🌈 Find Genuine Joy: Through time-tested practices and exercises, you’ll build your capacity for stillness and for gentle self-inquiry and self-compassion. You’ll learn the 12 foundational paradigms and skills for significant and lasting vibration elevation that Lisa teaches through her Joy School and her book Free Your Joy; The 12 Keys to Sustainable Happiness. 

🧘‍ Awaken Your Intuition: Through meditation and introspective exercises led by Victoria Shaw, intuitive coach, you'll learn to harness the true potential of your intuition. Victoria will not only teach you how to get powerful intuitive messages on your own behalf but will also generously share readings with participants throughout the weekend!

🍃Immersive Experience: Nestled in the foothills of Escondido, just 40 minutes north of San Diego, our serene retreat venue offers the perfect backdrop for your transformation. Surrounded by mountains, blooming cacti and avocado groves, you'll immerse yourself in a carefully curated program that blends mindfulness, movement, and self-exploration. 

🌄 Deep Dive Workshops + Discussions: Engage with our experienced facilitators in dynamic workshops that delve into the heart of intuition and joy. Uncover the secrets to cultivating these qualities in your life and maintaining them long after the retreat.

🌟 Individualized Intuitive Readings: Experience 1:1 intuitive guidance from Victoria and her spirit guides. Learn how to clear your mind, connect with your inner self and your guides, and tap into the wellspring of insight and happiness that resides within you.

🤝 Group Activities: Forge deep connections with like-minded individuals who are also seeking to enhance their lives. Engage in group activities that foster a sense of community, support, and understanding.

🍃 Daily Mindful Movement: Enjoy the soothing embrace of nature as you explore the scenic surroundings during leisurely walks and outdoor yoga sessions. Nature has a unique way of enhancing our intuition and igniting our joy.

🧘‍ Rest + Restore: Replenish your body with nourishing, healthy meals each day. Find respite + relaxation with full use of Cactus Blossom Retreat’s amenities including pool, hot tub, gardens + hiking trails. 

🌟 Bonus Event! Retreat participants will also enjoy a 2-hour presentation by Chris Niebauer, followed by a panel discussion with Lisa and Victoria on Sunday from 2-5pm. Chris will present a short review of spirituality and the brain before he jumps into exercises on “how to lose your mind,” as he states. These exercises come from his workbook, No Self No Problem, in addition to what he covers on his YouTube channel. These exercises are ways to get out of the thinking mind and back to the direct conscious experience of reality. (Sunday night accommodations are available to retreat participants but must be arranged in advance with Victoria.)

Cactus Blossom Retreat Center is located on 4.5 quiet and masterfully landscaped acres on a private hilltop in Escondido, California. This property boasts sweeping 360-degree mountain views, botanical garden-worthy specimen plantings, a 30-foot heated pool and spa, a well-stocked vegetable garden and fruit trees.

Choose from a variety of accommodations for your unique retreat experience. Overnight guests are welcome to sleep at Cactus Blossom Retreat Center Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights. 

• Single room with private bath: $1550 or $1475 if purchased before October 1, 2023
• Double with private bath: $1325 or $1250 if purchased before October 1, 2023
• Triple or quad with shared bath: $1100 or $1025 if purchased before October 1, 2023
• Single with shared bath: $1325 or $1250 if purchased before October 1, 2023.
• Commuter pass: $675 (includes all retreat activities and meals; excludes overnight stays)
• Day pass: $225 (Saturday only, 9:30am - 6pm,  includes lunch) 

Lisa McCourt, Best-Selling Author & Founder of Joy School

Lisa McCourt wasn’t always a joyful person, but once she found the surefire path to sustainable joy, she devoted her career to sharing that roadmap with others. Lisa says, “More than anything, I just want to be an effective member of the team that’s elevating the level of love and joy in the world.” Her positions on that team have included writing dozens of mega-selling books (n her own name, and as a ghostwriter), founding her online Joy School at LisaMcCourt.com, hosting her Do Joy! podcast, and collaborating on countless projects with other popular teachers of consciousness and joyful living. 

