Discover a Deeper Way of Living
Vallecitos Mountain Retreat Center offers a retreat for almost everyone. Our schedule carries a generous offering of Insight Meditation Retreats as well as secular retreats that cater to specific populations. On our schedule you will find retreats for educators, people of color, women, men, and substance abuse professionals, to name a few. We are here to help you find a retreat that is right for you.
**Registration will open January 1st**
“I am so much more aware of the path I want to be on and the power of the sacred in my life.”
– Cristina Mormorunni
UNM Sponsored Retreat for Student Veterans
May 15 - 19, 2019
With Peggy Spencer, MD: The UNM Student Veterans Retreat assists military veterans in the transition from military life to student life using these three interwoven components: Mindfulness training. Mindfulness has been defined as “present moment awareness without judgement.” Using simple breath and body awareness, you will learn to quiet your mind […]
The Liberation of the Heart that Leads to Wise Action: A Meditation Retreat for People Who Identify as Men
With Brian LeSage and Devin Berry
May 19 - 24, 2019
**This retreat will open for registration on January 1.** The Buddha taught a path of freedom. This freedom is a heart liberated from greed, hatred, and delusion. On this retreat, we will be exploring masculinity as a way of moving the heart towards such a liberation. This will include investigating how we perform masculinities in both skillful and unskillful ways in a space of coming together as men in healing and transformative ways.
Sacred Mountain Sangha Dharmapala Training
With Thanissara and Kittisaro
May 25 - 31, 2019
**This is a closed retreat, available only for program participants.** We live in profoundly disruptive times where radical personal and collective solutions, rooted in transformation of consciousness, are needed to safely navigate perilous terrains, avoid a collapse of cohesive society, and mitigate the impact of ecocide.
Closed
Wisdom and Compassion for our Time
With JoAnna Hardy and Matthew Brensilver, PhD
June 1 - 8, 2019
**This retreat will open for registration on January 1.** As our capacity for wisdom and compassion deepen, our ability to bring about real and transformative change both internally and externally increases. During this weeklong mostly silent retreat we will practice with the classic Mindfulness practices for developing clear seeing, wisdom and compassion. With greater clarity we are better able to understand our internal processes
Mindfulness in Education Retreat
With Erin Treat and Kate Munding
June 16 - 21, 2019
**This retreat will open for registration on January 1.** Educators know that come springtime graduation, our reserves and abilities to be energized, generous, present and sincerely engaged and enjoying our day-to-day endeavors are often depleted and taxed. To do our vital work well, we need to give ourselves the time and support to reignite, recharge, and continue to develop the capacities of our hearts and minds to be caring and present […]
Rituals of Renewal Summer Solstice Yoga and Meditation Retreat
June 21 - 25, 2019
With Shawn Parell and Wendelin Scott. Invite all your senses to the natural splendor of Northern New Mexico for Summer Solstice. This sacred juncture marks the apex of annual light – offering a potent moment to tend to our inner illumination and revitalization. Together, we will immerse in 5 rhythmic days of yoga and meditation in nature.
Belonging, Connection and Nature: Coming Home Together
With Sebene Selassie, DaRa Williams, Erin Treat and Solwazi Johnson (Assistant)
June 27 - July 2, 2019
**This retreat will open for registration on January 1.** This retreat emerged from the relationship between its teachers as a result of many years of being together in dharma practice, teaching, and spiritual friendship. And this retreat invites the participants into relationship — with themselves, each other, the land, and all beings everywhere without exception. Awakening from the […]
Meditation Retreat for People of Color
With Bonnie Duran, Sebene Selassie and Jeff Haozous (Assistant)
July 3 - 10, 2019
**This retreat will open for registration on January 1.** In many traditions, people journey into the wilderness for contemplation and purification. How often do we have the opportunity to connect to our deepest intentions and to experience spiritual renewal? Taking place at 9,000 feet in beautiful meadowland in New Mexico, the Vallecitos People of Color Retreat is designed to offer and support a practical […]
Awake in the Wild: Summer Meditation in Nature Retreat
With Mark Coleman and Second Teacher To Be Announced
July 14 - 20, 2019
***This retreat will open for registration on January 1.** This retreat will be spent meditating outdoors in the natural beauty and mystery here at Vallecitos Mountain Ranch. Whether it is during sunset meditations, listening to the soothing sounds of the river, or sitting graced in the stillness of the aspen trees, we will open to the profound serenity and wisdom of nature.
