Retreats

Non-Duality in Nature

The Direct Path to Love and Beauty

A retreat with Johann Robbins and Caverly Morgan

July 19-25, 2025

Rocky Mountain Ecodharma Retreat Center

Registration now open!

On this retreat, the meditation approach is simply resting in awareness, without effort or striving. Surrounded by beauty in the peace of nature, letting everything be just as it is, our experience becomes simpler and more enjoyable. 

You will have ample time to connect and be with the natural world and the beauty that surrounds you - inside and out. Summers are gentle in the mountains - with the green meadows, alive forests, wildflowers, high peaks, the running creek, and all the birds, moose, deer, elk, rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, and other critters. It is an ideal setting for returning to our true nature, in nature. In all of this, you will rediscover the love, gratitude, and connection that is already inside of you - that is your being.

As we meditate, walk, converse, and share retreat space together, a natural sense of ease and belonging emerges. Our minds begin to quiet down from the ping-ponging of wanting and aversion - seeking and resisting. Without effort or struggle, separation dissolves and we are free to drop into love and connection. This is the Direct Path – not an effort, but a natural and easeful connection to our being - to who we truly are.

This retreat is informal and relaxed, with ample time for teaching, guiding, support, and discussion. There will be free time to enjoy the land in whatever way is right for you. The schedule will have periods of silence as well as optional times to be relational, allowing the love that naturally arises to flow as conversation among participants.

The Direct Path is not based on effort or technique, but is instead a relaxed falling back into our true nature - our being. If you have been practicing any form of Buddhism, Zen, or Mindfulness, have heard about the Direct Path or Non-Duality, or just feel drawn to a natural and deep approach to being in nature, this retreat will be a unique opportunity to explore, experience, love, and enjoy. In nature, at peace, we discover that we already are the happiness we seek.

This Retreat Includes:

• Guidance and instruction in the Direct Path open awareness meditation, both sitting and walking.

• Individual attention and breakout groups. Beginners and first-timers are fully supported, while those more experienced will find plenty to deepen their experience, so all are welcome.

• Plenty of free time for hiking, meditation, rest, or just being in a beautiful space.

• Evening campfire dharma talks and discussion.

• One-on-one meetings with the teachers.

• Camping or a variety of indoor rooms to choose from. Scholarships are available as needed.

• If you want to do this retreat and the four-night Solo/Sangha retreat after it, please register for both. The interim nights are included and free.

Dedicated to transformational learning and growth, the Institute offers serene trails and inspiring retreat spaces where we will gather. Nourishing lunches and snacks are provided each day.

This is a beautiful, community collaboration between the Whidbey Institute, Pamoja Place, Caverly Morgan LLC, and Realizing Freedom Together — all non-profit organizations located in the Pacific Northwest focused on community, transformation, and freedom.

Use this link to fill out the application and we will be in contact -- The Power of You Teen Retreat Application Form. Please send any questions you have to the retreat organizer Nancy Schmidt at: pamojaplacecoordinator@gmail.com.

Being Resourced for These Times

A Whidbey Island Summer Retreat

With Caverly Morgan, Loveli Walker, and Brian Ton

July 28 - August 2, 2025

Whidbey Institute (WA)

“In the darkest times, one light can make a magnificent difference. When we come together in beloved community—rooted in truth, remembering our essence—we create a collective light far brighter than any one of us could shine alone.”

—Caverly 

Join us for a nourishing and illuminating meditation retreat that will provide you with practical and grounded tools for these times. 

These times call for collective care, collective solidarity, and collective practice. The cherished tradition of retreat is an opportunity to gather and connect, to heal and replenish, and to cultivate, together, the light of awareness—an ever-expansive light that we are all in need of right now.

Being Resourced for These Times is an invitation to explore, in community, contemplative technologies meant to benefit you personally, and beyond—understanding that our world changes when they are applied collectively.  As Thich Nhat Hanh once predicted, “the next Buddha may be a Sangha” (aka, community of people who practice together.)

On this summer retreat we will delve deeply into Relational Dharma. Relational Dharma recognizes that our life unfolds within relationship—relationship with family, friends, colleagues, community, the world. We’ll mine the richness of being in relationship with each other while also exploring the gifts of what is beyond relationship. 

Join us as, personally and together, we explore an understanding of presence that is inherently nourishing and connected—and the brilliance that comes from acting in the world on behalf of this luminous knowing.  

What You Can Look Forward To:

• Teachings and Guided Meditations: Engage in insightful teachings and guided meditations to deepen your understanding and experience of relational dharma and how to resource in these times.

• Tools and Practices: Learn powerful and accessible tools to both deepen your personal practice and extend practice into the world.

• Dyads and Group Discussions: Connect with fellow participants through structured dyads and open group discussions, fostering a supportive community.

