In a mass-produced culture of neon and plastic, our social identity — the ego — is typically defined by our employment, salary, and the square footage of our home. Though we may attain professional and financial success, we feel alienated and disconnected, and can be left asking “is this it?”

In reality, we are so much more. If we tilt our heads to the East and listen closely to the contemplative traditions of the past and the present, they speak of inner divinity. These same traditions offer methods of self-transcendence and empirically-based practices that connect us to something larger, something divine.

In this workshop, we learn about the two aspects of human identity — the ego and the awakened self — through the lens of Eastern philosophy’s great contemplative traditions. By deconstructing identity via Buddhist-inspired philosophy, we recognize our ego to be an internalization of cultural voices from the past. With mindfulness meditation, we shift our attention to the present, and through a range of tantra-based somatic practices, we engage our more awakened identity.

With a secularized version of Tibetan tantric somatic practices, we circumvent the left-brain narratives of ego and experience our world as sacred. Each day, we will:

• Use mindfulness meditation and somatic practices to connect the sacred to our body, gaining experiential access to our inner divinity.
• Engage in group meditations focused on tonglen, or selfless compassion, to exit, transcend, and overcome the limiting cultural narratives we have internalized.
• Experience the awakened aspect of our identities in and through the eyes of others, so that new possibilities become affirmed, encouraged, and solidified.

In the process, you will gain a more accurate, fulfilling, and meaningful understanding of who we are.

We depart with a newfound sense of purpose, as well as the skills needed to transcend the plastic knockoff identities provided by the sparkling matrix of American consumerism.

Gather for a weekend in which we shift our attention away from neon and plastic toward the gods of love and unity. Become divine, or at the least, access your inner divinity and gain a more comprehensive understanding of what it means to be human, as well as what it means to be divine!