Gatherings
Retreats, satsangs, and gatherings with non-dual teachers around the world in 2026. Time spent in the presence of those who have recognized their true nature can be profoundly clarifying.
Type
Format
Location
Archive
with Plum Village monastics
A flagship summer retreat at Plum Village with a full schedule of mindfulness practice in community. The tone is approachable, with an emphasis on bringing presence into meals, walking, listening, and relationship, where non-duality becomes practical.
with Francis Lucille
A week of dialogue and meditation with Francis Lucille, a leading teacher in the Direct Path lineage of Advaita and a student of Jean Klein. Lucille conveys what he calls the ancient wisdom of non-duality — the common ground beneath Advaita Vedanta, Chan and Zen Buddhism, Taoism, and Sufism — not as doctrine but through satsang, guided meditation, and direct inquiry into the nature of experience. This is the second of two consecutive weeks (participants may book one or both), held in English and German. The daily rhythm centers on two anchors: a guided meditation in the early afternoon and a longer satsang of dialogue and questions in the late afternoon, with shared meals around them. Satsang begins at 4:00 PM on the first day; the retreat closes around 1:00 PM on the last. The setting is Domicilium, a meditation and seminar house near the monastery village of Weyarn, about 30 km south of Munich, set on the high bank of the Mangfall river at the edge of the forest. Domicilium has been dedicated to Zen, spirituality, hospice, and care since 1986. Accommodation includes full board — Ayurvedic vegetarian, four meals a day. Registration is handled only through Francis Lucille's website, not through Meetup or the venue directly.
with Swamini Chidekarasananda Saraswati
Six days of Vedic philosophy, meditation, and yoga at Shambala Gatherings, a retreat community set in the Swedish forest. Guided by Swamini Chidekarasananda Saraswati alongside yoga teacher and osteopath Anji Gopal, the retreat weaves the non-dual philosophy of Advaita Vedanta together with mantra chanting, breathwork, and restorative movement. The teaching days are anchored by the Swamini's lectures on Advaita Vedanta — the non-dual understanding of oneness — with daily mantra chanting and an evening satsang of questions and answers. Alongside the philosophy sit Vedic pujas, a kirtan evening of devotional music, and accessible yoga oriented toward breath, alignment, and ease rather than performance. Days also make room for silence, self-inquiry, forest walks, sauna, and swims in the lake. Three vegan meals a day are provided at the centre. The schedule is held loosely, with time each day for connection with the natural world.
with Plum Village monastics
A second family retreat session, offering accessible mindfulness practices for parents and children in a joyful, structured setting. The Plum Village approach highlights interbeing: the lived sense that self and world arise together rather than as separate islands.
with Shakti Caterina Maggi
Nine days of silence, clarity, and dialogue with Shakti Caterina Maggi, one of Italy's most prominent contemporary non-duality teachers. Maggi teaches in the tradition of direct recognition — pointing to the one consciousness that is our shared nature — through talks, guided meditation, and dialogue. The retreat unfolds at Castello di Titignano, a restored medieval hamlet and estate in the Umbrian hills above Lake Corbara, a setting of deep quiet well suited to the retreat's contemplative pace. Sessions are held in Italian and English. The same retreat is offered both in person and as a livestream for those who cannot travel — one event, two ways to attend.
with Shakti Caterina Maggi
Nine days of silence, clarity, and dialogue with Shakti Caterina Maggi, one of Italy's most prominent contemporary non-duality teachers. Maggi teaches in the tradition of direct recognition — pointing to the one consciousness that is our shared nature — through talks, guided meditation, and dialogue. The retreat unfolds at Castello di Titignano, a restored medieval hamlet and estate in the Umbrian hills above Lake Corbara, a setting of deep quiet well suited to the retreat's contemplative pace. Sessions are held in Italian and English. The same retreat is offered both in person and as a livestream for those who cannot travel — one event, two ways to attend.
