Wildland Firefighter Retreat


Rest ~ Refuge ~ Renewal



Building a Community of Practice for Wildland Firefighters

Our Intentions

  • To strengthen and develop practices of meditation and mindfulness as a foundation for work, relationships, and everyday life
  • To allow the nervous system to remember and return to grounded equilibrium
  • To connect with self and build supportive community through witnessing, speaking and listening 
  • To meet the joys, losses and grief embedded in the experiences of wildland firefighting
  • To abide in the deep quiet and wisdom of Zen Center's practice community and open to healing and renewal 
  • To connect and build relationships between the Wildland Fire world and the San Francisco Zen Center 

“Calmness of mind does not mean you should stop your activity. Real calmness should be found in activity itself. We say, "It is easy to have calmness in inactivity, it is hard to have calmness in activity, but calmness in activity is true calmness.”

                      

~Shunryu Suzuki Roshi
                       Founder of the San Francisco Zen Center


What Previous Participants Say:


"As a career wildland firefighter with over 20 years of experience this retreat was extremely valuable and I only wish something like this was available for me earlier in my career. I'm excited to know that this group of practitioners and facilitators will be part of the future wildland fire community and is committed to helping our workforce heal and grow."

"This is the experience so many of us have needed for so long, whether we knew it or not."

"It is the most meaningful thing that fire has led me to. It has helped me recover from the toll that life experiences and working fire has had on me. This experience has helped me to feel balanced and whole. I would highly recommend this retreat."



"Going to the Zen Center was a life-changing experience for me. I really appreciated being surrounded by like-minded firefighters who truly understand the struggles we each face, both on and off of the line. I found people I could empathize with, I found healing, and I found practices I can use in everyday life to benefit my mental health."

"This retreat is incredibly important and unlike any experience I have ever had. Learning to take care of ourselves and others in fire in this way is the change that is desperately needed."

"This was possibly the most impactful weeklong event I have been to in my 20 years as an adult. The intentionality of the week and the facilitators, combined with a sacred setting, hot springs, and an incredible group of participants and facilitators made the learning and growth more meaningful than I ever could have expected. This was truly a special invitation, and one that I am so grateful to have been able to accept!"



"It was really a life changing experience for me and I feel like i have made life-long friends through this."


"What an amazing experience to be a part of. This place and these people are exactly what I needed."