Join writer and meditation teacher Jeff Warren for a journey into the mystery of meditation and what it can teach us about being human.
This will be a different kind of retreat. Less structured, with lots of room for silence and spontaneity. The idea is to make space for some of the deeper and more personalized movements of practice that come through when we really listen.
Hollyhock is perfect for this. Maple leaves the size of serving plates, towering old-growth Douglas-firs and Western redcedars. Mossy quiet in the forest. Clean air rolling in off the sea, the tide sculpting smooth every black and grey stone. Wandering through this charged landscape – extending our attention out to the more-than-human world – will be part of our practice. Jeff’s friend Kalen Colson, a nature-based therapist, will weave in specific practices to help us connect to the land.
As always with Jeff’s retreats, there’s a back-and-forth between seated meditation and more active periods of movement and relating. The throughline in all activities is an emphasis on the core skills of practice: concentration, clarity, equanimity, and care. These skills – cultivated in stillness, applied in life – lie at the headwaters of mental and emotional and spiritual health. We come back to them again and again through guided explorations and sharing.
What happens when the mind settles? So much. Mystery and gratitude. Insight and connection. A sense of our own life-as-spiritual-path – based not on some distant ideal, but on the actual details of our experience.
Also jokes! Those happen. And joy! Culminating in an evening dance party, where – disarmed by our own ridiculousness – we forget our self-consciousness and accidentally have a good time.
Why This Program Matters
Meditation is incredible. It teaches us about healing stuck emotions and expanding stuck views. It teaches us mercy and forgiveness, majesty and humility. It teaches us about how we relate to ourselves, to other people, and ultimately to the wide world we’re intimately and inseparably a part of.
All this and more can happen when we get quiet and connect to the open-ended mystery of the present. The goal is for everyone to leave the retreat with a clear understanding both of why they meditate, and how to bring that practice into all parts of their life.
Who is This Program For
- This retreat is appropriate for all experience levels.
- This retreat is not intended as treatment for mental health conditions. If you are unsure as to whether this program is suitable for you, please contact our registration team for more information about the program.
What You’ll Learn
- Practice and experiment with the core skills of meditation, how they interact with each other, and how they deepen our relationship to the mystery and creativity of life.
- Explore how to apply – and find – these skills in other practices and activities, in part so we can honour where and how we already practice.
- Several themes run through the retreat: the spiritual mystery at the heart of meditation, the different stages or terrains of practice through a lifetime, the importance of community and peer-to-peer sharing of practice, and the place of service and activism in a world that needs our care.
What Else You Need to Know
- This is not a typical Buddhist meditation retreat. The program is looser, and it’s not silent. Sharing and discussion are part of the program, including the option to be social at lunch and dinner. Having said that, some people choose silence for much of the time, and they receive the very real benefits of that. There are quiet areas to take meals, and silent badges to help support this practice.
- We do not fully follow all Buddhist precepts. Hollyhock sells alcohol at dinner, and some participants enjoy a glass of wine.
Expected Activities
- Guided meditations
- Nature walks
- Short mindful movement sessions (the Hollyhock staff also offer longer morning yoga sessions that anyone can attend)
- Large group discussion
- Small group sharing (optional)
- Evening dance party (optional)
Testimonials
“Besides Hollyhock being a pretty magical place, the workshop was everything I needed. I went to the retreat with a question about something that was bothering me in my personal life – choices around priorities I need to make. With the gentle, skillful guidance into meditation as well as the long periods of silence and the nourishment of the natural world, I ended up coming to an important insight that will help me answer that question. For me, that was worth it all. But there has been more– I loved the kind, non-supernatural, practical focus of Jeff’s practice and it has set me up for committing to a daily practice. And as of today, it’s been two weeks of unbroken daily meditation. I am reaping all kinds of benefits – especially how to really be there for people I care about. Thank you!” — 2026 Participant
“I went somewhere beautiful to check out…so I could check in. I was surrounded by sincere people who want the same thing…to be better humans. I was challenged with silence, and enlightened with new ways of bringing meditation into other aspects of my everyday life” — 2026 Participant
“I had no idea my mind, body and spirit needed what this retreat was offering. It was so restful and quiet. I spent two days with that “silent” sticker on me because I didn’t even want to try to make small talk and engage with anyone but myself. This is an indulgence I don’t have in my regular life. Jeff spoke about being stirred and shaken and when we sit, we let the sediment settle. This is exactly what it felt like for me. I felt spurts of joy. I’ve had a heavy year of work, of anxiety, of grief about the world and global suffering. And what I felt I suppressed was my joy. Whoa. What a revelation.” — 2026 Participant
Daily Schedule
A detailed schedule will be emailed to you about 30 days prior to your program. Click here to view a sample program schedule.