• Individual Session: Meet with Caverly privately to foster a deeply personal understanding of the teachings and practices as they relate to your life.

• Journaling: Reflect on your experiences and insights through guided journaling exercises.

• Mindful Movement: Engage in embodied movement with Loveli Walker’s sound healing sessions and Brian Ton’s Qigong classes. Descriptions are included below.

• Restorative Time: Explore Whidbey Institute’s scenic trail system, wander the tranquil labyrinth and gardens, or simply rest. Rejuvenate your mind, body, and spirit.

• Nourishing Organic Meals: Enjoy delicious meals crafted by Whidbey Institute’s chef specially prepared for our group.

Our time together will be held in the container of the Whidbey Institute. Nestled amongst a 106-acre conservation forest campus on South Whidbey Island, WA, the Whidbey Institute is dedicated to nurturing the conditions for transformational learning and growth.

Our home for the week will be a community of farm houses and cabins dotting the meadow and forest, with delicious organic meals prepared especially for our group by the Institute’s chef. Our daily rhythm will include meditation, community discussion, and individual sessions with Caverly. The retreat will include daily periods of silence. Our time together will also be deeply enhanced by embodied movement practices. Class descriptions are below.

Movement Classes 

Loveli leads a powerful sound healing movement, using singing bowls and a variety of frequency healing instruments to guide others on a journey of emotional and physical restoration. Through the vibrational energy of sound, she creates an immersive experience that promotes deep relaxation, clears energetic blockages, and facilitates healing on a cellular level. By carefully selecting and playing these sacred instruments, Loveli harnesses their frequencies to align the body, mind, and spirit, helping participants reconnect with their inner peace and balance. Her sound healing sessions offer a transformative space where the therapeutic power of sound leads to profound inner shifts, offering healing, clarity, and renewed vitality. Click here to learn more about Loveli.

In Brian’s sessions, you will practice Qi Gong, which is an ancient Chinese practice that through gentle movements, promotes health, mental clarity, healing energy, and vitality. You will also practice Tai Chi, a practice that focuses on slow flowing movement to improve balance, flexibility, strength, and coordination. Whether you’re new to these practices or have some experience, this workshop will help you achieve relaxation, stress reduction, awareness, and a deeper connection between mind and body. Click here to learn more about Brian.

This meditation retreat will be a hybrid of relational and silent time.  There will also be plenty of free time to explore the trail system, walk the labyrinth, as well as rest. Deeply rest.

Ask yourself these questions:

• Have you ever touched this peace, this contentment, this deep return to belonging but then feared losing this experience?

• Have you ever struggled because you recognized the world around you did not reflect this experience of your true nature?

• When faced with the enormity of the collective problems before us, have you wondered how one individual’s spiritual practice can make a tangible difference in our world?

These questions will guide our time together as we explore how meditation, mindfulness, and contemplative technologies can — and must — be applied collectively. Our daily meditation practice will serve as a framework onto which we will begin to weave teachings with personal reflections. You will have the opportunity to connect to yourself, others, and the world beyond in solo and group exercises and discussions that inspire us to put our values into action.

Join us in this return to belonging — this remembering of the deepest truth of who we are — with the intention of using this understanding to transform our own lives and the world we share.

“Her spacious teaching style didn’t crowd the agenda with too much information but rather the content seemed to flow beautifully and build on each other. The balance of teaching and meditation time allowed me to rest and drop into the learning more fully. The relational dharma work felt especially powerful and grounded the concepts in real time.”

—Esalen 2024 retreatant

Need a scholarship? Apply here.

This smaller self often feels inadequate, unworthy, or lacking the resources and knowledge to truly care for itself. This is the self that suffers.

Opening our hearts transforms our lives, granting us greater peace and resilience in the face of emotional challenges. We become happier and more satisfied. But when we cling to the notion of a limited self that must control everything and perfect every practice, we amplify our suffering. We may even criticize ourselves for not being self-compassionate enough, creating a vicious cycle of judgment and inadequacy.

However, when we connect with our larger Self—the aspect of our being that is inherently wise, loving, and not separate from the whole—compassion flows effortlessly. It's from this deep wellspring within our true nature that we can genuinely open our hearts to ourselves and others.

This retreat invites you to explore these profound questions: Who is the self in self-compassion? What is the heart that opens to ourselves, others, and life itself? Is there an "I" doing anything at all, or are we simply resting in our true nature?

When we awaken to our true nature, we don’t bypass the world. We awaken to love it more fully. And self-compassion is the first expression of that love, starting with the self we thought we were.

What You'll Learn:

• How to respond to feelings of failure or inadequacy with kindness and care.

• How to relate to difficult emotions with greater ease.

• How to take the effort out of self-compassion practice.

• How to access your true nature, which is naturally compassionate.

• How to rest in Being, the heart of who we are.

