Garrison Institute

Garrison Institute The Garrison Institute explores the intersection of contemplation and engaged action in the world.

The forest can be more than a place we visit. It can be a living shrine, a teacher, and a place to remember our belongin...
08/21/2026

The forest can be more than a place we visit. It can be a living shrine, a teacher, and a place to remember our belonging within the more-than-human world.

Join Rev. Ann Evans, Shinto priest and certified forest therapy guide, in conversation with Fruzsina Molnar, Garrison Institute’s Senior Development and Strategic Projects Manager and a certified ANFT forest bathing guide.

Drawing from Shinto teachings and their work in forest therapy, Rev. Evans and Fru will explore the sacredness of creation, the practice of shinrin-yoku, and the ways sensory awareness, ritual, and stillness can deepen our relationship with nature. Together, they will consider what it means to let the forest itself be the therapist and to approach the living world with greater presence, belonging, and reciprocity.

Wednesday, October 7
6–7 p.m. ET
Virtual

Learn more and register:
https://www.garrisoninstitute.org/event/the-forest-as-shrine/

08/21/2026

Some stories become so familiar that we stop noticing how tightly they shape us.

This Labor Day weekend, join DharmaPunx NYC teachers Josh Korda and Kathy Cherry for an in-person retreat devoted to beginning again. Through meditation, quiet reflection, embodied movement, Dharma teachings, and time outdoors, we’ll practice returning from old storylines to the freshness of the present moment.

Open to both new and experienced practitioners, this weekend offers space to loosen familiar patterns, meet your experience with curiosity, and discover what becomes possible when new responses have room to emerge.

September 4–7, 2026
Garrison Institute, Garrison, New York

Learn more and register:
https://www.garrisoninstitute.org/event/starting-over-stepping-out-of-old-stories/

A deeper relationship with Earth begins by recognizing that we are not separate from the living world, but participants ...
08/18/2026

A deeper relationship with Earth begins by recognizing that we are not separate from the living world, but participants in a vast and diverse community of life.

The upcoming Speaker Series on the Living Earth Community will bring together perspectives from science, ethics, law, spirituality, and ecological imagination. Co-sponsored by Garrison Institute’s Pathways to Planetary Health initiative and the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology, and moderated by Stephen Posner, PhD, and Mary Evelyn Tucker, PhD, the series invites us to reflect on our place within the Earth community and how we might respond to this ecological moment with greater awareness, responsibility, reverence, and care.

The series begins Wednesday, August 26, with Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim of the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology. Together, they will introduce the Living Earth Community as a knowledge commons and explore how scientific, spiritual, philosophical, and emerging legal perspectives can help us recognize the voices and relationships of birds, mushrooms, trees, rivers, mountains, humans, and other members of the Earth community.

Join us for this opening conversation and the full series of gatherings leading into and beyond the inaugural Living Earth Community Conference at Yale.

Wednesday, August 2612 p.m. ETVirtual

Learn more and register:https://www.garrisoninstitute.org/event/speaker-series-on-the-living-earth-community-2026/

What changes when a walk in the woods stops being about getting somewhere?Forest bathing, or Shinrin-yoku, is the practi...
08/14/2026

What changes when a walk in the woods stops being about getting somewhere?

Forest bathing, or Shinrin-yoku, is the practice of slowing down and experiencing the natural world through the senses. Research suggests that time in forest settings may help ease stress and support emotional well-being, while creating space for attention, reflection, and connection.

On Labor Day, certified forest therapy guide Fru Molnar will lead an unhurried sensory walk through the woods and trails of the Garrison Institute. This is not a hike. Participants will move slowly, pausing to listen, notice, and reconnect with the living world around them.

All fitness levels are welcome, and participation is limited to 30 people to keep the experience intimate.

September 7, 2026
10:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m. ET
In person at the Garrison Institute

Learn more and register:https://www.garrisoninstitute.org/event/forest-bathing-2026/

08/13/2026

In the latest episode of our podcast, Susan Olesek, founder of the Enneagram Prison Project, and EPP ambassador Alex Senegal join Gretchen Ki Steidle for a powerful conversation about self-awareness, compassion, and finding freedom from the patterns that shape our lives.

Alex shares his remarkable journey from gang involvement and incarceration to becoming a leader helping others transform their lives from within. Together, they examine how trauma and personality shape behavior, why psychological safety matters for healing, and how the Enneagram can help people recognize their innate goodness and create new possibilities for themselves and their communities.

