The Birth of Wonder and the Science of Awe

With the Rt. Rev. Br. Mark D’Alessio

September 18 - 20, 2026

Single $530, Double $490 per person 
(includes an ensuite bathroom and all meals from Friday dinner through Sunday breakfast)
Commuter $325
(includes Friday dinner, Saturday lunch and dinner)

Inquire about partial scholarships

Register Here

About this offering

In a world that often moves too quickly and demands constant attention, the human spirit can lose touch with its natural capacity for wonder. Yet research in psychology and neuroscience suggest that awe — the experience of encountering something vast, beautiful or mysterious — is not simply a fleeting emotion. It is a profound human capacity that can deepen meaning, increase empathy, calm the nervous system and reconnect us with the larger web of life.

Join Br. Mark for this contemplative weekend exploring ‘awe’ and ‘wonder’ as gateways to spiritual awakening, healing and meaning. Drawing from mystics, depth psychology and neuroscience, participants will discover how wonder can deepen empathy, calm the nervous system and reconnect us with the mystery of life through meditation, reflection and contemplative practice.

Building on this foundation, we will explore the transformative power of awe through the converging insights of spirituality, science and depth psychology. Drawing inspiration from Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Carl Jung, Ilia Delio, and Hildegard of Bingen, alongside contemporary research on the neuroscience of awe, participants will reflect on how experiences of wonder can open the heart, soften the ego and invite us into a deeper sense of belonging within the cosmos.

Through silence, guided meditation, sacred readings, visual imagery, music and reflective conversation, we will explore how awe arises in nature, art, moral beauty, contemplation and the mysteries of the universe itself. We will also consider practices that help cultivate awe as a way of living — not as rare moments of inspiration, but as an orientation toward life.

This program is open to spiritual directors and seekers, caregivers, therapists, artists and anyone longing to rekindle a deeper sense of wonder, connection and meaning. Come rest in the quiet seaside rhythms and serenity of Mercy by the Sea and rediscover the sacred power of awe.

About the presenter

The Rt. Rev. Br. Mark D’Alessio is a Franciscan friar, Christian bishop and priest, ordained lay Buddhist, spiritual director, chaplain author and retreat leader, and former president and executive director of the Psychotherapy & Spirituality Institute. He serves as Mentor General of the Companions of Francis and Clare and as Dean of its Institute for Interfaith Understanding and Practice. Ordained in multiple spiritual lineages — Christian (Franciscan) and Buddhist (Thich Nhat Hanh’s Plum Village Tradition) — his teaching affirms the Christian Wisdom tradition within a wider inter-spiritual framework.