California
The Magic of Watercolor & Meditation for Relaxation & Joy
Program No. 23721RJ
Enjoy opportunities for sketching and painting at a tranquil California retreat in a beautiful redwood environment. Meditations each day bring inner joy, focus and relaxation.
Enroll with Confidence
We want your Road Scholar learning adventure to be something to look forward to—not worry about. Learn more
Protecting the Environment
We offset a portion of the emissions created by your travel. Learn more
Itinerary
While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date.
Read More.
While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date. As a result, some program activities, schedules, accommodations, personnel, and other logistics occasionally change due to local conditions or circumstances. Should a major change occur, we will make every effort to alert you. For less significant changes, we will update you during orientation. Thank you for your understanding.
Duration
6 days
5 nights
What's Included
15 meals (
5B, 5L, 5D
)
7 expert-led lectures
1 expert-led field trip
9 hands-on experiences
1 performance
An experienced Group Leader
5 nights of accommodations
Taxes and customary gratuity
Road Scholar Assurance Plan
Day
1
Check-in, Welcome Dinner, Orientation
Location:
Soquel, CA
Meals:
D
Stay:
Land of Medicine Buddha
Activity Note
Retreat center check-in from 4:00 p.m. Grounds around retreat center include a 35-foot steep hill or 13 outside stairs to dining room and meeting room.
Dinner:
In the retreat center dining room or outside dining area.
Evening:
Orientation: 7:00 p.m. The Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions. This is a Road Scholar Retreats program. Programming at Retreat locations includes opportunities for light morning exercise, interaction with members of the local community, a farm-to-table meal, and evening entertainment. We will learn from our knowledgeable Group Leader and local experts. Meals in the dining room or outside dining area will be vegetarian and made mainly of local organic ingredients. Filtered drinking water, hot water, tea, coffee and fresh fruit are always available. Wi-Fi is available in the dining area. There is a public phone available, and an office phone for urgent calls. Wi-Fi calls can be made from your phone. Periods in the schedule designated as “Free time” and “At leisure” offer opportunities to do what you like and make your experience even more meaningful and memorable according to your personal preferences. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local circumstances/conditions. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding. Continue getting to know your fellow Road Scholars, settle in, and get a good night’s rest for the day ahead.
Day
2
Meditation class, Watercolor class & Nature Walk
Location:
Soquel, CA
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Land of Medicine Buddha
Activity Note
Nature walk about 2 miles, approximately 1.5 hours; steep inclines.Grounds around retreat center include a 35-foot steep hill or 13 outside stairs to dining room and meeting room.
Breakfast:
In the dining room or outside dining area.
Morning:
We will join our meditation leader for our guided meditation focused on relaxation and inner joy. After a short break, we’ll engage in a watercolor mandala class given by a local artist featuring step-by-step demonstrations, we will learn watercolor techniques and how we can use them to create mandalas. We will practice these techniques with assistance provided by our painting leader.
Lunch:
In the dining room or outside dining area.
Afternoon:
After lunch, we'll have a healthful expert-led nature walk in a majestic redwood forest, learning about redwood ecology, wild herbs, and bird as we appreciate the beauty and peace of our surroundings in this pristine environment. After a short break, we will continue learning watercolor techniques and how we can use them to create mandalas.
Dinner:
In the dining room or outside dining area.
Evening:
Returning to the Gompa, a Buddhist practitioner will lead us around the room while pointing out the array of Tibetan Buddhist symbolism throughout. We will learn about each as we see them, accompanied by educational commentary. Upon seeing it, our exploration will include a rumination on the stunning tradition carried out by Tibetan monks when they create incredibly detailed mandalas made out of colored sand. The process often takes days or even weeks and is an enormous meditative act of patience in itself and usually it ends with a ceremony during which the mandala is ritually destroyed, the sands collected, and then scattered into lakes, rivers, or the ocean. This is a metaphor for the Buddhist concept of impermanence, and a blessing for beings living in the water.
