CALENDAR

Join us for a silent meditation retreat in the Rocky Mountains, where the beauty of autumn and nature offer a peaceful setting for deepening mindfulness and renewal. The retreat will alternate between sitting and walking meditation, with time spent outdoors and in the warmth of the lodge, fostering connection with nature and introspection. Ideal for those with some meditation experience, this retreat offers a balance of guided practice, dharma talks, and personal reflection to support inner peace and growth.

Awareness is a beautiful, hidden jewel that is innate in everyone. Awareness illuminates experience, which creates the pathway for clarity, understanding, and insight. It is a foundation for wisdom, compassion, and awakening. In this silent meditation retreat, we will explore the quality of awareness—what it is, and how to cultivate and abide in awakened presence. We will investigate how mindfulness supports a depth of awareness through various meditation practices, and we will look at what obscures the clarity of awareness both in meditation and in everyday life.

Paddling in the Sea of Cortez provides a unique opportunity to explore the power of a silent meditation retreat while immersed in the beauty and wildness of the Sea of Cortez. We will participate in an age-old tradition of going into the wilderness as a support for spiritual practice and inquiry. Immersed in this coastal wilderness, we will use meditation practices to increase our receptivity to the interconnectedness, preciousness and beauty that surround us. Through our enhanced openness and quiet, we have the opportunity to explore deeply the truth of our own nature. We will be in a supportive community as we explore this inner and outer journey. And our community will most likely be inter-species as we interact with the numerous other animals that live in and around the Sea of Cortez—fish, dolphins, whales, manta rays, birds, and the many other creatures of these remote islands.

Paddling in the Sea of Cortez provides a unique opportunity to explore the power of a silent meditation retreat while immersed in the beauty and wildness of the Sea of Cortez. We will participate in an age-old tradition of going into the wilderness as a support for spiritual practice and inquiry. Immersed in this coastal wilderness, we will use meditation practices to increase our receptivity to the interconnectedness, preciousness and beauty that surround us. Through our enhanced openness and quiet, we have the opportunity to explore deeply the truth of our own nature. We will be in a supportive community as we explore this inner and outer journey. And our community will most likely be inter-species as we interact with the numerous other animals that live in and around the Sea of Cortez—fish, dolphins, whales, manta rays, birds, and the many other creatures of these remote islands.

In the storms of our lives, we need refuge—a place of nourishment and support where we can replenish our tired bodies and troubled hearts. When the Buddha taught meditation, his first instruction was to go sit under a tree. We will practice together in the age-old tradition of being outside in the company of the natural world. Together, we will tap into the natural stillness and dynamism that surrounds us and teaches us balance. As we integrate stillness and movement, we move toward being active participants in the world while maintaining balance and ease in our hearts and minds.

Through the practices of compassion and equanimity, our hearts discover a capacity for steadiness and love, allowing us to remain open to the challenges of our times. Through guided meditations, Dharma talks, group practice meetings, contemplative verbal inquiry, and periods of sitting and walking meditation, we’ll call on the liberative power of compassion and equanimity to release a wise and heart-full response to the pain of our world. Although there will be periods of discussion, the majority of the retreat will be held in noble silence. This retreat is open to all levels of experience and to anyone interested in cultivating the relational and meditative ballasts of compassion and equanimity.

In September 2026 Susie Harrington, Jaya Rudgard and Eleni Monos (assisting) will be offering a nature retreat at the IMS Forest Refuge. A unique opportunity to practice all day outside in the beautiful forest around the retreat center, while having the comfort of sleeping inside.