What You Can Expect:

• Teachings and Guided Meditations: Engage in insightful teachings and guided meditations to deepen your understanding and experience of compassion.

• Dyads and Group Discussions: Connect with fellow participants through structured dyads and open group discussions, fostering a supportive community.

• Q&A Sessions: Gain clarity and personal insights during interactive Q&A sessions with Caverly Morgan and Dr. Kristin Neff.

• Journaling: Reflect on your experiences and insights through guided journaling exercises.

• Mindful Movement: Engage in daily embodied movement classes with Jess Jarris. 

• Restorative Time: Explore Whidbey Institute’s scenic trail system, wander the tranquil labyrinth and gardens, or simply rest. Rejuvenate your mind, body, and spirit.

• Nourishing Organic Meals: Enjoy delicious meals crafted by Whidbey Institute’s chef specially prepared for our group.

Note about the teachers:

Caverly is the lead facilitator for this retreat. Dr. Kristin Neff will be a special guest, attending the retreat for only a part of it. This retreat may not be a good fit for those who want standard self-compassion skills training from Kristin, as we will primarily be focusing on accessing compassionate presence through contemplation.

Please Note: Although CUE’s are not being offered at this retreat, participants can be provided a Certification of Completion. Registrants will receive more information about this closer to the retreat.

Testimonials from Previous Retreatants

“The combination of these two brilliant teachers created something truly magical. The spaciousness and comfort of the retreat allowed the teachings to gently absorb as my mind and body loosened and unfolded to receive them. Pairing the connection of relational practice with the reverence and space of silent practice made it feel as though we were all on this sacred journey as one. My life is forever changed.”

—Amanda, Researcher

“This retreat was deeply meaningful. The echoes of the experience will continue to resonate through my personal and professional life for decades.”

—Brian, Physician

About Whidbey Institute

Our time together will be held in the container of the Whidbey Institute, replete with farm houses and cabins dotting a serene meadow and woodlands. Nestled amongst a 106-acre conservation forest on South Whidbey Island, WA, the Whidbey Institute is dedicated to nurturing the conditions for transformational learning and growth.

Scholarships

We are offering a limited number of partial scholarships: people who identify as BIPOC and/or part of a marginalized community, and those experiencing financial hardship. You can learn more and apply HERE. Interested in contributing to the scholarship fund? Thank you! You can do so HERE.

Join Us

Immerse yourself in a space of loving, connected presence, where intellect steps aside for direct experience. Together, we'll explore the limitless source of compassion within us all, transforming how we relate to ourselves and the world around us.

Step into a journey of self-discovery and compassionate living. We look forward to welcoming you.

About Caverly Morgan

Named one of 2025's powerful women of the mindfulness movement, Caverly Morgan is a spiritual teacher, nonprofit founder, speaker, and writer whose practice began in 1995 and has included eight years of training in a silent Zen monastery. She is the author of The Heart of Who We Are: Realizing Freedom Together as well as A Kids Book About Mindfulness. 

Caverly is the founder of Peace in Schools, a nonprofit that created the nation’s first for-credit mindfulness class in public high schools. She is also the founder of Realizing Freedom Together, a nonprofit organization dedicated to making practices that lead to liberation for all, accessible to all. Caverly leads meditation retreats, workshops, and online classes internationally. Learn more at caverlymorgan.org.

About Dr. Kristin Neff

Dr. Kristin Neff is an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. She is a pioneer in the field of self-compassion research, conducting the first empirical studies on self-compassion more than twenty years ago. She has been recognized as one of the most influential researchers in psychology worldwide. She is author of the bestselling books Self-Compassion and Fierce Self-Compassion. Along with her colleague Chris Germer, she co-developed the empirically-supported Mindful Self-Compassion program and co-founded the Center for Mindful Self- Compassion. They co-wrote the best-selling books The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook and Mindful Self-Compassion for Burnout. For more info see self-compassion.org.

About Jess Jarris - Movement Instructor 

Jess Jarris (she/they) is a Somatic Psychotherapist, Yoga Therapist and Embodiment Coach. In her private practice, she blends together Somatic Experiencing, mindfulness, Polyvagal Theory, parts work and embodiment practices. Jess began their personal exploration of contemplative practices in 2004 and since 2012 has journeyed alongside others in exploring how movement, mindfulness and somatic awareness can help to reconnect us with the innate wisdom of our bodies. She offers individual sessions, a quarterly group series called Embodied Homecoming, and workshops.

Save the Dates!

• Writing from Presence Retreat at Drala Mountain Center (formerly Shambala), CO, February 27 - March 1, 2026

• Annual Summer Retreat at the Whidbey Institute, WA, July 19 - 25, 2026

• Nonduality in Nature Retreat with Johann Robbins at Rocky Mountain Ecodharma Retreat Center, CO, July 27 - August 2, 2026