August 18 – 21, 2016
Re-Connection and Renewal Retreat
A mindfulness retreat for wildly visionary and creative souls!
with Maia Duerr and Katya Lesher
High Meadow Farm in Freedom, NH
• Re-connect with your innate capacity for peace and wisdom
• Renew your source of inspiration
• Create conditions for a life of meaning and joy
This retreat offers us a precious chance to replenish ourselves and discover the regenerative power of mindfulness in many diverse forms.
During this retreat, we will renew our spirits through silence, creativity, music, movement, dialogue, and council practice, along with time in the beautiful natural surroundings of High Meadow Farm.
Guided with loving care by Maia Duerr and Katya Lesher, together we will create a healing space where curiosity and intimacy can flourish; a supportive environment where we can re-connect with each other and ourselves. Sitting meditation will be the touchstone of this retreat. Our days will also include opportunities to learn about and explore the Tree of Contemplative Practices (created by Maia), a tool that can help you discover the practices that resonate with you.
Our hope is that this retreat will support you to return to your life feeling deeply refreshed as well as empowered with ways to continue coming home to this sacred space inside yourself.
If you have any questions about this retreat that aren’t answered on this page, please contact me here.
Registration closes on July 31!
Comments from past retreat and workshop participants:
- “The retreat was really amazing. Maia and Katya did an incredible job facilitating. It was my first time at such a retreat and I am so grateful I took that step and made the choice to be a part of it…What a wonderful thing it has done to my Spirit.”
- “The day was very peaceful…a good way to connect and also do some soul-searching.”
- “Your workshop…created a safe and inviting atmosphere to learn, to grow, and to share deeply. It gave me a sense of belonging and longing to experience more.”
- “Thank you for giving us the opportunity to be who we truly are!”
High Meadow Farm
Nestled in the beautiful Lakes and White Mountain region of southeastern New Hampshire, High Meadow Farm (HMF) is an inspiring venue for this retreat. We will hold our sessions and share meals in a classic New England farmhouse, and we’ll have plenty of time to take walks on the land and old growth forests that surround it.
Food…yum!
We will enjoy wholesome, nourishing vegetarian food, primarily organic and locally sourced. The joy of mindful eating will begin with our Thursday evening welcoming dinner and conclude with a comforting send-off breakfast Sunday morning.
One of our mindfulness practices will be what’s called “samu” in the Zen tradition — work practice. Participants will work in small groups for breakfast and lunch set-up and clean-up. This kind of practice helps us to integrate our mindfulness into daily life… a wonderful skill to take home with you!
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
Registration closes on July 31!
The registration fee includes your retreat tuition, lodging, and food from Thursday dinner through Sunday breakfast. The fee covers our actual expenses (facility, food, teachers’ travel). At the end of the retreat, you will be invited to give “dana” as a way to express gratitude to Katya and Maia and support their livelihood. “Dana” is a Pali word meaning generosity, and it’s a gift from the heart in whatever amount feels right to you.
How to get to High Meadow Farm:
The closest airport is located in Portland, ME, about 45 miles from Freedom, NH. There is also an Amtrak station in Portland, which is on the Downeaster route that runs between Boston and Portland five times a day.
With some advance notice and coordination between retreat participants, we can arrange to have you picked up in Portland if you come by plane or train. It is also possible to rent a car in Portland if you’d like to have access to your own vehicle while here.
If you decide to drive to High Meadow Farm, we will provide you with directions after you register. It’s beautiful countryside for a road trip, and there is plenty of parking there!
About Maia and Katya
Maia Duerr, MA
Maia is a writer, anthropologist, and longtime meditation practitioner based in Santa Fe, NM. She directed the Buddhist Chaplaincy Training Program at Upaya Zen Center from 2008 to 2014, and received ordination as a lay chaplain from Roshi Joan Halifax in 2012. Maia takes great joy in supporting people in their spiritual journeys, as well as creating transformative learning experiences.
Katya Lesher, LCSW
Katya is an artist who has worked in hospice and bereavement, and facilitates creative workshops and mindfulness retreats. She is inspired by the creative process; exploring one’s inner landscape as a way of discovering what is true. Katya has a long-standing meditation practice and listens to the inner calling of life’s purpose. She explores opportunities that nourish and support healing on many levels.
