Enlightenment Intensive Wales
Seven days of self-enquiry
📍 Spirit Horse Valley, Wales
📅 2nd – 11th October 2026
£950
Concession £850
Community Contributor £750
Deposit £200
Seven full days of structured self-enquiry.
A longer immersion into the Enlightenment Intensive process.
Integration day included within the retreat dates.
Departure the following morning.
Led by Shivam O’Brien
Supported by Claire Heron
Hosted by the Spirit Horse Tribe
What This Is
After last summer’s Masters Training, where things went very deep for some of us, we felt inspired to offer a longer Intensive with a less demanding schedule.
Seven full days immersed in dyads and rigorous enquiry.
Something deeper can happen over a longer period of time.
The aim remains the same:
a first-hand experience of truth or reality, beyond mind or ideas.
If you are new to the Enlightenment Intensive process,
please read the full overview here:
How This Differs from the Standard 3-Day Intensive
• Seven full days of dyads
• Schedule begins at 9am (rather than 6am)
• Dyads begin after breakfast
• Shorter lectures
• A steadier rhythm
• Integration day included within the retreat dates
Apart from the later morning start and shorter lectures, the usual schedule and rules apply.
Who This Is For
This format is ideally for those who have already completed a standard 3-day Enlightenment Intensive.
It is not designed as a beginner retreat.
The longer immersion allows for sustained enquiry and depth that builds over time.
What Happens
The work is the same disciplined Enlightenment Intensive dyad process based squarely on Charles Berner’s original technique.
A rhythm of enquiry, contemplation, silence, meals and rest.
A place to ask, and discover:
Who am I?
Followed by an integration day.
Time for the dust to settle and for what has opened to land in the body and in ordinary life.
The Venue
For over three decades, Enlightenment Intensives have been held in the Spirit Horse valley, a secluded landscape between two mountains in Wales.
Participants stay in shared roundhouse sleeping spaces, circular wooden structures built for communal living, among the woods at the foot of the hills.
Private yurts are available to hire at an additional cost (limited availability).
Spring water.
Forest paths.
Rivers and waterfall nearby.
Wood-fired sauna.
Temple Spaces.
Vast wild nature.
In October, the valley shifts.
Bracken turns bronze. Leaves begin to fall. The air cools and clears. The mountains feel sharper in the light.
Life here is close to the elements.
A direct and grounded container for deep enquiry.
PRACTICAL DETAILS
Arrival Time: 3 pm - 5 pm. There is a welcoming meal and tea at 7:30 pm, the Intensive will formally begin at 9.30 pm.
Intensives finish at 10:30 pm on Friday. From Saturday the integration period will begin. From this point, you are welcome to stay in your own tent, if you have one. The complete package of Enlightenment Intensive and integration will finish at 2pm on Sunday. This integration will run for one and a half days.
Please make sure to arrive on site by 5pm. We will ferry you and all your gear in our four wheel drive vehicles down the steep mountain road to the village (if you don't fancy the spectacular mountain footpath). This takes only a few minutes to drive but you will have to load everything into our vehicles with our help. Welcome to the Bhutan of Wales. You can have the full Himalayan adventure without ever leaving Britain.
Please bring all your necessary bedding for you to be warm and comfortable. It can get very cold here at night, even in the summer. Alternatively, we do now offer and optional extra when booking your ticket. For an additional £45, we will provide a duvet, sheets and pillows for your stay.
Spirit Horse Mountain Retreat is set amidst 200 acres of wildest Wales. Our charity; Forest of dreams, was set up in 2002, purchasing the land in 2012, so that this valley could remain protected for ever, slowly returning to its original pristine natural state.
May we.
Bookings and Cancellations Policy
It is really helpful for us when running courses and events if you book in advance.
If we have to cancel an event, we will provide you a full refund without question.
If you need to cancel your booking, you can carry the value of your booking over to another event (subject to availability) or pay £100 admin fee, unless exceptional circumstances.