The Natural Path to the Heart’s Liberation: A Silent Vipassana Retreat in the Forest
With Erin Treat, Brian LeSage and Victoria Cary (Assistant)
July 21 - 27, 2019
**This retreat will open for registration on January 1.** Join us to practice the timeless teachings of the Buddha as a pathway to discover inner peace, freedom, and the compassionate heart. This retreat is designed to offer and support a practical introduction to insight meditation, known as Vipassana in the Buddhist tradition. Insight meditation embodies the essence and wisdom of the teachings of the Buddha and […]
Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) 5-day Training
With Kristy Arbon and Megan Prager
July 28 - August 2, 2019
**This retreat will open for registration on January 1.** Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) is an empirically-supported program designed to cultivate the skill of self-compassion. Based on pioneering research by Kristin Neff, PhD, and integrated with the clinical perspective of Chris Germer, PhD, MSC teaches core principles and practices that enable participants to respond to difficult emotions with kindness and understanding.[…]
Waking up to Wisdom through the Foundations of Mindfulness
With Dave Smith and Cheryl Slean
August 2 - 8, 2019
**This retreat will open for registration on January 1.** During this 7-day Insight meditation retreat, we will learn to develop a greater sense of presence and ease through the revolutionary practices of the Dharma. Focusing on the practices of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness and Metta (Lovingkindness), we’ll discover emotional balance and begin to free ourselves into the heart of wisdom and compassion.
Affectionate Awareness as a Path to Liberation
With Michele McDonald and Jesse Maceo Vega-Frey
August 9 - 18, 2019
**This retreat will open for registration on January 1.** During this intensive silent retreat, participants will learn to develop their heart’s capacity for liberatory clarity and pervasive tenderness with a unique integration of Vipassana (insight) and Metta (lovingkindness) practices. Michele and Jesse are enthusiastic about supporting yogis with a depth of both technical rigor and spacious ease.[…]
Sacred Sound, Insight and Silence: Meditation and Music in the Deep Woods
With Jennifer Berezan and Erin Treat
August 19 - 23, 2019
**This retreat will open for registration on January 1.** The retreat will combine two ancient spiritual practices--meditation and music--as a path to opening one’s heart and uncovering one’s true nature. There will be guided instruction in the fundamentals of mindfulness meditation and dharma practice, including periods of sitting and walking meditation in silence. Woven throughout the meditation practice, participants will engage in a wide […]
Cultivating an Inner Holding Environment: An Intensive Mindfulness Retreat for Mental Health Professionals
With Bill Morgan, Susan Morgan and Ron Siegel
August 24 - 31, 2019
**This retreat will open for registration on January 1.** We are pleased to offer the eighth annual mindfulness retreat for mental health professionals and caregivers at Vallecitos. Many in our field have been studying mindfulness and its clinical applications for years but have not found time for more intensive meditation practice. Others appreciate the opportunity to refresh their meditation practice with like-minded colleagues.
Trusting in the Natural Process of Body, Heart & Mind
With Alexis Santos and Sebene Selassie
September 2 - 8, 2019
**This retreat will open for registration on January 1.** In this retreat, we will have a week to explore cultivating ease and natural awareness. Alexis will be bringing his years of study and practice with Sayadaw U Tejaniya. Sebene will be bringing an orientation to embodied awareness that emphasizes our profound connection to land and nature. There will be periods of formal practice both indoors and on group hikes while
Sacred Mountain Sangha Dharmapala Training
With Thanissara and Kittisaro
September 8 - 14, 2019
**This is a closed retreat, available only for program participants.** We live in profoundly disruptive times where radical personal and collective solutions, rooted in transformation of consciousness, are needed to safely navigate perilous terrains, avoid a collapse of cohesive society, and mitigate the impact of ecocide.
Closed
Meditation, Nature, and Awakening
With Peter Williams, Chas DiCapua and JD Doyle (Assistant)
September 20 - 26, 2019
**This retreat will open for registration on January 1.** This retreat engages two powerful forces for happiness – insight meditation and immersion in nature. Insight meditation has been the key practice for accessing the profound wisdom of the Buddhist tradition for 2500 years. It is extraordinary in its simplicity, its lack of dogma and, above all, its results.
Awake in the Wild: “Embracing Change” Meditation in Nature Retreat
With Mark Coleman and Dorthe Djernis
September 26 - October 2, 2019
**This retreat will open for registration on January 1.** On this retreat we will meditate outdoors in the natural beauty and mystery here at Vallecitos Mountain Ranch. Whether it is during sunset meditations, listening to the soothing sounds of the river, or sitting graced in the stillness of the aspen trees, we will open to the profound serenity and wisdom of nature. This silent […]
The Wisdom of No Technology
With Dyanna Taylor and Don Usner
October 2 - 9, 2019
**This retreat will open for registration on January 1.** This retreat offers us a chance to disconnect from our devices and pressures, recharge our capacity to create, remember our unique gifts and return to the roots of perception and inspiration. While trying to give the best to our work and personal lives, we find ourselves facing a tangle of unrelenting demands compounded by the […]