ALUMNI-EXCLUSIVE WORKSHOP

Midlife Mastery: 

Architecting a Remarkable 2025

Dec 9 - 14, 2024 Santa Fe, USA
Led by: Lori Schwanbeck
Financial aid is available. Apply Here.

Come together in community with your fellow alumni – and lay the foundations for an incredible year ahead. 

As our amazing MEA alumni community has grown to 5,500 people worldwide, we have been listening to what you’ve been asking for.

Unsurprisingly, one of the most common requests we’ve received is for alumni-exclusive workshops that allow you to go deeper into MEA practices and build on the skills you’ve learned in the company of other compadres.

As an alum, you already know how to tap into that powerful third vault from day one. You're ready to dive deep with a group of like-minded, experienced participants who share your ability to connect and engage at an advanced level.

Unlike first-time MEA attendees who may need days to reach this state, you and your fellow alumni can hit the ground running, making every moment count in this exclusive, accelerated experience.

That’s why we are delighted to invite you to our first-ever alumni-only workshop featuring all-new content that gives you the opportunity to further hone the skills you need to thrive in midlife and beyond – so you can set yourself up for an incredible 2025.

Join our senior content facilitator Lori Schwanbeck for this alumni-exclusive workshop designed to help you boost your transitional skills, delve deeper into your purpose, and more fully own your wisdom as a Modern Elder – so you can launch yourself into 2025 with the inspired vision, tools, and roadmap to create a transformative year for yourself.

What you’ll gain

Through a series of powerful activities based on evidence-backed social science from academics from Stanford, Harvard, UC Berkeley, and Yale, you will…

  • Reconnect with your inner self – and tune more deeply into your own inner wisdom and internal guidance system
  • Review the lessons of the past year – and what you have learned and experienced since your previous experience with MEA
  • Get clear on who you are now – as opposed to who people expect you to be – and what you’re ready to let go of to step more fully into your evolving identity.
  • Clarify what you really want – and what has been standing in the way of you experiencing more of it.
  • Release what’s no longer serving you – and create space for the experiences and opportunities you want to invite into your life.
  • Set your goals and intentions for the year ahead – based on what will bring you the more joy and fulfillment at this point in your life.

You leave feeling empowered and energized to make your vision a reality – with a reinvigorated sense of purpose and possibility and the ongoing support you need to remain committed to your goals and take inspired action to live your best life in 2025.

You told us that you were looking for the “next step” to take on your journey… this is it!

“Midlife Mastery: Architecting a Remarkable 2025” is the first workshop in our new Midlife Mastery series designed to give alumni a powerful way to keep learning, growing, and thriving in community with each other, with the support of our senior content facilitators.

We’ve put our top brain trust together to create a transformative five-day experience that will set you up for a magical, successful, and fulfilling year. 

As an MEA alum, you understand the power of ritual.

You know that incorporating positive rituals in your life can help you tap into your intuition, cultivate presence in the moment, and forge deeper connections with your community and the world around you.

And one of the most common rituals many of us have practiced throughout our lives is taking time before the end of the year to review what we’ve learned and accomplished over the past year – then create our vision for the year ahead, setting ambitious goals to motivate ourselves to aim higher and achieve new levels of success in our life and career.

But as you age and move into your second adulthood, your priorities change, and the rituals you've used in the past to set and achieve big goals – such as climbing the corporate ladder, growing your business, and accumulating wealth – may no longer serve you in the same way.

Now you find yourself searching for something different that will meet your specific needs and desires in midlife. We would love to help you develop new powerful rituals that will empower you to find the happiness, fulfillment, and excitement you crave at this stage of your life. 

This isn’t a “one and done” workshop experience.

You and your vibrant community of Midlife Mastery compadres will have your own private space in the MEA online community, through our custom app, where you will be able to meet up on a regular basis, supporting each other’s journey every single month as you work on bringing your inspired vision to life.


The bonds you forge with your fellow Midlife Masters will feed your soul and give you the motivation, support, and you need to keep moving forward to your goals – even when you run into roadblocks. 

