Andrew Oser - Mount Shasta Retreat

Andrew Oser has been offering guided retreats on Mount Shasta since 2006. Through hikes to little-known sacred sites, guided meditations, spiritual life coaching, and time drinking in the silence of the mountain, he helps clients to deeply renew themselves in body, mind, and spirit and receive clear vision for their lives. Andrew also offers spiritual life coaching by phone and Zoom. 

A summa cum laude graduate of Princeton University, Andrew brings a wide range of experience to his retreat facilitation and life coaching work, including starting and running a successful nonprofit organization, serving as a top-flight professional tennis coach and exploring many approaches to personal and spiritual growth. He is the author of several books, including How Alternation Can Change Your Life. For more info, see www.mountshastaretreat.net

For readers discovering your work for the first time, can you share a bit about yourself and how you began leading retreats at Mount Shasta?

I first came to Mt. Shasta in 1978 and fell in love with the mountain. For the next 28 years, I came to visit at least once just about every year, even when I lived in Washington, DC for many years.

My passion for my whole adult life has been awakening to who I am. It was on Mount Shasta that I found what I was looking for. That inspired me to want to share the incredible gifts of the mountain with others.

In 2006, I retired from running a nonprofit, the Joy of Sports, which I had started 15 years before. It was time for me to fulfil my dream to live in Mount Shasta. Within a week after I moved here, I led a small retreat and have been doing that ever since.

What originally drew you to Mount Shasta, and why do you believe it’s such a powerful place for healing and spiritual growth?

When I moved to CA in 1976, I started hearing about how powerful Mount Shasta is. When I made it up for a visit a couple years later, I experienced that power for myself.

I’ve been to many beautiful mountains, including the Sierras, the Rockies, and the Tetons. I always enjoy the peace of being in the mountains. But, there’s something different on Mt. Shasta. There’s an amplified Presence that magnetically pulls people Home to their Eternal Self.

You could also say that Mt. Shasta is a field of pure energy. When someone comes into this field, two things often happen. First, it reflects their True Self and they feel great happiness. The name “Shasta” actually comes from a Russian word which means pure happiness. Also, being in such a high vibrational field can bring up old, lower vibrational energies, like fear and judgment. The energy of the sacred springs and waterfalls on and around the mountain makes it easy to release/heal these old energies.

For someone considering giving a Mount Shasta retreat as a Christmas or holiday gift, what makes this experience different from a traditional present?

A nice material gift might give you some short-term pleasure. A Mt. Shasta retreat will activate deep, true happiness in your heart that you can take with you wherever you go for the rest of your life.

What kinds of experiences or practices can participants expect during one of your retreats? 

All of our retreats include gentle, beautiful hikes to sacred sites on and around Mt. Shasta. We visit deeply cleansing waterfalls, springs, and lakes and do healing rituals, including an ancient Hawaiian ritual, which is incredibly effective. We also hike to amazing rock formations and sites with spectacular views on the mountain. There, we do some guided and silent meditations and sacred rituals. Participants also have time on their own to relax, reflect, journal, explore, etc. Longer retreats often include a short vision quest, where each participant finds their own power spot and receives guidance for their lives.

What changes do you most often see in people during or after a retreat?

People on our events often experience a full life reset. They release pain, fears, and limiting beliefs which have held them back in the past. They feel deeply renewed. And reconnected to God/Source/Self. They have answered the two most important questions in life: “Who Am I?” and “What’s my purpose?”, so they return with clarity and confidence for the future.

Once people return home, how can they maintain the peace, clarity, or insights they gained at Mount Shasta? 

I’m a life coach, as well as a retreat guide. My intention is always to ensure that my clients have a grounded, sustainable awakening. At the end of the retreat, I help each participant come up with a personalized plan of how to nurture and sustain the gifts they’ve received. Everyone’s plan is unique to them, but often more focus on gratitude, spending more time in nature, and more time to relax and recharge are key components.

Many people say they feel a “calling” to Mount Shasta. What would you say to someone who feels that pull but isn’t sure what it means?

Mount Shasta has a particular vibrational frequency. When people feel a resonance with that frequency, they often say they are “called” to the mountain.

Where can readers learn more about your retreats, upcoming dates, and how to take the first step if they feel called to this work?

My website, mountshastaretreat.net has lots of info about upcoming events. Your readers are welcome to call me at 760-525-4512 or email meat andrew@mountshastaretreat.net. My wife and I offer a free Mount Shasta Meditation on the third Thursday of every month at 6 pm PST. This is a great opportunity to connect with the energy of the mountain from the comfort of your own home. For details and log-in info, please click the button below: