February Open Practice Intensive (Residential)

With Kathe McKenna and David Bayer

February 7 - 23, 2025

Date and Time Details: Rooms are available between Feb. 7 and Feb. 23. A 5-night minimum stay is required for registration through Dec. 15. After Dec. 15. registrations will also be accepted for less than 5 days with a 2-night minimum.

Contact: register@naturaldharma.org

REGISTRATION: Please click here to register for the February Open Practice Intensive.

Please click here to register for the February Open Practice Intensive.

You may register for any length stay between Feb. 7 and Feb. 23, 2025. A 5-night minimum stay is required for registration through Dec. 15. After Dec. 15, registrations will accepted for less than 5 days with a 2-night minimum


Immerse yourself in individual practice, while held in a supportive community at Wonderwell. Deep winter at our mountain refuge provides the opportunity for silence, reflection, rest and deep practice.

The winter intensive practice period is a chance for you to create your own retreat in the context of a wider practice community. Stay for just two or as many nights as you like, enjoying the flexibility to structure a retreat that is suited to your needs. Retreatants contribute in community with mindful work practice, meditate in the beautiful Wonderwell meditation hall, in their rooms, or in one of the many practice nooks in our historic mountain retreat center. Curl up with tea and a book from our extensive library of Buddhist texts, or simply gaze at the wintry mountain range. Hike the trails on our protected lands, commune with nature, and return home renewed.

Please join us to:

  • Retreat and renew in the mountains of New Hampshire
  • Sink deeply into your individual practice
  • Meditate and live in a supportive practice community

Our schedule will include two guided meditation sessions per day and at least one individual dharma conversation with the guiding teachers during your stay. (More conversations are offered if your stay is longer than 5 days.)  

Participants will have access to the meditation hall as well as their private rooms for practice. We offer three simple, delicious vegetarian meals per day and participants will be given yogi jobs, primarily to help with meal cleanup. Upon departure, each retreatant will clean and ready their room and bathroom in preparation for a comfortable arrival for the next retreatant.


ROOMS FOR THE WINTER MEDITATION INTENSIVE

All rooms are private except for the dorms, but you will not have a choice of ensuite or hall bathroom. Please email the registrar if you require an ensuite bathroom for medical reasons.

Couples or friends may share a room if they wish. Please register only one person and then email register@naturaldharma.org to make arrangements for registering the second person.


SCHOLARSHIPS

Wonderwell Mountain Refuge strives to offer retreats in a manner that is inclusive for persons of all means. If the full cost of the Winter Meditation Intensive would create an undue financial burden, we encourage you to apply for a scholarship. Please visit this page on our website learn more about financial aid.


CANCELLATION POLICY

We understand that personal circumstances may require you to cancel your registration. In these cases, please contact us right away at register@naturaldharma.org. Cancellations affect our ability to offer rooms to others and create additional work for our staff, therefore we charge the following fees to help mitigate these costs.

For cancellations (based on program start date):

  • > 30 days: 100% refund minus a $75 admin. fee.
  • 14-30 days: 50% refund
  • < 14 days: nonrefundable

If you must cancel due to an emergency or extenuating circumstances, please contact us at register@naturaldharma.org.


Wonderwell Mountain Refuge Full Calendar

 

About the Teachers

Kathe McKenna

Kathe McKenna currently serves as President of Natural Dharma Fellowship’s Board of Directors. She is deeply engaged in shepherding this unique, collaborative Buddhist dharma vessel. She helped launch the feisty, multi-faceted human service provider, Haley House, and led it through 50 years of organic growth. Kathe’s roles as mother, wife, and grandmother have enriched her vision and sparked […]

Learn more about Kathe McKenna

David Bayer

Buddhist meditation and philosophy first attracted and captured me in the 1970s, initially via the Theravada tradition. I then delved into the Zen traditions and have now found a home in Tibetan Buddhism. I have been a student of Lama Willa since meeting her in 2012 and a Mitra with the Margha Program since 2014. […]

Learn more about David Bayer

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