Meet your faculty

Lori Schwanbeck

Mindfulness Teacher and Designer of Emotional Intelligence Programs

Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute Senior Faculty Member | Esalen Institute Faculty Member | Canyon Ranch Faculty Member

Lori is a passionate advocate for creating lives of meaning and engagement in both the personal and professional realms. She is a senior faculty member at Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute (SIYLI), an organization born at Google, where she mentors and trains teachers, and designs and facilitates both in-person and virtual mindfulness based emotional intelligence programs.

Lori holds an MA in psychology and is a certified Mindfulness Meditation Teacher, trained by Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach through the Greater Good Science Center. She is currently involved in a 2-year project in Bhutan working in partnership with the Gross National Happiness initiative bringing SIYLI’s program to all levels of the Bhutanese government.

She is also curriculum contributor and facilitator at: LinkedIn, Purpose Blue, Wisdom Labs, Mindfulness Rx and the Mindfulness Training Institute, and leads nature-based mindfulness retreats at MEA, Esalen Institute, and Canyon Ranch.

This workshop is for you if...

You are an MEA alumni who has attended one of our workshops and have grown your ability to successfully navigate midlife transitions and cultivate purpose in midlife

You’re ready to go deeper into the MEA experience and master the skills you need to thrive in midlife and for many years to come

You want to create an inspired vision for 2025 that goes beyond career and finance goals to deliver rich experiences that feed your soul

You’re eager to expand your circle and deepen connections with people who share your passions and enrich your life with their presence

You know that you will take more consistent action toward your desired reality with the accountability and motivation that comes from ongoing check-ins and support

You’re ready to take inspired action to make your vision a reality and ensure that 2025 is an incredible year full of magical moments and unforgettable memories

Do this powerful work on our beautiful regenerative ranch in Santa Fe

Santa Fe, USA

Rising Circle Ranch

An upscale regenerative ranch featuring traditional Pueblo architecture and spanning nearly 2,600 acres of wildlife, hiking trails in the arroyo, with ancient petroglyphs, and awe-inspiring beauty. Close to historic Santa Fe, an artisan’s mecca.

  • Big-sky desert country
  • Breathtaking nature
  • Interaction with horses and donkeys
  • Evenings around the campfire
  • Star-gazing

This isn’t just another “annual planning” workshop…

You'll get the powerful mindset practices and evidence-backed midlife thriving tools you have come to expect from MEA – along with the deep insight and inspired vision you need to design a life that is deeply aligned with who you are and what matters most to you now. And you will do this work in community with other dedicated MEA alumni who will hold you accountable to your vision in the months to come.

Let’s make 2025 your best year yet!

(And yes, the food will be as delicious as always.)

You know how amazing our made-from-scratch meals are. Chef Krista will be delighted to prepare you delicious breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks that sate your body, mind, and soul. You can focus on creating your inspired 2025 vision and honing your midlife thriving skills while our dedicated hospitality team caters to your every need. As you no doubt remember, at MEA, we believe that thriving is delicious.

Your Workshop Includes

As always, everything is included with the price of your room in this all-inclusive experience designed to support you as you embark on your next exciting chapter and shape your ideal future.

  • 5 days and nights of lodging at our boutique luxury retreat center in Santa Fe with all of your meals, snacks, drinks and other amenities included
  • Daily sessions and experiential activities to help you connect with your inner self, envision your desired experience, and release what no longer serves you
  • Meditation covering a range of practices to soothe your nervous system and help you cultivate greater mindfulness and presence in the moment.
  • Movement to get the energy flowing and build your strength and agility as you chart your course forward to the life you want to live.
  • Incredible bonding experiences with the most amazing humans you’ll ever meet.
  • Three delicious, chef-prepared meals plus snacks throughout the day prepared from scratch with the freshest local ingredients.
  • Festive gatherings to cultivate connection and celebrate the joy and beauty of life.

Tuition starts at $3,000

Ready to start your journey?

Midlife Mastery: Architecting a Remarkable 2025

Dec 9 - 14, 2024 Santa Fe, USA
Led by: Lori Schwanbeck

Step into your next chapter with confidence and ease, knowing that every detail of your experience is being taken care of by our world-class faculty and hospitality team.

Starting at

$3,000 per person

Financial aid is available. Apply Here.

Leslie Bartlett

Still deciding or have questions?
Connect with Leslie Bartlett, VP of Alumni

Leslie is also an MEA alumni who can offer genuine insights into our programs. She's passionate about helping you find the right fit to make your next chapter the best one.