Songs from the Jemez
Songwriting Retreat at Bodhi Manda Zen Center, Jemez Springs, NM
January 8-11, 2027 (now accepting applications)
Facility photos property of Bodhi Manda Zen Center
Town of Jemez Springs, from a distance; Facility photos property of Bodhi Manda Zen Center
Facility photos property of Bodhi Manda Zen Center
Facility photos property of Bodhi Manda Zen Center
Hot Springs, Bodhi Manda Zen Center
Long House/Residences for Artists, Bodhi Manda Zen Center
Sutra Hall, Bodhi Manda Zen Center
The Jemez River, Bodhi Manda Zen Center
Clappers outside the Zendo (Meditation Hall)
Zendo (Meditation Hall), Bodhi Manda Zen Center
The late Leonard Cohen while practicing at Bodhi Manda Zen Center
Dining Hall, Bodhi Manda Zen Center
with songwriters on retreat, Bodhi Manda Zen Center
All songs happen somewhere. Come write songs and make new friends in the mountains of northern New Mexico at the Bodhi Manda Zen Center (and one time home to the late and famed songwriter, Leonard Cohen). Nestled in the small valley of Jemez Springs, the retreat is located on the Jemez river; natural hot springs are onsite and available for daily use for all retreat participants.
Retreat features daily songwriting assignments and guided mentoring from instructors, morning meditation in the Sutra Hall, and nightly song circles.
Retreat is modeled on a) developing your own singing, writing and artistic voice b) cultural exchange/cultural immersion and c) building community through cowriting; participants are paired with a different cowriter each day, including retreat facilitators, and will leave the retreat with at least two new cowritten songs.
Leave this experience with a renewed sense of connection to your own creative practice and a sense of peace.
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5:15am: Morning meditation (optional)
6:15-6:45: Work-Meditation on the Land/‘Samu’
7:00am: Breakfast
8:00am: Discussion/co-write pairing
9:00am-12:00pm: Writing
12:00pm: Lunch
1:00-2:00pm: Naps/Relaxation
2:00-3:30pm: Writing
3:30-5:00pm: Share Song ideas/Song Circle
5:30 pm: Dinner
After Dinner: hot pool soak (optional: outdoors, bathing suit required),jam sessions by the river, and relaxation
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Meredith Wilder: Meredith has been interested in songwriting for over twenty years. From an early age, it became her guide to understanding the world around her. She wrote, recorded, and released a solo album in 2008 ("Self-titled") and fell in love with the process of collaborating with friends to fine-tune the songs she wrote on her own. Her second solo album "The Coming of the Night" was released in 2016, where she was lucky enough to sing the album from start to finish in a cathedral in Albuquerque, NM.
From 2011-2016, she wrote with the band Wildewood and recorded three albums ("While the Light Lasts," "Wildewood," and "The Other Side"). They toured throughout the US and, most notably, opened for The Handsome Family on the west coast. Meredith has written and recorded with numerous songwriters from New Mexico and Colorado, including the one and only Kristina Jacobsen, and continues to feel grateful for and inspired by the songwriters that take the time to go on retreats and share their ideas. Her music can be found on meredithwilder.bandcamp.com.
Kristina Jacobsen: Sing Me Back Home director and facilitator Dr. Kristina Jacobsen is a singer/songwriter, anthropologist, country artist and former Park Ranger who lived and worked on the Navajo Nation for twenty years. In July 2022, she completed the Camino Francés and received her “Compostela” (certification of completion) when she walked from Burgos, Spain to Santiago de Compostela, Spain (498 kilometers).
As a Fulbright Artist and Scholar, she lived in Italy for two years (Trento and the island of Sardegna). Kristina is also in training to become a Community Dharma Teacher in the Plum Village tradition of Zen Buddhism. At the University of New Mexico, she leads the Songwriting major. Kristina has toured and given research talks in the U.S., Denmark, Sweden, Italy, Cyprus, and the United Arab Emirates.
She is excited to provide a safe and creative environment for writers and musicians wanting to deepen their craft through culturally immersive experiences.
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The Bodhi Manda Zen Center embodies American Rinzai Zen Buddhism through compassion and selfless service. We are a thriving and committed community of practitioners that supports our diverse sangha with inspiration, education and Zen practice. You do not need to identify as a Buddhist to attend this retreat, and all faith traditions are welcome at the Bodhi.
Who’s it for?
Open to songwriters of all levels, beginner to experienced. Also open to writers (poets, fiction writers, spoken word artists) wanting to cross into songwriting but desiring mentoring, encouragement and inspiration to do so.
Retreat limited to 12 participants.
How to apply:
To be considered for the retreat, please contact our facilitator, Kristina Jacobsen:
Following acceptance into the workshop, all participants will be asked to sign an international waiver of liability form and a community agreement form. Any additional questions and queries are always welcome.
Logistics:
Meals: Meals are vegetarian and served buffet style in the Zen center dining hall. Special dietary needs can also be accommodated, within reason, with advance notice.
Guests do not have access to a kitchen. However, the Bodhi does provide a microwave, hot water dispenser, tea station, and refrigerator for guest use.
Rooms: Each participant will have their own room with a door that closes and a bathroom. Showers are at the end of the hallway and are shared.
Work Meditation: Work meditation, or Samu, is part of a Mindful ethic of contributing in a positive way to the spaces where we live and/or are guests. As such, The Bodhi has requested that we spend a short time (30 minutes), each day, in silent work meditation, to contribute toward that ethic and in deepening our Mindfulness practice as artists.
Cost & Dates:
$525 (3 nights, paid to Bodhi Manda) + teacher dana* (cash or Venmo, end of retreat)~
Registration Deadline (nonrefundable): July 31st ($525)
(Interest-free payment plans are available; please inquire)
Commuter fee (all meals and instruction, no lodging): $180 + teacher dana (limit four spots; open to participants living within 30 miles of Jemez Springs, only)
Dates: Friday January 8-Monday January 11
Check-in Time: 2 pm (Friday)
Check-out Time: 10 am (Monday)
*Teacher dana is a voluntary offering of financial support given at the end of a retreat to the teacher. In many Buddhist traditions, teachers are not paid for their time; instead, their livelihood is sustained through the generosity of the community. Dana is not a fee or obligation. *
Indigenous Artist in Residence
Be a part of this retreat as a resident artist! Citizens of state and/or federally recognized tribes are invited to apply.
Participants say…
“Kristina and Meredith were truly wonderful in setting a stage of safety that allowed participants the opportunity to express themselves and be vulnerable. This doesn’t just happen. It is created. It was transformative.”
-Constance (Jemez Springs, NM/Austin, TX)
“I’ve done many musical retreats/programs and never felt this sense of comfort and ease to be where I’m at, to mess up, to not be in a rush, to not perform. To just be. And that is so special.”
-Lauren (Albuquerque, NM)
“Kristina and Meredith are both extraordinarily adept at holding a space of welcome, trust, and a belief that everyone is capable of creativity. This is partly done through the way they have designed the retreat and the norms they have put in place, but really is because that is their true nature–that is the kind of people that they are. It sets the tone for everything that follows. Kristina states her firm belief that songs can change the world and then she–along with Meredith-guides us to do just that.”
-Mark (San Francisco/Bay Area, CA)