Educare Unlearning Institute

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Grafton, IL
Educare Unlearning Institute

Through courses, retreats, vision quests and coaching we offer an authentic, compassionate space to

02/03/2026

This is Your Moment

Grab it
by letting it be!

02/02/2026

Living Beyond Your Comfort Zone

In your comfort zone
is a self-concept
that you may or may not be happy with.
At some point you will outgrow it.

What exists beyond the edge
of your comfort zone?

If you don’t know
then you are in danger of:
drifting into distractions,
repeating your past,
inviting mediocrity,
sleepwalking,
and delaying authentic love.

Like a flower,
we are called to live
on our growing tip,
trusting that Life
knows what it is doing.

What exists beyond the edge
of your comfort zone?

The You that you have been
yearning to actualize.

02/01/2026

Breaking the Useless Blame Cycle

Let’s open to the possibility
of a world (a consciousness)
created without a viable blaming option.

In this space people don’t create anything.
There is one infinite Creator, Consciousness.
People may make inspired or ignorant choices
that bring about consequences,
but they are not the origin of their decisions.

This frees us to
move from blaming anyone,
to abiding in blameless non-judgment
toward everyone,
independent of the issue.

Have we spun enough
conscious or unconscious blame cycles
to finally let Grace
reveal a field
where love is given and received
without conditions?

01/31/2026

Grounding in Presence

If you are not grounded in Presence,
and you try to rely on your gut,
you will be off center and misguided.
Your subconscious offers a huge mix of
of limited, conditioned perspectives.

If you are not grounded in Presence,
and you try to rely on your thinking,
you will over-think everything,
afraid that you will make crucial decisions
that could be irreversible.
Anxiety and hesitation
will be your constant companions.

If you are not grounded in Presence,
and you try to rely on your feelings,
you will be driven by mood swings,
dependent on circumstances
and how much you feel others like you.
You will feel empty and take lots of detours.

If you are not grounded in Presence,
and you try to rely on
your thinking and feeling,
you will create stories to justify your feelings,
and use your experience
as proof that your stories are true.
Confusion, frustration, and resentment
will fill your living room.

If you are grounded in Presence,
and let it permeate
your thinking, feelings and instincts,
you will filter out what is not aligned
with your soulful, embodied Resonance.
You won’t have to justify your decisions and actions
because you will sense
an inner guidance of clear knowing.
And, you will steer your life by it.

01/30/2026

Take an Authentic Step

Sometimes the first one
can be a game changer.

You may have to catch your own breath:
“I can’t believe I just said that, or did that.”

Authentic is not synonymous with obnoxious.
It is not an emotional reaction.
It is coming from a pure love of your true Self.
Authentic means taking action from what is real for you.

This can be messy.
but messy is not bad.
The mind thinks that people might not like us
if we live our truth out loud.
And that is possible
since they have grown accustomed to us hiding.

But, as you step fully into this space,
there is no turning back.
Your life takes on a new tone,
with harmonics that resonates with souls.
Everything else becomes a hollow echo
of a frail, outgrown self-image.

Each authentic step you take,
unconsciously lights a candle
for those of us still hiding.

Never assume
you are not deeply needed
to live in this inspired space of Integrity.

It is the ultimate, honest gift.

Please, take your next authentic step.

01/29/2026

A Simpler Way

Do you have space in your life
to let others be the way they are?

Or, do you require
that they be the way you are,
for you to accept them?

Each of us is just the way
we need to be right now.
How do we know this?
Because this is how we are.
The Universe doesn’t make mistakes.

What if your focus was to simply be with us
without any desire to change us?
All you give us is unconditional acceptance.

This is the simple but radical
love-permeated environment
that is so safe,
that if we were open to change,
this is where we would likely try it out.

01/28/2026

Craving?

Do you ever crave
a specific food,
a piece of clothing,
a person,
money,
to be loved,
to be seen,
a compliment, etc.?

If we receive any of these things
it will not ultimately fulfill us.
After we received them
we will at some point
still hunger for more.

That’s how it is when we look outside
when the only lasting fulfillment
is in the inside.

It is not receiving what we crave
that brings us bliss.
It is the absence of craving.

All we are ever really seeking
is to embody and feel
the fullness of our innate wholeness in Love.

It is living in Presence
in each moment
that obviates the yearning for more.

So how about making
living in Presence
your number one priority?
Every day.

01/27/2026

Outgrowing the Need

Can you think of something
that used to make you really mad
when you were growing up,
and it doesn’t anymore?

