Nourish your wild heart in this women’s mindfulness meditation retreat in a beautiful nature preserve in northern California. Unplug from your busy life and your digital devices and connect with the healing energy of the natural world and the intuitive wisdom of your own body.
Rāhula asked, “Venerable sir, how is mindfulness of breathing developed and cultivated so that it is of great fruit and great benefit?”
The Buddha replied, “Rāhula, develop meditation that is like the earth; for when you develop meditation that is like the earth, arisen agreeable and disagreeable contacts will not invade your mind and remain.”
When the Buddha’s son Rahula asked about mindfulness of breathing, the first practices the Buddha offered were practices on the elements – developing meditation like the earth, fire, water, air and space. During this week-long retreat, we will be offering practices to support the development of intimacy with the earth element and the freedom of simplicity of mind. We will explore how meditating with the earth brings great fruit and great benefit. Weather permitting, all practices will be held outside.
Do you long to embody the ease, freedom, and aliveness that is your true home? To do so, the Buddha implored us to “go to the forest, to the foot of a tree” as an onward leading condition for awakening to our true nature. In this home of spruce forests, alpine meadows, birdsong, and wandering moose, we practice immersed in the natural world. And we explore opening ourselves to the beauty, inter-connectedness, and preciousness of our true nature. During this retreat, we’ll be encouraged to look out and around, as well as inward, and to delight in what we see.
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.
This silent meditation retreat is held in the beautiful Rocky Mountains at a time of year that lends itself for turning inward and introspection. We will be outside as weather permits, and we will have plenty of opportunity to warm back up in the cozy retreat lodge of the Rocky Mountain Ecodharma Retreat Center.
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 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.
