Thanksgiving Family Retreat & Autumn Celebration with Cynthia Drake & Peter Grossenbacher

Take advantage of substantial price discounts and join us for this special fall celebration.

Beginning with an elegant Thanksgiving dinner, this family-oriented program will offer practice opportunities for both new and established practitioners. Our theme for the weekend is Celebration and Integration. As we play, dance, and sing, we will remember what we love and appreciate in our world, and explore ways to notice the magic of our everyday lives.

We will offer workshops on the contemplative arts such as haiku and ikebana (Japanese flower arranging), yoga, sensory awareness, and additional guided contemplative practices. There will also be opportunities for you to find your own way to rest your mind in this amazing land. For children, we will have a Shambhala treasure hunt, storytelling, and the production of a Shambhala Thanksgiving play. On Saturday night, we will all come together for an evening of shared poetry, music, a sing-along, and children’s theater.

You will have the opportunity to sit in the Great Stupa of Dharmakaya, visit the Shinto Kami shrine, learn more about the path of the Shambhala Warrior, and explore Shambhala’s unique expression of basic goodness within community. There will be time for specific forms of meditation (Shamatha and Werma practices), including discussion groups.

Join us in the powerful setting of Shambhala Mountain to give thanks and celebrate our connection to the phenomenal world, contemplative practice, and each other!

Cynthia Drake has been a meditator and member of the Shambhala community since 1985. For over two decades, she has taught English as a foreign language, college composition, and literature and worked as an academic advisor at the University of Colorado. She currently teaches literature at the University of Colorado at Boulder and seminars in contemplative learning at Naropa University and is pursuing a Ph.D. in British literature.

Peter Grossenbacher, Ph.D. has meditated on the Shambhala path since 1981. Associate Professor in the Contemplative Psychology Department at Naropa University, he combines scientific and contemplative modes of inquiry in teaching courses such as Perception, Cognitive Psychology, and Neuroscience of Meditation. He provides meditation instruction and teaches courses in the Shambhala tradition.

Children

The cost for children ages 7 to 17 is $25 per day. Children ages 6 and under are free. Shotoku childcare will be available from 9 am to 12:30 pm Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Teenagers have the option of attending Shotoku or spending four hours per day shadowing a Shambhala Mountain Mentor and providing service, with optional meditation instruction available. Everyone on the land under the age of 18 must either attend Shotoku, participate in the mentoring program, or be under the direct supervision of their parent(s).

Registration

If you are a member of a Shambhala center or Shambhala meditation group click here to go to the member registration page.

If you are NOT a member click here to go to the non-member registration page.

Prices reflect substantial discounts off our regular room and board rates, and there is no tuition for this program.

If you are unable to arrive on Thanksgiving Day, you are welcome to come from Friday through Sunday. Online registration is not available for the Friday to Sunday option. To register call us at 1-888-STUPA-21 or 303-468-9640. You should also call us if you wish to join us for just Thanksgiving dinner. The cost for Thanksgiving dinner alone is $25 for adults, $15 for ages 7 to 17.

Please register as early as possible to help our cooks plan the meals.

Please arrive by 3pm on Thursday. Program ends with lunch on Sunday. View Detailed Program Information.