Contemplative Living Immersion Experience (2026)
With Fr. Bill Sheehan, OMI, Mark Burrows, Anne Simpkinson and Joseph Krans, OFS
January 1 - December 31, 2026
“God is nearer to us than our own soul, for God is the ground in which our soul stands.” *
The Contemplative Living Immersion Experience is a year-long invitation to deepen into the stillness and spaciousness of God’s presence. Through silence, prayer, and sacred attentiveness, participants are gently guided into a more grounded experience of life in the Spirit. This journey unfolds across a series of retreats that weave together wisdom from the Christian contemplative tradition and the lived grace of daily practice.
Each season opens a doorway into greater awareness: awakening to the heart’s deeper knowing, learning to rest beyond the ego’s patterns, and discovering the healing beauty of presence. Through the companionship of trusted teachers—Fr. Bill Sheehan, OMI; Anne Simpkinson; Mark Burrows; and Joseph Krans, OFS—participants are invited to explore practices that nurture the contemplative life from the inside out.
The ongoing rhythm of Heart-Centered Meditation supports this immersion, offering time and space to anchor insights in quiet prayer. Whether encountering the mystics, walking silently in nature, or writing from the heart, participants awaken to the sacred that breathes within and around all things.
The Contemplative Living Immersion Experience is not simply a program—it is a pilgrimage into stillness, a year of returning to the heart, and a way of embodying contemplative awareness in every moment of life.
Program Content and Schedule **
The Contemplative Living Immersion Experience unfolds over the course of 2026, integrating six transformative retreat programs led by experienced contemplative teachers, alongside ongoing opportunities for daily practice in our Heart-Centered Meditation group.
- Upgrading the Heart: Living Beyond the Egoic Operating System
With Fr. Bill Sheehan, OMI
January 30 – February 1, 2026 - Heartwork for Daily Life: An Invitation to Journey with Christian Mystics
With Mark Burrows
March 27 – 29, 2026 - Present to Presence: A Centering Prayer Retreat
With Anne Simpkinson
May 22 – 24, 2026 - Presence, Prayer, and Writing from the Heart: A Contemplative Writing Retreat
With Anne A. Simpkinson
October 2 – 4, 2026 - Finding Wholeness in the Midst of Everything with Julian of Norwich
With Mark Burrows
November 20 – 22, 2026
Optional programs offered at reduced cost:
- Access Your Inner Room with Centering Prayer
With Fr. Bill Sheehan, OMI
October 29 – November 1, 2026 - Mindful Transitions: A Contemplative Year End Retreat
With Joseph Krans, OFS
December 30, 2026 – January 2, 2027
This rich series of programs is designed to gradually deepen participants’ contemplative experience, inviting exploration of the heart, prayer, mysticism, and embodied presence. The Heart-Centered Meditation group meets regularly to support daily centering prayer practice, fostering ongoing integration throughout the year.
Program Cost: $1,795
Program Start Date: January 2026
* Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love
** The Contemplative Living Immersion Experience brings together, in one package, a series of Contemplative Living programs from the Genesis calendar. You can learn more about each program offering by visiting each programs description on the “Our Programs” page.
About the Leaders
Fr. Bill Sheehan, OMI
Fr. Bill Sheehan is a priest and a member of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI), and has a Masters Degree in Formative Spirituality from Duquesne University. Fr. Sheehan was present at the first Centering Prayer retreat offered by Fr. Thomas Keating, OCSO,at the Lama Foundation in 1993. Since that time, he has led […]
Learn more about Fr. Bill Sheehan, OMI
Mark Burrows
Mark S. Burrows is much sought-after as a retreat leader and speaker on mysticism and poetry as well as spirituality and the arts. In 2021, he founded and continues to lead a popular online program, “the Julian Circle,” with monthly Zoom gatherings that encourage participants to live into the wholistic wisdom of Julian’s “showings.” A […]
Learn more about Mark Burrows
Anne Simpkinson
Anne Simpkinson has been practicing Centering Prayer (CP) since 1996. In 1997, she interviewed Fr. Thomas Keating, one of the developers of and principal advocate of the Centering Prayer method. That same year, she sought to deepen her practice in a 10-day intensive in Snowmass, CO. While living in New York City, she trained as […]
Learn more about Anne Simpkinson
Joseph Krans, OFS
Joe's spiritual journey unfolds as a rich tapestry, interwoven with threads of faith, love, and a deep connection to all of creation. As a self-described ragamuffin, Secular Franciscan, and beloved child of God, he embraces life's mysteries with an open heart and a contemplative spirit. His path has led him to experience the Divine as […]
Learn more about Joseph Krans, OFSCategories : 02 Contemplative Living, 04 Christian Living, Genesis Extended Program 4028