The Bali Gathering
5 nights of community, culture, and ceremony in the heart of ubud
Join us for an intimate gathering in a traditional Balinese villa nestled among rice terraces and jungle. You, us, and a small circle of kindred souls will spend five nights weaving together community, culture, grief, death work, and the magic of a full moon rising over the Indonesian tropics.
May 28 - June 2, 2026
Long payment plans available
This isn't a typical retreat with rigid schedules and intensive workshops.
Instead, we're creating space for something quieter. A chance to slow down, connect deeply, and let the island's rhythms remind us how to be present with each other.
We'll share meals overlooking rice paddies. We'll hold a full moon ceremony together. We'll visit Trunyan village and its island cemetery, where the Balinese Bali Aga people practice above-ground burial traditions. We'll learn to make traditional offerings, watch the Kecak fire dance, and visit a sacred Monkey Forest.
Between organized moments, there will be plenty of unstructured time too. Time to wander through Ubud's art markets and warungs. Time to sit by the pool. Time to journal, nap, or simply exist without agenda. Time to let Bali work its particular magic on your nervous system.
Your Ubud Sanctuary
You'll stay at Gaia Retreat Center, a beautiful villa set against terraced rice fields in the heart of Ubud (Bali's creative and spiritual center). This isn't a luxury resort. It's a well-loved, traditionally-built Balinese home made of teak and stone, with offerings scattered throughout and a jungle breeze.
The villa has eight bedrooms (a mix of private and shared rooms), a chlorine-free pool overlooking the rice terraces, an on-site massage room, and semi-open dining area where we'll gather for meals. Mornings open with buffet breakfast on the terrace. Evenings close with community dinner.
Ubud proper is a 15-minute walk into town - close enough to explore the vibrant markets, plant-based restaurants, temples, and art studios, but far enough to feel immersed in the jungle's quiet.
Your Time with us in Ubud, Bali
Five Nights • Full Moon Magic • Real Community
First Day
Arrival & Grounding
We’ll gather late Thursday afternoon for check-in and a welcome dinner - easing into island time together.
Middle Days
Days of Exploration
Over the next days, we'll weave together group excursions (Trunyan cemetery, offering-making, the Kecak fire dance) with plenty of unstructured time. Sometimes we'll gather. Sometimes you'll wander Ubud solo or rest by the pool.
Final Days
Integration, Rest, and Closing
Finally, we'll gather for a full moon ceremony at the villa, have time dedicated to integration - including Balinese massages, reflection time, and a final group dinner in Ubud, followed by a closing circle and a loving farewell (for now).
& what you’ll cover separately
What’s Included
Your registration cost covers your home for five nights - a room in our jungle-front villa, daily breakfast on the terrace, most of our shared dinners, and a one-hour Balinese massage. We'll organize and cover group experiences like the Trunyan cemetery visit, offering-making class, full-moon ceremony, and cultural performances.
You will be asked to independently arrange your international flights, Indonesia's tourist visa and levy (about $45 USD total), most lunches as you explore Ubud, airport transfers, and any extra spa treatments or personal adventures you want to add.
We'll provide detailed travel prep information, visa instructions, and Bali-specific guidance once you're enrolled.
Come to the Bali Gathering
Come for real connection with kinfolk. Come to witness the full moon rise over the rice terrace. Come to meet the real Bali - not as a mystical escape, but as an island with its own complexities, challenges, and resilient people. Come to rest your grieving heart. Come to learn from Balinese tradition without romanticizing or extracting from the culture. Come to experience the transformation of shared meals, conversations, and quiet moments.
Come to remember that community is medicine, and that you don't have to carry everything alone.
We'll be waiting for you in the jungle.
May 28 - June 2, 2026
Long payment plans available
Enrollment Options
Enrollment Options
Select the rooming option that suits you best
Please note: Due to the nature of villa bookings in Bali, all payments are non-refundable.
Single Room
Have a private space all to yourself to unwind, relax, and integrate
Double Room
Share a space with one other La Mort friend to bond, connect, and laugh
Your teacher
Lauren Carroll
Lauren Carroll, co-founder of La Mort, is a Death Educator & Holistic Funeral Director who is passionate about weaving community and family back into the death space. Her work centers around re-aligning our culture with Mother Earth and helping humans remember how to love one another. She is a former board member for the National Home Funeral Alliance and co-founded The Deathwives. She lives on an urban farm at the base of a mountain where she tends to her animals, raises her two children, and dances around bonfires on the full moon with friends while listening to Nick Cave.