Learn to be in your own skin.
What if you could spend two months learning to actually live. What if you could get off the screens, out of your head, into your body, and figure out how you can contribute meaningfully?
These are challenging times. With Climate crisis, systems that are breaking down, and AI coming online faster than the speed of light; these times are unprecedented. Our costs of living are higher than ever and although we have more social media than we can handle, loneliness and anxiety are high.
If you’re anxious about a future that feels increasingly hopeless, you may be wondering how you can fix it all while figuring out how to be an adult? It’s hard. Especially when we are alone. The good news is that we can make a difference, together.
Believe in Life Again
That’s what we’re really offering. Not a fix. Not a cure. Just two months to remember that life can be meaningful, that you can be part of the solution, that connection is real, and that you have what it takes.
We live in community, run and harvest a food forest, restore ecosystems, teach meditation, and practice to embody what we teach, what we fondly refer to as “a life worth living”.
We believe in what we call the quadruple bottom line: spiritual, environmental, social, and financial health. We think young people deserve better than what the world is currently offering, and we’re willing to show up and see what we can do to generate wholesome impacts, together.
This youth program is our way of saying: you’re not alone, the world isn’t hopeless, and there are people who care about your generation inheriting something worth having.
This program is for you if:
- You’re roughly 21-35 and feeling lost in the chaos
- You have a sense of spiritual hunger, even if you don’t quite know what that means
- You’re tired of superficiality and want real connection
- You want to counter your eco-anxiety with wholesome action
- You’re willing to get uncomfortable and face yourself
- You want to learn to be of service instead of feeling helpless
- You want mentorship from elders who haven’t given up on the world
- You want to live to your full potential but don’t know how to start
You don’t need to:
- Be Buddhist (though we work in that tradition)
- Have meditation experience (we’ll teach you)
- Have your life figured out (literally no one does)
- Be “spiritual” in any particular way (just have an open heart
focus area
Youth Empowerment
practice
Meditation and Life Skills
Duration
Two Months
Skill Level
All
format
In-Person
What we are offering
Counter eco-anxiety with eco-restoration and learn to be of service. Be a part of the solution.
Shift from consumption to creation. This isn’t a wellness retreat or an eco-camp. It’s not therapy (though it’s therapeutic). It’s two months of learning how to be fully human in a world that’s forgotten how.
This Isn’t For Everyone
This program is intense. You’ll be away from your usual distractions. You’ll work with your hands and with real people. You’ll sit with discomfort. You’ll be in a small community where you can’t hide. You’ll face yourself. But if you’re tired of the superficial, if you want to believe in life again, if you want to be part of the solution instead of drowning in the problem, this might be exactly what you need.
What You’ll Learn
- Meditation practices that work
- Emotional regulation and processing skills
- Relief from suffering (not bypassing it, actually working with it)
- Depression and anxiety support through embodied practice
- How to be a bodhisattva in the world (someone who helps, not just talks about it)
- How to live in community and be mentored by elders with experience
- How to lead with a heart for service, not ego
- How to live more sustainably
- How to have a wholesome relationship with food (grow, harvest, prepare)
- How to look after yourself and others
- How to have a healthy relationship with money without fear or obsession
- How to lead, follow, and work in a team
Our team includes:
- Buddhist teachers and practitioners – our head teacher Catherine Sensei and long-term students who’ve been practicing for decades and will teach you authentic spirituality and meditation practices
- Therapists who work with depression, addiction, and trauma
- Career mentors who’ve built meaningful lives in the real world
- Land lovers who know the land intimately
- Communication facilitators who’ll teach you how to be real with others
- Creative professionals (writers, filmmakers) who’ll help you tell your story
The program is psychedelic and drug free, but we know this world. If you’ve had experiences with psychedelics and are trying to integrate them, we can support that work in a grounded, contemplative context. This might be the first time in years you won’t be constantly bombarded by notifications, algorithms, and other people’s content. You’ll have space to remember who you are.
The Nitty Gritty
How much does it cost? We’re working on sliding scale options and potential scholarship support. Full pricing details coming soon, but we’re committed to making this accessible.
How many people? A small group of just 3-6 participants for our 2026 pilot. This means real connection, individual attention, and genuine community.
What about screens/phones? For this summer program you’ll be outside a lot and we encourage you to let go of the usual distractions. We use Whatsapp groups for communicating some things, and occasional healthy social media posting, but for the most part we encourage you to be offline. We know this might seem difficult, but it’s also probably what you need. You’ll still be accessible for emergencies and necessary communication.
Is this a cult? No. We’re rooted in Buddhist tradition and highly respectful of our teacher and mentors, but we’re not trying to convert you. We’re aware of problems with “gurus” and hierarchical weirdness. That’s not what this is about. The spiritual practices are offered as tools and resources, not dogma.
What if I don’t have outdoor skills? Perfect. You’ll learn them. That’s the whole point. Most of us grew up in cities or spent too much time inside. You’ll learn by doing, with patient teachers who remember what it’s like to be new at this stuff.
