Mountain
Meditation
A Return to Wholeness
January 17–22, 2027
Mount Madonna Center
With Luke Wientzen
& Ashley Henderson
Remember something essential
about being here.
Five days to be with ourselves, free from familiar demands and the inevitability of the distractions of the digital world, and discover the intimacy and depth that can open when we give our experience our full attention.
A quieter way
of listening.
An invitation to set down the usual pace of life and give your attention to the simple experience of being here.
In the company of others, with silence as our shared ground, there is room to sit, listen, and meet what unfolds.
Retreat details
On Silence
Noble silence is a conscious choice to step away from the social electricity that our roles in the world so often demand. For a time, we can set down the need to carry a conversation, respond, explain, or be someone for someone else.
In that space, a depth can open that words alone cannot describe. As we spend time with what is arising, we begin to know ourselves in ways that are subtle, surprising, and ever deepening. There is no particular experience we need to have. The invitation is to be here and discover what becomes available when we give ourselves this time.
Whether you’re beginning meditation or have an established practice, you’re warmly invited to join this retreat. The silence we maintain is an invitation into depth, something we can gradually become familiar with and settle into. Naturally, there will be designated group sharing periods, along with guided instruction and Dharma talks from Luke and Ashley.
Life does go on outside the retreat setting. Noble silence invites us to step away from the excess generated through our phones, digital distractions, and even books, allowing our attention to settle more fully into the immediate experience, alive and in front of us.
Mount Madonna
A place to enter more deeply
Mount Madonna has a rich history of contemplative practice. For nearly forty years, Baba Hari Dass, a swami from India who observed silence, lived on these grounds and taught using a chalkboard.
The old-growth redwoods, forest, and mountain stream, high above Monterey Bay, invite an aliveness that supports a deepening into that which is innermost. Here, silence offers a way to become more intimate with the luminous nature of being.
Luke Wientzen
& Ashley Henderson
Luke and Ashley met on retreat with their shared mentor, Riyaz Motan. The nature of their work coalesces beautifully: Ashley as a therapist, and Luke as a meditation guide and movement specialist.
Riyaz’s open-hearted approach to relational meditation, grounded in presence and deep inquiry, is the inspiration for this collaborative offering.
Meet us on the mountain.
Mountain Meditation: A Return to Wholeness
A five-night silent retreat at Mount Madonna Center
with Luke Wientzen & Ashley Henderson.