HAND-PICKED EXPERIENCES

Editor's Picks

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

47 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

C.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.

Fri, Oct 2, 2026Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa, Pomaia

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meditation retreat

Concentration (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.

Sat, Oct 3, 2026Spirit Rock Meditation Center, Woodacre

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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

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

The Art of Loving Kindness: A Heart-Centered Meditation Retreat

This three-day retreat at Kripalu offers immersion in metta, or loving-kindness practice, an ancient contemplative discipline rooted in the cultivation of compassion. Led by teachers Missy Brown and Stephen Cope, the program weaves seated meditation, walking practice, gentle movement, breathwork, and restorative offerings into a cohesive exploration of the heart's capacity for steadiness and care. Participants engage with crystal sound bowl healing, yoga nidra, journaling, and time in nature alongside interactive sessions designed to deepen somatic awareness. The retreat addresses both inner practice and its ripple into daily life, with emphasis on steadying the nervous system and building resilience through sincere, grounded engagement with metta. No prior experience required.

Fri, Oct 9, 2026Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, Stockbridge

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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

Living Dharma Program: Exploring & Integrating the Eightfold Path in Daily Life

The Living Dharma Program invites practitioners to weave spiritual practice into the texture of everyday life rather than stepping away from it. Over eight months, participants explore the Noble Eightfold Path as a living map for freedom and compassion—not as abstract philosophy, but as embodied wisdom applied to relationships, work, and daily challenges. Led by teachers Dawn Mauricio and Yong Oh, the program combines intellectual rigor with heartfelt accessibility, moving from inspiration to integration. Monthly live sessions build a consistent practice rhythm while peer groups and online community provide ongoing support and accountability. Participants examine right speech, right action, right livelihood, and other facets of the path through guided reflection, group inquiry, and personal practice. The vision is clear: practice and life nourish one another, personal healing and collective liberation are one movement, and spiritual steadiness emerges not as escape but as deeper engagement with the world.

Sat, Oct 10, 2026Spirit Rock Meditation Center, Woodacre

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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 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

Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet: Online Course

A seven-week online course drawing on the teachings of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh to cultivate mindfulness, resilience, and meaningful action in response to environmental crisis. Participants learn to ground themselves in breath and body, move beyond separation consciousness, face existential concerns with equanimity, and develop the emotional capacity for sustained engagement with climate challenges. The curriculum weaves together guided meditation, teachings from monastic and lay teachers, and small group dialogue, creating space for both personal restoration and collective visioning. Rather than prescribing answers, the course offers Buddhist psychology and contemplative practice as resources for those seeking to respond to our moment with clarity, compassion, and courage.

Sun, Oct 18, 2026Plum Village, Thénac

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meditation retreat

Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet

This seven-week online course draws from Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh's teachings to cultivate mindfulness and compassionate action in response to ecological crisis. The program weaves together guided meditations, archival dharma talks, live group sessions, and interactive learning to address both the inner and outer dimensions of environmental work. Participants explore how to ground themselves in breath and body, move beyond human-centered thinking, face existential concerns without despair, and develop the resilience needed for sustained engagement with our planetary moment. The course acknowledges that climate concern can become overwhelming, and offers Buddhist psychology and contemplative practice as tools for transforming fear into purposeful action. Rather than promoting optimism or denial, it teaches how to rest, listen deeply across difference, and connect with a community of fellow practitioners committed to healing both self and world.

Sun, Oct 18, 2026Plum Village, Thénac

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