Warm greetings Beautiful Community,

We are living in a time of profound uncertainty, grief, and transformation. I know many of you are struggling with deep despair. So many hearts are hurting including my own. In times like these, I believe the most powerful offering I can make is to become more deeply anchored in love, truth, and the unwavering commitment to the liberation of all beings.

At this exact moment, I am preparing to enter a one-year solitary meditation retreat at Tara Mandala, beginning in just a few days and ending in May 2027. I experience this beautiful retreat center and this sacred land as a true place of refuge and a gift to the world. This is one of the most important spiritual commitments of my life. I am not going on retreat to leave the world behind. I am going because I love this world so deeply, and I want to cultivate a heart and mind that can truly serve it with wisdom, courage, and boundless compassion.

My Path & Background

I have been devoted to the path of meditation and Dharma since my early 20s. Over the past decades, I’ve trained extensively within the Spirit Rock Meditation Center community, completing a Community Dharma Leader training and a five-year retreat teacher training. I have also spent over 10 years as a ceremony guide, supporting others in deep healing work. I’ve had the blessing of studying with beloved teachers, and I have dedicated my life to teaching, writing, and guiding others on the path of compassion and liberation. My work has always been rooted in the heart in love, bodhicitta, and the deep intention to reduce suffering in this world. And still, I feel called to go much deeper. There is another level of compassion I hope to anchor in.

Why This Retreat, Why Now

This one-year retreat is my bodhisattva offering. For 365 days, I will step away from my public life and enter a simple, disciplined, and devotional container of deep dharma practice in the mountains. I will live alone in a 100 square foot cabin called Luminous Peak, dedicating my days to meditation, prayer, and the continuous cultivation of wisdom and compassion.

My practice will be rooted in the traditions of Metta, Tantra, and Dzogchen paths that open the heart, clarify the mind, and reveal our deepest capacity to love and to remain present with suffering without turning away. This is not an escape. This is a turning toward. A turning toward the suffering of the world. A turning toward the reality of impermanence and loss. A turning toward the possibility of liberation for all beings. A turning toward a love that does not turn away.

The Path of Love & Service

After my catastrophic truck accident in 2024 and the deep healing journey that followed, my life has been asking something new of me. There has been a slowing down… a listening… a reckoning with what truly matters. This retreat feels like a sacred response to that moment a time to restore my body, deepen my practice, and realign my life with the deepest truth of my heart. It is a step into devotion. A step into silence. A step into love.

At the center of this retreat is a simple but profound intention: To cultivate bodhicitta the awakened heart of compassion that is dedicated to the liberation of all beings. And when I say all beings, I truly mean it and that is hard work. This path is not about personal escape or transcendence alone. It is about becoming a vessel of love in a world that is so deeply in need. It is a commitment to the Bodhisattva vow: to remain present, to serve, and to walk alongside all beings until suffering is relieved.

Through this year of practice, I am committing to:

• Deepening my capacity to meet suffering with compassion through deep practice

• Strengthening a love that includes all beings, without exception

• Cultivating courage, clarity, and presence in the face of difficulty

• Listening deeply for how I am being called to serve in the next chapter of my life

• Preparing to offer future teachings, writings, and retreats that are rooted in lived realization

This is the path of the bodhisattva. The path of love in action.

Financial Support

To make this one-year retreat possible, I am hoping to raise $40,000–$45,000. After my accident in 2024, I have spent considerable time healing my body, and I have not been able to work as I normally would.

These funds will support:

• Cabin rental at Tara Mandala ($12,000)

• Food and basic living supplies ($9,600)

• Medical and health insurance & expenses ($4,500)

• Minimal admin support to keep my work flowing while away ($6,000)

• Storage fees (home & car) ($6,500)

• Essential Dharma support (texts, teachings & supplies) ($4,000)

• Transition and relocation costs after the retreat ($5,000)

I will be living very simply, but even a simple life requires a real foundation of support. If you feel called, you are also welcome to send supportive items to the center things that nourish the body and spirit such as loose tea, cacao, or simple superfoods are always deeply appreciated.

Mailing Address:

Tara Mandala (Yogini Spring Washam)

250 Hot Springs Blvd #1983

Pagosa Springs, CO 81147

Energetic & Spiritual Support

If you feel moved to support this retreat, I would be deeply grateful for any contribution, no matter the amount. Every offering is meaningful. Every gesture of support matters. And if financial support is not possible, I ask for something equally powerful…Please hold me in your sacred prayers. Send loving-kindness. Please keep me in your heart. The practice I am entering is not only for myself it is for all of us. There is real strength in being held energetically by community, and I deeply believe in the power of collective prayer and intention.

Thank you to my beautiful sangha for walking this path with me. Thank you for believing in the power of love, of practice, and of a heart devoted to the liberation of all beings. I carry you with me into this retreat.

For any additional information, updates or questions, please contact my beloved assistant Bhavananda.

With the deepest love and gratitude,

Spring Washam