with Angelo DiLullo
A week of silence, meditation, and direct inquiry with Angelo DiLullo — a physician (board certified in both anesthesiology and family medicine) who underwent a profound and lasting shift in his experience of reality at 24, and now writes and teaches on awakening. He is the author of Awake: It's Your Turn, a widely-read practical guide to self-realization. DiLullo's approach is direct and present-moment: an investigation into thought, perception, belief, and emotion, using inquiry and what he calls shadow integration to see through the sense of being a separate self. His teaching pairs periods of silence with guided talks, group meditation, and dialogue in both small and large groups — less a lecture than a supported, hands-on exploration of one's own immediate experience. The setting is Woldingham School, a striking historic building in the countryside about 20 miles south of London. Tuition includes all programming, meals, and room and board. Spaces are limited and the week is held largely in silence.
with Plum Village monastics
A Wake Up retreat in the Plum Village tradition oriented toward young adults, mixing meditation, mindful movement, and deep listening in community. It’s a modern doorway into classic Buddhist insights, including interbeing and the end of inner division.
with Mingyur Rinpoche
A silent, advanced retreat in the experiential Mahamudra tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, led by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche. Drawing on the Third Karmapa's Aspiration of Mahamudra, Rinpoche guides participants in recognizing the nature of mind, including the pointing-out instruction given only in person. There is a story behind this year's teacher: the Pundarika UK summer retreat has for many years been led by Tsoknyi Rinpoche, but in 2026 — his 60th year — he is following the traditional counsel that lamas avoid extensive travel, and has stepped back from international retreats. At his and Pundarika's request, his brother Mingyur Rinpoche accepted the invitation to lead in his place. Mingyur Rinpoche is one of the most widely known meditation masters of his generation, celebrated for uniting deep contemplative training with an ease and humor that makes the teachings accessible. The retreat is held in English at Lord Wandsworth College in Hampshire. It is a silent retreat, and prerequisites apply — those unsure whether they qualify are invited to contact the organizers. A limited number of bursaries are available.
with Plum Village monastics
A long, residential retreat with sustained practice in the Plum Village tradition, supporting deeper stabilization of mindfulness and insight. The Plum Village approach highlights interbeing: the lived sense that self and world arise together rather than as separate islands.
with Younge Khachab Rinpoche
Dzogchen and Rime (non-sectarian) teachings with Younge Khachab Rinpoche, held in an intimate setting at Nalanda West in Seattle. Dzogchen — the "Great Perfection" — is the tradition that points directly to the already-present nature of mind; the Rime spirit brings teachings across Tibetan Buddhist lineages rather than a single school.
with Upaya Zen Center Faculty
A retreat at the intersection of contemplative practice and cognitive science, honoring Francisco Varela’s legacy. Expect meditation, dialogue, and inquiry into mind and experience, where non-dual themes often show up in scientific clothes.
with Swami Sarvapriyananda
A weekend retreat in a forest setting with Swami Sarvapriyananda, one of the most widely followed teachers of non-dual Vedanta today. A monk of the Ramakrishna Order, he has led the Vedanta Society of New York since 2017 and is known for lucid, direct teaching on consciousness and the nature of the self — through talks that have reached audiences at TEDx, Google, and Harvard as well as the traditional lecture hall. The retreat runs from Friday afternoon to Sunday morning and includes lectures and contemplative activities in a natural, wooded setting. It is part of a wider Australian visit in August 2026 that also takes in Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Melbourne, and Brisbane. The residential retreat is sold out. A free public lecture — "Belonging in a Divided World: Discovering Oneness" — is open to all on Sunday, August 23 (5:00–6:30 PM) at Sir Ian Turbott Hall, Western Sydney University, Parramatta.
with Plum Village monastics
A series of mindfulness retreats led by monastics of the Plum Village community — the tradition founded by Zen Master Thích Nhất Hạnh — at the Being Peace Centre, Plum Village's lay practice home in the UK, set in the Forest of Dean near Mitcheldean. Rooted in Thầy's teachings, each retreat cultivates compassion, healing, and awareness through the practices at the heart of the tradition: sitting and walking meditation, mindful breathing, and communal mindful living. The centre is a quiet refuge in a natural setting, welcoming both newcomers and experienced practitioners, with a supportive community holding the space. The season includes several distinct themed retreats: Celebrating Our Roots, a retreat for East and Southeast Asian heritage communities (Aug 21–26); a retreat marking sixty years of the Order of Interbeing, Thầy's vision of engaged Buddhism (Aug 28 – Sep 2); Buddhist–Christian wisdom for inner peace in a troubled world (Sep 4–8); and Earth Care in the Plum Village tradition (Sep 10–13).
A weekend retreat in the Dutch-language non-dual satsang tradition at Villa Levenslicht in Kalmthout, near the Dutch border. One of a series of regular retreat weekends Joanika holds through the year (also September, October, November, December), offering silence, meditation, and dialogue in an intimate residential setting.
An online series of dharma courses in the Dzogchen tradition offered through the Buddha Path, exploring the "life knowledge" teachings that point to the natural, already-awakened state of mind. Held online in English across late summer.
with Rupert Spira
A late-summer seven-day retreat at Mandali Retreat Center, offering a sustained retreat container for meditation and inquiry with Rupert Spira. Often positioned as part of a two-week sequence at Mandali for those wanting a deeper seasonal immersion.
with Mingyur Rinpoche
An in-person weekend workshop with Mingyur Rinpoche — "Stillness Within: Transforming Emotions through Clear Seeing" — exploring how clear awareness meets and transforms difficult emotions. Held at Melbourne's Capitol Theatre, the workshop is accessible to newcomers and experienced practitioners alike, in Rinpoche's characteristically approachable style. A free public talk, "Learning to Be OK with Not Being OK," precedes it on August 28. Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche is one of the most widely known meditation masters of his generation — a Tibetan Buddhist teacher in the Kagyu and Nyingma lineages, known for uniting rigorous contemplative training with warmth, humor, and an unusual fluency in modern science. He guides the worldwide Tergar Meditation Community.
An eight-day inquiry-led retreat above Lake Atitlán, distinctive for treating emotional intelligence as the foundation of meditation rather than an afterthought. The premise: when the emotional world is no longer at war with itself, the heart opens and the body softens — so the work is less about silencing the mind than learning to listen to and understand it. The days are structured around self-inquiry — investigating a set of pointed questions by directly witnessing their answers in the body, without leaning on prior knowledge or belief. The framing is refreshingly unsentimental, naming things like "self-improvement as a form of self-inflicted violence" and spiritual bypassing as a false neutrality that deadens genuine feeling. Sitting meditation is balanced with daily morning and afternoon yoga, hiking, and stillness. The setting is Kawoq Forest (formerly the Yoga Forest), a retreat center in the highlands above Lake Atitlán near San Marcos La Laguna, with studio spaces overlooking the lake and surrounding volcanoes, fresh vegetarian meals, and the quiet of the forest.
with Madhukar
An eight-day satsang retreat in the Tyrolean Alps with Madhukar, an Advaita teacher in a direct line from Ramana Maharshi. Madhukar is a disciple of Papaji (Sri H.W.L. Poonja) — the "Lion of Lucknow," himself awakened by Ramana — who Madhukar met in India in 1992 and who he credits with his own awakening. Born in Germany in 1957, Madhukar came to this teaching by a winding path: an early experience of oneness while climbing in the Himalayas, a spontaneous Kundalini awakening, study with the Dzogchen master Chögyal Namkhai Norbu, and finally the meeting with Papaji that ended his searching. For over twenty years since, he has offered what he calls the Yoga of Silence — an invitation, rooted in Advaita, to stop the restless seeking and recognize the peace already present. He has shared satsang in more than 25 countries. The retreat is held in Reith near Kitzbühel, in the Austrian Alps, with the days combining guided meditation, silence, and satsang. The alpine setting invites hikes in the Wilder Kaiser range and swims in the Schwarzsee between sessions. Held in English and German.
with Mingyur Rinpoche
The core of Mingyur Rinpoche's Vajrayana teaching — the Path of Liberation — taught over five days inside the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion near Bendigo, the largest stupa in the Western world. Levels 1 and 2 ("Mind Creates Reality" and "Mind and Emptiness") introduce the first and second pointing-out instructions on the nature of mind, given only in person. This is an advanced retreat with genuine prerequisites: completion of the three Joy of Living levels, or the full Ngöndro preliminaries, or at least five years of daily practice with substantial retreat experience. Attending this year also fulfills the prerequisite for Rinpoche's restricted 2026–27 Dzogchen transmission. The retreat includes a White Tara Empowerment and Refuge ceremony (a free associated event, open to all). English only; not recorded. Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche is one of the most widely known meditation masters of his generation — a Tibetan Buddhist teacher in the Kagyu and Nyingma lineages, known for uniting rigorous contemplative training with warmth, humor, and an unusual fluency in modern science. He guides the worldwide Tergar Meditation Community.
