Owning Wisdom with guest faculty Wolf Martinez

Reclaim the Transformative Power and Joy of Thanksgiving

Nov 25 - Nov 30, 2024 in Santa Fe, USA
Led by: Wolf Martinez, Laurie Hofmann, Robert King
Enroll Now

Financial aid is available. Apply Here.

Cultivate deep gratitude, joy, and connectedness by exploring ancient indigenous thanksgiving traditions

Thanksgiving can be a complicated holiday for people. 

It’s supposed to be a time for family and community and for being thankful for everything you have. 

But what if you don’t have a family or community to celebrate with – or if recent challenges are making it hard for you to feel thankful or celebrate the holiday in the same way?  

Or what if you recognize the darkness at the heart of the Thanksgiving tradition, in terms of the generations of harm colonial settlers inflicted on the Indigenous people who taught them the tradition of giving thanks in the first place?

The answer isn’t to reject the holiday but to get back to the ancient heart of Thanksgiving and rediscover the wisdom traditions that Indigenous people have practiced for thousands of years to foster greater community and connection with each other and the natural world.

In this special Thanksgiving-themed Wisdom workshop co-facilitated with Native American Ceremonialist Wolf Martinez, you will explore millennia-old Indigenous practices – that will help you reconnect with your inner self and experience the profound gratitude, kinship, and awe that come from honoring the sacred interconnectedness of all living things.

What you’ll gain

Through a combination of our MEA Owning Wisdom curriculum and Wolf’s Indigenous teachings, you will:

  • Explore Indigenous traditions and rituals connecting you to The Circle of Life, which offer new perspectives on all aspects of Life and Nature
  • Expand your concept of self and release habits and beliefs that no longer serve you
  • Participate in sacred rituals such as Pipe Ceremony, Shamanic Journey, and Talking Circle to experience direct connection to the Divine
  • Engage in equine work with our horse herd to cultivate a profound sense of Oneness with all living things 
  • Embrace Thanksgiving as a valuable opportunity to get out of your head and into your heart and embrace love instead of judgment

Come prepared “to live again” and to purify yourself with clear vision as a result of this powerful week of renewal.

Meet your faculty

Wolf Martinez

Native American Ceremonialist and Guide

Shiatsu Practitioner | Wellness Teacher | Expanded Consciousness Trainer

Wolf Martinez has been practicing healing in ancient earth-based traditions for 30 years. He leads Inipi (sweat lodge), Hanbleceya (Vision Quest), and other Indigenous Ceremonies, yet remains a student of life. He is also a Shiatsu practitioner and offers healing, wellness, body work, and expanded consciousness training.

Wolf has Spanish, Ute, and Navajo ancestry. He was initiated into the Lakota tradition in his twenties and over the years has had the opportunity to meet elders from many traditions around the Americas, North, Central and South America, as well as internationally. He is committed to providing tools and exercises that help people cultivate better health, mindfulness, connection, humor, and relationships – and to deepen our understanding of our Oneness with All that Is.

This workshop is for you if...

Feeling disconnected from yourself, from others, and the world around you

Finding it hard to feel gratitude or be thankful – especially with everything that’s happening in the world

Ready to shift your perspective and open yourself up to a great way of being in the world

Eager to expand your consciousness by participating in traditional rituals such as Talking Circle, and Vision Quest

Interested in living a more fulfilled life that includes consideration for the seven generations before and yet to come

Ready to heal the blocks within you that are stopping you from connecting more fully with others and the world around you

Excited to discover a new way of relating to yourself, others, and the universe in a way that inspires and fulfills you

Willing to abstain from using alcohol during the retreat and refrain from using drugs or alcohol, including marijuana, for four days prior to arrival

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

Meet your MEA facilitators

In addition to the powerful sessions conducted by Wolf, you will be guided through the core MEA Owning Wisdom curriculum by our faculty members:

Laurie Hofmann

Content Facilitator

Laurie Hofmann is a seasoned chief executive, board chair, and healthcare visionary. She is Partner at OvationLab, the premier expert consulting agency for health care innovators, early-stage and start-up ventures. Prior to that she  served for 20 years as a director, vice chair, chief executive officer, and board chairwoman for the Institute for Functional Medicine, the global leader in functional medicine with 150,000 practitioners from 96 countries.

Laurie’s 30-year track record of accomplishments in personalized public health and wellness, functional medicine, personalized nutrition, and science-based natural medicine have served to advance and significantly expand the awareness, reach, and adoption of personalized, systems-based approaches to health and medicine. She is passionate about purposefully navigating her own transitions and supporting others in their “lifequakes”.

Robert King

Experience Facilitator

Robert King is a family medicine physician and award-winning ceramic artist with work in private and public collections all over the world. He is a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklohoma and lives in Galisteo, New Mexico with his fearless and furry companion, Wilbur.

As an artist, Robert continuously seeks new ways to express himself, utilizing the natural resources found in the surrounding landscape. He describes his body of work as “a love letter to the high desert”. You will appreciate his creative perspective and deep appreciation for the natural environment in which you’ll be doing this soul-empowering work.   

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The fact is, we all come from indigenous roots

This workshop is for everyone – regardless of your racial, ethnic, or religious background. We are all one race, one human family, and all are welcome here. We are all related and all come from Mother Earth – from the land and the water and the fire and the wind.

But modern life can make us feel profoundly disconnected from our environment, not to mention our fellow humans and ourselves.

If you want to feel healthy and whole, not just in your mind and body but also in your spirit, it’s time to evolve beyond your limited thinking, embrace your shadow self, and reach beyond your circle of comfort to forge deeper connections with the universe around you. 

Are you ready to reclaim the profound power of Thanks Giving and discover a better way of being in the world, with a deep sense of gratitude rooted in Mother Earth and open to Father Sky?

People come for the workshops,
but they stay for the community

This is truly MEA’s “secret sauce” and something you can only experience in person: the powerful connections you will make, not only with your fellow participants and the incredible MEA faculty, but also the deeper sense of connection you will feel to your own inner self and the natural world around you.

Research into aging shows that your relationships play a HUGE role in your health and wellbeing later in life. At MEA, you will make deep and lasting connections and become part of a larger community that will make your life richer and more meaningful.

Many of our alumni cohorts have stayed in close touch for years after their workshop and we have a growing number of local alumni chapters all over the world. It’s a joy for us to see them continuing to offer each other community, friendship, and support as they create thriving midlives for themselves. So if you have been feeling at all disconnected or isolated on your journey, we would love to have you join us!

Have we mentioned the food?

The MEA experience is designed in part by Chip Conley, a world-renowned boutique hotelier, which means the food is amazing.

All of the ingredients are locally sourced, organic, and made from scratch in our kitchens by hand-picked chefs. The delicious breakfasts, lunches and dinners will leave you feeling nourished inside and out – not to mention the blended drinks made with fresh fruit and other top-shelf ingredients. 


Each retreat center has multiple kitchens that always have snacks and beverages available. At MEA, we believe that thriving is delicious!

Your Workshop Includes

  • 5 days and nights of lodging at our boutique luxury retreat center in Baja or 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?

Reclaim the Transformative Power and Joy of Thanksgiving

Nov 25 - Nov 30, 2024 in Santa Fe, USA
Led by: Wolf Martinez, Laurie Hofmann, Robert King

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

Enroll Now

Financial aid is available. Apply Here.

Still deciding or have questions?
Connect with our helpful team of Advisors

Our Advisors are all MEA alumni who can offer genuine insights into our programs. They’re passionate about helping you finding the right fit to make your next chapter the best one.

Daniel Booz

Dana Anton

Lucas Erie