Owning Wisdom with guest faculty Cecily Mak & Soren Gordhamer
A New Year Reset: Shedding Unwanted Habits with Self-Grace and Presence
Dec 9 - Dec 14, 2024 in Baja, Mexico Led by: Cecily Mak, Soren Gordhamer, Barbara Tint, Jed Tarlow, Teddi Dean
Financial aid is available. Apply Here.
What’s Dimming Your Clarity and Stopping You from Tuning into Your Truest Self, Reclaiming Your Power, and Making Choices for Positive Change?
When life gets uncomfortable, our first instinct is to do whatever we can to avoid or dull the impact of whatever is causing that discomfort.
We run away from it… distract ourselves from it with busywork or other claims on our attention… and rely on “dimmers” such as alcohol, drugs, overeating, and other escapist habits to take the edge off of the stress of our lives.
But these dimmers don’t just soften the edges of our uncomfortable feelings.
They dim our brightness, dull our clarity, and silence our intuition, making it harder for us to make positive choices that cultivate greater wisdom, health, and happiness. And they make it easier for us to avoid taking action that will make our lives so much better in the long run.
The good news is, relying on these dimmers and letting them stand in the way of living your best life is a choice. And you have the power to make a different choice at any moment.
In this Owning Wisdom workshop co-facilitated with ClearLife founder Cecily Mak and Wisdom 2.0 founder Soren Gordhamer, you will learn how to liberate yourself from the unhelpful habits that may be stopping you from enjoying a clearer, more conscious and intentional life.
What You’ll Gain
Through a combination of our MEA Navigating Transitions/Owning Wisdom curriculum and Cecily and Soren’s experiential teachings and activities, you will:
You will leave the workshop feeling clear, energized, and inspired to make 2025 the year you step into your full power and live an undimmed life liberated from unhealthy tendencies that are stopping you from showing up as your best self.
Meet Your Faculty
Cecily Mak
Author of UNDIMMED: Awareness Practices to Reclaim Power, Agency, and Freedom from Unwanted Habits
ClearLife Founder | Host of Undimmed: A ClearLife Podcast
Cecily Mak is co-founder of Wisdom Ventures and the visionary behind ClearLife. She is a former lawyer and Silicon Valley executive turned writer and podcast host who helps people create undimmed lives full of intention and presence for themselves, free from the stigmas of addiction.
ClearLife was borne from Cecily’s own experience of choosing to stop using alcohol (as well as any other escapist substances) as a dimmer in her life. Although she started her alcohol-free journey as a 30-day experiment, she quickly realized that her life felt so much clearer, richer, and more intentional without the use of substances.
When she started sharing her experiences with others, Cecily discovered that there are many others who are ready to change their relationship with alcohol, pot, overeating, workaholism, and other substances or habits – and who, like her, don’t identify as addicts or resonate with the “12 steps” approach to reframing their relationship with unhealthy forms of escapism. The ClearLife community she has helped create through her podcast, newsletter, and social media channels includes 130,000+ individuals who are interested in creating clearer and more intentional and presence-filled lives for themselves.
Cecily's upcoming book, UNDIMMED: Awareness Practices to Reclaim Power, Agency, and Freedom from Unwanted Habits, will be published by Flatiron Press (Macmillan) in early 2026.
Soren Gordhamer
Founder and host of Wisdom 2.0
Mindfulness teacher | Entrepreneur | Author of Wisdom 2.0: Ancient Secrets for the Creative and Constantly Connected
Soren is co-founder of Wisdom Ventures, which explores the application of ancient wisdom in modern life. He is the founder and host of the Wisdom 2.0 and Wisdom & AI, which brings together technology leaders along with teachers from wisdom traditions to explore how we can live mindfully and wisely in modern life, and engage the great technologies of our age in ways that benefit us, our society, and our world.
Soren has been engaged in the exploration and teaching of wisdom, compassion, and mindfulness for over 30 years. Through Wisdom 2.0, he has created a global movement on conscious living in modern times, and along the way engaged and interviewed everyone from spiritual teachers such as Ram Dass and Eckhart Tolle, to tech leaders including the founders of OpenAI, Twitter, Facebook, eBay and others.
He has taught mindfulness in a wide range of settings, from Google’s corporate headquarters, to youth in New York City prisons, to genocide survivors in Rwanda.
This workshop is for you if...
You’ve become increasingly aware that your use of alcohol, drugs, or other unhealthy substances or habits are dimming your clarity and presence
You’ve been using “dimmers” to distract yourself from something that’s causing you pain or unhappiness – but it’s not bringing you the peace you long for
You’ve recently been asking yourself, “Is this how I want to live the rest of my life? Is this helping me achieve my life's purpose, dreams, goals, and hopes?”
You’re ready to explore a different way of being that doesn’t involve softening the sharp edges of your life with substances or unhealthy behaviors
You don’t consider yourself to be an addict who has an uncontrollable problem, and the language and approach of AA doesn’t resonate with you
You’re looking for a supportive community of other individuals who are dedicated to living undimmed lives full of greater clarity, and intention, and presence
You’re ready to release old habits and behaviors that no longer serve you so you can step into your full power and live a more conscious life
You’re excited to discover how amazing life will become when you’re no longer dimming your brightness or avoiding the problems that are calling for your attention
Baja, Mexico
El Pescadero Resort
A stunning oceanfront property offering all of the amenities of a luxury hotel with beautiful beaches perfect for swimming or surfing. Located on the southern tip of the Baja Peninsula, just a short drive from Todo Santos, the “Pueblo Magico”.
Meet Your MEA Facilitators
In addition to the powerful sessions conducted by Cecily and Soren, you will be guided through the core MEA Owning Wisdom curriculum by our seasoned faculty members:
Barbara Tint
Content Facilitator
Barbara Tint, Ph.D. is a social/political psychologist, university professor, global trainer and published author. She has lived all around the world, bringing an international and multicultural lens to her work. She is an expert improviser and storyteller, and brings these methods to all that she does.
Jed Tarlow
Experience Facilitator
Jed is a student of the world and the human condition. He came from a nomadic career in river exploration, conservation, and guiding to settle in Baja Sur and build a B&B to help people connect with this powerful landscape. He’s passionate about taking care of people, creating enriching conversations, and chasing another dreamy wave.
Teddi Dean
Head of Mindfulness and Movement
Teddi Dean is the Head of Mindfulness and Movement here at MEA. He offers a fun, accessible and wisdom filled approach to both mediation and yoga. Teddi loves working with beginners and has a gift in showing that each and every one of us is capable of dropping into stillness.
Teddi Dean grew up in Southern California where he was immersed in surf and skateboard culture. He was part of skateboard royalty as a team member of the infamous Powell and Peralta Bones Brigade.
It’s Time to Stop Ignoring What Your Inner Voices Are Trying to Tell You
Saying “no” to alcohol, drugs, and other dimmers doesn’t have to be an act of surrender or admission of powerlessness
Embracing a clearer, more unmediated existence is an act of agency and freedom and choice. And when you open the door to your discomfort and really listen to what it’s trying to tell you, you will gain invaluable information that will help you fix what’s not working in your life and clear space for much better opportunities and experiences to come your way.
