More than just geometric patterns, mandalas have been used for centuries for focusing attention, meditation, and enlightened transformation. Using music and movement to drop into a light, non-ordinary state of consciousness, we’ll design mandalas using oil pastels.

Slow down and put yourself first for a change...and learn why that’s so important! Learn tips for better self-care and mindfulness techniques to help you practice self-compassion.

Imagine a weekend of silence, space, and stillness away from the noise, overwhelm, and busy-ness of life. At Richmond’s beautiful Roslyn Retreat Center, this meditation retreat offers time in reflective silence and as well as gentle guidance from some of RVA’s most respected mindfulness teachers.

You read about mindfulness in magazines and have a meditation app on your smartphone, but what is it, what are its proven benefits, and how can you integrate it into your everyday life? Our experienced facilitators will help you better understand the basics of mindfulness and establish a practice that effectively fits your life.

When you’re struggling, do you treat yourself as well as you’d treat a friend? If not, what would it take to give yourself the same caring attention? An empirically-supported course taught in 20+ countries, MSC shares powerful tools for healing, building inner strength, and increasing confidence and self-respect.

Everything you say and do influences other people -- at work, at home, and everywhere in between. Do your words and actions reflect who you are? Mindfulness reduces the gap between who you are and what you do.

Through a mashup of writing techniques and prompts based in ancient wisdom traditions and positive psychology, we’ll explore five interlinked dimensions of the Self: Body, Heart, Mind, Soul, and Spirit. You’ll walk away from this workshop not only with tools for your future journaling practice, but with a deeper sense of joy and peace.

Join us as we read Yuval Noah Harari’s 21 Lessons for the 21st Century and discuss his provocative investigation of our modern tangle of political, technological, and existential challenges.

Our modern lexicon labels certain people as “indigenous”— but we are all indigenous, no matter who we are or where we come from. Learning from our ancient past and remembering who we are as humans can help us tap into our purpose as individuals.

Layering stresses from your personal and professional life on top of things like the 24/7 news cycle and political upheaval can put your body in a constant state of red-alert. Learn to check in with your body to identify what causes you stress and where you hold tension, then use practical techniques to reduce that stress on a regular basis.

AfroFuturism is a cultural movement rooted in the concept of going back in order to move forward. A Priest in the Akom Tradition of Ghana, West Africa, Nana Korantemah will cast the net wide with alternative health and wellness tools including movement, breath work, ancient rituals, and guided imagery to help with transformational healing, releasing emotional distress, and enhancing wellness for people of color.

The award-winning film I Am chronicles the journey of Richmonder Sonali Gulati, an Indian lesbian filmmaker, who returns to Delhi to re-open what was once her home and confront the loss of her mother, whom she never came out to. After viewing the film together (71 minutes long), stick around to ask Sonali any questions that arise.

You’re an artist. Your mind may tell you that you’re not, but that block can be removed when you realize you’re the master of your own creation. A vivid, colorful meditation guides you to a place within the deepest part of yourself where you can let go, feel the energy of colors, and engage all of your senses.

Compassion fatigue is a real thing. This course is a cutting-edge approach to strengthening your personal capacity to care for others without sapping your own resources.

At its heart, Buddhism is about paying attention to the human experience and accepting the realities of impermanence, suffering, and not having a fixed, independent self. It’s about asking, Learn about Buddhist principles and philosophy, and reflect on how they impact and enhance your own spiritual path.

Celebrate our 25th anniversary with this not-to-be-missed “keynote mosaic” featuring four local visionaries. Each speaker will share how their outer work has evolved their inner work (and vice versa) in the realms of spirituality, science, creativity and community.

If you could hold on to one 20-second moment from today, what would it be? What would a collection of those moments look like? Let’s find out using a tool many of us have in our pocket: a smartphone.

Carl Jung wrote “we all walk in shoes too small for us.” As children, we’re often told we can be anything we want, but somehow, over the years, possibilities get eliminated. Guided by the work of Carl Jung, we’ll examine and challenge the stories we currently tell ourselves.

Self-care isn’t an intervention or an occasional indulgence, it’s a healthier, happier, more connected way of living each day. Self-care is about making choices that support your overall wellness, and discovering what makes YOU tick. We’ll create a holistic self-care plan with specific goals and practices just for you.

In the tradition of Carl Jung and Marion Woodman, we’ll explore the fairy tale “The Goose Girl.” With curiosity, respect and non-judgment, we’ll explore archetypal stories woven into our night-time visions and waking challenges. Return home with more clarity about relationships with yourself and others, an open heart, and a deeper sense of the sacredness of life.

Join us for a mini-retreat that’s sure to be a moving experience! Gentle stretching, relaxation exercises, and walking interspersed with guided meditations will help you indulge in four hours of dedicated self-care.

Anyone, from any tradition, can benefit from experiencing his crystallized understanding of the nature of mind and the part it plays in the creation and alleviation of our suffering. Now in his 80s, the Dalai Lama is passionate about sharing what he feels is most urgent to communicate to the world. A Q&A session with director Mickey Lemle will follow the screening.

This is a unique opportunity to hear Mickey Lemle’s perspective on filming and spending time with the Dalai Lama. In THE LAST DALAI LAMA?, Lemle shares intimate interviews with the Dalai Lama -- shot 25 years apart -- as well as interviews with his family and the Westerners he’s inspired since his exile from Tibet in 1959.

Layering stresses from your personal and professional life on top of things like the 24/7 news cycle and political upheaval can put your body in a constant state of red-alert. Learn to check in with your body to identify what causes you stress and where you hold tension, then use practical techniques to reduce that stress on a regular basis.

Practice compassion through a 45-minute guided heart-opening meditation and brief sharing session. Facilitated by Susan Wilkes, PhD, Martha Tyler RN, LMT and Sherry Klauer.

Practice compassion through a 45-minute guided heart-opening meditation and brief sharing session. Facilitated by Susan Wilkes, PhD, Martha Tyler RN, LMT and Sherry Klauer.