The Fierce Heart of Now: The Work That Reconnects, Spiritual Abundance & Vajrasattva Empowerment - A Weeklong Retreat with Lama Linda Hochstetler & Karen McAllister
Retreat Description:
In a time of global uncertainty, choosing to be fully present is a radical act. This retreat centers The Work That Reconnects (Joanna Macy) as a pathway back to interconnection, resilience, and purpose—supported by Buddhist meditation, emotional healing, and a conscious, compassionate relationship with money and energy as part of our spiritual path.
Co-led by Lama Linda and Karen McAllister, this retreat weaves The Work that Reconnects practices, Vajrayana teachings from the Namgyal Rinpoche lineage, and transformational money-and-spirituality work that helps participants reclaim money as a force for alignment, intention, and service.
Guided by the spiral of The Work That Reconnects, Lama Linda will move us through 4 phases to transform grief and rage into fierce compassion and wise action:
Gratitude – grounding in what sustains us
Honoring Our Pain for the World – transforming grief & rage into fierce love
Seeing with New Eyes – Buddhist wisdom & abundance consciousness and right-relationship with resources
Going Forth – living our dharma with clarity, community & equanimity around money, energy, and contribution
Buddhist Practice & Vajrasattva Wongkur
Lama Linda will offer daily meditation, Vajrayana teachings from the Namgyal Rinpoche lineage, and Dharma integration.
Karen McAllister brings her unique expertise as a senior meditation teacher and Certified Money Coach. She will guide participants to uncover and heal scarcity conditioning, money shame, and self-doubt, helping you align resources with your deepest values and dharma purpose. Drawing from her “Money and Spirituality” work with spiritual explorers, she supports participants to see money as part of their awakening path - an area where clarity, compassion, and courage can blossom. Money becomes not just currency, but flow, energy, and spiritual empowerment.
As a sacred anchor, there will be a Vajrasattva Wongkur (empowerment) for purification, release of karmic patterns, and reconnection with innate purity. This ceremony amplifies one’s capacity to serve the world with clarity and love.
For: Spiritual seekers, Buddhists, change-makers, caregivers, therapists, healers, and anyone longing for purpose, community, and authentic abundance.
You will leave with:
Renewed purpose and courage
Buddhist practices and emotional resilience tools
A healed relationship with money and energy
The blessing of a Vajrasattva empowerment
A deeper connection to the web of life—and the confidence to move forward in right relationship with your resources, gifts, and dharma path.
Lama Linda (Linda Hochstetler) has explored consciousness and awakening for more than 30 years. She trained with Namgyal Rinpoche—the first Canadian-born Rinpoche—from 1995 until his passing in 2003, grounding herself in Theravada and Vajrayana Buddhist practices. She later continued her studies with Qapel (Doug Duncan), a successor in the Namgyal lineage, and received permission to teach under his guidance. She is the co-founder and leader of the Awaken in Toronto Sangha, where she teaches weekly online classes on consciousness and awakening principles, and leads retreats 4 times a year.
A registered social worker specializing in illness, dying, and death, Lama Linda also maintains a thriving private psychotherapy practice, has presented widely at conferences, and has been interviewed extensively on end-of-life topics. In 2021 she published her first book, 21 Days to Die: The Canadian Guide to End of Life. A mother, wife, and friend to many, she encourages her students to use their relationships as gateways to love more deeply and explore dharma more fully. She is devoted to weaving Buddhist teachings with Western psychotherapeutic approaches to support transformative change. www.lindahochstetler.com
Karen McAllister, BEcon, CMC, Co-Active Coach®Karen has been certified by Deborah Price of The Money Coaching Institute as a Certified Money Coach, Couples Money Coach, and Business Archetype Coach. She has studied extensively with Lynne Twist from the Soul of Money Institute on Mastering your Money and Transforming your Life.Karen is also a founding member of the Namgyal-lineage Clear Sky Meditation Center in British Columbia, founded in 2004 and dedicated to awakening in this lifetime. She helped the center grow into a financially stable operation after a trying startup period. Her roles presently include: Dharma and meditation teacher; co-creator and teacher of the Ignite your Spiritual Life program at the center; Chair of the Board and Director of Fund Development.In money coaching, Karen has worked with over 100 spiritual explorers and spiritual centers over a period of 10 years in groups and individually in America, Canada, Europe, and South America. She brings a clear perspective to bear on financial issues and skillfully incorporates the emotional, behavioral, and practical. Karen is a warm and compassionate facilitator of the healing process when it comes to each person’s relationship with money, starting anywhere on the graph.
https://themindfulmoneycoach.com/about-me
Important Details
When: Please plan to arrive between 3-5pm on the first day. The retreat will begin with a property orientation at 5:30pm followed by a light supper and the first evening class and will finish after lunch on the final day.
Rate: $996 - non-members $905- members (includes $30 going to Awaken in Toronto - AIT)
(To find out how to become a member please visit our membership page)
Rates include: Single accommodation and all meals. They do not include instructor fees. The teacher is sharing his/her experience within the traditional Buddhist understanding of Dana. To understand more about Dana, please read the following:
What is Dana? Teachers give the teachings of awakening (Dharma) freely so that anyone, no matter their financial means can attend classes. Each time one receives teachings, it is an opportunity to consciously practice generosity. Giving money and other means of support expresses gratitude and support to the teacher and helps to ensure that these teachings continue. Each person receiving Dharma teachings determines the kind and amount of Dāna according to one’s heart and one’s financial means. When deciding how much to offer, one should think about what these teachings mean to you and try to give accordingly. It is recommended that students make an offering of dāna at the beginning of a class or retreat to establish the intention to make the most of this opportunity for one’s own progression and for the benefit of all others.
Deposit: A 50% deposit is required to hold your space upon registration.
Cancellation Policy
All cancellations are subject to a $100 fee, which will support other low-income practitioners through our Practitioner Support Fund.
If cancellation occurs within 14 days of the retreat start date, 50% of the deposit (equivalent to 25% of the total retreat cost) will be forfeited. These funds will be directed to the Uplifted Property Fund to support the Renewal Project.