Fill The Wells: A "New Year, New You" Retreat

Open to experienced and new practitioners.

Registration closes on December 20th, 2026. If joining after this date, please contact us.

This New Year retreat invites participants to pause, reflect, and reconnect with what truly matters as we cross the threshold into a new year. Designed around Christine Platt’s “Fill the Wells” framework — a holistic approach to liberated living— and Enrique Collazo’s Dharma’s walking the Buddha’s path of wisdom and compassion, the retreat will explore practices that support healing, intentional living, and personal liberation in community.

Rather than isolating one area of wellness per day, each day weaves all five wells together, so participants leave with embodied practices they can sustain long after the retreat ends. Through meditation, storytelling, reflection, community dialogue, and embodied practices, participants will have space to examine the beliefs, habits, and conditioning that shape their lives through the practices of mindfulness and compassion. Together, we will explore what it means to release what no longer serves us and carry forward what supports our collective wellbeing.

As we prepare to enter 2027, this “A New Year, A New You” retreat will offer practices that support clarity, connection, healing, and renewal—helping participants begin the year with greater intention and care for themselves, their communities, and the world around them. All participants will receive an autographed copy of Less Is Liberation: Finding Freedom From a Life of Overwhelm by Christine Platt.

HEAR MORE ABOUT THIS PROGRAM AND THE TEACHERS

Christine Platt is a writer whose work centers the journeys of personal and collective liberation —
inviting us to reassess, release, and reimagine the narratives that shape our lives. Christine’s expansive
body of work is anchored by an empowering throughline: understanding and achieving liberation as a
lifestyle. With each book, Christine affirms what she knows to be true: personal liberation is not a
destination—it is a way of being that is accessible to everyone.

Enrique Collazo is a Vipassana teacher, dharma mentor, and Peruvian-Puerto Rican LA-native whose
path to the Dharma began in 2005 through the door of deep suffering — serves as co-facilitator
throughout the full retreat. His engaged Buddhist philosophy holds that individual practice and collective liberation are inseparable, making his work a natural and powerful complement to the Fill the Wells framework. Participants will encounter his teachings every morning and evening, and in dedicated
sessions throughout the week.

WHAT TO EXPECT ON THIS RETREAT

This is a mindfulness retreat with alternating periods of meditation, community dialogue, storytelling, reflection, Dharma talks, time in nature, and embodied practices.

Daily Schedule*

● 7:00–8:00 AM — Morning meditation & dharma reflection (led by Enrique Collazo)
● 8:00–9:00 AM — Gentle movement (yoga, walking, breathwork, or somatic practice)
● 9:00–10:00 AM — Nourishing breakfast & free time
● 10:30 AM–12:30 PM — Morning session (Fill the Wells workshop, teaching, or practice)
● 12:30–2:00 PM — Lunch & rest / quiet time
● 2:00–4:00 PM — Afternoon offering (optional activities, nature time, creative practice)
● 4:00–5:00 PM — Free time / cabin time / journaling
● 5:00–6:30 PM — Evening session (integration circle, dharma talk, or ceremony)
● 6:30–7:30 PM — Dinner
● 7:30–9:00 PM — Evening ritual or free night (alternating)

*Subject to change.

Learn more ABOUT RETREAT & SEE A SAMPLE SCHEDULE.

GENEROSITY: Retreat Costs and Fees

Registration fees for this retreat support the cost of developing and offering BBRC programs, which include lodging, meals, and staff compensation. Teacher compensation is not included in your registration fees. We price fees to make programs as financially accessible as possible.

As part of this tradition, many meditation teachers (including the teachers of this retreat) offer their teachings without set fees or compensation. As a practice of generosity from the heart, participants are invited to offer “teacher dana” (donations-generosity) to the teachers at the end of the retreat. It is encouraged but not required. Learn more about dana here.

Is cost a barrier? Scholarships are available for those with reviewed, demonstrated financial need. Due to limited funds, not all requests can be honored. We ask that financial assistance be prioritized for those who self-identify as BIPOC, hold marginalized identities, or are in financial need. For more information, please contact us at guestservices@bigbearretreatcenter.org.

SIMPLE YET COMFORTABLE, NESTLED IN NATURE

Accommodations

We offer several lodging choices nestled in nature for each retreat.

Meals

Our meals are freshly prepared to support your retreat experience.

Preparing for your retreat

We offer several resources and information to best help you plan your time on retreat with us.

Getting to BBRC

We have several resources to support your travel. Visit Getting to BBRC & Rideshares and Shuttles for more.

FEEL WELCOME AND INCLUDED: A PLACE TO BELONG

Our intention is to be as accessible as we can, even in ways that we may not be aware of yet. We hope this is a space of inclusivity where people feel welcome and held. For us, it is a practice of consistent attunement, presence and care to our community. However you identify – race, gender, sexuality, disability, mental health, and so on – it is our wish to meet your needs for belonging.

Please consider this about our environment:

– The center is on a hill with outdoor walkways between dining, gathering, and residential spaces.

– We are located at an elevation of 6,500 feet altitude in a ski town in the mountains of Southern California.

– We experience weather of all four seasons.

– We are located about 2 hours from Los Angeles and near 3 major airports. Learn more about getting here.

– We have a commitment to everyone’s mobility needs. Please contact us about ADA accessibility.

Visit our Planning Your Retreat page to learn more about accessibility and other resources. Contact us if we can support ahead of time.

HEAR MORE ABOUT BIG BEAR RETREAT CENTER

Big Bear Retreat Center is exceptional in every way. The accommodations are outstanding, food exceptional, staff very responsive and helpful and the teachers are always so loving and knowledgeable. Just a top notch retreat experience!! – Sheila

I love Big Bear Retreat Center. It’s my dharma home away from home. Everything about it – staff, teachers, food, accommodations, setting – is exceptional. A true gift to the community!!

Big Bear Retreat Center is indeed a refuge. A safe space to open your heart. – Laura