HAND-PICKED EXPERIENCES

Editor's Picks

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

10 events curated

meditation workshop

Awakening Meditations

This three-day workshop with Ric Weinman offers meditations designed not for relaxation, but for the systematic dissolution of egoic constructs. Rather than calming the mind, these practices invite direct encounter with the space where individual identity dissolves into something vaster. Weinman, who has facilitated awakening work since his own realization in 2002, emphasizes that true facilitation extends beyond conceptual teaching or guided meditation alone. It involves actively bridging participants into the intrinsic awake space that already resides within them, the threshold where the "I" vanishes into what transcends mind and personality. The workshop meets Friday evening through Sunday noon, with intensive sessions structured to move participants progressively deeper into their own being.

Fri, Aug 14, 2026Omega Institute, Rhinebeck

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meditation retreat

Being Human Takes Practice

Jeff Warren, coauthor of Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics, leads this three-day retreat into what meditation reveals about the nature of being human. The program explores resistance, overthinking, emotional flexibility, and how we relate to ourselves and others. Rather than prescribing a single approach, Warren guides a range of practices designed to help each participant discover what resonates with their nervous system and temperament. The retreat welcomes all experience levels, including those skeptical of meditation's claims. Through sitting practice, group discussion, and time in the natural landscape, participants learn that meditation has infinite expressions. What unfolds on the cushion mirrors the texture of human experience itself, and over three days, the simple skills of concentration, clarity, equanimity, and compassion reveal themselves as foundational to emotional and spiritual well-being.

Fri, Aug 14, 2026Omega Institute, Rhinebeck

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meditation retreat

Introduction to Dark Retreat

This five-day workshop explores the integration of meditation practice with the natural rhythms of light and darkness. Guided by Lama Justin von Bujdoss, participants work with teachings from the 14th-century Dzokchen master Longchenpa, discovering how daylight and nighttime darkness can deepen contemplative insight. Rather than retreating into total darkness, the program unfolds in a lit environment while engaging directly with darkness as a tool for practice. By aligning meditation to the cycle of day and night, practitioners cultivate both creativity and confidence in their ongoing relationship with the dharma. The workshop addresses intermediate and experienced meditators with prior familiarity in Dzokchen practice.

Sun, Aug 23, 2026Omega Institute, Rhinebeck

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meditation retreat

Getting Out of Your Own Way: A Path to Presence

A weeklong meditation retreat led by Karen Kissel Wegela that addresses internal obstacles to deepening one's capacity for presence and compassion. Participants explore emotional strengths and challenges through meditations, dyadic conversations, and small-group practices grounded in Buddhist teachings and contemplative psychotherapy. The retreat cultivates mindfulness, courage, and self-kindness, with particular attention to developing the skills needed to support both oneself and others with genuine listening, empathy, and grounded presence. An established community returns each summer and welcomes newcomers into its warm, caring environment. The week balances formal instruction with space for reflection and integration.

Fri, Aug 28, 2026Omega Institute, Rhinebeck

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meditation retreat

The Realization Process: A Method of Embodied Healing & Awakening

The Realization Process is a method of embodied psychological and relational healing developed by Judith Blackstone. Under the guidance of senior teacher Theresa Scott, participants explore how mindful embodiment can open pathways to both psychological healing and nondual spiritual awakening. The practice integrates meditation, attentive movement, relational attunement, and trauma-release work known as Healing Ground. Rather than pursuing abstract states of consciousness, the method roots awakening in the body's lived experience, cultivating release of chronic patterns while expanding capacity for understanding, love, and connection with other beings. The workshop provides a contained, safe environment for this integrated work, though it is not recommended for those currently in acute crisis or working with severe trauma.

Sun, Oct 4, 2026Omega Institute, Rhinebeck

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meditation retreat

From Doing to Being: Effortless Meditation and the Lost Art of Doing Less

This weekend retreat examines the cultural habit of constant doing and offers a practical path back to ease. Cortland Dahl and Kasumi Kato draw on modern neuroscience and ancient Tibetan teachings to explore effortless meditation, the foundational awareness that exists beneath the noise of daily life. Rather than adding another technique to your practice, participants learn how to release the subtle striving that keeps attention contracted. The workshop weaves together guided meditation, contemporary neuroscience, and classical wisdom traditions to show how the shift from doing to being nourishes both body and mind, opens creative capacity, and reveals an inner reservoir of calm. Practical elements include rituals for slowing down, mindful conversation, methods for finding rest during stress, and ways to sustain this quality of presence in ordinary life. The retreat welcomes both seasoned practitioners and those new to meditation.

Fri, Oct 9, 2026Omega Institute, Rhinebeck

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meditation retreat

Listening to Our Ancestors

This five-day immersion explores ancestral wisdom through qigong and meditation, drawing on Buddhist and Daoist teachings that recognize nature as part of our lineage. Participants learn to listen and attune to guidance from both the natural world and ancestral lines through movement, breath, and contemplative practice. The workshop invites an examination of how ancestral knowledge lives within the body and can be accessed as a source of healing and resilience. Over the course of the week, participants develop a deepened relationship to self, community, and the living world, cultivating practices that support inner resources and a sense of belonging within the greater continuum of life.

Sun, Oct 11, 2026Omega Institute, Rhinebeck

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meditation certification

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) Teacher Foundations & Development

This six-day professional training offers licensed mental health practitioners and those in training an embodied introduction to Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and its mechanisms of change. Participants experience the full MBCT curriculum experientially, learning to work skillfully with unwanted emotions while developing confidence in delivering this evidence-based intervention. The training integrates exposure therapy elements with relational mindfulness practice, emphasizing treatment fidelity and compassionate implementation. Led by Chris Molnar, PhD, a recognized MBCT educator, the program combines contemplative case consultation with teach-back practice to build clinical competence. Graduates qualify for 27 continuing education credits for psychologists and qualified healthcare professionals at no additional cost, plus eligibility for 12 additional hours of virtual community-based professional development in 2027.

Sun, Oct 11, 2026Omega Institute, Rhinebeck

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meditation workshop

Meditation Party

A three-day workshop that departs from silent retreat conventions, Meditation Party invites practitioners of all levels to explore meditation across multiple lineages and teaching styles. Led by Dan Harris, Sebene Selassie, and Jeff Warren, the program combines seated practice with movement, rest, and social connection. Rather than isolating in silence, participants engage with their peers and instructors through dialogue and informal gatherings, including an optional dance event on Saturday evening. The workshop appeals equally to beginners discovering meditation and experienced practitioners seeking fresh perspectives. Housed at Omega Institute's Rhinebeck campus, it accommodates both residential and commuting participants. Scholarships are available for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color participants.

Fri, Oct 16, 2026Omega Institute, Rhinebeck

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meditation

Meditation Party Livestream

A three-day online gathering exploring meditation across diverse techniques and lived experience. Led by Dan Harris (author of 10% Happier), Sebene Selassie (meditation teacher and author), and Jeff Warren (teacher and journalist), the program weaves together guided sits, gentle movement, peer connection, and practical application for daily life. Designed for practitioners at all levels, the workshop emphasizes both formal practice and real-world integration. Participants join from home via livestream, supported by dedicated tech facilitation and access to recorded sessions for six months after the event concludes. The format prioritizes accessibility and intimacy, creating space for both contemplative depth and playful exploration of mindfulness.

Fri, Oct 16, 2026Omega Institute, Rhinebeck

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