Today we seek more from work and life, more in terms of meaning, purpose, a sense of integration, and wonder and awe. This workshop will mix science, practice, dynamic exercise, and art to guide participants toward posing the questions about the meaningful life, and paths toward finding it as Modern Elders. We will focus on a family of states that are central to meaning and integration: awe, wonder, curiosity, reverence, and a sense of transcendence. Each of these central themes will be illustrated with science, wisdom of the ages (e.g., Buddhism, Taoism, ancient Greek thought), and dynamic, interactive exercises. With our masters of Awe – Dacher Keltner and Jeff Hamaoui – you will experience "all the feels" and be offered a wide variety of means to develop your own sense of wonder and everyday Awe.
Who is this workshop best suited for?
Do you appreciate heady, intellectual topics that are grounded in spiritual exploration? Are you intrigued by compassion, love, beauty, power, and presence? Adding Awe, Wonder and Curiosity to your resources – delivered in the most awesome environment that is the MEA oceanfront campus – may just be your perfect week.
Note: All workshops cover the foundational Modern Elder curriculum and provide a comprehensive set of tools to help navigate midlife, resulting in a Certificate in Mindset Management. Guest faculty bring a unique experience to each week led by MEA staff.
Your workshop leaders

Dacher Keltner
Dacher Keltner is faculty director of UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center and author of The Power Paradox: How We Gain and Lose Influence.

Jeff Hamaoui
MEA co-founder and poetic Chief Education Officer Jeff Hamaoui is a gentle and empathic facilitator, business innovation veteran, and community builder who’s taught sustainability courses at Wharton, Berkeley, and Stanford.
Envisioning yourself in a workshop, but have questions?
Set up a call with our admissions team so we can help you through the process.
Tuition
Consider it an investment in your future.
For all workshops, MEA tuition is $5,500 per person for a private room, or $4,000 per person for a shared room. Full-tuition attendees must deposit 50% upon application, with the balance due 30 days prior to arrival.
Please note: In response to Covid-19, for the health and safety of our guests, all rooms will be single occupancy through the end of 2020, unless you are applying with a partner. You can still apply at the shared room rate, but premium rooms with king or queen beds and extra amenities will be given to single room applicants.
Scholarships
MEA is a social enterprise, committed to socio-economic diversity.
We know that our entire society is made stronger when everyone has the opportunity to learn, participate, and grow, no matter how much they make for a living. We offer two levels of scholarship on a need-aware basis and are committed to at least half of our students receiving some form of scholarship.
The scholarship request is included in the workshop application form. Please be aware that we have more scholarship applicants than available spaces—applying for full tuition does maximize the likelihood of getting placed in your preferred workshop.
Scholarship Levels (All scholarships are shared accommodation.)
$1,250 scholarship (Students are responsible for $2750 tuition.)
$2,500 scholarship (Students are responsible for $1500 tuition.)
We announce scholarships within five weeks of our workshops. (See workshop listings for announcement dates.) Scholarship tuitions function as the deposit and are due in full within five business days of announcement.
All scholarships are for shared room accomodation. Exceptions for specific medical or personal conditions may be considered.
Please consider the following scholarship criteria before applying: You must demonstrate financial need, and your application must be received at least six weeks prior to the workshop start date.
Payments and Cancellations
And now for the part about money.
For full-tuition students, a 50% deposit is due at the time of your application. Your acceptance will be confirmed within 3-5 business days. If we’re unable to confirm acceptance, your deposit will be automatically refunded. The balance is due 30 days before the start of your workshop.
Scholarship applicants will be notified of acceptance five weeks prior to the start of the workshop. The remainder of tuition is due in full within five business days of the scholarship notification.
Deposits are non-refundable. But if you give us a reasonable amount of time to fill the spot, we can transfer your deposit to another workshop, within a year, based on availability. We know that traveling right now is a very personal decision.
We cannot provide credit for no-shows, early departures, or program dissatisfaction.
In the event that we must cancel—and in this crazy, “pandemics are a real thing” world, it sometimes happens—we’ll let you know as far ahead of the workshop start date as possible and offer a refund or accommodate a transfer to another workshop, if you’re interested.

Tuition
Consider it an investment in your future.
For all workshops, MEA tuition is $5,500 per person for a private room, or $4,000 per person for a shared room. Full-tuition attendees must deposit 50% upon application, with the balance due 30 days prior to arrival.
Please note: In response to Covid-19, for the health and safety of our guests, all rooms will be single occupancy through the end of 2020, unless you are applying with a partner. You can still apply at the shared room rate, but premium rooms with king or queen beds and extra amenities will be given to single room applicants.

Scholarships
MEA is a social enterprise, committed to socio-economic diversity.
We know that our entire society is made stronger when everyone has the opportunity to learn, participate, and grow, no matter how much they make for a living. We offer two levels of scholarship on a need-aware basis and are committed to at least half of our students receiving some form of scholarship.
The scholarship request is included in the workshop application form. Please be aware that we have more scholarship applicants than available spaces—applying for full tuition does maximize the likelihood of getting placed in your preferred workshop.
Scholarship Levels (All scholarships are shared accommodation.)
$1,250 scholarship (Students are responsible for $2750 tuition.)
$2,500 scholarship (Students are responsible for $1500 tuition.)
We announce scholarships within five weeks of our workshops. (See workshop listings for announcement dates.) Scholarship tuitions function as the deposit and are due in full within five business days of announcement.
All scholarships are for shared room accomodation. Exceptions for specific medical or personal conditions may be considered.
Please consider the following scholarship criteria before applying: You must demonstrate financial need, and your application must be received at least six weeks prior to the workshop start date.

Payments and Cancellations
And now for the part about money.
For full-tuition students, a 50% deposit is due at the time of your application. Your acceptance will be confirmed within 3-5 business days. If we’re unable to confirm acceptance, your deposit will be automatically refunded. The balance is due 30 days before the start of your workshop.
Scholarship applicants will be notified of acceptance five weeks prior to the start of the workshop. The remainder of tuition is due in full within five business days of the scholarship notification.
Deposits are non-refundable. But if you give us a reasonable amount of time to fill the spot, we can transfer your deposit to another workshop, within a year, based on availability. We know that traveling right now is a very personal decision.
We cannot provide credit for no-shows, early departures, or program dissatisfaction.
In the event that we must cancel—and in this crazy, “pandemics are a real thing” world, it sometimes happens—we’ll let you know as far ahead of the workshop start date as possible and offer a refund or accommodate a transfer to another workshop, if you’re interested.
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