with Plum Village monastics
A weekend of mindfulness practice at Plum Village itself, in the Dordogne region of southern France — the monastery founded by Zen Master Thích Nhất Hạnh and the heart of the tradition. This retreat draws on all three of Plum Village's hamlets, guided by the resident monastic community. In the Plum Village style, the days weave together sitting and walking meditation, mindful meals, deep relaxation, and dharma sharing — a gentle immersion in the art of mindful living. Offered in English, French, and Vietnamese.
with Rupert Spira
Seven days with Rupert Spira at the Mandali Retreat Centre in northern Italy — an immersion in the direct path to the recognition of our essential nature. Spira, one of the most widely known contemporary teachers in the Direct Path lineage of Atmananda Krishna Menon and Francis Lucille, guides retreats built around two daily anchors: guided meditation, in which we rest in being, as being; and dialogue, in which the non-dual understanding is explored through questions and conversation. Spira describes retreats as an unprecedented opportunity for those who love to dive deeply into the heart of the non-dual understanding — seven days in a beautiful natural setting, "steeping together in the peace of our true nature," in self-abidance, friendship, and creativity. This is one of two back-to-back weeks at Mandali (the other runs Aug 29 – Sep 5); guests may book one or both, with a changeover day between. Mandali sits high on a hilltop above Lake Orta, about an hour from Milan, with views across to the Swiss Alps — a spa, pool, and open nature on the doorstep. The retreat is offered both residentially in person and as a full livestream for those who cannot travel.
with Rupert Spira
Seven days with Rupert Spira at the Mandali Retreat Centre in northern Italy — an immersion in the direct path to the recognition of our essential nature. Spira, one of the most widely known contemporary teachers in the Direct Path lineage of Atmananda Krishna Menon and Francis Lucille, guides retreats built around two daily anchors: guided meditation, in which we rest in being, as being; and dialogue, in which the non-dual understanding is explored through questions and conversation. Spira describes retreats as an unprecedented opportunity for those who love to dive deeply into the heart of the non-dual understanding — seven days in a beautiful natural setting, "steeping together in the peace of our true nature," in self-abidance, friendship, and creativity. This is one of two back-to-back weeks at Mandali (the other runs Aug 29 – Sep 5); guests may book one or both, with a changeover day between. Mandali sits high on a hilltop above Lake Orta, about an hour from Milan, with views across to the Swiss Alps — a spa, pool, and open nature on the doorstep. The retreat is offered both residentially in person and as a full livestream for those who cannot travel.
with Wayne Liquorman
Three days of talks with Wayne Liquorman, a teacher of pure Advaita in the lineage of Ramesh Balsekar, who called Wayne his "spiritual son." Liquorman's path is unusual: a family man running a successful export business when he met Balsekar in 1987; by 1989, as he puts it with characteristic dryness, "enlightenment happened through the body-mind mechanism called Wayne" — an event he describes as "of interest only to seekers." His teaching is Advaita stripped of dogma and new-age veneer — uncompromising, often funny, and delivered without agenda, arising only in response to the questions people bring. He points to consciousness as the ground and substance of everything, and to what he calls "divine hypnosis": the grand illusion that we are separate, independent entities. He first wrote under the pen name Ram Tzu ("No Way: A Guide for the Spiritually 'Advanced'") and is the author of Acceptance of What Is, Never Mind, Enlightenment Is Not What You Think, and The Way of Powerlessness, among others. These Barcelona talks are held in English and Spanish. You can come with questions or simply listen.
with Swami Sarvapriyananda
A weekend of talks with Swami Sarvapriyananda at the Vedanta Society of Pittsburgh. A monk of the Ramakrishna Order and head of the Vedanta Society of New York, Sarvapriyananda is among the most followed contemporary teachers of non-dual Vedanta, known for clear, direct exposition of the nature of consciousness and the self, with talks that have reached audiences from TEDx and Google to Harvard. (See the Sydney listing for a fuller account of Swami Sarvapriyananda.)
with Wayne Liquorman
Three days of talks with Wayne Liquorman in Bern, part of his 2026 European teaching visit. Liquorman teaches pure Advaita in the lineage of his guru Ramesh Balsekar — the essential "not two" — with an uncompromising, often humorous directness and no religious framing. His talks have no set agenda; he speaks only in response to the questions seekers bring, pointing to consciousness as the source and substance of all experience and to the illusion of separateness he calls "divine hypnosis." (See the Barcelona listing for a fuller account of Liquorman and his teaching.) Held in English and German.
