Built to Last: Unveiling the Spiritual Director’s Cottage

With deep gratitude to the CCR community, we are delighted to announce the completion of our most significant building project to date: the Spiritual Director’s Cottage. This dwelling now hosts CCR founder B. Alan Wallace, where he will continue an extended meditation retreat as well as guide our cohort of full-time retreatants in their own contemplative research.

CCR contemplatives and staff joyfully welcomed Dr. Wallace to his new abode on his birthday, April 17, 2024.

While Dr. Wallace will continue his duties as Spiritual Director for the foreseeable future, we look forward to welcoming other teachers to the cabin when Dr. Wallace comes out of retreat. As Dr. Wallace said himself: “I’d like to have this cabin be put into full use—so when I’m not here, it’s filled very quickly. Belonging to none of us, and benefiting all.”

Under the guidance of resident teacher Doug Veenhof, our skilled construction team  built the Spiritual Director’s Cottage with elegant simplicity, longevity, and environmental sustainability in mind. 

In the planning process, Doug recognized that Southern Colorado is an ideal environment for buildings to harness the power of passive solar energy. Through insulation and strategic placement, the Spiritual Director’s Cottage can retain warmth in the winter months largely on its own, decreasing reliance on traditional energy sources for heat. The 12-inch insulated concrete walls were also designed to absorb a significant amount of heat in the warmer months, keeping the cottage cool late into long summer days. But perhaps most impressive is the rooftop solar array, which is predicted to send 20% of the energy it generates back to the grid. 

The endeavor to bring this lengthy project to completion was made possible through the generous support of the wider CCR community, for which we are extremely grateful. It is invigorating to know that so many others share in the vision of what a comprehensive laboratory infrastructure for contemplative science entails, and we promise to continue to build our organization step by step to influence our world for the better.