Lama Willa Blythe Baker, Ph.D. is the Founder of Natural Dharma Fellowship in Boston, MA and its retreat center Wonderwell Mountain Refuge in Springfield, NH. She was authorized as a dharma teacher and lineage holder in the Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism after twelve years of monastic training and two consecutive three-year retreats. She also has trained in the Nyingma and Shangpa lineages. In 2013, Willa completed a doctorate at Harvard University, and was Visiting Lecturer in Buddhist Ministry from 2013 to 2017.
Willa is author of four books: The Wakeful Body: Somatic Mindfulness as a Path to Freedom (2021), The Arts of Contemplative Care: Pioneering Voices in Buddhist Chaplaincy and Pastoral Work (2012), Everyday Dharma: Seven Weeks to Finding the Buddha in You (2009), and Essence of Ambrosia (2005). Her articles and translations have appeared in Tricycle,Lion’s Roar, Buddhadharma, Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, Tibet Journal, and other periodicals and anthologies.
She is a contemplative faculty member with the Mind and Life Institute, Sangha Live, One Earth Sangha, Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, the Omega Institute and Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health. She is a member of Clark University’s Council of the Uncertain Human Future and sits on the advisory board for One Earth Sangha.
At present, Willa writes, teaches, guides meditation retreats, and develops curriculum for people interested in cultivating a deep meditation practice in daily life. Her teaching interests include the wisdom of the body, eco-dharma, non-dual awareness and compassion.
Deborah Eden Tull is a Zen meditation/mindfulness teacher, author, spiritual activist and sustainability educator. She spent seven years as a monastic at a silent Zen Monastery, and has been immersed in sustainable communities for 25 years. Eden’s teaching style is grounded in compassionate awareness, non-duality, mindful inquiry, and an unwavering commitment to personal transformation. She teaches dharma intertwined with post-patriarchal thought and practices, resting upon a lived knowledge of our unity with the more than human world. She also facilitates The Work That Reconnects, as created by Buddhist scholar Joanna Macy. Eden has been practicing meditation for the past 30 years and teaching for over 20 years. Her books include Luminous Darkness: An Engaged Buddhist Approach to Embracing the Unknown (Shambhala 2022), Relational Mindfulness: A Handbook for Deepening Our Connection with Our Self, Each Other, and Our Planet (Wisdom 2018), and The Natural Kitchen: Your Guide to the Sustainable Food Revolution (Process Media 2011). She lives in Black Mountain,North Carolina, Cherokee land, and offers retreats, workshops, leadership trainings, and consultations internationally.
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Details of this retreat
Conversations for Uncertain Times—featuring inspiring spiritual pioneers
A year-long series hosted by Natural Dharma Fellowship and Mindful Living Revolution
We are living in extraordinary times—times that call for a Dharma as bold and transformative as the moment itself. Revolutionary Dharma is a monthly series of intimate conversations with visionary teachers, activists, and thought leaders who are expanding the boundaries of what it means to nurture collective liberation in an age of polycrisis. Hosted by Lama Willa and Deborah Eden Tull, these gatherings invite us to experience Dharma not as fixed doctrine, but as a living, relational field—one that emerges spontaneously through authentic dialogue and shared presence.
Guests for this series include Kazu Haga, Susie Harrington, Kritee Kanko, Adam Lobel, Thanissara, and Karen Waconda-Lewis, with additional guests to be announced.
Please join us to:
Engage in courageous conversations that challenge and expand your understanding of Dharma.
Witness and be inspired by spiritual pioneers living at the edges of clarity, compassion, and action.
Explore uncertainty boldly, discovering how clarity and compassion unfold in real time.
Bring teachings into practice with guided exercises that ground insight in lived experience.
Ignite compassionate action in your life and community through transformative dialogue.
Each Revolutionary Dharma session begins with a spontaneous dialogue between our host and a featured guest, followed by an invitation for participants to share reflections and questions in community. Sessions conclude with guided practice led by our guest to ground the evening's themes in direct experience.
Together, we’ll explore how wisdom arises in the midst of uncertainty, and how revolutionary clarity, compassion, and action can unfold through courageous conversation. This series offers a rare opportunity to witness the inner lives and evolving edges of some of today’s most inspiring spiritual pioneers.
Monthly on Sundays • 7:00–8:30 pm ET
Usually the 4th Sunday, with two exceptions: January meets on the 2nd Sunday and December on the 3rd.
January 11 - Lama Willa Blythe Baker & Deborah Eden Tull
February 22
March 22
April 26
May 24
June 28
July 26
August 23
September 27
October 25
November 22
December 20
Registration & Ongoing Access to Recordings
You only need to register once to access the full year of monthly Dharma Dialogues and you may join at any point during the series. Once registered, you’ll be able to attend upcoming interviews live and will receive access to all recordings via your NDF User Account as they become available—including any sessions you may have missed.
If you already have an NDF User Account, please register with the same email you use to log in. If you don’t have an account yet, one will be created for you using the email you provide at registration.
Program Cost
Our program fees provide essential support to our non-profit operations and NDF’s mission to spread the Dharma in accessible, relevant, and creative ways. Our goal is that no one misses out on our events due to lack of funds. Thanks to our generous donors, we are able to offer tiered pricing and additional support to fit varied financial situations:
May All Beings Benefit! *– supporting access for all and general support for NDF operations
A Middle Way – covering the base cost
Held in Sangha Loving-kindness – offering ease when financial resources are limiting
If the lowest cost tier creates an obstacle to your attendance, please see our financial support options on the registration page. The process is simple and does not require extensive information. Financial aid is immediately approved using discount code options that allow you to contribute the most you are able while honoring your particular resources.
