8 Day Awakening Retreats

You will not Get a New Spiritual or Mindfulness Practice Here

Meet loving support to point you home to Yourself. Who you truly are is here now, free of practices or instruction. And discover that you are the source of true and unconditional Love, Freedom, and Happiness.

Self-inquiry

Discover Your True Nature: Deep Peace and Limitless Love

Uncover your heart’s true desire, deeper than structures of ego. Understand how you betray yourself through habitual thinking patterns. And receive loving, healing and clarifying support to realize your true nature.

Live Your Life with an Unobstructed Heart

8 days of inquiry with eli jaxon-bear, lisa schumacher & Jared Franks

Online or In-Person Retreat

Sit with Leela Teachers in 24 meetings spread over 8 days, ask questions, and share your discoveries. (our US Retreat in 2025 is 6 Days. See the regional page for details)

Meet deep and loving support for your own self-discovery and personal awakening

Choose to participate in-person or online at one of our beautiful locations in the EU, US, or AU

Instantly connect with a supportive, global community of truth-seekers

Retreat from the busy-ness of daily life and go deep inside to discover who you really are

Experience residential retreat with your community (availability varies)

Attend just the first 2 days as a lower cost option, then decide if you want to continue deepening

Discover Regions for the Retreat

Chat with a Mentor

Witnessing True Transformation in Our Programs

Select Your Region

Flexible Retreat Options Around the World

All of our 8-day retreats are hybrid, meaning you can join online or in-person in Australia, Europe, or the United States. Connect with a global community of likeminded, open, heartfelt individuals in these 3 different regions.

Home of the Leela School: Oregon, USA

Retreats take place at the Leela School office in Ashland with Lisa and Eli. We also hold Awakening retreats at the serene Jackson Wellsprings venue, where a range of residential options are available.

Discover Awakening US

Leela School Australia: Coastal Community

Jared holds retreats in the coastal region of the Northern Rivers, Australia. In between meetings, you can enjoy the stunning beaches and fresh food options in this quaint seaside location and hinterland.

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Discover Awakening AU

Leela School EU: Community-Led Retreats

The EU community loves to host Lisa and Jared at retreats by the Baltic Sea, an oasis of fresh sea air, lush landscapes, and potent silence. Retreats are typically residential with nourishing meals provided in a cozy space.

Discover Awakening EU

Deep and Loving Support is Here

Meet the Lead Teachers at the Leela School, devoted to lovingly supporting self-discovery and awakening for all beings.

Lisa Schumacher

Eli Jaxon-Bear

Jared Franks

Find Clarity for Your Next Steps

Do you offer financial support?

Do you have offerings for people who can't afford to travel?

Yes, our retreats are typically all hybrid. This means you can participate from the comfort of your home, while still being immersed in the potent energy of retreat. You also have the opportunity to participate with communities in different cultural regions by attending online.

Our online participants report that being in retreat online is just as powerful and transformative in their own self-inquiry. Physical limits are just a concept of the mind, and you can receive the transmission deeply regardless of your location.

You can see someone sharing about this topic, how the perceived issue of being online was actually a beautiful experience that surprised her > >

How can I know if this is a 'true' teaching and lineage?

When someone asked Eli's teacher, “why are there so many false gurus in the world?“ He said “because there are so many false seekers and everyone needs a guru.“ Got a good laugh from everyone in the room.

He also said, “just like when you go to the market you examine the fruit carefully before you buy it, you should examine the teacher carefully."

“Beware of teachers who give themselves spiritual names,” he cautioned. Either the teacher’s teacher or the teacher’s student gives the teacher their name. The teachers who would give themselves spiritual names must be inflated.

Be wary of ashrams and cults. When Eli met his teacher, he asked him if he would like an ashram, assuming that he would. He answered, “ Mother Earth is my ashram. Let the thieves live together, and the enlightened few spread out across the world.”

In this lineage there is no practice and nothing to do. The transmission of Silence and Freedom is available to all. No religion, no rules, no inner group and outer group, all are equally capable of full Self realization. The gateway to Liberation is open to all.

If your heart feels the call, then you will somehow meet this transmission of silence. This is a deeper call of the heart that doesn't listen to questions of mind. This longing for freedom and to know the truth is trustworthy. Follow the deepest calling of your heart and you will always find the way.

Is there real and lasting change from your programs?

We get to witness incredible transformations throughout our community. People have reported opening to deep emotion that they were never able to access. Others experience bliss and peace that they didn't even know was possible. And amazingly, some have woken to their true nature and are liberated. We have video clips available on our site of people sharing their realizations.

We are part of a community of truth-seekers, lovingly committed to discovering the Truth for themselves.

Many in our sangha have followed Gangaji and Eli for many years, and some for decades, while others are completely new to this lineage and discover us through the Enneagram of Liberation, the Leela therapist training or the Psilocybin Facilitator programs. Any person, no matter their background or length of spiritual search, has the possibility to wake up and be free right now.

Do you have a cancellation fee?

Have more questions? We would be happy to chat, just get in touch here.