A Meditation Retreat
Most of us are living in a quiet contradiction.
We spend our days working, producing, achieving, moving from one thing to the next — doing everything we’re supposed to be doing. And yet when we finally stop, when the day ends and there is nothing left to check off the list, many of us feel unexpectedly empty.
Not broken. Not dramatic. Just… unfulfilled.
Numb. Disconnected. A little lonely.
Like something essential has gone missing, even though we’re doing everything “right.”
That feeling isn’t a flaw. It’s a sign we’ve become disconnected from the very things human beings need to feel whole: our own inner aliveness, the natural world, real connection with others, and the simple creativity that rises when we’re not performing.
This retreat is an invitation to come back to all of that.
We will spend our days in silence — sitting, breathing, listening — allowing the outer world to fall away so the inner world can be heard again. Silent hikes through the redwoods will deepen this attunement, inviting the land itself to steady and guide us.
In the evenings, we’ll explore creativity — through movement, art, writing, music, and connection — as a natural extension of presence and being, a way to give shape to what arises within our direct experience.
All of this unfolds at Land of the Medicine Buddha, one of the most cherished Tibetan Buddhist retreat centers in the United States. Nestled in a 108-acre redwood forest above Soquel, it is a sanctuary built on ancient lineage and intention. Prayer wheels, shrines, sacred art, and quiet forest paths infuse the land with a palpable sense of protection and presence. Many people say that simply being there begins to slow the heart and soften the mind. The land feels alive. It holds you. It teaches by its very nature.
You will walk away with:
A renewed connection to yourself — your body, your inner voice, your sensitivity, your intuition.
A quieter nervous system and the ability to access calm, clarity, and groundedness in your day-to-day life.
A deeper sense of belonging — to others, to the land, to something larger than yourself.
A restored creative spark — not forced or “productive,” but organic, playful, meaningful.
Tools and practices you can return to anytime: meditation, silent walking, inner inquiry, and expressive creativity.
And most importantly: a felt sense of what has been missing — and the knowledge of how to come home to it again.
September 3–6, 2026
Land of the Medicine Buddha • Soquel, California