* The difference between the May All Beings Benefit! tier and the Middle Way tier will be considered a tax-deductible donation and will be acknowledged as such in writing. Contributing at this level helps us offer financial aid to other participants. Thank you!
Zoom Link
The Zoom link will be sent a few days before the series begins and will remain the same for all sessions. If you register after the series is already underway, you’ll receive the link with your confirmation email shortly after completing registration.
Important: Please put these this email address in your Contact or Safe-Send list to make sure you receive our emails:
From Boston and points East
By Car: Wonderwell is a 2 hour drive from Boston. Take Highway 93 North to Highway 89 North. Take Exit 12A. At the bottom of the exit ramp, take a right turn. When that road T’s take a left onto Route 114. Take Route 114 past Lake Kolelemook (to your right). After going through the small town of Springfield, turn right on Philbrick Hill Road. Wonderwell is at the top of the hill, on the left.
*By Bus: The Dartmouth Coach runs from Boston (from Logan Airport and South Station) to New London (the Wonderwell stop) many times a day, and is a quick, efficient way to travel here. The Coach has wifi on board. Tickets can be purchased online or at South Station in Boston.
From NYC
*By Bus: The Dartmouth Coach runs from New York City to Lebanon, NH. The coach is a direct and comfortable way to travel between NYC and New Hampshire. For more information, see the Dartmouth Coach website.
From the Upper Valley
By Car: Wonderwell is 30 minutes south of Lebanon, NH on Highway 89. Take Highway 89 South to exit 13 (Grantham). At the bottom of the exit ramp, take a right turn. Continue past the Post Office until you intersect 114, and take a left. Take Route 114 for about 4 miles until Philbrick Hill Road and take a left. Wonderwell is at the top of the hill on the left.
*See our website for information on getting picked up at a bus stop.
Accommodation
We offer a variety of accommodations, from dormitories for women and men, to double shared rooms some with private bath, some with shared bath, private rooms with private or shared baths, and a lovely Benefactor Suite at some retreats. We also offer the possibility of camping in warmer months, and all retreats also have a non-residential option, if you are commuting from home or staying at a local B&B or motel.
Venue & Amenities
A/C in Rooms
Free Wifi
Spa
Sauna
Pool
Towels
Free Parking
Kitchen
Tour Assistance
Hot Tub
Coffee/Tea
Cafe
Restaurant
Fitness Center
Yoga Studio
Housekeeping
Bicycles For Rent
Located on twenty-five acres of rolling hills in Springfield, New Hampshire, Wonderwell was originally built as a summer home in 1911. Tranquil and serene, surrounded by woods, meadows, gardens, and century-old stone walls, Wonderwell’s stately main building offers a comfortable and spacious setting in which the transformative potential of meditation—for work, community and daily life—can be explored and realized. Recently, due to its many unique features, the building has been recognized as a New Hampshire state historic site.
The house is situated on a west-facing hillside with sweeping views of sky and mountains. On one end of the building is the Great Room, now the meditation hall, which can accommodate groups of up to 100 people. The hall has an oak balcony encircling the room above and two fieldstone fireplaces. Other features of this historic building include a large covered porch for outdoor practice, a kitchen with industrial appliances, dining facilities, 13 bathrooms, and 15 bedrooms of varying capacities sleeping up to 36 people. We have been working tirelessly, with a successful major capital campaign and continuing renovations, to bring Wonderwell into the 21st century, and complete the work necessary to keep this lovely historic building code-compliant, safe, and sustainable.
The house is partially shielded from a country road by majestic, old oak trees, and is framed by well-established perennials, with multiple garden spaces. Behind the house is an acre of open field that gives way to sloping forested land with excellent trail system potential and sites for several retreat cabins. The back of the house faces west toward jaw-dropping, sky-gazing views of Mount Croyden, behind which the sun sets in the evening.
For the many volunteers and benefactors who support Wonderwell, as well as for the people who work there, caring for Wonderwell has become a practice of sacred stewardship. For all of these people, Wonderwell is not just a building; it is a community.
Meals
Menu Types
Vegan
Vegetarian
Pescetarian
Ayurvedic
Includes Meat
Organic
Gluten Free
Dairy Free
Nut Free
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are included in your accommodation fee. Our kitchen is dedicated to providing local fresh and/or organic foods whenever possible and we enjoy relationships with Kearsarge Food Hub, and other farmers in the area.
All meals are vegetarian, with gluten-free and dairy-free options available at every meal. Meals are served buffet style. Snacks such as fresh fruit, toast and crackers, nut butters, jams, nuts, and dried fruit are available 24 hours a day. Coffee is offered, usually until lunchtime, and hot water and all kinds of teas are always available.
The fee for the commuter registration option also includes all meals.
Customer Reviews
4.00 out of 5.0 average rating
3.0
Verified
Fall Equinox celebration (zoom)
This was my first experience with WonderWell.
I was disappointed that over an hour of the 90 min session was the music group playing. I did not really know what to do during this time, perhaps because I am such a novice.
The guided meditation near the end with Lama Liz was wonderful.
5.0
Verified
Stellar!
Lama Liz and the Natural Dharma Fellowship community is so incredibly welcoming and kind. I have never seen a community so unbiased and open in my life! This is a community for new and experiences practitioners of Buddhism and is tremendously welcoming to all variations of faith of practice.
Verified
