Organizations
The Center for Contemplative Mind in Society works to integrate contemplative awareness into contemporary life in order to help create a more just, compassionate, and reflective society.
Mind and Life Institute, aims to establish mutually respectful working collaboration and research partnerships between modern science and Buddhism — two of the world's most fruitful traditions for understanding the nature of reality and promoting human well-being.
Santa Barbara Institute is dedicated to interdisciplinary research and education to advance understanding of the nature and potentials of consciousness. Its comprehensive approach integrates the insights and techniques of contemporary science with those of the world’s classic contemplative and philosophical traditions.
Mind/Brain/Behavior Interfaculty Initiative at Harvard is an interdisciplinary community of investigators whose research aims to elucidate the structure, function, evolution, development, and pathology of the nervous system in relation to human behavior and mental life. The MBB community draws broadly from all the schools of the University to bring together scholars - from undergraduates to faculty - with a common commitment both to empirical research and to multidisciplinary dialogue.
Greater Good Science Center is an interdisciplinary research center devoted to the scientific understanding of happy and compassionate individuals, strong social bonds, and altruistic behavior. While serving the traditional tasks of a UC Berkeley research center—fostering groundbreaking scientific discoveries—the GGSC is unique in its commitment to helping people apply scientific research to their lives.
Emory University Contemplative Studies
University of Michigan Program in Creativity and Consciousness
Helpful Meditation Sites
Meditation Community - Learn to meditate and get more information about meditation. This site was created by Brown University students.
Suggested Retreat Locations
Categorized by affiliation. (All following descriptions are from the linked sites.)
Click to jump to the category.
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Zen (Rinzai | Soto | Korean Son | Other )
Buddhism
Bodhi Manda Zen Center in New Mexico
Bodhi Manda Zen Center is a Rinzai Zen practice center located in a high desert river canyon in the Jemez Mountains, 60 miles northwest of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The center was founded in 1973 by Kyozan Joshu Roshi, a Japanese Zen Master in the Rinzai lineage, with the fundamental purpose of providing teaching in Zen Buddhism to all who wish to learn and practice.
First Zen Institute of America in New York, NY
The First Zen Institute of America (FZIA) is a non-profit religious organization founded and incorporated in 1930 by Sokei-an Sasaki, the first Zen master to settle permanently in America. The Institute is independent, self sustaining, and governed by its voting members. The FZIA is not a monastic training center and has no Zen master in residence. It introduces Rinzai Zen to lay students, offers facilities for practice and provides information on Zen Buddhism to the public.
Zendo Shobo-Ji in New York, NY
On September 15, 1968, New York Zendo Shobo-Ji (Temple of True Dharma) was opened. A pioneer Zen center in the upper East side of Manhattan, New York Zendo provides authentic Rinzai Zen practice to people living in the city. Shobo-Ji is a converted 3-story carriage house, the ground floor is the main Zendo (meditation hall) and there is a smaller Zendo adjacent to it. Tatami, shoji screens and a beautiful traditional Japanese stone garden give Shobo-Ji a quiet and elegant atmosphere.
Dai-Bosatsu Zen Center in Catskills, NY
On America's Bicentennial, July 4, 1976, a Rinzai Zen Buddhist monastery opened deep in the Catskill Mountains of New York State. Situated on 1,400 acres in the Catskill Mountain Forest Preserve, International Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-ji continues to offer an ideal setting for authentic Zen practice to persons of all religious and cultural backgrounds, as well as to lay and ordained Zen students.
Albuquerque Zen Center in New Mexico
The Albuquerque Zen Center offers daily practice and study opportunities to anyone interested in the many ways of knowing Zen Buddhism.
Green Dragon Temple in San Francisco, CA
Green Gulch Farm Zen Center, also known as Green Dragon Temple (Soryu-ji), is a Buddhist practice center in the Japanese Soto Zen tradition offering training in Zen meditation and ordinary work. It is one of three centers that make up San Francisco Zen Center, which was founded by Shunryu Suzuki-roshi.
Providence Zen Center in Cumberland, RI
Providence Zen Center is the international head temple of the Kwan Um School of Zen
Cambridge Zen Center in Cambridge, MA
Welcome to the Cambridge Zen Center, a residential meditation practice community conveniently located in Central Square between MIT and Harvard University. The CZC is part of the Kwan Um School of Zen, founded by the Korean Zen Master Dae Soen Sa Nim.
