HAND-PICKED EXPERIENCES

Editor's Picks

Curated events selected by the BrightStar team — transformational gatherings worth your time.

7 events curated

meditation retreat

The Art of Non-Sleep Deep Rest

This three-day retreat explores non-sleep deep rest, a waking state of profound relaxation documented by neuroscience to reset dopamine levels and reduce cortisol. Led by mindfulness trainer Kelly Boys, the program combines yoga nidra protocols with journaling and contemplative practice in Esalen's natural setting. The retreat addresses those navigating stress, life transitions, or seeking to deepen existing meditation practice. Participants will engage in lying-down guided sessions throughout the weekend, supported by research into neuroplasticity and sleep enhancement. No prior experience with yoga nidra is required. The large-group format encourages both inner work and gentle community connection, with ample time for reflection amid Big Sur's coastal landscape.

Fri, Oct 2, 2026Esalen Institute, Big Sur

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meditation retreat

Self-Compassion as a Lifeboat Home: Remembering the Heart of Who We Are

Led by Caverly Morgan, a former monk and teacher of awakening, this five-day retreat at Esalen Institute invites participants to explore self-compassion not as a tool for self-improvement but as a refuge during difficulty. The program weaves together nondual meditation, experiential inquiry, and group dialogue to examine patterns of self-judgment and striving. Rather than attempting to fix oneself, participants are guided toward a direct experience of wholeness—a remembering of who they already are beneath conditioned patterns. Through daily practice and guided exploration, the retreat examines how compassion functions as a bridge to a more spacious, connected way of being. The work honors both the contemplative traditions from which these teachings emerge and the relational, embodied dimensions of practice. Situated on the dramatic California coast, Esalen's setting provides an environment conducive to deep introspection and communal learning.

Mon, Oct 5, 2026Esalen Institute, Big Sur

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meditation retreat

Stages of Tranquility and Insight

This weekend retreat introduces participants to Asanga's Nine Stages of Staying, a classical Buddhist concentration system known as the Elephant Path. Originating in the 6th century and maintained as the primary mind-training method in the Tibetan tradition, this practice uses the body as the primary object of focus. The retreat provides foundational instruction in both the nine stages of concentration and an introduction to the basic stages of insight practice. By the weekend's end, participants receive complete instructions for establishing a sustainable meditation practice. The training cultivates direct experience of equanimity and creates conditions for recognizing the nature of awakened mind. No prior meditation experience is necessary. Participants may bring their own meditation cushions and mats.

Fri, Oct 16, 2026Esalen Institute, Big Sur

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meditation retreat

Sleep, Dream, Death, and Liberation: Exploring the Continuity of Awareness

This five-day retreat with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche draws from Tibetan contemplative traditions to examine how sleep, dreams, and mortality function as gateways to expanded awareness. Rather than treating these states as separate from ordinary consciousness, the program explores their continuity, grounding teachings in direct experience rather than philosophy alone. Participants work with meditation, reflection, and embodied practices to integrate insights about sleep and dreaming into daily life. The faculty weaves classical Tibetan teachings with contemporary psychology and neuroscience perspectives on consciousness. Sessions emphasize practical methods for cultivating clarity during sleep transitions and for meeting life's inevitable passages with greater compassion and freedom.

Mon, Nov 2, 2026Esalen Institute, Big Sur

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meditation retreat

Hardwire Happiness: Rewire Your Mind for Calm, Clarity, and Joy

Drawing on findings from contemporary neuroscience, this three-day workshop explores how deliberate practice can reshape neural pathways toward greater calm and contentment. Dr. Shauna Shapiro, a clinical psychologist and researcher who has published extensively on meditation and well-being, teaches evidence-based methods for strengthening the brain's capacity for joy and connection. The weekend balances scientific explanation with practical application, offering participants concrete techniques they can integrate into daily life. Rather than promises of transformation, the program asks participants to engage with neuroscience as a lens for understanding how sustained practice reshapes the mind. Open to all experience levels, the workshop unfolds at Esalen Institute's Big Sur campus, where participants stay on-site with access to the hot springs, open classes, and the institute's broader offerings.

Fri, Nov 6, 2026Esalen Institute, Big Sur

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meditation retreat

You Are Not Your Fault: Meeting ADHD with Mindfulness, Wisdom, and Compassion

Many people struggle with focus, time management, emotional regulation, and task completion—challenges often attributed to ADHD but frequently compounded by modern life's pace and complexity. These difficulties can foster shame and self-doubt. This three-day workshop with Buddhist meditation teacher Mark Coleman offers a grounded approach to meeting such challenges with mindfulness, compassion, and practical wisdom. Through guided meditations, loving-kindness practices, and contemplative inquiry, participants explore how executive function challenges interrupt daily life and learn to respond with acceptance and humor rather than harsh self-judgment. The workshop takes place at Esalen Institute in Big Sur, where coastal setting and campus amenities—including hot springs, open classes, and healing arts—support deeper introspection and integration.

Fri, Nov 13, 2026Esalen Institute, Big Sur

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meditation retreat

Sitting at the Feet of the Glacier: Land-Based Practices, Meditation, and Grief Work

This five-day apprenticeship treats the glacier as both teacher and elder, offering a sustained inquiry into slowness, attention, and our collective capacity to grieve and protect the living world. Led by Ayana Young and Brontë Velez, the program draws on land-based practices developed through collaborative work in Southeast Alaska's Glacier Bay. Each day begins with storytelling that cultivates a shared ethos of deep attention. Participants engage in daily meditation to inhabit the glacier's stillness and posture, slow movement through the land to embody its temporal signature, and grief-and-praise work that asks what the glacier's rapid melting calls forth from us. Through pattern recognition and landscape reading, the group attends to birds, tides, plants, and stones at Esalen, learning what the earth's nervous system might teach about our own. Writing and intimate council shares invite participants to consider which stories risk extinction and how speaking them affirms our own lives as necessary to the earth. The fourth day includes a half-day of silence on the land, followed by story-sharing around fire and soaking in the hot springs.

Mon, Dec 7, 2026Esalen Institute, Big Sur

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