with Michael Taft at Mount Madonna Center
SOLD OUT! – Join Waiting List Here
Sunday, December 10 – Saturday, December 16, 2023
Join us for seven days and six nights at Mount Madonna Center in the hills outside Santa Cruz, California meditating, learning, and practicing with Michael Taft and the Deconstructing Yourself sangha. We will be focusing on nondual meditation practice, with the particular theme of spaciousness in meditation and in life.
The retreat begins Sunday evening and ends Saturday afternoon. Monday—Friday will be five full days of practice together.
What is it? Who is it for?
This is a (mostly) silent, residential practice retreat. We will be mainly practicing nondual meditation techniques, as taught by Michael Taft. There will also be some pranayama, visualization, mantra, etc., practiced as a support. Once a day there will also be an optional meditative movement session, taught by Laura Ward.
If you have studied with Michael Taft previously, in the Reversing the Stack or Vast Sky Mind Courses, or if you have followed his teachings at The Alembic or on Youtube or are a one-on-one coaching student of his, you are the intended audience for this retreat (you know who you are).
If you haven’t worked with Michael in any way before, but have a strong background in meditation, particularly in nondual, Vajrayana, or Hindu tantric traditions, then you will probably be fine at this retreat, albeit with some additional learning of the framework, vocabulary, practices, etc., required.
If you are new to meditation, or have only practiced using apps and the like, we would not recommend this retreat for you, as it may be too challenging.
Schedule
Here is a tentative schedule for the retreat. This is intended to give you a basic idea of the schedule, and details may change in the actual retreat.
Sunday—Arrival Day Schedule
3:00 – 6:00 pm Arrive and get settled in
6:00 – 7:00 pm Dinner
7:00 – 8:30 Introduction/Dharma Talk / Questions
8:30 – 10:00 Meditation
Monday—Friday Full Day Schedule
6:00 – 7:30 Meditation
7:30 – 8:30 Breakfast
9:00 – 12:00 Instruction/Meditation/Questions
12:00 – 1:00 Lunch
1:00 – 2:00 Break / optional meditation / meditative movement
2:00 – 6:00 Instruction/Meditation/Questions
6:00 – 7:00 Dinner
7:00 – 8:30 Dharma Talk / Questions
8:30 – 10:00 Meditation
Saturday—Departure Day Schedule
6:00 – 8:00 am Meditation (starting time optional)
8:00 – 10:00 Teaching / Closing Circle
10:00 – 11:00 am Brunch
12:00 pm Departure
How it works
You pay for the retreat in two parts: part one here for the retreat itself, and then part two for the room and board on the Mt. Madonna site.
On this page, you can sign up for the retreat by paying for the retreat teaching. Once you have enrolled, we will send you a sign up link for the Mt. Madonna page. There you will choose your housing option, and pay for that there. All housing options include meals.
The prices for the teaching portion of the retreat are:
Basic – 900
Supporting – 1200
Scholarship – 600
You can purchase these at the bottom of the page.
So the total cost of the retreat will the teaching cost (whichever option you choose) plus the housing/meal cost (whichever option you choose). Obviously, any travel costs are not covered here.
Here are the housing options and the associated prices. They are simply listed here for your convenience. You will actually choose your preferences on the Mt. Madonna site.
| Housing Type | Cost |
|---|---|
| Ram Cottage #1 – 2 Bedrooms 1 full bath Single occupancy per room | 2258 |
| Ram Cottage #1 2 Bedrooms, 1 full bath Double occupancy per room | 1628 |
| Ram Cottage #2 – 3 bedrooms 1 full bath shared Single occupancy per room | 1658 |
| Ram Cottage #2 3 bedrooms, shared bath double occupancy per room | 1220 |
| Conference Center Only Single Occupancy, Private Bath | 1736 |
| Single Occupancy, Shared Bath | 1406 |
| Conference Center Only Double Occupancy, Private Bath | 1274 |
| Double Occupancy, Shared Bath | 1075 |
| Triple Occupancy, Shared Bath (Conference Center or Seminar House Only) | 878 |
| Single Cabin, Shared Bath | 1220 |
| Double Cabin, Shared Bath | 1028 |
| Camp In Own Vehicle | 566 |
| Camp In Own Tent | 566 |
| Day Commuting | 482 |
Learn more about Mount Madonna here.
Begin Sign up for the Retreat Here
Basic
This is the standard fee for the retreat. Appropriate for most students.
Supporting
This tier allows you to support other students to afford the retreat via a Scholarship.
The Supporting students generously choose to help support the Scholarship students. If you can afford this option, please consider helping out. Thank you.
Scholarship
A specially reduced rate for students who cannot afford the Basic level at this time.
There are a limited number of scholarships available, so please only choose this option if you really and sincerely need financial support.
Note: If even the Scholarship price is too much for you, please let us know. We may or may not be able to help, but it’s possible.
If you have questions, please send them to Kati Devaney.