Navigating Transitions with guest faculty Day Schildkret

Renewing Purpose: Modern Rituals to Navigate Life Transitions

Dec 2 - Dec 7, 2024 in Santa Fe, USA
Led by: Day Schildkret, Christine Sperber, Robert King, Lee Johnson

Financial aid is available. Apply Here.

Create your own modern rituals to reflect, reimagine, and recommit to living your best life as you navigate change with grace and equanimity

Change is the only constant in life. But just because life is always changing, that doesn’t mean we’re always ready to change along with it.

Too many of us get stuck at the threshold, reluctant to let go of our attachment to a life that no longer exists and cross through into an unknown future.

We fear change because modern society hasn’t equipped us with the skills to make sense of our transitions and understand how and why they matter.

The good news is, these skills are something we can develop – and rituals are a powerful tool to help with this.

Rituals mark the important endings and beginnings of our lives and make it easier for us to embrace the insight, energy, and liberation that transitions can bring. They can help you make better sense of your life and develop the resilience and clear-sighted optimism you need to thrive no matter what unexpected developments arise on your journey. 

In this Navigating Transitions workshop co-facilitated with award-winning author, artist, teacher, and ritualist Day Schildkret, you’ll learn how to incorporate simple modern rituals into your life that will help you honor and sanctify the important thresholds you will experience in your life – and uncover the powerful lessons they have to teach you.

What you’ll gain

Through a combination of our MEA Navigating Transitions curriculum and Day’s ritual-based practices incorporating art and nature, you will:

  • Discover how to use ritual to connect the dots between where you’ve been, where you are, and where you want to go
  • Find powerful meaning in change and embrace the transformative thresholds of our lives
  • Leverage the power of "symbolic action" to align your psycho-spiritual experience with your desired reality
  • Visualize possibilities and prepare yourself physically, mentally, and spiritually for your next chapter
  • Move from fearing uncertainty to participating fully and creatively in life’s inevitable changes
  • Develop your own personal rituals and rhythms that will give you stability when navigating uncertainty
  • Discover the 7-step Morning Altars practice to use nature, art and ritual for understanding and meaning
  • Discover how to find awe, contentment, and gratitude in all of life’s experiences, even the uncomfortable moments
  • Create custom "Threshold Wonderings" that provide reflection, refinement and direction to point your way forward into the unknown
  • Improve your ability to accept change and adapt more quickly and easily to whatever life brings

By the end of your five days with Day and the MEA faculty, you will feel rejuvenated and energized and will be excited to dive back into your life and embrace your next exciting chapter.


You will have powerful new rituals you can use to give your life meaning and structure during times of transition and will feel greater peace and clarity around the changes you’re dealing with – as well as a deeper sense of meaning and connection to the world around you.

Meet your faculty

Day Schildkret

Author of Hello, Goodbye: 75 Rituals for Times of Loss, Celebration, and Change

Leading with Meaning | Ritual | Art

Day Schildkret has spent the past 20 years empowering tens of thousands of people to make their lives more meaningful while connecting them to the moments that matter. His work transcends borders and cultures because it teaches people they can make sense of life, especially as it changes, by returning to the fundamentals: Nature, art, and meaning.

Day has taught workshops and created installations at Google, The 9/11 Memorial Plaza, The Hammerstein Ballroom, The Andy Warhol Foundation, California Academy of Sciences, Esalen, and many others. He works with companies and organizations to shape their culture by designing work rituals to celebrate successes and failures, reinforce identity, stimulate emotional connection, build a sense of belonging.

Day is the author of the upcoming book, Hello, Goodbye: 75 Rituals for Times of Loss, Celebration and Change, as well as the author of Morning Altars: A 7-Step Practice to Nourish Your Spirit through Nature, Art and Ritual. His work has been featured on NBC, CBS, Buzzfeed, Vice, Well+Good, My Modern Met and four times in Spirituality & Health Magazine.

Day has been featured by Participant Productions in a SoulPancake video series. His art is currently on permanent exhibition at the California Museum of Oakland. 

This workshop is for you if...

You’re going through a major life change and currently feeling stuck at the threshold, unable to pass through 

You’re overwhelmed with uncertainty and finding it hard to move forward into the unknown

You’re searching for clarity and insight to help illuminate your journey into unfamiliar territory

You want to honor and embrace the transitions you’re going through, and embrace your new chapter with optimism

You’re ready to let go of the things that no longer serve you and create space for what’s to come

You’re looking for ways to bring more art and creativity into your life, and explore your deeper connection with the universe

You’re eager to learn simple rituals that you can use to give your life more structure and meaning

You’re excited to join a community of life-spirited people who are learning how to navigate change

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 Day, you will be guided through the core MEA Navigating Transitions curriculum by our faculty members:

Christine Sperber

MEA Co-Founder and Chief Experience Office (CXO)

Christine Sperber is a former professional snowboarder and seasoned entrepreneur who has launched and operated hotels, managed pro athletes, and worn the hats of writer, restauranteur, and more.

She has been with MEA since the beginning and is a devoted team builder whose authenticity, values-based leadership skills, and empathetic engagement create community wherever she focuses her attention.

Christine is an ardent activist and igniter of new ideas. You’re going to love her boundless energy and dedication to creating transformative experiences that change people’s lives. “I had the sheer pleasure of working with Christine in a number of capacities over 10 years. I have met very few people as passionate, open, personable, and dedicated as she is in any line of work she was engaged in. I look forward to any opportunity I might have to work with her in the future.” – Scott Owen, Executive Sales Management & Strategy

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.   

Lee Johnson

Land, Livestock, and Mindfulness

Lee likes to say that he’s as ordinary as dirt but as complex as soil. He’s resident “cowboy sage” at our campus in Santa Fe, where his love for the simple yet complex hum of nature has led him to work in holistic land management. As steward of our four-square mile regenerative ranch, Lee translates nature’s teachings into simple insights that encourage us to tune into the inner and outer landscape of the world around us.

You will appreciate the opportunity to be in his presence and slow down, listen to nature, and gather around the campfire of shared understanding.

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Meaning-making helps us navigate change and pass through thresholds with grace and purpose

People everywhere are hurting because many of us don’t know what to do when life changes.

Rituals allow you to slow down to honor and become present in the moment as you mark the real moments in your life, so you can fully acknowledge and release the past with love and embrace what’s coming next. 

When you’re able to meet the wonders and sorrows of your life with clear-eyed wakefulness and strength, you’re better able to learn all of the lessons life has to teach you and appreciate the complex beauty of life, in all of its myriad awesomeness. 

Embrace the power of ritual and discover how rich and meaningful your life can be

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 was designed by Chip Conley, a world-renowned boutique hotelier, and from the first bite you will taste the difference.

All of the ingredients are locally sourced and organic, and the food is made from scratch in our kitchens by incredible chefs.


The delicious breakfasts, lunches and dinners will leave you feeling nourished inside and out – not to mention 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.
  • Prices start at $4,000

Ready to start your journey?

Renewing Purpose: Modern Rituals to Navigate Life Transitions

Dec 2 - Dec 7, 2024 in Santa Fe, USA
Led by: Day Schildkret, Christine Sperber, Robert King, Lee Johnson

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

$4,000 per person

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