Friendship, Fellowship, and Fun Retreat

Friendship, Fellowship, and Fun
A Mind Oasis Retreat led by Founder Karuna & Friends
In celebration of our 5-Year Anniversary!

10-13 November 2022
Rocky Mountains, CO
Sunshine Mountain Lodge

• 20 minutes from Rocky Mountain National Park (extra evening add-on available for Sunday night with advance notice).
• Registration includes lodging, all meals from arrival Thursday evening through departure Sunday late morning; beautifully guided meditations and talks.
• Also included is the special 5-Year Anniversary Celebration dinner on Saturday evening that will include local fare, mocktails and cocktails, good conversation, and a presentation of appreciations and awards.

We expect on-site accommodations to sell out.
Vegetarian Fare, vegan available; shared (but lovely!) accommodations.

Limited to 22 participants.

Want to do your own thing and only interested in the Celebration dinner plus Saturday evening accommodations?  There is now an option for Saturday evening accommodations and breakfast the next day!

Meet our Special Guest Fire Goddess ~ Allison Joy!

Fire pujas are a wonderful way to remove obstacles and to invoke blessings. In Tibetan Buddhism, we use fire pujas at the end of retreat to consecrate our hard work, to burn any obstacles we encountered, and to offer up the smoke as a blessing for what’s to come. Fire pujas are a wonderful marker anytime something is coming to an end — whether it is a new year, a birthday, the end of a relationship or job, etc. They can also be used at the beginning of a journey, milestone, or celebration. 

On Saturday evening, Allison Joy will help facilitate a fire puja to end the first five-year cycle for Mind Oasis, while ushering in a new five-year cycle of abundance to come. Everyone who attends is welcome to place intentions into the fire for their lives as well. It will be a potent ceremony before pushing back the tables to create a dance floor with catered-in food, drinks, and a short celebratory program that will honor all those who have Mind Oasis such a special place over the past 5 years. We expect a lot of hugs, laughter, and good cheer.

Allison Joy is a master Tantric yogi who has completed several retreats and pilgrimages, has built centers for mindfulness, and fosters conscious community through intentional and compassionate leadership.

Meet our Special Guest Artist – Kinga Nichols!

During the afternoons, participants have the option of doing their own thing, hiking, or engaging in art. Kinga is a world-renown beader and will guide us in a mindful beading workshop to make a pendant to bring home as a remembrance from the retreat. 

Kinga Nichols was born in 1980, in Hungary. At 19, she packed up her life in a backpack and moved to the US where she has been residing since, albeit not at the same place. She currently lives in Boulder, Colorado with her boyfriend  and furbabies Samantha Regina Nichols and Marley. Samantha Regina is not only her muse but her model as well. Many of Kinga’s best known pieces were popularized by the canine model…Her work first got noticed in the first Battle of the Beadsmith, quickly followed by her being a BeadDreams finalist in 2013 and getting 3rd place in the same competition in the Swarovski category in 2014, and a book feature in Marcia Decoster Presents, 2014. In 2015 she won first place in the crystal category in BeadDreams. She has done a number of instructional bead embroidery videos for Interweave publishing in 2016 and 2017, and has been featured in magazines in the US and Europe.

Expect lots of time to explore nature, IRL friendship, and rest.

We are calling this 5-Year Anniversary Celebration “retreat light” as we’ve all experienced enough constriction, restriction, and isolation these past couple years.

The retreat will be led by Karuna and guests. You can expect a loving and safe container that will start each day with gentle movement, a quiet meditation, exceptional food, time to walk and explore the nearby woods. Lunch will be served up and there will be an option to take a day trip, create art, journal, nap, or day dream. We’ll come back together for a Dharma talk and meditation before dinner.  After dinner activities might include reflective time around a campfire (marshmallows encouraged!), chatting in the kitchen over a cup of tea, and a yoga nidra practice.