Zen Mountain Monastery in Catskills, NY
Nestled in 250 acres of forest preserve in New York’s beautiful Catskill Mountains, Zen Mountain Monastery (ZMM)--the Mountains and Rivers Order (MRO) mainhouse--is one of the West’s most respected Zen Buddhist monasteries and training centers. Since its inception in 1980, ZMM has offered spiritual practitioners innovative ways to engage the Buddhist teachings through a vast array of retreats that take place within the context of authentic, full-time Zen monastic training. Throughout the year, our teachers, staff and special guests lead retreats that highlight each of the areas that form ZMM’s unique training matrix: the Eight Gates of Zen, a Western rendition of the Buddha’s Eightfold Path.
The Insight Meditation Society was founded in 1975 as a nonprofit organization to uphold the possibility of liberation for all beings. Its Buddhist meditation retreats provide spiritual refuge, allowing the in-depth exploration of freedom from the sufferings of mind and heart. IMS operates two retreat facilities – the Retreat Center and the Forest Refuge - which are set on some 200 secluded wooded acres in the quiet country of central Massachusetts.
Cambridge Insight Meditation Center in Cambridge, MA
The Cambridge Insight Meditation Center is a non-residential urban center for the practice of Vipassana or insight meditation, located in the heart of Cambridge, MA USA.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Marin, CA
Spirit Rock Meditation Center is dedicated to the teachings of the Buddha as presented in the vipassana tradition. The practice of mindful awareness, called Insight or Vipassana Meditation, is at the heart of all the activities at Spirit Rock. The Center hosts a full program of ongoing classes, daylong programs, and residential retreats.
Vipassana Meditation Center in Shelbourne, MA
Vipassana Meditation as taught by S.N. Goenka in the tradition of Sayagyi U Ba Khin
Sky Lake in Rosendale, NY
The Shambhala and Buddhist teachings can be studied and explored in the worldwide association of meditation centers founded by Vidyadhara the Venerable Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and now directed by his son and spiritual heir, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche.
Karmê Chöling in VT
We offer beginning instruction for those new to meditation, teachings in Tibetan Buddhism, programs in the contemplative arts, and visits from renowned teachers. We recommend our Simplicity: Meditation for Real Life programs as an ideal introduction to Karmê Chöling's contemplative community.
Shambhala Mountain Center in CO
Shambhala Mountain Center is a mountain valley retreat located on 600 acres in northern Colorado. Since 1971 the Center has offered hundreds of programs on Buddhist meditation, yoga and other contemplative disciplines. Tamed by thirty years of use as a contemplative retreat, Shambhala Mountain Center is a place where one of the basic truths of Buddhism—that people can be profoundly open to the wisdom of the present moment—is always readily available.
Barre Center for Buddhist Studies in MA
The Barre Center for Buddhist Studies is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to bringing together teachers, students, scholars and practitioners who are committed to exploring Buddhist thought and practice as a living tradition, faithful to its origins and lineage, yet adaptable and alive in the current world. The center's purpose is to encourage the integration of study and practice, and to investigate the relationship between scholarly understanding and meditative insight. It encourages engagement with the tradition in a spirit of genuine inquiry.
Aryaloka in Newmarket, NH
Aryaloka is a place dedicated to the study and practice of Buddhism. We are part of the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO) -- a worldwide network of meditation centers, communities, and ethical businesses.
Christianity
Saint Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer, MA
Origin of Centering Prayer movement
Glastonbury Abbey in Hingham, MA
Glastonbury is a small community of Benedictine monks striving to embrace the challenges of contemporary living within the time-tested values of a vital monastic spirit.
Abbey of Gethsemani in Trappist, KY
Centering Prayer – Boston Chapter
Centering Prayer is drawn from ancient prayer practices of the Christian contemplative heritage, notably the Fathers and Mothers of the Desert, Lectio Divina, (praying the scriptures), The Cloud of Unknowing, St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila.. It was distilled into a simple method of prayer in the 1970's by three Trappist monks, Fr. William Meninger, Fr. Basil Pennington and Abbot Thomas Keating at the Trappist Abbey, St. Joseph's Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts.
