Living Awake Online Community
Come together live with Susanne Marie and people from around the world. A real meeting place for those drawn to look within. Something becomes available when we sit together in presence. You are warmly welcome to join this sincere group of fellow travelers.
Monthly Drop-In Zoom Meetings with Susanne Marie
Each two-hour gathering opens with a talk on a different topic, followed by an hour of open inquiry where you can bring your own questions. Some in this group have been gathering with Susanne for over ten years.
Next Online Meeting: Saturday, September 12th, 2026
Time: 10am-12pm Pacific Time
Topic: When the Heart Leads
Cost: $25-40 (sliding scale based on ability to pay). No one turned away for lack of funds.
Drop-in (no sign up needed).
For more information (zoom link & donate button), follow this link.
Living Awake Community in person events:
Devotion to Truth: An Awakening Immersion Retreat
7 Nights: October 2–9, 2026
Crestone, Colorado
Vajra Vidya Retreat Center
Enrollment is open. Limited spots available.
I am delighted to offer my fourth silent seven-night retreat at the beautiful Tibetan Buddhist Vajra Vidya Retreat Center in Crestone, Colorado. This immersion offers a profound opportunity to deepen your spiritual practice within a loving, embodied, and well-supported container.
This retreat will be held in a small, intimate, non-sectarian setting, allowing for depth, presence, and genuine connection. Noble silence will be observed throughout the retreat, with two daily group sessions that are not silent. Each day will include a morning teaching, followed by an afternoon session devoted to questions, inquiry, and shared dialogue.
Vajra Vidya is nestled at 8,300 feet in the Colorado Rockies, offering a spacious and pristine natural environment that powerfully supports inner stillness and contemplation. We are deeply grateful that the retreat center is offering an exceptional rate for private rooms and meals. There are 18 rooms available on site, with additional off-site housing options nearby. Due to the limited capacity, this retreat is intentionally small and is filling quickly.
Integration and Support
There is an application process for all new participants. I will personally check in with each applicant to ensure the retreat is a supportive and appropriate fit for your current well-being and spiritual journey. Retreat energy can be quite powerful, and it is important to me that each participant feels well held and supported.
The final full day of the retreat will be devoted to integration, including small breakout groups and time to harmonize and ground the insights and experiences of the week.
Application Information
New applicants are invited to email us to request an application.
Those who have previously attended a retreat with me may simply email to express their interest.
Email: susannemarieretreat@gmail.com
Housing and Meals
Retreat Center Housing and Three Meals Daily:
$95–$100 per night for a single private room (including meals).
Housing is booked directly with Vajra Vidya Retreat Center once your participation is approved.
If on-site housing becomes full, nearby off-site accommodations are available.
Tuition
Susanne’s Tuition (separate from housing and meals):
$1,050
Non-refundable deposit: $200
If you feel called to contribute to our scholarship fund, please let us know via email. Your generosity helps make it possible for a sincere spiritual practitioner to attend. Thank you in advance for your support.
Warm blessings,
Susanne
Retreat Testimonials:
Susanne Marie is an extraordinary guide whose warmth and care create a safe and nurturing space for deep exploration. Her presence radiates a profound connection to the ground of being, the quiet and empty space that is our true home. Through her guidance, I’ve come to rest in my true nature and become familiar with the stillness from which all things arise and into which they dissolve. What makes Susanne truly unique is her ability to guide without imposing any dogma or ideology. Her talks feel like a guided meditation, effortlessly drawing students back to their source. She points so directly and lovingly to what is real, allowing the simplicity and beauty of our true essence to reveal itself naturally. Susanne’s teachings are not just words; they are an invitation to rest deeply and to recognize the quiet, boundless space of being. I am endlessly grateful for her transmission and the profound impact it has had on my journey.
~ Stryder Reilly, Colorado
So beautifully held, I felt, in this largely silent and powerful retreat, in majestic nature, with the mountains at our back. Wonderfully insightful talks each day by Susanne Marie as well as a daily Q&A, and complementary somatic activities such as nature walks, mindful movement, singing bowls and breath exercises. Susanne led us masterfully, step-by-step, down the deeper path. It was astonishing to witness how she could speak, at the same time, to all the group, in all our different places in the journey. I for one was always hearing what I needed to hear. I always felt safe and cared for. The spaciousness and silence I needed was always there. Nature too, as we integrated into our surroundings and the nature we are. Whilst a secular retreat, we were nestled in the nurturing cradle of a very-well-run and inspiring Tibetan retreat centre (Vajra Vidya). The joyful loving-kindness of Khenpo Jigme and the centre staff and long-term retreatants resonated far beyond the boundaries of their physical home. It is quite hard to put into words how special this retreat was. If you are sincere in your desire to take your spiritual journey to the next level, I highly recommend a retreat led by Susanne Marie.
~ K. Davies, UK
~ Photos below are taken from Susanne’s retreats in Taos, NM, Crestone, CO., Sonoma County, CA. & events around the world.
