Meditation for Hope and Healing
With Maureen Smith & Dean Nicholson
Do you find yourself stressed by all the troubling news that bombards us every day? Are you experiencing anger, anxiety or hopelessness, and not sure what you can do to make a difference?
Then join us for a weekend retreat grounded in the time-honored compassion practices of the Himalayan Buddhist traditions. Compassion, for ourselves and for the world, is a powerful force that helps heal the hurts and wounds, and gives us the confidence that we can be agents of action for positive change. Set within the natural sanctuary of Clear Sky Retreat Center, the retreat offers space for deep meditation and inner renewal.
Through these ancient practices, we explore compassion not as an abstraction, but as a living force that transforms both ourselves and our world. Using traditional visualization techniques, we connect with the healing energy of loving-kindness, allowing it to permeate every aspect of our being.
This retreat is an invitation to discover how authentic compassion creates the world we long for—one rooted in hope and healing rather than division and despair. We will work with visualization, meditation, mantra and contemplative practices that have guided practitioners for centuries.
Whether you’re new to meditation or an experienced practitioner, this weekend offers precious time to step away from daily demands and reconnect with your innate capacity for kindness. Held by the natural beauty of this place and the support of community, you’ll discover how these time-honored practices illuminate a path toward genuine transformation—for yourself and all beings.
This retreat will be led by Maureen Smith (MSW, RCSW) and Dean Nicholson (MA, RCC), psychotherapists and Buddhist meditation practitioners.
They are devoted students of Catherine Sensei, cofounder of the Clear Sky Meditation Center, and they have made Clear Sky Meditation Center their home for 20 and 10 years respectively.
Both are experienced teachers who bring decades of clinical counselling experience together with deep personal practice.
Through their work at Alive Mindfully, they support people in living richer lives of meaning, joy and purpose, drawing on meditation, counselling, and connection to the natural world.
Their teaching is grounded in genuine practice and a commitment to awakening in relationship with community and the land.
Course Details
- Location: Clear Sky Meditation Center, 3567 Cockell Road
- Date: May 8 -May 10, 2026
- Time: 5:00pm Friday -5:00pm Sunday MT
- Cost: Premium Private Cabin – $576, Private Cabin – $546, Shared Room – $446, Tenting – $326
