Hemera Contemplative Fellowship Programs

The Hemera Foundation has partnered with Zen Mountain Monastery to provide financial support for retreats at the Monastery. These fellowships are available to professionals with a passion for service. The aim is to help make the unique benefits of a contemplative sitting practice in a retreat context more accessible to those wishing to bring a contemplative approach to their working lives. Applicants must be 18 years of age or older and working full-time in their field or in an approved graduate program.

Below are examples of eligible fellows:

• Educators: pre-K through college.
• School administrators and staff: principals, guidance counselors, advisors, nurses, librarians, and school safety officers.
• Health care professionals: Physicians, nurses, orderlies, medical technicians, dentists, psychologists, psychiatrists, therapists, social workers, chaplains, medical school students, and hospice staff.
• Artists: full-time visual, performance, writers, multi-disciplinary artists.
• First responders: police, firefighters, EMTs, paramedics, 911 dispatchers, disaster response teams.
• Military: active duty, reservists, and veterans.
• Others:
  — public defenders, legal aid attorneys, victim advocates, human rights advocates;
  — employees working for any 501(c)(3) non-profit organization or private foundation;
  — employees working in direct human services, child protective services, workforce development.

General Eligibility

• Those who are new to meditation, have not attended a retreat longer than two nights, or are new to Zen Mountain Monastery are eligible for 75% support.
• Those with previous meditation retreat experience are eligible for 50% support.
• Those in financial need are eligible for 100% support.
• Financial support is limited to one fellowship per individual per calendar year.
• Fellowships are available on a first-come, first-served basis based on eligibility.

To Apply

Click here to apply for a fellowship (applicants will need to pay a $5 application fee that goes directly to SlideRoom). Once you have been approved for a fellowship, you can register for a retreat by calling the Monastery office at (845) 688-2228. All of our retreats are open to Hemera fellows. Our monthly meditation intensives are designed for those with an established meditation practice, and first time participants will be asked to do a phone interview with one of our senior monastics. We will award Hemera’s Contemplative Fellowships on a first-come, first-served basis.

Please see our retreat schedule, and read about what it is like to do a retreat at the Monastery.

The Hemera Foundation, a private foundation established in 2007, works in the fields of early childhood development, contemplative practice, and the arts. Hemera develops and invests in strategic initiatives that lead to sustainable systemic cultural change.

Part of the long-term vision of the Hemera Contemplative Fellowships for Educators Program is to build a community of fellows, both online and in person. By accepting Hemera Fellowship funding, you agree to allow your contact information to be shared with the Hemera Foundation and to fill out a survey about your retreat experience and the impact it has on your work.