Ken McLeod turns the Heart Sutra into a lived experience, guiding participants through meditations and inquiries that dissolve the usual boundaries of self and knowing. He emphasizes two modes of practice—resting and looking—teaching how to stay in experience and look within it, rather than stepping back to observe. As students learn to rest in the messiness of their own lives, they discover that “things start to take care of themselves.” (September 2008)

In this retreat, Ken McLeod explores guru, deity, and protector as three powerful expressions of the Vajrayana path—relationship with what is true, awakening through presence, and the raw energy that cuts through resistance. Students explore devotion without dependency, step into awakened qualities as lived experience, and engage fierce inner forces—like Mahakala—that dismantle deeply rooted patterns. “He’s not really particularly interested in your welfare,” Ken says. “He’s only interested in you being awake.” (October 2004)

In this class, Ken McLeod brings Tilopa’s Ganges Mahamudra to life by translating each verse into clear practice instructions and engaging participants in penetrating inquiry. He encourages students to rest in experience just as it is, using practices like “open your heart to everything you experience” and “what experiences this?” to reveal the mind’s natural clarity. “As long as you’re trying to do something with your experience, you can’t just experience what arises,” Ken says—a reminder that even subtle effort can block what is already present. (January 2010)

Ken guides an exploration of the four immeasurables—equanimity, loving-kindness, compassion, and joy—showing how these practices transform emotional reactivity into direct engagement with life. “All spiritual work is a process of transforming reactive, conditioned energy into natural free-flowing energy,” he says. Topics covered include recognizing emotional patterns, cultivating resilience through loving-kindness and compassion, distinguishing discernment from judgment, and experiencing joy as a natural expression of wholehearted living. (February 2007)

In this retreat, Ken McLeod presents the five elements—earth, water, fire, air, and void—as a mythic language that maps the formation and transformation of reactive patterns. Drawing on guided meditations, personal stories, and elemental exercises, he shows how each element reflects a distinct way reactivity plays out in experience. “That knowing quality is the fire element of mind,” he explains—pointing to the non-conceptual awareness that arises when we meet experience directly. (July 2007)

Ken McLeod offers a fresh, experiential perspective on the eightfold path. He reframes this foundational teaching by emphasizing personal attention, clarity, and balance in practice, moving beyond rigid interpretations. Topics covered include view, intention, speech, action, effort, attention, and absorption, offering practical ways to integrate these principles into daily life. Through relatable examples and thought-provoking insights, Ken invites practitioners to explore their own direct experience and cultivate a more natural, grounded approach to the path. (May 2010)

Ken McLeod invites students to explore the profound and transformative themes of death, impermanence, and letting go. Through guided meditations, group discussions, and personal reflections, the retreat examines how embracing mortality can lead to a more authentic, present, and meaningful life. Each session delves into unique aspects of this journey, offering practical insights and tools for navigating life’s uncertainties and transitions. (October 2008)

In this retreat, Ken McLeod presents chö as a practice that cuts through the conceptual overlays we impose on experience—what he calls “the thickets of thinking.” Through visualization, ritual, and raw attention, he shows how to meet suffering and disturbance without relying on beliefs or emotional strategies. “I know from my own practice,” says Ken, “when you actually encounter your anger or your desire head on, that’s actually pretty frightening, and many of you have expressed the same thing.” (July 2003)

In this retreat, Ken McLeod explores how reactive patterns—rigid, repetitive, mechanical processes—distort perception and reinforce the illusion of a separate self. “Once a pattern starts to run, you have no awareness,” he says. Beliefs, he adds, keep these patterns in place: “One of the effects of beliefs is they prevent you from seeing what actually is.” (June 2005)

In this unstructured retreat, Ken guides experienced meditators through the subtleties of practice and awakening. Exploring themes such as energy transformation, mahamudra, and the clarity of direct experience, it provides practical tools and profound insights to deepen meditation and navigate the complexities of life with presence and equanimity. (August 2010)

Ken McLeod guides students into a profoundly personal approach to spiritual practice, emphasizing clarity, honesty, and direct experience over fixed methods or beliefs. Drawing from classical texts and contemporary insight, he presents tools and inquiries—like the Five Whys and “How can I experience this and be at peace at the same time?”—to help students stay present with whatever arisesA Trackless Path 16 – A…. “Don’t try to figure anything out. Don’t try to make anything happen. Relax, right now, and rest,” Ken says, echoing Tilopa’s six words and the heart of this pathless way. (September 2009)