Suppers

Dining table with green centerpieces, green glasses, plates decorated with fruit, and additional fruit scattered across the table

You deserve to have a seat at the table.

At Compassion Collective our inaugural Soft Life Suppers aren’t about bypassing the hard parts, they’re about holding them with the same tenderness we offer joy.
Dining table with a half-filled champagne glass, pine and fruit centerpieces, and place settings with plates and cutlery.

Soft Life Supper Winter Solstice 2025

  • The Winter Solstice marks the longest night of the year — a threshold where darkness reaches its fullest expression before the slow return of light. It’s a moment that invites us to acknowledge what lives in our shadows: the grief we carry, the anger we’ve quieted, the desires we’ve tucked away.

    Together, we’ll explore the interplay of divine feminine and masculine energies, not as gendered ideas, but as complementary forces within all of us: the receptive and the active, the soft and the strong, the rest and the doing.

    Too often, we’re taught to choose. To be nurturing or ambitious. Gentle or powerful. Vulnerable or protected. But true wholeness requires both. And the Solstice, a moment suspended between darkness and light, reminds us that we can hold all of ourselves with compassion and communal care.

    This evening is for women ready to stop abandoning parts of their hearts and learn to embrace their fullness with honesty, softness, and courage.

  • Date: Sunday, December 21, 2025

    Location: Private venue 45–50 minutes from downtown Washington, DC (exact address provided upon registration).

    5:00 PM — Social Hour
    Arrive, get settled, and enjoy a glass of wine as you unwind from the week. Ease into conversation with women who understand what it means to move through the world as your full, complex self.

    6:00 PM — Dinner
    A chef-prepared, multi-course meal crafted to nourish both body and spirit. Every detail is intentionally curated—this is luxury as care, not performance.

    7:30 PM — Guided Conversation
    Facilitated by Esther, we’ll explore shadow work and energetic balance. What parts of yourself have been kept in the dark? Where are you over-functioning in doing and achieving at the expense of rest and receiving? Together, we’ll explore how to bring these energies back into harmony.

    9:00 PM — Solstice Fire Ceremony
    A closing ritual to honor what you're releasing and what you're inviting in as the light begins its return. A moment of completion and gentle renewal.

    9:30 PM — Departure

    • 4-hour immersive evening experience

    • Chef-prepared, multi-course gourmet dinner

    • Wine, signature cocktail, and mocktail options

    • Guided conversation and reflection facilitated by Esther Boykin, LMFT

    • Winter Solstice fire ceremony

    • Welcome gift and thoughtful touches throughout the evening

    • Special surprises to deepen the experience

    • You’re ready to stop hiding parts of yourself to be “easy” or “palatable”

    • You’re curious about shadow work but want to explore it in community, not alone

    • You’ve been running on overdrive and need permission to rest without guilt

    • You seek connection with women who value healing as much as ambition

    • You want a glimpse of what the Compassion Collective retreat experience feels like

  • $375 per person

    Early Bird Special: 30% off if you register by November 24, 2025

    Soft Life Suppers are limited to 15 women to preserve intimacy and ensure meaningful connection.

Book Your Experience
Dining table decorated with watermelon, sliced peaches, a partially filled champagne glass, and a floral centerpiece.

Soft Life Supper Summer Solstice 2026

  • Divine Feminine Archetypes: Basking in Our Light, Pleasure, Passion & Playfulness

    The Summer Solstice marks the longest day of the year — peak light, full bloom, and the sun at its highest point. It’s a time to celebrate, step into visibility, and honor the fullness of who you are without apology.

    This Soft Life Supper invites you to bask in your feminine glory. Together, we’ll explore the Compassion Collective framework of the 7 divine feminine archetypes. Not as rigid categories, but as a container to honor all the versions of womanhood within you: the lover, the queen, the maiden, the mystic, and more. We’ll celebrate pleasure as practice, passion as fuel, and playfulness as a form of resistance against the world’s relentless expectations.

    This evening is about more than conversation — it’s about embodying your light, allowing yourself to be seen, and remembering that joy is your birthright, not something to earn after the work is done.

  • Date: Saturday, June 20, 2026

    Location: Private venue in the Washington, DC metro area (exact address provided upon registration).

    5:30 PM — Social Hour
    Arrive as the afternoon sun softens. Pour yourself something beautiful and ease into conversation and connection.

    6:30 PM — Dinner
    A chef-prepared feast celebrating the season — fresh, vibrant, and designed to delight every sense. Food as pleasure, art, and care.

    8:00 PM — Guided Conversation
    Facilitated by Esther, we’ll explore the divine feminine archetypes, not as boxes, but as energies to dance with. Which archetypes do you lead with? Which have you suppressed? Together, we’ll explore how to integrate them and embrace your fullest self, with pleasure, passion, and playfulness as essential practices.

    9:00 PM — Solstice Ritual
    A closing ritual to honor the light — celebrating who you are, what you’re inviting in, and what you’re ready to show the world.

    10:00 PM — Departure

    • 4.5-hour immersive evening experience

    • Chef-prepared, multi-course dinner featuring seasonal flavors

    • Wine, signature cocktails, and mocktails for the evening

    • Guided conversation and reflection facilitated by Esther Boykin, LMFT

    • Summer Solstice ritual

    • Welcome gift and thoughtful touches throughout the evening

    • Special surprises to enhance the experience

    • You want to explore pleasure, passion, and play as essential practices — not guilty indulgences

    • You’re ready to step into visibility without apologizing for taking up space

    • You’re curious about the divine feminine archetypes and how they show up in your life

    • You seek connection with women who celebrate your light rather than ask you to dim it

    • You want a taste of the Compassion Collective retreat experience in an intimate evening setting

  • $375 per person

    Soft Life Suppers are limited to 15 women to preserve intimacy and ensure meaningful connection.

