Opening to Inspiration: Meditation & Writing for Aliveness & Connection

December 4th - 6th, 2026

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Arrival: Friday, December 4th, 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Departure: Sunday, December 6th, 12:30 PM

Tiered Tuition:
Scholarship: $250 
Standard: $370
Sponsor: $490 
+ Lodging Costs

Meals & drinks included (Inc. V, VG, GF)
~Add extra nights at 50% off~

Arrival: Friday, December 4th, 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Departure: Sunday, December 6th, 12:30 PM

Tiered Tuition:
Scholarship: $250 
Standard: $370
Sponsor: $490 
+ Lodging Costs

Meals & drinks included (Inc. V, VG, GF)
~Add extra nights at 50% off~

About the Retreat

You’re invited to adventure inward and outward to the naturally inspiring territories of this life. Join award-winning poet and transmitted Zen teacher Brooke McNamara for a weekend of nourishing stillness and authentic creative expression through lovingly curated practices of meditation and writing. Surrounded by the magic of the natural world at Drala Mountain Center, your invitation is to settle, attune, and play in the living poetry of the place. Whether you long to remember the free creativity of your childhood, to surrender to the ancient stillness deep in your bones, or to finally enter the right container to tend your book or project, this retreat will support and enliven you.

Come experience and share the aliveness of who you truly are, under whatever busy-ness, distractions, and habits have accumulated. Write your tender curiosities, fierce declarations, and alchemical questions, in connection with other awakening adventurers.

If you attended this retreat in the past, you are warmly invited to come again! This retreat will feature new material, practices, and offerings.

Why Did Past Participants Love this
Retreat?

“The combination of meditation and poetry continues to invite me into deep inner stillness, amplifying my capacity to listen and reflect, to move beyond the noise and chaos and witness my own quivering voice.”
~ Heather Baillie

“My expectations have continually been surpassed. The balance between space and structure is delicately and sensitively facilitated by Brooke so that I have been delighted by the range and depth we have accomplished in a relatively short time.”
~ Priya Logan

“By far the best poetry class I’ve ever done.”
~ Bridget Hanley

“The sessions with Brooke and the community she gathers are gently powerful and powerfully gentle. After every session you have a sense of having had close friends for a visit and you would like them to stay, almost like when you were a kid, playing outside and being called in for dinner — you just want to play a little more…”
~ Igno Van Niekerk

Program Schedule

Friday 

2:00 – 5:00 pm.  |  Registration

5:30 – 6:00 pm |  Orientation

6:00 – 7:00 pm |  Dinner

7:00 – 8:30 pm |  Program Session: Introduction to the Intersection of Meditation & Writing Practice

Saturday 

7:00 – 8:00 am |  Meditation (Sitting & Walking)

8:00 – 9:00 am |  Breakfast

9:30 – 12:30 pm |  Program Session: Opening to Inspiration ~ This Moment is a Dharma Gate

12:30 – 1:30 pm |  Lunch

1:30 – 3:30 pm |  Free Time

3:30 – 6:00 pm |  Program Session: Opening to Inspiration ~ Befriending Writing as an Intimate Companion

6:00 – 7:00 pm |  Dinner

7:00 – 8:30 pm |  Optional Sharing Circle/ Open Mic + Meditation

Sunday 

7:00 – 8:00 am |  Meditation (Sitting & Walking)

8:00 – 9:00 am |  Breakfast

9:30 – 12:30 pm |  Program Session: Opening to Inspiration ~ The Art of Revision/ Tending the Garden + Integration

12:30 – 1:30 pm |  Lunch and Departure

Retreat Faculty

Brooke McNamara, MFA

Brooke McNamara, MFA is an award-winning poet, meditation guide, and Zen teacher. Trained in the tradition of Diane Musho Hamilton Roshi, she is president and a founding Sensei of Dragon Lake Zen. The author of two poetry collections, Bury the Seed and Feed Your Vow, she received the Charles B. Palmer Prize from the Academy [...]

Lodging

We have several accommodations to choose from during checkout.
All options include our healthy meals and drinks. Inc V, VG, GF.

Off Land
Participants who wish to commute from home or arrange their own accommodations off-campus (for example, a bed and breakfast, camping nearby)  pay tuition, plus $40/night for meals (3 meals per day) and use of our facilities.

Car Camping
We have 5 primitive parking spots in the Rigden parking lot, for simply parking and sleeping. This includes food and access our bathhouses in Rigden Lodge
Note: We don’t have any water or electric hook ups for RV’s.

Dormitories
Rooms with beds for up to 7-8 people. Gender-segregated with men in their own dorm and women in another. The dorms use a shared bathroom down the hall, which is also equipped with shower stalls.

Monk Rooms
A cost-effective option for participants looking for indoor, solitary lodging, but who don’t mind using a shared bathroom or are looking for a more affordable retreat solution. These rooms are in the same hall as the Ridgen Dormitories, but offer more privacy than the dorms. In addition to a bed, bedding, a private room and closet, the monk rooms also have a large window and a desk and desk chair for added comfort.

Single and Double Rooms
The perfect choice for a retreat where you want both your own space and your own bathroom. Each room offers a little more space, a dresser and closet, and a 3/4s bathroom (toilet, sink, and shower, no bathtub) attached to each room.

Junior Suite
Our Lodge Junior Suites include a queen-size bed topped by a cozy comforter, a desk, dresser, closet and private bath with bathtub, plus a sitting area.

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