Weekend retreat for young adults (20 – 40)
“We live in a world that is crowded and frustrating, and it is often easy to forget that the peace within our mind is our only true refuge.”
– Tarthang Tulku Rinpoche (Hidden Mind of Freedom)
Digital Detox
If we are honest, most of us would admit that we are, in some way, addicted to our digital lives – especially to our ever-present phones. Although we promise ourselves to spend less time on them, yet again and again it proves almost impossible to put this into practice. As a result, we often end up blaming ourselves, trying harder, and getting caught in a cycle of disappointment.
If we look more deeply into ourselves, this difficulty is not just about the phone itself, but about the patterns of mind that seek distraction. The restless search for stimulation, confirmation, or “something new” has become a habit that shapes how we experience each moment. In this sense, the phone is a mirror, reflecting the underlying regime of mind that keeps us busy and unsettled.
What if, instead of fighting our devices, we became curious to the underlying patterns? What does the mind really search for in these endless scrolls and taps? By gently observing, we may begin to recognize that beneath the distraction lies a deeper wish: the wish to feel alive, connected, at ease.
Feeling alive and connected
In this weekend of Digital Detox retreat we will explore how to loosen the grip of our digital habits and rediscover a more natural way of being. Through Kum Nye relaxation exercises, meditation, and mind-investigation practices, we will create space to observe the restlessness that so often drives us to our phones and devices.
We will also be outside in nature- opening our senses to nourish our being in ways that may have been neglected for too long.
Rather than fighting distraction, we will learn to meet it with openness and curiosity. Step by step, we can experience what it feels like to be present without constant input, to relax into silence, and to reconnect with the richness of our own direct experience in the beautiful Stupa Retreat Center in Winterswijk.
Dates
Program 30 January – 1 February 2026
From Friday January 30th 16.00- Sunday February 1st 14.00.
Program 6 March – 8 March 2026
From Friday March 6th 16.00- Sunday March 8th 14.00.
Program 8 May – 10 May 2026
From Friday May 8th 16.00- Sunday May 10th 14.00.
Click here for a detailed time schedule.
You can stay in our new center in 2-person bedrooms with private sanitary facilities.
You can join one retreat, or all three.
Joining all three retreats comes with a 33% discount, please contact the office for your discount at info@stupacenter.org.
N.B. The program will be the same each time – and while that may sound repetitive to our minds that are always seeking something new and shiny, many participants discover that repeating a retreat deepens the experience in surprising and meaningful ways.
Costs
- € 275 per person in a shared bedroom (two beds)
- € 375 per person in a private double bedroom (Single Room Supplement)
The retreat is full-board. Meals are home-cooked in our vegetarian, ecological kitchen.
Language
English (Dutch translation possible)
Instructors
Elske van de Hulst
Elske van de Hulst is co-dean and senior instructor at Nyingma Centrum Nederland in Amsterdam. She graduated at Amsterdamse Hogeschool voor de Kunsten and worked in the theater as an actress, director, producer and author between 1969 and 1998. In 1998 she started studying the theatre of the mind, guided by Tarthang Tulku’s books and programs, and she never stopped since. Elske is co-dean and trustee at Nyingma Centrum Nederland and has been planning for a retreat center since 2008. She live part-time at the new center and will continue to teach Meditation, Knowledge of Freedom, Revelations of Mind, Dimensions of Mind, Caring and Lotus Trilogy teachings in cooperation with other Nyingma organisations.
Charlotte van Leeuwen
Charlotte van Leeuwen is a meditation student and practitioner at Nyingma Centrum Nederland in Amsterdam. Her path began in 2012 at the Nyingma Center, where she took her first meditation course. What began as curiosity soon developed into a lasting commitment to exploring the workings of the mind and the nature of experience.
Charlotte studied physics, but her curiosity has always led her in many directions. She became an entrepreneur and explored how to build resilient, healthy, self-organizing companies. Today she works at Energized, where she supports organizations in embracing self-organization. Mindfulness and awareness are tools she applies every day – both professionally and personally.
Further study and practice
Interested participants can choose to prolong their study and practice in weekly classes based on Gesture of Great Love starting in jan 2026 in German at NZD in English at NCN. Dutch speaking students can also ask to join the NCN Dharma as a Guide program