Franciscan Renewal Center in Scottsdale, AZ
Community of Faith Through Liturgy, Retreats, Education, Counseling, Social Justice, Spiritual Direction, Meetings & Conferences, in the Tradition & Hospitality of St. Francis of Assisi.
Christ the Savior Monastery (Christminster) For Men in Providence, RI
Christminster is a western-rite monastery established in Rhode Island in 1993 with the blessing of Bishop Hilarion. One goal of its mission - still awaiting fulfillment - is the acquisition of a suitable, secluded property ensuring tranquillity and silence, and providing hermitages for monks and guests, with common room, refectory, library, office and work space, and a monastic church in which the Liturgy of the Mass and the Hours are celebrated in full. There are two monastics in residence, inquiries are welcome.
The Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Brookline, MA
Women who wish to make a monastic retreat are directed to our nearby sister community, Holy Nativity Convent, which also has guest rooms for receiving pilgrims. Holy Orthodox Church of North America (HOCNA)
Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY
Holy Trinity Monastery is a male monastic community under the auspices of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad. We are dedicated to a life of prayer and obedience according to the pre-revoluntionary monastic tradition.
Pendle Hill in Wallingford, PA
Resident students live on Pendle Hill's beautiful, 23-acre campus in Wallingford, Pennsylvania. Students are full-time participants who join the staff and resident families in forming the core Pendle Hill community. About half the community is Quaker. Others represent a wide variety of faiths and philosophies.
Judaism
Elat Chayyim in Catskills, NY
Elat Chayyim is a unique Jewish center for people of all ages, backgrounds and levels of observance. All are welcomed to enter a diverse community, to renew and revitalize relationships with tradition, and deepen our connections with the divine. The center's scenic facility, at the foot of the Catskill and Shawangunk mountain ranges of New York, provides a nourishing and relaxing setting for year-round programs.
Metivta: A Center for Contemplative Judaism in Los Angeles, CA
Chochmat HaLev in Berkeley, CA
Yoga/Vedanta
Transcendental Meditation Regional Center in Antrim, NH
Their schedule is posted here
Information about these and other occasional retreats in Rhode Island, Conncecticut, and Massachusets may be obtained from the Director of the Maharishi Vedic School of Rhode Island, Marcia Kaspark - 
Ananda Ashram in Monroe, NY
Ananda Ashram in Monroe, New York, is a spiritual retreat and educational center founded on the universal principles of Yoga and Vedanta and dedicated to East-West cultural exchange. It was established in 1964 as the country center of the Yoga Society of New York, Inc., by Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati, then known as Ramamurti S. Mishra, M.D.
Himalayan Institute in Pocanos, PA
A leader in the field of yoga, meditation, spirituality, and holistic health, the Himalayan Institute was founded by Swami Rama of the Himalayas. The mission of the Himalayan Institute is Swami Rama’s mission—to discover and embrace the sacred link—the spirit of human heritage that unites East and West, spirituality and science, and ancient wisdom and modern technology.
The Himalayan Institute’s headquarters is located on a beautiful 400-acre campus in the rolling hills of the Pocono Mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania.
Sufism
Sufi Order International Greater Boston: A Constellation of Lights in MA
The Sufi Order International Greater Boston Constellation of Light is devoted to meditation instruction, spiritual growth, and the teachings of Hazrat Inayat Khan, Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan, and Pir Zia Inayat Khan. It sponsors classes and events occurring in Boston, Massachusetts and throughout southeastern New England. It is a branch of the Sufi Order International, an interfaith international organization.
Other
Omega Institute for Holistic Studies in Rhinebeck, NY
Sky Meadow Retreat in VT
A Retreat Center for meditation and spiritual work secluded in the hills of Vermont's Northeast Kingdom
Expanding Light in CA
A place of spiritual renewal for people of all backgrounds, located in the beautiful foothills of California's Sierra Nevada Mountains
Shantigar Foundation in western MA
Shantigar Village, a not-for-profit foundation, is dedicated to where artistic and spiritual practices meet. It is a farm on a spectacularly beautiful mountainside in Western Massachusetts.