The first memory I have that might be called spiritual was when I was about 12 or 13. It was late at night, and I was lying on the grass on this big lawn where I was living at the time. It was dark, and I looked up at the sky, and the stars looked so vast. And suddenly this feeling came over me: of love. And it shocked me! It just came out of the blue and took me over. And I was like “What is this? I feel like I love everything.” Nothing brought it on, really, other than the immensity of the stars. It just was there. And then I went to bed, and it faded, and I went on with life. Most people have a story like this, a memory as a child of some kind of connection, or sense of something greater than themselves. We forget about it, but it’s our birthright. In some ways a spiritual path is just a step leading us back to where we were, to our inner home.
Diana Winston
Residential Retreat Teacher
Diana Winston is the Director of UCLA Mindful, the mindfulness education center of UCLA Health. She has taught meditation retreats at Spirit Rock since 2004 has been a pioneer in the field of mindfulness where she has taught and helped seed the establishment of mindfulness into variety of settings including in healthcare, universities, businesses, non-profits, and schools in the US and internationally. She created the evidence-based Mindful Awareness Practices Program (MAPs), is the founding director of UCLA’s Training in Mindfulness Facilitation and is a founding board member of the International Mindfulness Teachers Association.
She is the author of “The Little Book of Being: Practices and Guidance for Uncovering your Natural Awareness”, “Wide Awake: A Buddhist Guide for Teens”, “Glimpses of Being: A Training Course in Expanding Mindful Awareness”, and co-author (with Susan L. Smalley, PhD) of “Fully Present: The Science, Art, and Practice of Mindfulness”. Diana’s meditations have a worldwide reach and are available on the UCLA Mindful, 10 Percent Happier, and Waking Up Apps.
She has practiced vipassana meditation since 1989, including a year as a Buddhist nun in Burma, and each day she tries to be a mindful mom.
Diana Winston's Upcoming Programs
Retreat | On-Land
January 11 - January 17, 2026 | Sunday - Saturday | 6 nights
Mettā Retreat: Teachings and Practices to Cultivate a Wise, Compassionate, and Resilient Heart
10 CE Credits. Almost Full. This retreat will focus on the cultivation of mettā, or lovingkindness. Retreats allow us the space to dedicate focused time to meditation. Mettā practice is a path to wisdom and awakening. Through this steady continuity of practice, we will cultivate benevolence, friendliness, and goodwill as the guiding orientation of the heart and mind, allowing these qualities to naturally extend into daily life. We will also explore the companion qualities of mettā—compassion, joy, and equanimity. Together, these four practices, known as the brahmavihāras or Divine Abodes, foster self-confidence, self-acceptance, and inner steadiness.
Retreat | On-Land
June 16 - June 21, 2026 | Tuesday - Sunday | 5 nights
Mindfulness for Everyone: Cultivating Attention, Compassion, and Presence
8 CE Credits. Spaces Still Available! Mindfulness offers us tools to develop our capacity to pay attention, regulate emotions, and cultivate states of lovingkindness, compassion, and even-mindedness. In this retreat we will practice mindfulness through stillness and movement meditation, as well as through lectures and the opportunity to meet with teachers who will guide our practice. While rooted in the Buddhist practice of mindfulness, this retreat will also focus on the practical applications of mindfulness and the range of ways to practice it.
Family | On-Land
July 29 - August 2, 2026 | Wednesday - Sunday | 4 nights
The Family Retreat - Application 2026
Applications Open on February 18, 2026. Find joy in a retreat for the whole family and take time together to rest, reconnect, play, and enjoy! This four-night residential retreat for adults and children ages 7-15 years old will combine meditation and Dharma teachings, games, arts and crafts, nature time, and more. Kids and teens will have organized time each day to be with peers, fully supervised by our mindful leaders, and adults will also have time to practice, relax, and receive Dharma from the teachers.
Retreat | On-Land
August 29 - September 2, 2026 | Saturday - Wednesday | 4 nights
Refuge & Respite: A Vipassanā Retreat for Beginners
Spaces Still Available! This retreat will teach the essentials of mindfulness and Insight Meditation (vipassanā). We will explore ways to calm our minds and hearts, work with difficult thoughts and emotions, build attention, and cultivate kindness and compassion. This retreat will combine stillness and movement meditations, lectures, and opportunities to meet with a teacher. This is an excellent opportunity for those new to retreat practice, and also appropriate for experienced practitioners who wish to attend a shorter retreat.
Dharma Library
Can't join us live online or on the land? Study and practice at your convenience with Diana Winston through our new library of recordings, articles, and self-paced online courses.