A Dutch-language non-dual retreat weekend at Kalmthout, near the Belgian–Dutch border — an intimate, residential setting for silence, meditation, and satsang-style dialogue. One of a series of retreat weekends Joanika holds through the year, recurring roughly monthly.
with Mooji
A guest stay at Monte Sahaja, the home and Centre for Self-Realisation of Mooji (Anthony Paul Moo-Young), the Jamaican-born Advaita teacher who has offered satsang for nearly three decades. "Sahaja" means the natural state of being, and everything at the centre is oriented toward the realization of the Self through meditation and self-inquiry, in the presence of a living teacher. Monte Sahaja sits in the hills of the Alentejo, about two hours south of Lisbon in one of the least populated parts of Portugal — a quiet landscape of contemplative spaces, many created by Mooji himself. This is not a drop-in center: guest stays happen only in selected periods, participation is by application, and there is typically a requirement of prior close engagement with Mooji's guidance (often having attended a retreat or intensive in person). Life at the centre follows the Sahaja Precepts, guidance drawn from living and working alongside Mooji. Accommodation is simple and modest, and satsang is held in English. For this stay, the expression-of-interest period has closed.
An extended contemplative immersion in self-inquiry at Hridaya Yoga France — a deep, months-long dive into the practice of direct self-recognition rooted in the non-dual Tantric teachings of Hridaya's founder, Sahajananda. The immersion integrates Hridaya meditation, guided self-inquiry, and community life, cultivating the "Witnessing Attitude" and letting the wonderment-question "Who am I?" inform each moment. Sahajananda, the main founder of Hridaya Yoga, is a meditation and Hatha Yoga teacher with over forty years of experience whose message conveys the non-dual Tantric understanding. An electronics engineer by training, he began practicing yoga and meditation in 1981 — the year yoga was banned in Communist Romania — and later, after a profound shift in consciousness during a solitary cave retreat, began sharing the Hridaya teachings, eventually founding centers in Mexico and France. The setting is a lovingly restored château on seven hectares in the Longeval Forest of the Beaujolais countryside, with sunlit meditation halls, forest hiking trails, and views over the Azergues Valley. The center keeps a strictly vegetarian, alcohol- and drug-free, ashram-like environment. Because Hridaya France is a non-profit association, membership is required of visitors.
A community retreat at the EIAB connected to the Mindful Economy Network, exploring how mindfulness practice meets economic and community life. Held in German, in the Plum Village tradition, with the monastic community and the EIAB's applied approach to bringing Buddhist practice into everyday concerns. The European Institute of Applied Buddhism (EIAB) was founded by Zen Master Thích Nhất Hạnh in 2008 in Waldbröl, about an hour east of Cologne, amid rolling fields and pine forest. Unusually for a Buddhist institute, it is home to a large resident monastic community of over 40 monks and nuns, whose collective presence supports a program of more than 100 courses a year. Buddhism here is offered not as religion but as practical, applied training — concrete methods for easing suffering and cultivating peace. Guests live alongside the monastic community; meals are vegetarian, and mornings often begin with tai chi or qi gong before meditation.
with Plum Village Sisters, Sister Hội Nghiêm
A retreat exploring meditative calligraphy — brush, ink, and breath as a single gesture of presence — led by Sister Hội Nghiêm and Plum Village sisters at the EIAB. In the Plum Village tradition, calligraphy becomes a living meditation: the circle drawn in one breath, the word that carries the whole of one's mindfulness. Suitable for practitioners of all levels, held in English and German. The European Institute of Applied Buddhism (EIAB) was founded by Zen Master Thích Nhất Hạnh in 2008 in Waldbröl, about an hour east of Cologne, amid rolling fields and pine forest. Unusually for a Buddhist institute, it is home to a large resident monastic community of over 40 monks and nuns, whose collective presence supports a program of more than 100 courses a year. Buddhism here is offered not as religion but as practical, applied training — concrete methods for easing suffering and cultivating peace. Guests live alongside the monastic community; meals are vegetarian, and mornings often begin with tai chi or qi gong before meditation.
