A meditation retreat for our times
Led by Sophie Maclaren and Jonathan Garner
Joined by Dr. Ruben Laukkonen
13 - 18 September 2026
Option to stay on for an integration day at no extra charge
Across six transformative days, this retreat brings together leaders, builders, and changemakers who feel the urgency of aligning artificial intelligence with human flourishing, and who recognise that the work begins by pausing and turning inward.
Rooted in both spiritual and scientific ways of knowing, this contemplative practice retreat offers a natural route toward inner alignment. Through meditation, reflection, and dialogue, participants will explore this path and examine how its principles can inform both daily life and the future we are shaping.
"There is basic human wisdom that can help solve the world's problems. This wisdom does not belong to any one culture or religion, nor does it come from the West or the East. Rather it is a tradition of human warriorship that has existed in many cultures at many times throughout history."
Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche
The work that cannot be out-sourced - retreat as a practice of living fully
More than ever, retreat practice may be the medicine of our time. Technology is poised to reshape the future in profound and uncertain ways, and our relationship with it already tests our attention and intention. In response, we are invited to return to the deepest experiences that make us human, and to meet the future with greater presence, discernment, and care.
This retreat offers a clear path: calm the mind, open the heart, examine the nature of reality, and integrate the wisdom of these experiences into a more grounded capacity to respond to the challenges of transformative technology.
Over six days, you will be immersed in meditation, silence, reflective dialogue, and embodied practices inspired by 2,500-year-old contemplative traditions, interwoven with contemporary science and emerging questions around consciousness, AI, and human flourishing. Teachings are supported by peer conversation, expert facilitators, and time in the restorative landscape of Broughton Sanctuary.
Together, we will explore some of the defining questions of our age: What is consciousness? What does a life well-lived look like? How can we create technologies and systems that support human flourishing?
You will leave with practical tools and a renewed perspective — and, more enduringly, with a path you have walked deeply enough to carry back into your work: a clearer mind, a steadier heart, and greater confidence in the qualities that help us live fully, act wisely, and contribute meaningfully to humanity’s most urgent work.
"The best way is to understand yourself, and then you will understand everything."
Shunryu Suzuki Roshi
The meditation practices introduced during the retreat are primarily:
Each day centres on meditation, with sitting periods of 20-30 minutes interspersed with 5-10 minute walking meditations.
This retreat sits between a vipassana retreat and a jhana retreat, and takes a step in a new direction toward dharma for our times — innovative, while respecting the integrity of authentic traditions.
Bio-hacking-informed menu and exercises for longevity and feeling good:
The wisdom of the retreat is woven into grounded reflection on the technologies we are building through:
Special emphasis is placed on how to move from the deeper contemplative space of meditation back into everyday work and contribution — and how to keep these worlds connected moving forward.
Meditation is not one size fits all. For that reason, the retreat and the practices you leave with are tailored to you, with individual guidance offered throughout.
You may stay one extra night at no charge for a group integration day, with the option to purchase meals at the local cafe or pub, and depart at 10am on the 19th.
Sophie Maclaren
Jonathan Garner
Dr. Ruben Laukkonen
"The challenges of this moment call for more than new tools — they call for a different quality of seeing. Together we will cultivate that seeing by bringing contemplative practice and the science of mind into direct experience."
Jonathan Garner
A range of modules is available to suit different schedules.
Early mornings offer the choice of walks or runs around the estate, or a little more sleep until breakfast.
Enjoy the simplicity of guided meditation, with instruction and walking meditations leading up to lunch.
After lunch, the focus shifts to supporting the body — rest, walk the meditation labyrinth, spend quiet time exploring Broughton’s nature-recovery programme, swim in the lake, or relax in Avalon’s biophilic-designed Pool Suite with saunas, steam, and indoor pool.
Afternoons alternate silent meditation, occasional small-group discussion on retreat themes, one-to-one meditation coaching, and nature-immersed meditations and silent walks.
Evenings include practices designed to support deep sleep, such as sound baths, Yoga Nidra, and stargazing.
"Human Flourishing must start with our own experience of flourishing: living physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually at our best; in harmony with ourselves, others, and the natural world. Our task on this retreat is to get there and know the path deeply enough that we can bring it back to our work."
Sophie Maclaren
The retreat takes place at the 3000-acre Broughton Sanctuary, just outside Skipton at the foothills of the Yorkshire Dales, one of the country’s most picturesque regions. Broughton Hall, established in 1097, has been home to the Tempest family for over 900 years and carries a rich history spanning more than a millennium.
