In every wisdom tradition, emotions are gateways to awakening. Joy, sorrow, longing, irritation, compassion — each carries insights that open us to clarity and equanimity. Within the mandala of our inner life, nothing is left out. Every emotion holds a teaching and a wisdom quality — and because emotions are relational, this retreat emphasizes self-reflection to foster resilience and care in our relationships.
Chandra Easton and Eve Ekman, longtime friends, lovers of the dharma, and scholars of the mind, will guide a journey into the heart of emotional awareness. This five-day workshop, rooted in Tantric Buddhism, contemplative science, and embodied practice, will honor the universality of emotions and explore the wisdom each one holds. Our time together will invite intimacy with our own hearts and a quantum view of interconnection that underlies our world.
Central to our time together is the Mandala Method, a multidimensional path drawing on Buddhist psychology, sound, elemental wisdom, and somatic awareness. Through meditation, movement, art, music, and nature, participants will learn to meet emotions as trusted companions on the path of awakening.
We’ll also engage with Cultivating Emotional Balance (CEB), a contemplative, science-based training Eve has taught for over 15 years. CEB offers both microscopic precision to map emotional patterns and a telescopic view to place them in the broader context of life, relationships, and mind science.
Retreat practices include:
This workshop welcomes all who long to deepen emotional wisdom, savor joy, and rest in true equanimity. No prior meditation experience is required — only an open heart and curious spirit.
Chandra Easton is a teacher, author, and translator of Tibetan Buddhist texts. She has taught Buddhism and Hatha Yoga since 2001 and was given the title of Vajra Teacher, Dorje Lopön, in 2015. She serves on Tara Mandala’s Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Council. She is the author of Embodying Tara (2023).
Eve Ekman, PhD, MSW, is a contemplative social scientist, teacher, and scholar focusing on emotional awareness, empathy, meditation, and interventions to alleviate burnout and promote well-being. Eve draws from interdisciplinary skills and first-person experiential knowledge from clinical social work, integrative medicine, contemplative science, and meditation. She did her MSW and PhD at UC Berkeley and post doctoral training at UCSF Osher Center for Integrative medicine. Eve is the well-being Lead at Apple, a senior fellow at UC Berkeley Greater Good Science Center, and an instructor with the Berkeley Center for Psychedelic Science.
Esalen Institute
55000 Highway 1
Big Sur, CA 93920
US: 1-831-667-3000
info@esalen.org