Mindful Work: Where the To-Do List Becomes the Path
April 17-19, 2026
with Jonathan Elmergreen
What if your work time could also be your practice?
Bring the work that’s calling for your time – writing, planning, creative projects, admin tasks, or professional work – and do it inside a steady retreat container. In this retreat, work itself becomes the practice: learning how to meet what’s in front of you with presence, steadiness, and care.
We’ll move through generous blocks of quiet work time, supported by a simple rhythm of practice – arriving, pausing, mindful breathing, walking meditation, and clear transitions between tasks. Practical teachings from Zen Masters and contemplative teachers across traditions are woven throughout, helping ground our work and bring more ease to how we work.
Between work sessions, we’ll gather in circle for shared reflection on the real moments that shape our days: how to start without spinning, how to notice when we’ve drifted and begin again, how to relate differently to overwhelm and pressure, and how to close the day so work doesn’t follow you everywhere.
Program highlights
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- Spacious, quiet work blocks for meaningful progress
- A simple rhythm for your work with clear transitions between tasks
- Walking meditation and practices to reset attention and energy
- Contemplative teachings to support focus and steadiness
- Circle reflection on real work-life moments (overwhelm, drifting, beginning again)
- Tools for closing the day so work doesn’t follow you everywhere
- A grounded approach to bring home
You’ll have space to make meaningful progress,
and leave with a grounded approach you can bring back to your desk, your inbox, and your real life.
Your Guide for the Journey
Jonathan Elmergreen
Jonathan Elmergreen is the executive director of the Christine Center. He grew up in the Wausau, WI area and on the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians Reservation. The gentle woods of the Christine Center feel like home.
His spiritual background is rooted in Zen Buddhism, the Mohican Native American tradition, and Christianity.
His orientation towards community is deeply influenced by Buddhist monastic practice, especially the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh, who emphasizes that collective peace is possible by returning to the present moment through mindfulness.
Jonathan’s leadership style begins with a gentle smile. He facilitated the annual Wake Up Retreat for Young Adults in the Thich Nhat Hanh Tradition and is currently a guide for the Christine Center’s Spiritual Deepening for Global Transformation Cohort 8. Embodying deep spiritual practice in his daily life is the greatest gift he can offer as a leader.
When not living at the Christine Center, he lives in Milwaukee with his partner, Spencer, and their two adorable cats.
Jonathan loves to explore the grounds of the Christine Center, whether that is walking on the trails, pondering on a bench, or sitting (and singing!) by the fire. He would love it if you joined him.