Meditation for Hope and Healing Retreat
With Maureen Smith and Dean Nicholson
May 8 - 10, 2026
Meditation for Hope and Healing
Join us for a transformative weekend retreat immersed in the time-honoured practice of compassion from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Set in the embrace of nature, this retreat offers a sanctuary for deep meditation and inner renewal.
Through this ancient practice, we learn about compassion not merely as an ideal, but as a living force that transforms both ourselves and our world. Using traditional visualization techniques, we’ll connect with the healing energy of loving-kindness, allowing it to permeate every aspect of our being.
This retreat is an invitation to explore how authentic compassion can create the world we want—one built on hope and healing rather than division and despair. Through guided meditation sessions, we’ll work with visualization, mantra recitation, and contemplative practices that have guided practitioners for centuries.
Whether you’re new to meditation or an experienced practitioner, this weekend offers precious time to step away from daily demands and reconnect with your innate capacity for kindness. Surrounded by natural beauty and supported by community, you’ll discover how this time-honoured practice can illuminate a path toward genuine transformation—for yourself and all beings.
About the Leaders
Maureen Smith
A Registered Clinical Social Worker, Maureen has been a Mental Health and Substance Use Counsellor for over 9 years and previously worked in Hospice and Palliative Care. She is a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) facilitator and meditation teacher. Since 2005, Maureen has been a resident and co-manager of the Clear Sky Retreat Center. […]
Learn more about Maureen Smith
Dean Nicholson
Dean is a psychotherapist, educator and meditation practitioner. He has a Masters Degree in Counselling Psychology and over 34 years of clinical counselling experience. He provides individual counselling in-person and virtually through alivemindfully.ca. Dean has facilitated hundreds of therapy groups and leads meditation classes and retreats. Dean is a resident at the Clear Sky Meditation […]
Learn more about Dean Nicholson