Book Your Experience

Not sure which experience is right for you?

Take our Readiness Quiz to discover the offering that best aligns with where you are on your journey. Whether you’re seeking reflection, connection, or deep restoration, this quiz helps you identify the Retreat, Salon, or Supper that meets you where you are.

Additional Offerings

Body of water with red flowers in the foreground and mountains in the distance

The Courage to Bloom Catskills Spring Retreat

  • On Heartache, Renewal & Self-Nurturance

    When was the last time you allowed yourself to be held while your heart was hurting?

    This retreat is for the woman carrying quiet sorrow — the grief of a relationship that ended, the loss of someone you love, or the slow, unspoken exhaustion of always being the strong one. It’s for the part of you that is tired of “pushing through,” and ready to be met with something gentler.

    Over four days in the soft bloom of spring in the Catskills, we’ll explore how to tend to your own heart with patience and reverence. You’ll be guided through practices that invite rest, emotional release, and the courage to feel again. Here, healing is not rushed. Grief is honored. And blooming is still possible, no matter how many times your heart has been broken.

    Together, we’ll explore the interplay of divine feminine and masculine energies, not as gendered ideas, but as complementary forces within all of us: the receptive and the active, the soft and the strong, the rest and the doing.

    Too often, we’re taught to choose. To be nurturing or ambitious. Gentle or powerful. Vulnerable or protected. But true wholeness requires both. And the Solstice, a moment suspended between darkness and light, reminds us that we can hold all of ourselves with compassion and communal care.

    This evening is for women ready to stop abandoning parts of their hearts and learn to embrace their fullness with honesty, softness, and courage.

    • 4 days and 3 nights in a serene, luxury retreat home in the Catskills

    • Your choice of private or shared accommodations, surrounded by quiet woods and mountain air

    • All meals prepared by a private chef: breakfast, lunch, dinner, and nourishing snacks

    • Daily guided meditation and tea rituals

    • Facilitated group sessions supporting healing around heartache, renewal, and self-nurturance

    • Creative and experiential practices to help you process, release, and reconnect

    • Access to hot tub, fire pit, and nearby nature trails

    • Thoughtful welcome gifts and personal touches throughout your stay

    • Pre-retreat preparation materials to ground you before arrival

    • Ongoing community support through the Compassion Collective after the retreat ends

Black woman with short hair wearing a white suit, sitting at a table with a laptop and looking out the window while sipping from a copper cup with straws

Virtual Gatherings Year-Round Salons 2026

  • Our Virtual Gatherings bridge the distance—between retreats, across cities, and for women at different points in their Compassion Collective journey.

    Held on the 2nd Thursday of each month, 6:45–8:00 PM EST, each 75-minute session blends guided mindfulness, reflective practice, and meaningful dialogue.

    For those who have experienced the depth of our retreats, these gatherings provide ongoing connection and support, no matter where you are in the world. For newcomers, they offer a chance to meet Esther, explore our core frameworks, and see if this community feels like home.

    • Practical tools and frameworks you can immediately apply to daily life, from mindfulness prompts to self-compassion practices

    • Ongoing support and connection for retreat alumnae to stay grounded between in-person gatherings

    • A welcoming introduction for new participants to experience the intimacy, luxury, and cultural resonance of Compassion Collective

    • Space for personal reflection to explore how core themes can reshape your daily rhythms

    • Direct access to Esther, including a 15-minute Q&A after each session for questions, guidance, and tailored support

Black woman with curly hair in athletic wear lying on her back on a white towel, one hand on her chest, eyes closed, looking up toward the sky.

Embodiment as Reclamation Spring Salon 2026

  • Everyone’s talking about embodiment. But what does it really mean to live in your body when you’ve spent years ignoring its signals?

    For high-achieving Black and Brown women navigating a world that polices our bodies, dismisses our pain, and demands constant strength, embodiment isn’t a trend. It’s a reclamation, a practice of listening to the body you’ve been conditioned to override in pursuit of productivity, palatability, or survival.

    This Salon moves beyond surface-level conversations to explore what it truly means to be present in your physical self. Together, we’ll discuss somatic practices, the politics of Black women’s bodies, pleasure as a pathway to presence, and how to reconnect with the wisdom your body has been offering all along.

    • You’ve heard “listen to your body” but aren’t sure how, after years of overriding its signals

    • You want to explore embodiment through a lens that honors the realities of living in a Black woman’s body

    • You’re curious about somatic practices but want more than surface-level wellness content

    • You seek intellectually rigorous conversation grounded in lived experience

    • You want to be in community with women who understand the complexity of reclaiming your physical self

Voices from The Collective

  • "A Compassion Collective retreat is like the exhale on a Jill Scott song. Restorative, supportive, energizing."

    Laurie P.

  • "What differentiates this retreat is the continued support even after the retreat. I love knowing I have this collective of women in my life."

    Kasandra J.

  • "My experience in one word? Peaceful. The villa and meditations allowed my busy body to be still and find pleasure in the quiet solitude."

    Lindsey B.