What does the spiritual life ask of us when the river isn’t flowing in the direction we want to go?

Sometimes we are invited to yield—to listen, soften, trust, and allow the wisdom of the river to teach us. And sometimes, as Seifu Anil and Mirabai Starr explore, we have no choice but to flow upstream: to struggle against the current, to stay present through difficulty, and to keep moving toward what matters most.

At Ghost Ranch, surrounded by vast skies, desert silence, and ancient stone, we’ll explore the mysterious interplay of striving and yielding, effort and surrender, practice and presence.

Together, we’ll consider what our spiritual practices are really for—not to protect us from the difficulties of life, or to help us rise above them, but to teach us how to remain present and responsive when life asks more of us than we imagined we could give.

Through contemplative practices, teachings, silence, writing, time in nature, conversation, and community, we’ll explore the wisdom of multiple spiritual traditions and the possibility that even our struggles can become part of the path.

And we’ll do it together.

Because the contemplative journey is not one we are meant to walk alone. At Ghost Ranch, the landscape itself becomes a teacher, while the wisdom and presence of the community become part of our practice.

Ultimately, this is a retreat about returning to ourselves, returning to one another, and returning to the ordinary lives waiting for us at home—with a deeper capacity to recognize the sacredness already there.