The Sanctuary is also home to one of Britain’s most exciting nature recovery projects, built on extensive tree planting and rewilding. In 2025, beavers joined the Sanctuary alongside native cattle and Iron Age pigs.
Avalon, the Sanctuary’s state-of-the-art wellbeing retreat centre, sits at the heart of the property. With extensive indoor and outdoor resources, it supports the inner journey of mind, body, and spirit. During your stay, you may unwind in the biophilic-designed Pool Suite, featuring a clear 20-metre pool, steam room, sauna, and hydromassage pool. Beyond the building, the grounds invite you back to source through meditation labyrinths, wild swimming reservoirs, a cosmic garden, and more.
A wide variety of rooms is available, whether in Broughton Hall itself or across the collection of 20 Retreat Houses, including converted barns, former coachhouses, and gatehouses.
Please choose your accommodation from the form to the right, selecting from rooms in the Hall or across the Retreat Houses collection.
Scholarships are available, and the Patron Room Rate offers the opportunity to help shape the project more directly through additional dialogue with the organisers in support of the work’s strategy.
The extra integration day can be arranged with the team.
Book a discovery call:
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"My twice yearly retreats with Sophie are the lighthouse in my life. They recharge me and keep me on course with what I want to accomplish, and who I want to be."
DAVID, USA
"In my life now there is a clear before and after the retreat with Sophie. I see the world with new eyes, and feel somehow wiser, more resilient, calmer, I experience more joy."
Isabelle, Belgium
Sophie Maclaren
Sophie works globally as a consultant, coach, and facilitator for senior leaders in business and politics. Based at the University of Oxford’s Said Business School and the Centre for Eudaemonia and Human Flourishing, she works on applied flourishing. She co-founded Europe’s leading consultancy for mindfulness and wellbeing in the workplace. Her clients include law firms, global banks, the UK Parliament, the European Commission, tech executives, and Formula 1.
Raised with teachers in the Kagyu, Nyingma, and Shambhala lineages, Sophie has spent her life practicing, studying, and teaching within these traditions. At the request of her teachers, she began teaching full time in 2004 and has led hundreds of retreats and programmes.
Jonathan Garner
Jonathan is the founder of Mind over Tech, co-founder of the Wisdom+AI network, author of Your Best Digital Life, and a meditation instructor with more than twenty years of study and practice in the Tibetan Nyingma school. His work focuses on the intersection of technology and the human mind, finding practical ways to bring awareness and intention into digital life.
Alongside leading meditation courses and retreats, Jonathan brings experience as a coder, a communicator of machine learning to senior leaders at Fortune 500 companies, and a consultant to organisations such as Google and Deloitte on Digital Wellbeing and intentional AI adoption. He speaks regularly at events worldwide and currently lives in a Buddhist community in Berlin, splitting his time mainly between the UK and Germany.
Dr. Ruben Laukkonen
Ruben is the director of the Flourishing Intelligence Program (FLIP) at Linacre College, University of Oxford. He is also a senior researcher and co-director of the Centre for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing at Linacre College, University of Oxford, and a visiting Professor at the Centre for Brain and Cognition, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain.
Ruben has made significant theoretical and empirical contributions to the science of consciousness, meditation,
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Nestled beside the beautiful Walled Garden and looking out over the original stable courtyard, this charming cottage offers a calm and restorative stay in a truly picturesque setting. With its blend of rustic character and modern comfort, it creates a welcoming atmosphere for guests seeking both relaxation and convenience.
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Pets are welcome, so you can bring your furry companion along and share the experience as a complete group. Whether you’re planning a quiet retreat or a memorable weekend away, this cottage offers the kind of serene setting that invites relaxation from the moment you arrive.
Sophie Maclaren works internationally as a consultant, coach, and facilitator, supporting senior leaders across business and politics. Her work is grounded in applied flourishing through her affiliation with the University of Oxford’s Said Business School and the Centre for Eudaemonia and Human Flourishing. She also co-founded one of Europe’s leading consultancies for mindfulness and wellbeing in the workplace, bringing practical,...
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With more than two decades of study and practice in the Tibetan Nyingma tradition, Jonathan Garner brings a grounded, contemporary perspective to meditation and digital wellbeing. He is the founder of Mind over Tech, co-founder of the Wisdom+AI network, and the author of Your Best Digital Life. His work explores where technology meets the human mind, offering practical tools for...
Read moreDr. Ruben Laukkonen
Price
On request
Sun, Sep 13 – Fri, Sep 18