Esalen Institute is open! However, Highway 1 to the south is closed — please review the current travel advisory.
Learn More.

Learn more.

Due to road closures along Highway 1 to our north and south, Esalen is closed through April 11.
Esalen Institute is open! However, Highway 1 to the south is closed — please review the current travel advisory.
past workshop

Awake in the Wild: Mindfulness in Nature as a Doorway to Joy, Wisdom, and Wonder

September 1–3, 2023

Mark Coleman and Lori Schwanbeck

Are you longing to be in the beauty of the outdoors and delight in the wonder of nature? After a long pandemic and looking at too many digital screens, what better remedy than to step outside and meditate in the majesty of the Big Sur coastline, serenaded by the lulling sounds of the ocean, cradled by rolling hills, and uplifted by exquisite gardens?

Following ancient spiritual traditions that value the transformative power of nature, this experiential workshop will be spent meditating entirely outdoors in the natural beauty and mystery of Esalen. Whether during a sunset meditation listening to the soothing sounds of the ocean or as we sit graced in the stillness of cypress trees, we will open to the profound serenity and wisdom of nature.

You will learn about the practice of mindfulness — the capacity to be present to ourselves and our environment — and then find out how to apply this receptivity to a contemplative relationship with nature. We can discover how meditative time outdoors leads to beautiful states of joy, peace, wonder, love, and connection with oneself, one another, and the larger web of life.

Recommended reading: Awake in the Wild and A Field Guide to Nature Meditation by Mark Coleman

Mark Coleman

Mark Coleman is a Buddhist meditation teacher who has been teaching insight meditation for 20 years. He is author of Awake in the Wild, From Suffering to Peace, and Make Peace with Your Mind, and leads nature-based meditation retreats and mindfulness teacher trainings in the U.S. and Europe.

Full Bio

Lori Schwanbeck

Lori Schwanbeck weaves her passion for nature into her work as a mindfulness teacher, retreat leader, and Hakomi certified psychotherapist. She is a senior teacher and program developer with the Google-born program “Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute”, where she teaches mindfulness-based emotional intelligence programs internationally. Her current project is called “Re-wilding our Feminine Nature” where she integrates embodied, relational, and presence-based practices to rekindle vitality, joy, and awe through immersion in nature.

Full Bio