On Sacred Land: Contemplative Practice at Vallecitos Mountain Retreat Center

High in the Tusas Mountains of northern New Mexico, a little under 9,000 feet above sea level, sits a remote retreat center reached by dirt road. There is no cell service. Solar panels power the buildings. Silence gathers naturally at dusk. At Vallecitos Mountain Retreat Center, the land is not simply a backdrop to practice but feels like an active participant in it. Vallecitos represents more than a beautiful setting for meditation. It offers an example of how contemplative depth, social transformation, and long-term ecosystem health come together in one place.

Vallecitos hosts meditation retreats rooted in the Insight tradition, shaped by a strong orientation toward the natural world. The refuge sits on the ancestral homelands of the Ute and Jicarilla Apache peoples. The physical conditions of the site—dark skies, forest trails, hand-tended buildings, shared meals—create a container in which practice deepens quickly. In a time when attention is fragmented and public life is loud, Hemera believes places like this are essential.

Hemera’s support for Vallecitos has revolved around its participation in our long-standing Contemplative Practice Fellowship Program. Hemera’s Fellowship program provided support for over 12,000 individuals in helping professions to undertake residential contemplative retreat at more than a dozen retreat centers nationwide. Students could receive support for their first or second contemplative retreat, with support covering up to 75% of the cost of attendance, significantly lowering the barrier to access. At almost $7 million in funding between all of our partner centers and organizations, it is the largest single commitment in Hemera’s history. Vallecitos was one of the first centers to join the program and among the most significant beneficiaries. The other centers that participated in the program throughout its active duration included Insight Meditation Society, Spirit Rock, Zen Mountain Monastery, and Southern Dharma Center. A similar program for young people operated through Inward Bound Mindfulness.

In addition to general scholarship funding, our work with Vallecitos also included a significant commitment to launching its Indigenous Peoples Retreats, first held in 2022 and offered again in 2023. The 2023 program gathered leaders from the Southwestern region and internationally. The program required careful relational preparation and thoughtful curriculum development. Hemera scholarships helped many participants join. As one participant wrote afterward, “I am grateful for the scholarship which came at the right time of burnout as a chaplain after the pandemic and so many deaths.” Another shared, “I felt at home because of my connection to the land, plants, and animals. It is a beautiful place to have been a space for indigenous mediation practice. The retreat center was comfortable and had amazing staff. I left full of joy.”

What does it take to create effective contemplative programs? First and foremost, the teachings must have integrity and depth. Scholarship and other supports are essential, especially for participants coming from economically constrained communities. For this retreat, Vallecitos engaged an Indigenous community organizer and retreat manager who personally supported participants through the registration and travel process. An Apache elder was invited to the land to help prepare it for this work. 

Vallecitos provides a vivid setting for this kind of formation. In remote, quiet environments, leaders can step back from the demands of daily administration and public engagement. They reconnect with the roots of their vocation and with their own hearts and minds. They sit together in silence. 

The regional dimension of this work also matters. Much attention in American Buddhism focuses on coastal urban centers. Retreat centers in rural settings have historically been the places where deep practice takes root. They provide the ground for extended silence and environmental simplicity that are difficult to sustain elsewhere. By supporting institutions like Vallecitos and similar organizations, Hemera recognizes that the health of the contemplative field depends on access to places where practice can run deep. 

One participant in the Indigenous Peoples Retreat wrote that attending had “positively affected my life. Forever.” Conventional philanthropic metrics are limited in their ability to capture transformation that extends far beyond a single week in the mountains: a chaplain returning to her hospital after pandemic losses. A community leader bringing renewed steadiness to their work. A teacher strengthened by time in solitude and dialogue with peers. These are the quiet ways human systems are sustained.

In northern New Mexico, under dark skies and among ponderosa pines, the work of contemplative transformation becomes tangible. Practitioners gather. Silence settles. Long hours of meditation unfold. Helpers and leaders return to their communities renewed.