🎧 Listen to The Garrison Institute Presents: The Common Good on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts.

http://garrisoninstitute.org/podcast/susan-olesek-and-alex-senegal-the-enneagram-and-inner-freedom/

Healing does not have to happen alone.Healing Our Way Home is a sacred space for women of color to gather in community, ...
08/12/2026

Healing does not have to happen alone.

Healing Our Way Home is a sacred space for women of color to gather in community, honor the fullness of who they are, and explore the wisdom of ancestors, the power of joy, and the possibilities of liberation.

From November 20 through 22, Dr. Marisela Gomez, Kaira Jewel Lingo, and Valerie Brown will guide Dharma teachings, meditation, mindful movement, singing, writing, reflection, and small group sharing.

The retreat welcomes cisgender and trans women of color, gender expansive people, and anyone who self-identifies as a woman of color.

Come as you are and find refuge in being witnessed, supported, and held in community.

Learn more & register here:
https://www.garrisoninstitute.org/event/healing-our-way-home-a-retreat-for-women-of-color-2026/

Some questions are not meant to be answered quickly. They ask us to look more deeply.From November 11–14, Khandro Rinpoc...
08/07/2026

Some questions are not meant to be answered quickly. They ask us to look more deeply.

From November 11–14, Khandro Rinpoche will lead Opening the Wisdom Within: The Art of Analytical Meditation at the Garrison Institute.

Through the ancient practice of analytical meditation, participants will learn to turn the inquiring mind toward life’s deepest questions—using careful, directed investigation to uncover the wisdom that has always resided within.

Join us for this rare opportunity to receive teachings from a revered Tibetan Buddhist master whose work illuminates a path of profound insight and boundless compassion.

In-person registration and information:https://www.garrisoninstitute.org/event/opening-the-wisdom-within/

Khandro Ling will also offer livestream access to Khandro Rinpoche’s talks. Details are available through the event page.

The way we understand ourselves shapes the way we inhabit the living world.In “Beyond the Individual: Ecodharma and the ...
08/04/2026

The way we understand ourselves shapes the way we inhabit the living world.

In “Beyond the Individual: Ecodharma and the Relational Mind,” Lily Rockefeller explores David Loy’s understanding of ecodharma and the belief that many of our collective problems are rooted in a mistaken understanding of the self.

Buddhist teachings and ecological thought both challenge the idea that we exist as separate, self-contained individuals. Instead, they point toward a relational understanding of identity. We become ourselves through our participation in the living world.

The article considers what this shift in perspective could mean for contemplative practice, ecological responsibility, and our response to the planetary challenges of our time.

Read the full piece:https://www.garrisoninstitute.org/get-inspired/read/beyond-the-individual-ecodharma-and-the-relational-mind/

To explore these ideas further, join David R. Loy and Garrison Institute Managing Director Steve Varley for the virtual conversation “Loving the World as Our Body” on August 5 from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. ET. The conversation will be followed by a live audience Q&A.

Learn more and register:https://www.garrisoninstitute.org/event/loving-the-world-as-our-body/

A vast mind does not turn away from difficulty. It makes room for what arises.Drawing on the teachings of the 11th-centu...
08/03/2026

A vast mind does not turn away from difficulty. It makes room for what arises.

Drawing on the teachings of the 11th-century Tibetan yogini Machig Labdrön, Skymind: A Buddhist Retreat invites participants to meet fear and uncertainty with curiosity, compassion, and a fiercely loving heart.

From October 28–31, Charlotte Rotterdam and Pieter Oosthuizen will guide practices in open-awareness meditation, community, and the recognition of our fundamental wholeness.

Join us at Garrison for an exploration of how ancient teachings can help us meet this moment with clarity and care.

https://www.garrisoninstitute.org/event/skymind-meeting-our-world-with-a-vast-mind/

What changes when we no longer experience ourselves as separate from the living world?Join Zen teacher and scholar David...
07/31/2026

What changes when we no longer experience ourselves as separate from the living world?

Join Zen teacher and scholar David R. Loy for Loving the World as Our Body, a conversation exploring how our sense of separation shapes the ecological and social crises of our time. Drawing from his new book, David will consider how evolutionary inheritance and spiritual traditions have influenced the way we understand ourselves, one another, and the Earth.

This gathering invites us to imagine a spirituality that does not seek escape from the world, but awakens us more fully to our belonging within it. By recognizing the Earth as inseparable from who we are, we may discover new possibilities for compassionate action, responsibility, and care.

Learn more and register:
https://www.garrisoninstitute.org/event/loving-the-world-as-our-body/

Address

14 Mary's Way, Route 9D
Garrison, NY
10524

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

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+18454244800

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