with Chris Senko Perez, Sensei Jose Shinzan Palma, Sensei Monshin Nannette Overley, Sensei Sokaku Kathie Fischer
A structured online Zen practice period with guidance, talks, and community rhythm. Practice periods are designed to make the path ordinary: the kitchen, the calendar, and the breath as the same field.
with Wayne Liquorman
A week-long retreat with Wayne Liquorman on Crete — a longer, residential immersion in the pure Advaita he teaches in the lineage of Ramesh Balsekar. Where his talks respond to questions over an evening, a retreat offers sustained time in the teaching: the recognition of consciousness as the one reality, and of the personal sense of doership as the root of suffering. Liquorman's style is unadorned and often wry, free of dogma, meeting each participant's inquiry as it arises. (See the Barcelona listing for a fuller account of Liquorman and his background as Balsekar's "spiritual son.") Held in English.
A gathering of practitioners of the Headless Way — the direct, experimental approach to seeing one's true nature developed by the British philosopher Douglas Harding. Harding's path grew from a moment in the Himalayas in the 1940s when, looking for his head, he found instead "a boundless space open to the world" — awareness itself, empty of a separate self, containing all it perceives. Rather than years of study, the Headless Way offers "experiments": simple awareness exercises (like two-way looking, pointing back at where one's head seems to be) that guide attention to what is actually looking out. Though akin in essence to Zen, Sufism, and Advaita — and openly indebted to Ramana Maharshi's self-inquiry — the approach is unusually down-to-earth and Western. These European gatherings, guided in the lineage carried forward by Richard Lang (Harding's longtime friend and student of over fifty years), bring "Seers" together to practice the experiments in person and share the Seeing. Held in Denekamp in the eastern Netherlands, in English.
with Plum Village monastics
A retreat led by EIAB and Plum Village monastics at a location near Gothenburg, Sweden — the EIAB regularly sends monastics to lead retreats beyond Waldbröl, including Scandinavia. Held in English and Swedish, in the Plum Village tradition of mindfulness practice. The European Institute of Applied Buddhism, founded by Zen Master Thích Nhất Hạnh in 2008 in Waldbröl, Germany, offers Buddhism as practical, applied training — concrete methods for easing suffering and cultivating peace — supported by a resident community of over 40 monks and nuns.
with Rupert Spira
Seven days with Rupert Spira at the Garrison Institute on the Hudson River — a deep immersion in the direct path to the recognition of our essential, aware nature. A renowned British teacher, Spira spent forty years studying the non-dual traditions — the teachings of Ouspensky, Krishnamurti, Rumi, Shankara, Ramana Maharshi, Nisargadatta, Robert Adams, and Atmananda Krishna Menon — before meeting his principal teacher, Francis Lucille. He is the author of The Transparency of Things, Presence, The Ashes of Love, and The Light of Pure Knowing. Each day is built around two movements: guided meditation, in which we rest in being, as being; and dialogue, in which the non-dual understanding is explored together through questions and conversation. Spira describes retreats as time to steep together in the peace of our true nature, in self-abidance, friendship, and creativity. The setting is exceptional: the Garrison Institute occupies a former Capuchin monastery on the 95-acre Glenclyffe property overlooking the Hudson, with gardens, a boxwood labyrinth, a river-bluff gazebo, and walking paths connecting to the Hudson River trails and the Appalachian Trail. Accommodation is simple and quiet; meals are lacto-vegetarian. The retreat is offered both in person and as a full livestream.
with Rupert Spira
Seven days with Rupert Spira at the Garrison Institute on the Hudson River — a deep immersion in the direct path to the recognition of our essential, aware nature. A renowned British teacher, Spira spent forty years studying the non-dual traditions — the teachings of Ouspensky, Krishnamurti, Rumi, Shankara, Ramana Maharshi, Nisargadatta, Robert Adams, and Atmananda Krishna Menon — before meeting his principal teacher, Francis Lucille. He is the author of The Transparency of Things, Presence, The Ashes of Love, and The Light of Pure Knowing. Each day is built around two movements: guided meditation, in which we rest in being, as being; and dialogue, in which the non-dual understanding is explored together through questions and conversation. Spira describes retreats as time to steep together in the peace of our true nature, in self-abidance, friendship, and creativity. The setting is exceptional: the Garrison Institute occupies a former Capuchin monastery on the 95-acre Glenclyffe property overlooking the Hudson, with gardens, a boxwood labyrinth, a river-bluff gazebo, and walking paths connecting to the Hudson River trails and the Appalachian Trail. Accommodation is simple and quiet; meals are lacto-vegetarian. The retreat is offered both in person and as a full livestream.
