with Michael Taft at Mount Madonna Center
Sunday, May 24 – Sunday May 31, 2026
Come join us for a nondual meditation retreat in the beautiful mountains overlooking Monterey Bay, California.
Join us for eight days and seven 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 focus on nondual meditation practice, with the particular theme of openness in meditation and in life.
The retreat begins Sunday evening and ends the next Sunday afternoon, which will mean six full days and two half 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. And once a day there will be an optional meditative movement session, taught by Laura Ward.
If you have studied with Michael Taft previously, for example in the Hacking the Stack, Vast Sky Mind, Tantra, or Reversing the Stack 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. Familiarity with mantras, pranayama, visualization, etc., is not required, but is helpful.
If you are new to meditation, or have only practiced using apps and the like, we would not recommend this retreat for you, as this retreat is not set up to properly support new retreatants.
How We Handle Silence
If you’re used to doing retreats in complete silence, this retreat will be a little different for you. In the spirit of bringing Nondual Awareness into every aspect of life, conversation is allowed, even encouraged, in the dining hall (though only in the dining hall). In fact, residents who live on the property and potentially retreatants from other programs, will be eating in the dining hall at the same time as our sangha. It’s a great opportunity to practice integration of our meditation on every day of the retreat, in a balanced and harmonious fashion, rather than all at once after the retreat is over. It also allows the sangha to get to know each other, share stories and wisdom, and form meaningful bonds as a group.
If you prefer to maintain more complete silence, for either a portion of or the entire retreat, there is a dedicated dining room for people in silence. Also, there are ‘In Silence’ lanyards available, which you can wear at any time you wish to remain in silence. The meditation hall, tea hall, and all residential areas are all kept silent. So it is possible to keep fairly strict silence if you wish.
And a Hanuman Temple
Mount Madonna Center also has a unique feature: it includes a Hanuman Temple. Hanuman—the very popular monkey god of India—is actively worshiped twice daily and forms an integral part of the Mount Madonna experience. Michael’s background includes extensive Hanuman practices, and he encourages interested participants to take part in the some of activities (such as chanting and worship) around the Hanuman temple. Explanations of these activities will be provided, and questions are welcome. Some of Michael’s teaching will use Hanuman and related practices as a focus.
The staff at the Temple is always happy to answer any questions you may have whenever you are at the Temple, but for those of us looking for a more formal introduction, Mount Madonna is offering us a brief Temple tour with one of their pujaris, Tuesday afternoon (exact timing TBD), where we will be given an overview, and have an opportunity to ask questions.
Sample Schedule
Here is a tentative SAMPLE schedule for the retreat. This is intended to give you a basic idea of the sort of schedule we’ll be on, and the details will certainly change by the time of the actual retreat.
Sunday — Arrival Day Schedule
3:00 – 5:15 pm Arrive and get settled in
5:15 – 6:15 pm Dinner
6:30 – 7:00 pm Orientation from Mount Madonna – Meditation Hall
7:00 – 8:25 pm Introduction/Dharma Talk/Questions
8:30 – 9:55 pm Meditation
Optional Arati at the Hanuman Temple at 6:30a and 6:00p, daily
Monday — Friday Full Day Schedule
6:00 – 8:25 am Meditation
8:30 – 9:30 am Breakfast/Open meditation
9:30 – 11:25 am Instruction/Meditation/Questions
11:30 a – 12:30 pm Meditative Movement in the hall/Optional meditation where you wish
12:30 – 1:30 pm Lunch/Open meditation
1:30 – 2:30 pm Break/Open meditation
2:30 – 3:55 pm Meditation
4:00 – 5:15 pm Guided Meditation
5:15 – 6:15 pm Dinner/Open meditation
6:15 – 7:05 pm Meditation
7:15 – 8:25 pm Dharma Talk/Guided Meditation/Questions
8:30 – 9:55 pm Meditation
Optional Arati Ceremony at the Hanuman Temple at 6:30a and 6:00p, daily
Saturday — Full Day Schedule
6:00 – 7:55 am Meditation
8:00 – 10:00 am Instruction/Meditation/Questions
10:00 – 11:00 am Brunch/Open meditation
11:00 – 11:55 am Meditation
12:00 – 1:00 pm Meditative Movement in the hall/Optional meditation where you wish
1:00 – 2:00 pm Break Snacks/Optional meditation where you wish
2:00 – 3:55 pm Meditation
4:00 – 5:15 pm Guided Meditation
5:15 – 6:15 pm Dinner/Open meditation
6:15 – 7:05 pm Meditation
7:15 – 8:25 pm Dharma Talk/Guided Meditation/Questions
8:30 – 9:55 pm Meditation
Optional Arati Ceremony at the Hanuman Temple at 6:30a and 6:00p, daily
Sunday — Departure Day Schedule
6:00 – 8:25 am Meditation
8:30 – 9:30 am Breakfast/Open Meditation
9:30 – 10:00 am Pack up/Open Meditation
10:00 – 10:55 am Meditation
11:00 a – 12:30 pm Meditation/Closing circle
12:30 – 1:30pm Lunch
1:30 pm Departure
Optional Arati Ceremony at the Hanuman Temple at 6:30a and 6:00p, daily
Remember, this is a draft schedule and is subject to change.
REGISTRATION: How It Works
There are two steps you will need to complete to participate in the May 2026 Deconstructing Yourself Summer Retreat at Mount Madonna.
STEP 1 – You need to register with Deconstructing Yourself, and pay the registration fee. You do this using the links on this page, below.
STEP 2 – Once you have completed step one, you will receive an email with a link for you to complete step two. Step two is registering with Mount Madonna and making payment to secure your housing and meals.
Your total registration cost will be comprised of these two elements. For example, if you choose a shared room with shared bath, your cost will be:
DY registration $975
MM meals & room $1401
Total registration $2376
Rooming options at Mount Madonna have changed (again), so even if you’ve retreated there before, please read the following carefully.
If you would like to have a room to yourself, or to ensure you will room with your friends and/or partners, select one of the ‘Private’ options. One person should book the room for all members of your party on the Mount Madonna registration (after you have each registered individually with Deconstructing Yourself).
- The ‘Private Ensuite’ with two twin beds and a private bathroom
- The ‘Private with Shared bath’ which has two twin beds, and utilizes the shared bathrooms
- The ‘Private Cabin with Shared bath’ which has two twin beds, and utilizes a nearby bathhouse
For the ‘Shared’ accommodations, you can name a person to be your potential roommate, and have them name you on their reservation. Mount Madonna will do their best to pair you. Otherwise, you will be assigned a roommate who is also attending the Deconstructing Yourself retreat.
Here is a link to a sampling of the Mount Madonna rooming options
Begin Retreat Registration Here
Sunday, May 24 – Sunday May 31, 2026
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.
Basic
This is the standard fee for the retreat. Appropriate for most students.
Scholarship
A reduced rate for students who cannot afford the Basic level at this time.
Please remember that there are a limited number of scholarships, and so be mindful of those who may truly need this.
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 Kristen Connolly
You can learn more about Mount Madonna here
I’m looking forward to seeing you there! ~ Michael Taft