meditation retreatDzogchen Retreat: Revealing the Great Inner Connection at Menla
Dzogchen Retreat: Revealing the Great Inner Connection at Menla at Menla Retreat and Dewa Spa — Phoenicia
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Curated events selected by the BrightStar team — transformational gatherings worth your time.
58 events curated
meditation retreat
meditation retreatDzogchen Retreat: Revealing the Great Inner Connection
Dzogchen Retreat: Revealing the Great Inner Connection at Menla Retreat and Dewa Spa — Phoenicia
meditation retreatBreathwork & Meditation Retreat
Experience the synergy of breathwork and personalized mantra-based meditation to enhance mental clarity, sharpen focus, and nurture emotional well-being.
meditation retreatTaming the Tiger
Taming the Tiger is a weekend retreat grounded in Buddhist principles of self-transformation and compassionate action. Led by Dr. Brion Sweeney, a retired psychiatrist and longtime student of Tara Rokpa Therapy, the course draws on decades of practice and clinical experience to explore how meditation and mindfulness can reshape our relationship to difficulty. Rather than seeking escape from obstacles, participants are invited to work with what arises through kindness and acceptance. The retreat rests on a simple foundation: to change the world, we must first change ourselves. Through guided practice and reflection, attendees examine the nature of freedom, the role of tolerance in spiritual development, and the practical ways compassion emerges when we stop resisting what is.
meditation retreatBack to the Cushion: A Meditation Reboot Retreat
Designed for practitioners who have stepped away from regular meditation or feel their practice has lost momentum, this retreat offers a grounded container to re-establish a consistent sitting practice. Set at Drala Mountain Center, the program unfolds over two nights and three days, beginning Friday evening with orientation and dinner. The retreat balances instruction with substantial practice time, creating space for participants to move slowly and rebuild their relationship with the cushion without pressure or intensity. The setting itself—a contemplative mountain environment—supports the gentle arc of returning to something familiar yet transformative.
meditation retreatBack to the Cushion: A Meditation Reboot Retreat
For those whose meditation practice has lapsed or lost its spark, this retreat provides a gentle return to foundational practice. The program spans three days of guided instruction, silent sitting, mindful movement, and group reflection. Participants will revisit core techniques, examine obstacles to consistent practice, and cultivate renewed clarity and discipline. The retreat welcomes both those returning after months or years away and practitioners seeking to refresh their connection to the cushion. The setting emphasizes a grounded, non-judgmental community where participants can explore what authentic practice means to them at this moment in their lives.
meditation retreatVibrant Silence: Qigong, Breath and Meditation
This five-day retreat at Esalen explores the Chinese practice of Wai Dan Gong, a system of movement designed to relax and energize the body and mind while cultivating awareness of life force energy. Instructor Jim Gallas, who has taught yoga and qigong at Esalen since 1999, guides participants through the 25 core movements of this form alongside sitting, walking, and standing meditation. The retreat includes two mornings of noble silence, creating space for deepened inner work. Participants learn shorter Wai Dan Gong sequences suitable for daily practice, gentle meridian stretches, self-massage techniques, the six healing sounds, and simple breath work. The combination of movement practices and meditation is designed to settle the nervous system and expand awareness of the subtle energy body. Classes take place on the grounds overlooking the Pacific Ocean and Big Sur coastline.
meditation retreatFive-Day Retreat with Bhante Joe
A five-day residential retreat led by Bhante Joe at Newbury Monastery. The retreat offers an immersive setting for meditation practice within the context of traditional Buddhist teachings. Participants stay at the monastery, participating in the daily rhythm of monastic life alongside their personal practice. The retreat is structured to support deepening concentration and insight through sustained practice in a supportive environment.
meditation retreatThe Art of Dancing with Life: A Relational Path of Practice
An eight-month online inquiry into the Twelve Insight Practices of the Four Noble Truths, this course moves beyond technique-focused meditation into relational practice. Rather than concentrating on breath or body sensations alone, participants develop mindfulness of their whole relationship to life, learning to meet challenges and moments of ease with greater depth and presence. The work unfolds through live monthly sessions, optional question-and-response meetings, guided meditations, written reflections, and asynchronous video teachings. Teachers include Ying Chen, Alex Haley, and Phillip Moffitt, who guide students through a progressive eight-month arc: from exploring the meaning of suffering itself, through the paradoxes of desire, into the application of practice in daily life, and finally toward the experience of freedom through non-clinging. This is not a self-improvement workshop or technique-building course. Instead, it is a living inquiry that asks participants to examine their fundamental relationship to existence, with the aim of experiencing genuine wellbeing and freedom within the conditions of an embodied life.
meditation retreatThe 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.
meditation retreatC.E.B. – Cultivating Emotional Balance
A 42-hour training in emotional regulation and mental development, designed by psychologist Paul Ekman and contemplative scholar B. Alan Wallace at the direction of the Dalai Lama. The program integrates research on universal emotions with Buddhist philosophy and meditation practice, examining the seven fundamental emotional states and their physiological, behavioral, and relational dimensions. Participants learn to recognize emotional triggers, navigate refractory periods, and cultivate stable mental balance through attention training and guided meditation. The curriculum draws on neuroscience while maintaining grounding in traditional contemplative methods. The program has been validated by the American Psychological Association and is now taught as a primary course in the University of Pisa's Master's program in Neuroscience, Mindfulness, and Contemplative Practices. The training unfolds over four weekend sessions held in-person at Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa near Pisa.
meditation retreatConcentration (Samādhi) Retreat: Cultivating Joy and Contentment
Samādhi—the steady unification of mind—forms a cornerstone of Buddhist practice and the Eightfold Path. This nine-night silent retreat explores concentration as both a meditation technique and a gateway to deeper states of absorption and clarity. The teaching faculty guides participants in developing stability and focus through practical methods, whether you arrive as a beginner or return as an experienced meditator. The retreat emphasizes how concentration naturally gives rise to joy, calm, and insight, enriching both formal practice and daily life. Teachers offer instruction on working with meditation objects, recognizing the qualities that support deeper states (jhanas), and weaving concentration into a broader Insight practice. With consistent support across morning and evening sessions, participants build a foundation for sustained attention and the ease that accompanies mental unification.