We’re still finalizing details for summer 2026. If you want to talk about whether this is right for you, reach out: michelle@clearskycenter.org
In the meantime:
- Explore teachings on Planet Dharma
- Check out Clear Sky’s website to get a feel for who we are
- Follow your gut. If something in you lit up reading this, pay attention to that 🙂
Meet Our Head Teacher
Catherine Pawasarat Sensei
Catherine Pawasarat Sensei began her spiritual practices in earnest in her early 20s, when she struggled to make sense of and overcome personal suffering and international environmental and social justice challenges. She became a student of metaphysics, Western spiritual traditions, and the ayahuasca sacraments in the 1990s.
For 26 years Catherine Sensei trained daily with Qapel Doug Duncan in an intensive spiritual apprenticeship that is rare in the modern West. She received lay ordination from Ven. Namgyal Rinpoche in 2003.
With Qapel she co-founded Clear Sky Retreat Center and Planet Dharma and is a lineage holder for these teachings. She supports the spiritual underpinnings of social entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurship for spiritual practitioners. She worked as an advocacy photojournalist and studied traditional Japanese arts (including koto, shamisen, kyogen) in Kyoto for 20 years, culminating in her landmark work GionFestival.org.
Since the early 2000s Sensei has provided dharma training and taught the path of awakening to hundreds of students, together with Qapel and on her own. In addition to Buddhist philosophy and its applications to daily life, Sensei also draws on generative living (a.k.a. sustainability) and the arts.
About Clear Sky
Located in the BC rocky mountains, we offer over 300-acres to deepen your practice and reconnect with nature.
Founded by Qapel Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat Sensei, we are home to students from around the globe who are dedicated to co-creating a supportive and innovative space for awakening in our modern world.
In adherence with our quadruple bottom line, we source our food as local and organic as possible.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW on how to get here, what to bring and what to expect.
FAQs
Dana:
Registration fees cover food, accommodation and the technology needed to offer the retreat online. The Teachings are freely given on the basis of dāna.
You may have come across this elsewhere in the form of “pay from the heart”. Dāna is a Sanskrit term meaning “generosity”. With dāna, we give as a mutual exchange of generosity. It’s our joy to offer this course, and we trust you’ll match our time, energy, and passion by giving an amount of money that feels good and healthy to both you and us.
The dharma has been built on generosity. No-one is excluded for lack of funds but it is also extremely beneficial to give as much as you are able
Typically people give in a range of $120-$500 USD for a course.
As we’re committed to ensuring everyone has access to the Dharma, please feel comfortable to give less if you are not financially secure. Another form of giving dāna is to offer service, and if you are interested in providing support in a non-financial way, we invite you to contact us.
Conversely, if you are financially secure, we invite you to generate merit by providing more financial support to the Triple Gem. Contributions like these make the difference in supporting our teachers, teachings, and center.
Learn more about the practice of dāna here.
We aim to make our retreats as accessible as possible.
As a centre run entirely by Karma Yoga (selfless service), retreat fees only cover food, accommodation and the equipment required to offer them online.
The teachings themselves are offered on the basis of Dāna (pay-from-the-heart).
For some, this is still a barrier of entry.
If you are seeking financial assistance to attend a retreat, please complete a Scholarship Application form.
Specific times may change – this is a rough guide (MST)
6:30 – 7:30 AM: Walk &/or Personal Practice
7:30 – 8:15 AM: Breakfast: Prepare, eat, clean up
8:15 – 8:45 AM: Walk &/or Personal Practice
9:00 – 10:00 AM: Class with Teachers
10:00 – 10:30 AM: Walk
10:30 – 11:30 AM: Group Practice led by Sangha
11:30 – 12:30 PM: Personal Practice
12:30 – 1:30 PM: Lunch: Prepare, eat, clean up
1:30 – 3:00 PM: Personal Practice
3:00 – 4:00 PM: Group Practice led by Sangha
4:00 – 5:30 PM: Personal Practice
5:30 – 7:00 PM: Dinner: prepare, eat, clean up
7:00 – 7:30 PM: Walk &/or Personal Practice
7:30 – 8:30 PM: Group Practice and Q & A with Teachers
8:30 – Beyond: Personal Practice & bed
Click here for details on how to get here, what to bring and what to expect.
Note: In the unlikely scenario that this retreat is cancelled, we recommend purchasing refundable travel fares.
We recognize and respect plant medicine as an important part of some people’s spiritual paths.
Please note, the meditation practice on this retreat is very powerful. Consuming mind-altering substances will detract from your experience and could cause negative side-effects.
We ask that you refrain from microdosing or consuming mind-altering substances during this retreat and in the days immediately following it.
IN-PERSON: Please register as early as possible so we can plan for the retreat. Save 10% on fees until April 13, 2025. Registration deadline for in-person retreatants is May 9th 2025.
ONLINE: We encourage early registration. Save $100 on the online fees until April 20, 2025. June 6th is the final online registration deadline.
