I’ve been down this road before. I am checking out SHIRe, a self-healing and integration retreat on San Juan Island, where the Sakya Buddhist retreat center had been. Years ago, I got lost looking for it. But the monks have moved on now, having been called back to the Sakya Monastery of Tibetan Buddhism in…

A study suggests that a one-week meditation retreat can cause brain changes similar to those caused by hallucinogens. – GIGAZINE Aug 12, 2026 12:25:00

It’s only reasonable to assume that attending a seven-day meditation retreat would have a calming and restorative effect on a person

Just seven days of intensive meditation can lead to changes far beyond physical relaxation, including the formation of new brainconnections, a new study reveals

A week of intensive meditation and other mind and body practices may be capable of producing measurable changes far beyond simple relaxation. In a recent study, researchers at the University of California San Diego found that a seven-day retreat was associated with changes in brain activity, blood chemistry, immune signaling, metabolism, and the body’s natural…

A neighbor of mine, a woman of a certain age and considerable wisdom, stopped me on the street recently with advice I have not been able to shake