escape to Walden Pond for two years. But they are an easy drive to a wide array of religious retreat centers and conference grounds, from arid desert monasteries to snow-capped mountain hideaways.

Some, surrounded by verdant gardens and burbling fountains, lie within the city limits of major metropolises yet seem a world away from the hassle and honking of nearby freeway grids.

Here, seekers can spend an hour or two, a day, a weekend or a week or more, in undirected solitude or under the leadership of retreat masters or spiritual counselors.

In all, there are more than 75 spiritual conference centers between Santa Barbara and San Diego. Most are owned or operated by churches or religious organizations but are open to non-members, and individuals and groups are invited to use the facilities--usually for moderate fees or donations--during specified periods.

‘Family Vacations’ Offered

At Mission San Luis Rey Retreat near Oceanside, for example, where “family vacations” are a specialty, a donation of $150 per person covers lodging for four week nights and 11 meals.

The Roman Catholic Directory for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles lists 21 major retreat centers in the Southland; the Official Guide to Christian Camps and Conference Centers describes 45 year-round facilities in the area, most of them evangelical in orientation.

At least two camps emphasize the traditions of Judaism. The Mt. Baldy Zen Center offers an introduction to the practice of Rinzai Zen. And several retreats relate to Eastern, New Age and eclectic spirituality.

Accommodations are as varied as the settings and sponsors. They range from the Arrowhead Springs Christian Conference Center in the foothills above San Bernardino, where the rich and famous once flocked when it was a luxury resort and spa, to the work-retreat program at the Ojai Foundation.

At Arrowhead Springs, operated by Campus Crusade for Christ, for $66 a night you can rent the sixth-floor suite occupied by Elizabeth Taylor on one of her honeymoons. But at the Ojai Founda tion, established in the tradition of Jiddu Krishnamurti, the late India-born mystic and philosopher, participants are expected to bring their own tents and sleeping bags.

“We concentrate on spiritual practices and the work of community and living on the land,” explained registrar Jackie Cusick, noting that weeklong conferences coming soon include “Art, Social Transformation and American Buddhism,” and “Womenspeak: A Wilderness Rite of Passage,” which “offers women the opportunity to awaken relationship with the goddess . .

Beauty, serenity and opportunities for spiritual growth are hallmarks of most centers.

“We have a clearly stated spiritual purpose,” said Brother Lary Pearce, guest master at Mt. Calvary Episcopal Monastery, a mission-style building richly appointed with carved-wood furniture and historic icons.

The monastery, which has a panoramic view of the Santa Barbara coastline, is run by four monks in the Benedictine tradition. Guests and monks dine together and often join in the five daily chapel services.

Not far away, nestled in the secluded oaks and eucalyptus trees of Montecito, is La Casa de Maria, a serene retreat once the home of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Los Angeles. Originally a private estate, the main house--a classic of the early 1930s--has vaulted ceilings, pegged oak floors, beveled bathroom tiles, carved doors and bronze fixtures.

Serves 16,000 Annually

Later, Casa de Maria was a retreat primarily for married couples; now it serves 16,000 persons each year in an ecumenical environment. Beyond a shaded arbor is the jewel of the campus, a small, hushed meditation chapel. On the wall is a circle and cross mandala made of pin-sized holes. Thousands of points of light stream through from outside.

For a donation of $40 a day, individuals of all faiths can come to Casa de Maria to “search for truth, engage in dialogue, realize their own self-worth (and) experience the sacred,” said program coordinator Ann Fischer.

Down the coast, three blocks from Pacific Coast Highway on Sunset Boulevard, is the Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine, a daytime-only park for meditation, lectures--or just plain strolling and watching the swans swim on tranquil water.

Dedicated in 1950 by the group’s founder, the late Paramahansa Yogananda, the lake shrine features the Mahatma Gandhi World Peace Memorial, where a portion of the India leader’s ashes are enshrined, a chapel designed in the shape of an old Dutch windmill, and the Court of Religions, which contains symbols of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism.

Other day-use-only retreats include Immaculate Heart Retreat House on the West Side of Los Angeles, and Heart of Jesus Retreat Center in Santa Ana. Both are within minutes of freeways and afford safe havens for mini-getaways. And Holy Spirit Retreat Center, in the center of Encino, offers quiet reflection and plain but comfortable quarters for $50 a night, including meals.

Some Repeat Visitors

“Some people come once or twice a month,” said Sister Patricia McCarthy, Holy Spirit’s director.

One of Southern California’s largest Christian conference grounds beckons that it’s the place where “you can come up for air--where you can set aside the troubles of life, where you can relax with friends and loved ones, where you can be alone with God.”

“Our guests come and go,” said Jim Halls, associate director of Forest Home Christian Conference Center, “but they always leave looking better than when they came.”

Ensconced on 400 acres a mile high in the San Bernardino Mountains, Forest Home serves more than 50,000 campers a year. But there’s plenty of room in the Alpine-like setting for solitude and quiet.

Specialty conferences at Forest Home next month include one for “CEOs, executives and managers,” one for single parents, and even a weekend for golfers at $185--complete with a tournament at Ironwood Country Club in Palm Desert.

For those who would rather go straight to the desert, St. Andrew’s Priory near Valyermo, which is roughly between Palmdale and Victorville, takes guests during the week for a $35 donation. That includes three meals a day and a private room. But don’t expect a phone or newspaper. And be prepared to observe silence from dinner until after breakfast.

Another rule, noted prominently: “No Hunting--Except for Peace.”

Weekend Retreats

Seasonal weekend retreats are also conducted by the 25 Benedictine monks at St. Andrew’s, who “invite you to share their life, their worship and their silence,” said Brother Benedict Dull, assistant guest master.

Jews of all religious backgrounds come together to explore and experience Judaism at Brandeis-Bardin Institute, which commands an imposing view atop 3,100 acres of rolling hills in the Simi Valley.

“All of our weekend programs celebrate Shabbat and combine study, prayer, lectures and discussions with workshops in music, drama and Israeli dance,” said coordinator Roberta Lipshutz.

Indeed, a vivid memory for many visitors is exuberant dancing on the portico outside the institute’s House of the Book, a unique meeting hall whose design suggests a giant biblical scroll. Brandeis-Bardin will hold a free open house (reservations required) on April 2 with Rabbi Haskell Lookstein.

Camp Ramah in Ojai, affiliated with the University of Judaism in Los Angeles, also features scholars-in-residence weekends for those interested in Judaism.

According to Diane Cohen of the Ramah Academy, a singles weekend, “Changing Self-Perceptions and the Meaning of Being Jewish,” is on tap June 2-4 and includes kosher meals and lodging for $100.

Two Roman Catholic retreat houses in the San Gabriel Valley foothills schedule retreats for both individuals and groups.

Quietude Important

Most group retreats at Manresa Jesuit Retreat House, Azusa, are conducted in silence, based on the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. The center’s meeting halls, extensive library, guest rooms--some have built-in Jacuzzis--and winding walkways are surrounded by 600 acres of trees and flowers of the Monrovia Nursery. And Manresa’s picturesque chapel was the scene for television episodes of “Werewolf” and “Moonlighting.”

Nearby Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center, on sheltered grounds overlooking Sierra Madre, provides “a prayerful environment . . . to appreciate the Passion of Christ,” notes Father Arthur Carrillo, the retreat master. Mater Dolorosa is also remembered for being the place where during the 1950s and ‘60s Big Ten Conference football teams were sequestered the night before New Year’s Day Rose Bowl games.

“They’d bring ‘em up and lock ‘em in,” recalls Carrillo. “It’s easy to do a bed check here.”