Connect with Wonder

As the warm spring sun starts to melt the morning frost and the songbirds serenade in the trees, the forest is beginning to wake from its winter slumber. While this symphony of biological, microbial, and mycelial activity begins to hum all around us, one harbinger of new life emerges from the soil: the mystical morel mushroom! This tiny being offers us a rare gift, the opportunity to step into synchronicity with spring and the natural world.  

You are invited to this mindful outdoor retreat co-guided by Tertius Bune (Kripalu faculty member, Mindful Outdoor Guide and Transformational Coach) and Micah Mortali (Founding Director of the Kripalu School of Mindful Outdoor Leadership, author, and expert in mindfulness, rewilding, and nature), to go on one of nature's most exciting and profound hunts as we learn to find the proverbial needle in the haystack, the wonderfully elusive morel mushroom.  

Come connect to the woods, trees, and mycelium of the Berkshire mountains as we slow down, get to “mushroom level” and learn how to find the amazing morel, and discover more about ourselves during the process.  

Throughout this retreat, we will:  

• Dive deep into the connection between morels and their ecosystem.  
• Unlock the forest with tree identification skills and how to intuitively see habitats.  
• Expand sense perception as we mindfully forage through morel ecosystems.
• Enjoy a meal that will feature foraged spring mushrooms and plants.
• Explore the patience, confidence, creativity, and centered exhilaration of the hunt.
• Discover the empowerment that can be unlocked when we delve into a primitive skill with intention—and how this practice can inform other areas of our lives.

Return home with a new awareness of the miracle of mycelium, ready to find your own morels and share them with friends and family!  

NOTE: This program is designed to develop your ability to forage for morel mushrooms. We will be foraging, but foraging for mushrooms is a combination of hard work and serendipity, so finding edible morel mushrooms may or may not happen (these are one of nature’s most notoriously elusive mushroom after all!). In addition, this is not a vigorous hiking program. In fact, we will be slowing down and tuning in to the subtle hints that nature provides us. Most sessions will be outdoors, so please bring appropriate layers, hat, a waterproof jacket and pants, sturdy outdoor shoes (hiking boots or muck boots) and a day pack for water, journal, and personal items. Foraging can take place in habitats that are off trail; please be prepared to protect against and check for ticks.