Why is that?

You outgrew the need to be bothered.
Being peaceful became more of a priority
than being upset.

And this happened naturally.

And so it is with all growth.

You will outgrow the need
to withhold love from anyone
when loving becomes the only priority.

Until then, you will suffer,
and be a constant invitation to others
to outgrow their need
for you to change.

01/26/2026

There is Only Now

If you are willing to be fully present
in the Here and Now,
this means you are completely
surrendering to and embracing
the Unknown.

You are not trying to predetermine
what the next Now
should look and feel like.

Without this, you are asleep, dreaming,
relying on the past, the mind, emotions,
conditioning, delusions, predictions, willfulness:
that which is not the ever-arriving Now.
This creates and reinforces suffering.

All of these get to be released
to wake up to the one Reality
which is expanding
and unknowably fresh
each burgeoning moment.

Daffodils get this.

01/25/2026

Living Within My Selfie

All my interpretations of what I perceive
have been packaged
by my family and cultural conditioning,
and the way my personality deciphers experience.

Since the nature of Consciousness
is that it is infinite and ever-unfolding,
all I can know for certain at this point,
is that everything I know
is partial.

Thinking that my view is the “right” one
is my delusionary selfie.
It is complete insanity
to project my snapshot on others
and judge them as wrong and lesser,
for believing otherwise.
I have decades of amends to make.

Nothing is ever “all there is to it.”
This means that contrary to popular belief,
it is narcissistic to base my confidence
on what I know.
I am much better off
embracing the Unknown
while relying on
the live-streaming of Grace.

01/24/2026

An Alternative to Reacting

When we are driven by our conditioned mind,
we are always reacting to
our feelings about the present moment.

We try to hold onto and sustain it
if we like it,
or resist, avoid, deny, or combat it
if we don’t like it.

In this way we attempt to control our experience,
through well-intentioned willfulness.

This constant reactivity
distracts us from listening to
and acting from Grace.

When we are guided by our Essence,
we are grounded in Presence each moment,
no matter what occurs.

We have no resistance to what is appearing
because as it moves through
we pay attention to learn from
the transient current moment.

Our knowing and acting
is fully aware of,
but not attached to,
what is appearing,
while being guided by
the one governing Intelligence.

In this way we practice undistracted receptivity,
allowing us to see what is essential,
listen to the Transcendent,
and speak and act
with an authentic economy
that radiates the presence of Love.

01/23/2026

Educare Silent Meditation Retreats

Have you been yearning to go deeper in what matters most in your life? Would a “container” be helpful so you could commit to a structure to put first things first for two days?

You are invited to join me for 48 hours of Silent Meditation. Each of us will do this in the location we choose. There are also four meditation spaces available at Educare in Grafton, IL/St. Louis. You can pick any of the Saturday—Sunday dates.

January 31—February 1, 2026

The silent retreat begins when you arise on Saturday. It ends when you arise on Monday. We will be 100% off the grid.

Meditation Schedule
8:00—8:30 or 8:45 a.m.
10:00—10:30 or 10:45
Lunch Break
1:00—1:30 or 1:45 p.m.
3:00—3:30 or 3:45
5:00—5:30 or 5:45
Dinner Break
7:45—8:15 or 8:30

Between meditation periods we will adhere to the following guidelines.

What is acceptable:
Journaling
Walks in nature
Yoga
Exercise
Eating or fasting
Napping
Reviewing 8 Guided Meditations provided by Sandy Wilder

What is not acceptable:
No interpersonal communication
No phone calls
No online communication
No reading
No audio listening
No video watching

Sessions with Sandy
Prior to the retreat we will have an individual call to clarify your intention and answer any questions.

If you would like to join me at Educare in Grafton, IL, I have a condominium on the confluence of the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. This is bald eagle season, and the river views are always stunning. Great walking along the river, as well.
You would need to find local accommodations, which are plentiful this time of year.

Silent Mediation Retreat Fee (Independent of location)
Discounted Sliding Scale: $325--$250

Love to have you join me
I will be meditating at these times no matter how many people sign up. Humankind needs us to be accessing our deepest capacities at this time.

Any questions, please ask.

Learn more and register here:
https://educareunlearning.com/retreats/

Address

711 Wind Rivers Drive
Grafton, IL
62037

Website

http://www.educareunlearning.com/, http://www.100daycommitment.com/, http://www.helpingyouliveonpurpose.com/, http://twi

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