Day
3
Meditation Class & Watercolor Classes, Open Studio
Location:
Soquel, CA
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Land of Medicine Buddha
Activity Note
Minimal walking throughout the day; periods of sitting during meditation and painting classes.Grounds around retreat center include a 35-foot steep hill or 13 outside stairs to dining room and meeting room.
Breakfast:
In the dining room or outside dining area.
Morning:
We will be led through mindfulness meditations and visualization for deep inner peace joy. After a short break, we will continue learning how to use watercolor techniques, which will include color theory, color mixing lessons, sketching and composition.
Lunch:
In the dining room or outside dining area.
Afternoon:
After lunch, we'll have a healthful expert-led nature walk in a majestic redwood forest, learning about redwood ecology, wild herbs, and bird as we appreciate the beauty and peace of our surroundings in this pristine environment After a snack in the dining room, we will continue learning watercolor techniques as we discover how to create beautiful skies and other subjects with wet-into-wet methods.
Dinner:
In the dining room or outside dining area.
Evening:
At Leisure
Day
4
Meditation class and Watercolor classes, Open Studio
Location:
Soquel, CA
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Land of Medicine Buddha
Activity Note
Minimal walking throughout the day; periods of sitting during meditation and painting classes.Grounds around retreat center include a 35-foot steep hill or 13 outside stairs to dining room and meeting room.
Breakfast:
In the dining room or outside dining area.
Morning:
Continuing our series of guided meditations, we’ll focus on calming the mind and deepening awareness of our interconnectedness with our environment and with others,. After a snack in the dining room, we will continue learning watercolor techniques and practicing color mixing and creating washes.
Lunch:
In the dining room or outside dining area.
Afternoon:
We’ll use some open studio time to continue working on our projects and, after a snack in the dining room, we will continue learning watercolor techniques, and painting.
Dinner:
In the dining room or outside dining area.
Evening:
We will then be joined by a local musician who will provide us with a live performance.
Day
5
Meditation class, Watercolor class, Art Appreciation.
Location:
Soquel, CA
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Land of Medicine Buddha
Activity Note
Minimal walking throughout the day; periods of sitting during meditation and painting classes.Grounds around retreat center include a 35-foot steep hill or 13 outside stairs to dining room and meeting room.
Breakfast:
In the dining room or outside dining area.
Morning:
Joining our meditation leader, we’ll continue learning guided meditations for calming the mind, deepening our awareness of the interconnectedness of the environment with ourselves and others. After a short break, we will continue learning watercolor techniques, and painting.
Lunch:
In the dining room or outside dining area.
Afternoon:
We will continue painting, and finish up the projects we have been working on throughout the program. Then enjoy some free time or open studio time to continue with our watercolor paintings.
Dinner:
In the dining room or outside dining area.
Evening:
Display paintings in the Pine room for art appreciation and enjoy our creations
Day
6
Meditation class,Watercolor class, Program Concludes
Location:
Soquel, CA
Meals:
B,L
Activity Note
Grounds around retreat center include a 35-foot steep hill or 13 outside stairs to dining room and meeting room. Retreat Center check-out 11:00 a.m. Luggage may be packed and put in cars or fully packed and left in rooms by the door until after lunch.
Breakfast:
Dining room or outside dining area.
Morning:
Before heading back out into the world this afternoon, we will engage in one more guided meditation in the Gompa, this time focusing on self-compassion and compassion for others. After a short break, we will continue painting, and finish up the projects we have been working on throughout the program.
Lunch:
Dining room or outside dining area. This concludes our program. If you are returning home, safe travels. If you are staying on independently, have a wonderful time. If you are transferring to another Road Scholar program, detailed instructions are included in your Information Packet for that program. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on another rewarding program in the future. Don’t forget to join our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram. Best wishes for all your journeys!
Please select a day to update the map
Map details are not available for this location.
