Living as an Impeccable Warrior
August 21–23, 2026
Meditation & Mindfulness, On Land Retreats
Program Start Date & Time: August 21st, 2026 | 5:30 pm
Program End Date & Time: August 23rd, 2026 | 12:30 pm
Warriors in battle move toward the enemy. They fight against the enemy in the external territory of the battlefield. They’re engaged in a competitive battle so they can win. They must be impeccably focused on the task to survive. Mere survival, however, isn’t very compelling for living a meaningful life. How can you live as a warrior to navigate the challenges of life so you can thrive?
You fight in a different way. You fight with the “enemy,” the challenge. You engage in a collaborative battle so you can learn.
Your life journey consists of two dimensions: external and internal. You use the external challenges as raw material for your inner journey of self discovery. The qualities of warriorship help you navigate both journeys. These qualities create an intentional path that helps you trust how life unfolds, which creates more peace in your life while still being effective.
The Warrior’s Way® is a mental training method and a philosophy of life that helps you develop these helpful qualities of the warrior mindset. The principles were refined in the crucible of rock climbing with a broad application to life. Learn from renowned author, Arno Ilgner, author of The Rock Warrior’s Way, to learn how to develop this mindset.
Program Prerequisites/Participant Preparation:
Reading Arno’s book,The Rock Warrior’s Way, will give a foundational understanding of the warrior principles.
Program Schedule
Friday
2:00 – 5:00 pm Registration
5:30 – 6:00 pm Orientation
6:00 – 7:00 pm Dinner
7:00 – 9:00 pm Program Session: Introduction to Living as an Impeccable Warrior
Here you’ll be introduced to foundational warrior principles to set the groundwork for your retreat. We’ll clarify and define the the terms “warrior,” “attention,” and “intention.” Additionally, you’ll learn an important (and simple) structure from rock climbing to give you a framework for integrating the material and training you’re learning.
Saturday
5:30 – 7:00 am – Optional Early Morning Session: Intention Setting
7:30 – 9:00 am Breakfast
9:30 – 12:30 pm Program Session: Be awake and alert as a warrior in enemy territory
In this program block, you’ll learn what it means to be awake and not lost in thought. You’ll learn tangible ways to use your attention to be alert in the many “enemy”—stressful—territories of your life.
12:30 – 1:30 pm Lunch
1:30 – 3:30 pm Free Time / Program Session: Warriors pay attention like it’s their last battle on Earth
In this program block, you’ll learn why it’s important to do work for its own sake. Much of this learning will include valuing stress, mistakes, and failures. You’ll learn how essential they are for your growth as a human being, and you’ll learn how to accept and work with them.
3:30 – 6:00 pm Program Session: Practicum: Experiencing the concepts in nature
This program block will give you an opportunity to experience what you’ve learned in nature. We’ll take a walk as warriors in enemy territory, being awake and alert to our external and internal worlds.
6:00 – 7:00 pm Dinner
Sunday
5:30 – 7:00 am – Optional Early Morning Session: Intention Setting
7:30 – 9:00 am Breakfast
9:30 – 12:45 pm Program Session: Trusting how life unfolds
This program block will integrate everything you’ve learned into a unified process that helps you to trust how life unfolds. You’ll learn yourself so you can relax into and process your life. This skill will help you ride the wave of change with more grace and peace.
Before departure, you’ll have an opportunity to participate in a Q&A with Arno.
12:45 – 1:30 pm Lunch and Departure
Retreat Faculty
Arno Ilgner
Arno Ilgner distinguished himself as a pioneering rock climber in the 1970s and ‘80s. His experiences as a rock climber are the foundation for his unique physical and mental training program–The Warrior’s Way®. In 1995, after much practice in the great warrior traditions, Ilgner founded the Desiderata Institute, and began teaching his program full time. […]