Her books have sold over 9 million copies, earned 7 publishing industry awards, and garnered over 9,000 glowing Amazon reviews. She generously opens her comprehensive toolbox for joyful living in her newest release, Free Your Joy: The 12 Keys to Sustainable Happiness, which takes readers through a full year of vibration elevation practices guaranteed to sustainably elevate their Joy Setpoint.

Victoria Shaw, PhD, NCC

Victoria Shaw is an intuitive Counselor and Spiritual Coach and the founder of Cactus Blossom Retreat Center. Victoria combines her background and training in psychology and counseling with intuitive guidance to help clients heal, grow, and realize their full spiritual and personal potential. She takes a holistic approach to counseling, addressing clients’ concerns on the mind/body/spiritual levels. She especially loves working with people who are committed to using their life experiences or struggles to fuel their own spiritual awakening. 

Victoria leads the Cactus Blossom’s Signature Retreats and is available for intuitive readings and coaching sessions for our guests. She also teaches internationally on topics relating to personal and spiritual development, is the author of four self-help books for parents, children and teens, and the host of Intuitive Connection podcast.

Chris Niebauer, Ph.D.

Chris Niebauer earned his Ph.D. in cognitive neuropsychology at the University of Toledo, specializing in the differences between the left and right sides of the human brain. He is the author of the bestselling book No Self, No Problem: How Neuropsychology Is Catching Up to Buddhism and the workbook that followed it. He was a professor at a state university in Pennsylvania for 22 years, where he taught courses on consciousness, mindfulness, left- and right-brain differences, and artificial intelligence. He has been a guest on podcasts, including “Buddha at the Gas Pump” and “The Chopra Well” with Deepak Chopra.

Find itinerary below, and if you have any questions  -- just ask!

Friday (10/13) 

• 4:00 p.m.  Check-in at Cactus Blossom begins. (You are welcome to arrive earlier if that works better with your flights.)  
• 5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.  Opening session of introductions and intention-setting.
• 6:30 p.m.  Dinner together, followed by evening activity.

Saturday (10/14)

• 7:00 a.m.  Coffee, tea, and grab-and-go breakfast options are available throughout the morning.
• 8:00 a.m. – 8:45 a.m.  Optional mindful movement (yoga) on the deck.
• 9:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.  Official start with circle check-in.
• 10:00 a.m. – 12:30 a.m.  Joy training with Lisa that includes self-inquiry practices, automatic writing, and healing meditations, as well as integration activities led by Chris that solidify the principles explored.
• 12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.  Lunch together followed by free time.
• 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.  Victoria’s instruction for intuition development that includes practice activities and gallery-style, individual intuitive readings.
• 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.  Outdoor activities to solidify and integrate the principles explored.
• 6:30 p.m.  Dinner together, followed by evening session.

Sunday (10/15)

• 7:00 a.m.  Coffee, tea, and grab-and-go breakfast options are available throughout the morning.
• 8:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.  Optional mindful hike led by Victoria.
• 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.  Joy training with Lisa wherein each participant formulates a personalized plan for maintaining an elevated Joy Setpoint after the retreat is over. Activities with Chris further solidify these integrations.
• 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.  Victoria’s exercises for intuitive development, plus more personalized intuitive readings for participants from Victoria.
• 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.  Brunch and closing circle.
• 12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.  Free time to pack, explore, journal, and socialize.
• 2:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. Special session with Chris teaching from his amazing book, No Self No Problem: How Neuropsychology Is Catching Up to Buddhism, followed by a panel discussion and Q & A with Chris, Lisa, & Victoria. (This Sunday afternoon session is open to local non-retreat-participants as well.)
• 5:30 p.m.  The event is concluded, but participants are welcome to stay at Cactus Blossom Retreat Center for socializing, ordering in dinner or going to nearby restaurants, and staying the additional night if pre-arranged with Victoria.