with Angelo DiLullo
A semi-silent retreat with Angelo DiLullo in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, for those committed to a sustained investigation of their deepest nature. DiLullo's approach is direct and present-moment — inquiry into thought, perception, belief, and emotion, paired with meditation and what he calls shadow work — held across guided talks, group meditation, and dialogue in a supportive container of silence. The setting is the Art of Living Retreat Center near Boone. (See the UK Silent Retreat listing for a fuller account of DiLullo.)
with Gangaji
A second four-day silent retreat of 2026 with Gangaji, offering a later-in-the-year opportunity for deep quiet and sustained practice. The retreat format centers on silence, allowing subtle insight to settle without constant conceptual processing.
The fall anniversary sesshin at the Zen Center of Syracuse (Hoen-ji) — an intensive period of Zen meditation marking the center's founding. Sesshin gathers practitioners for days of silent zazen in a strong communal container, with the traditional forms of Zen retreat: seated and walking meditation, work practice, and teacher interviews. Offered hybrid, in person and online.
A Dutch-language non-dual retreat weekend at Kalmthout, near the Belgian–Dutch border — an intimate, residential setting for silence, meditation, and satsang-style dialogue. One of a series of retreat weekends Joanika holds through the year, recurring roughly monthly.
with Upaya Zen Center Teachers
An in-person sesshin nested inside Upaya’s Fall Practice Period. It’s an immersion in formal Zen training: long sits, silence, and the kind of simplicity that turns non-duality from concept into felt reality.
with Thay Doji
A meditation retreat with Thay Doji at the Domaine du Taille in the Ardèche, southern France — "ouvert à tous," open to all. A French-language retreat of seated meditation and contemplative practice in a rural setting.
An eleven-day self-inquiry and meditation immersion with Camino at the Vajra Vidya Retreat Center in Crestone, Colorado — a high-desert town long known as a gathering place for contemplative communities. As with Camino's other retreats, the work centers on self-inquiry grounded in emotional intelligence: meeting thought and emotion directly, learning to witness rather than suppress, and inquiring into experience without relying on prior belief. (See the Guatemala listing for a fuller account of Camino's approach.)
with Plum Village monastics
A late-year family retreat session focused on mindful living, connection, and strengthening family practice routines. The Plum Village approach highlights interbeing: the lived sense that self and world arise together rather than as separate islands.
with Eckhart Tolle
A weekend intensive with Eckhart Tolle, among the most widely read spiritual teachers of our era — author of The Power of Now and A New Earth. In "Silent Power," Tolle invites participants to discover the invisible, transcendent consciousness that pervades all of creation, pointing — as he has for decades — to stillness and presence as the doorway into the Now and out of identification with the thinking mind. Tolle (born in Germany in 1948, educated at London and Cambridge) teaches a non-conceptual awakening: not a new belief system but a shift in the locus of identity from the stream of thought to the aware presence beneath it. The intensive gathers a large audience for two days of talks, guided stillness, and the quiet transmission his events are known for. Held at the San Diego Convention Center on the edge of San Diego Bay.
A Dutch-language non-dual retreat weekend at Kalmthout, near the Belgian–Dutch border — an intimate, residential setting for silence, meditation, and satsang-style dialogue. One of a series of retreat weekends Joanika holds through the year, recurring roughly monthly.
with Rupert Spira
A late-autumn week-long retreat at The Vedanta, structured around guided meditation and dialogue to support stabilization of nondual understanding. Intended as an immersive close-of-year retreat for practitioners who want uninterrupted time for inquiry and integration.
