Cultivating Purpose with guest faculty Joan Borysenko & Gordon Dveirin

Follow Your Soul’s Compass

Mar 10 - Mar 15, 2025 in Santa Fe, USA

Led by: Joan Borysenko, Ph.D, Gordon Dveirin, Ed.D. , Mary Hofstedt, Lizzy Wetzel

Financial aid is available. Apply Here.

Tune into your inner guidance system and act from a place of alignment and connection to Source

Why are we here?

What does a life worth living look like?

How do we find our way through the figurative dust storm of modern life – and how do we satisfy our thirst for meaning and purpose?

In this time of change and uncertainty, you may find yourself asking these age-old questions with renewed curiosity and urgency.

By exploring the wisdom contained in humanity’s sacred texts – ranging from the Torah to the New Testament, the Tao Te Ching to the Buddhist scriptures, the Vedantas to the Koran – you can discover profound insights that will help you unlock your own innate wisdom and find the answers you’re looking for.

In this powerful and inspiring workshop co-facilitated with mind-body-spirit experts and authors Joan Borysenko, Ph.D., and Gordon Dveirin, Ed.D., you will explore ancient wisdom practices that can help you tune into your soul’s compass so that it can guide you toward living an enlightened, harmonious, and spiritually fulfilling life.

What you’ll gain

Through experiential exercises and deep reflection and sharing, you will:

Learn how to align with Source – the inner teacher, the Universe, God, the Tao, or however you choose to describe a greater loving intelligence
Develop the ability to discern between the guidance of your inner compass and the compulsions of your ego
Interpret the message your soul’s compass is sending you through dreams, hunches, synchronicities, emotions, and other clues
Look back on times you followed your guidance (or not), what the results were, and how the outcome has informed you going forward.
Take skillful action in accord with your core values - so you can offer the gift of your authentic, unique self to the world
Develop deep trust in the unknown and in your ability to navigate whatever unexpected circumstances life puts in your path

You will leave bursting with inspiration and renewed optimism, with a deep sense of connection to a larger reality and the motivation to make a more inspired contribution to the world around us.

Meet your faculty

Joan Borysenko, Ph.D

NY Times bestselling author of Your Soul's Compass: What Is Spiritual Guidance? and Minding the Body, Mending the Mind

Joan Borysenko, Ph.D. is an internationally known speaker in integrative medicine and the mind/body/spirit connection. She is also the author of seventeen books, including, It’s not the end of the World: Developing Resilience in Times of Change and Pocketful of Miracles: Prayer, Meditations, and Affirmations to Nurture Your Spirit Every Day of the Year.

Joan is an internationally known speaker in integrative medicine and the mind/body connection. She has a doctorate in cell biology from Harvard Medical School and is a licensed clinical psychologist as well as a journalist and radio personality. After her father died from cancer, she became more interested in studying the person with the illness rather than the disease itself, and returned to Harvard Medical School to complete a second postdoctoral fellowship in behavioral medicine and become an expert in human potential.

Gordon Dveirin, Ed.D.

President of Dveirin and Associates | Mentor | Strategic Thinker

Gordon Dveirin, Ed.D. is President of Dveirin and Associates, a human development consulting firm. His clients have ranged from the United States Air Force to hospitals, investment firms, and the Smithsonian Institution.

Gordon is also a spiritual educator and co-author of two books: Saying Yes to Change: Essential Wisdom for Your Journey (Hay House, 2006) and Your Soul’s Compass: What is Spiritual Guidance (Hay House, 2007).

Co-founder of The Claritas Institute for Interspiritual Inquiry, he is also a founding board member of the Passageworks Institute dedicated to the social, emotional, and spiritual learning of children and youth in our schools. Gordon’s passion is for the possible, helping individuals and organizations align with the most skillful vector of the emergent future.

This workshop is for you if...