with Henry Shukman, Valerie Forstman
The annual Rohatsu sesshin at Mountain Cloud Zen Center, co-led by Sanbo Zen master Henry Shukman and associate master Valerie Forstman. "Rohatsu" means the eighth day of the twelfth month — Bodhi Day — traditionally the day the Buddha looked up at the morning star and awakened. The retreat honors that moment and takes it into practice, gathering as the year darkens toward the solstice, "bolstered by the silence of the coming winter," to deepen realization through zazen. Sesshin is the intensive heart of Zen training: long days of silent seated meditation held in a strong communal container, with dokusan — one-to-one interviews with a teacher — and daily talks. Henry Shukman, originally from the UK, is an award-winning poet and author (One Blade of Grass, Original Love), spiritual director emeritus of Mountain Cloud, and co-founder of the meditation app The Way; his co-teacher Valerie Forstman leads from the center's zendo. Mountain Cloud sits on two dozen acres in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains off the Old Santa Fe Trail — a small, handcrafted zendo in high desert country. The sesshin is offered hybrid: on-site residential, commuting, or online participation, with online retreatants supported by their own orientation, handbook, and break-out sessions.
with Francis Lucille
The first of two consecutive week-long retreats with Francis Lucille in Paris, held in French and English. Lucille — a student of Jean Klein and a central teacher of the Direct Path — conveys the non-dual understanding shared across Advaita Vedanta, Zen, Taoism, and Sufism, not as philosophy but through guided meditation and satsang: dialogue that meets each participant's questions and points back to the nature of present experience. The retreat takes place at Enclos Rey in the 15th arrondissement of Paris. Participants may book one or both weeks. Registration is handled through Francis Lucille's website. (See the Germany listing for a fuller account of Lucille and his teaching.)
A Dutch-language non-dual retreat weekend at Kalmthout, near the Belgian–Dutch border — an intimate, residential setting for silence, meditation, and satsang-style dialogue. One of a series of retreat weekends Joanika holds through the year, recurring roughly monthly.
with Francis Lucille
The second of the two consecutive Paris retreats with Francis Lucille, running across the New Year and held in English and German. As with Week One, the days center on guided meditation and satsang in the Direct Path tradition, at Enclos Rey in Paris. Participants may attend one or both weeks. (See the Germany listing for a fuller account of Lucille and his teaching.)
with Mingyur Rinpoche
Part of the Dorje Drolö Dzogchen transmission — a restricted set of teachings from Mingyur Rinpoche's personal lineage, offered publicly for the first time in 2026–27. Dzogchen, the "Great Perfection," points directly to the already-present nature of mind; this retreat centers on teachings that unite calm-abiding (shamatha) and insight (vipashyana) within the Dzogchen view, including Trekchö — "cutting through" to the natural state. Prerequisites apply, consistent with the transmission's requirements. Offered hybrid from the Tergar center in Madison. Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche is one of the most widely known meditation masters of his generation — a Tibetan Buddhist teacher in the Kagyu and Nyingma lineages, known for uniting rigorous contemplative training with warmth, humor, and an unusual fluency in modern science. He guides the worldwide Tergar Meditation Community.
with André Vas
An intensive traditional Vedanta retreat with André Vas in coastal Karnataka, South India. Vas teaches in the traditional Advaita Vedanta method — a systematic unfolding of the non-dual teaching through the study of scripture and self-inquiry. Held in English and Dutch over ten days in Thonse.
with Madhukar
Three weeks of silence and satsang with Madhukar at the foot of Arunachala in Tiruvannamalai — an intensive inward journey in the sacred atmosphere of an Indian ashram, in the town where his lineage traces back through Papaji to Ramana Maharshi. The retreat combines deep silence with satsang and includes full-moon pradakshina (the circumambulation of Arunachala); devices are set aside for the duration. Held in multiple languages (English, Dutch, Russian, German). (See the Austria listing for a fuller account of Madhukar and his lineage.)
with Angelo DiLullo
A weeklong conference-and-retreat with Angelo DiLullo in the Blue Ridge Mountains, blending his direct, present-moment style of awakening inquiry with a wider "multi-modality" program of breakout sessions. Where his silent retreats emphasize inquiry and stillness, this gathering opens out into a variety of complementary approaches and dialogue, at the Art of Living Retreat Center in Boone, North Carolina. (See the UK Silent Retreat listing for a fuller account of DiLullo.)
If you know of a non-duality retreat, satsang, or gathering happening in 2026, let us know.
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