You are spiritually curious and looking for a deeper sense of connection to something larger than yourself

You’re going through a major life transition and looking for insight and guidance to make wise choices that will help you embody goodness and thrive

You want to be able to discern between your innate wisdom and your ego and understand what’s true in a world of distortion and misperception

You want to overcome a sense of separateness and isolation and feel more deeply interconnected with the Source of all being

You want to be able to access the “flow state” where inspiration, creativity, insight, and wisdom come easily to you

You long for deeper spiritual community and insight without necessarily subscribing to a specific religion or belief system

Do this powerful work on our beautiful regenerative ranch in Santa Fe

Santa Fe, USA

Rising Circle Ranch

An upscale regenerative ranch featuring traditional Pueblo architecture and spanning nearly 2,600 acres of wildlife, hiking trails in the arroyo, with ancient petroglyphs, and awe-inspiring beauty. Close to historic Santa Fe, an artisan’s mecca.

Big-sky desert country
Breathtaking nature
Interaction with horses and donkeys
Evenings around the campfire
Star-gazing

Meet your MEA facilitators

In addition to the powerful sessions conducted by Joan and Gordon, you will be guided through the core MEA Cultivating Purpose curriculum by our faculty members:

Mary Hofstedt is an experienced non profit leader and educator who strives to advance a more hopeful, caring, and connected world. Her passion for youth and community development led her to work with Challenge Success, spearhead a coalition of youth and adult partners to develop a community arts center, and serve for over a decade within Stanford University’s John W. Gardner Center. She recently wrapped up a mid-career break to reflect on purpose, study Spanish, travel, and volunteer with whale shark research and conservation. She serves as a Senior Associate with Heartwise Learning and is thrilled to be based back in Santa Fe after a 22 year stint in the Bay Area!

Lizzy Wetzel is a Santa Fe based artist, facilitator, and creative experience producer. She is passionate about encouraging creative connection through acts of making, intuitive play and collaborative exploration. She is an avid believer in the transformational power found in imagination, humor, and breathtaking landscape.

You’re four steps away from a life of deeper spiritual meaning, purpose, and fulfillment

The four steps toward greater spiritual connection to source are simple but profound: align yourself with Source of all being, discern the innate voice of Spirit from your own ego, take meaningful action based on your soul’s guidance, then review the results and discover what lessons are available for you to learn.

Are you ready to discover what “aging awesome” in life and business can look like for you?

People come for the workshops,
but they stay for the community

This is truly MEA’s “secret sauce” and something you can only experience in person: the powerful connections you will make, not only with your fellow participants and the incredible MEA faculty, but also the deeper sense of connection you will feel to your own inner self and the natural world around you.

Research into aging shows that your relationships play a HUGE role in your health and wellbeing later in life. At MEA, you will make deep and lasting connections and become part of a larger community that will make your life richer and more meaningful.

Many of our alumni cohorts have stayed in close touch for years after their workshop and we have a growing number of local alumni chapters all over the world. It’s a joy for us to see them continuing to offer each other community, friendship, and support as they create thriving midlives for themselves. So if you have been feeling at all disconnected or isolated on your journey, we would love to have you join us!

Have we mentioned the food?

The MEA experience is designed in part by Chip Conley, a world-renowned boutique hotelier, which means the food is amazing.

All of the ingredients are locally sourced, organic, and made from scratch in our kitchens by hand-picked chefs. The delicious breakfasts, lunches and dinners will leave you feeling nourished inside and out – not to mention the blended drinks made with fresh fruit and other top-shelf ingredients.

Each retreat center has multiple kitchens that always have snacks and beverages available. At MEA, we believe that thriving is delicious!

Your Workshop Includes

5 days and nights of lodging at our boutique luxury retreat center in Baja or Santa Fe with all of your meals, snacks, drinks and other amenities included
Daily sessions and experiential activities to help you connect with your inner self, envision your desired experience, and release what no longer serves you
Meditation covering a range of practices to soothe your nervous system and help you cultivate greater mindfulness and presence in the moment.

Movement to get the energy flowing and build your strength and agility as you chart your course forward to the life you want to live.
Incredible bonding experiences with the most amazing humans you’ll ever meet.
Three delicious, chef-prepared meals plus snacks throughout the day prepared from scratch with the freshest local ingredients.
Festive gatherings to cultivate connection and celebrate the joy and beauty of life.

Tuition starts at $4,000

Ready to start your journey?