About the CCE

Whether you're new to meditation, have been practicing for years, or are a seeker who’s never found the right place to anchor and develop a contemplative life, come and see for yourself what the Center for Contemplative Enrichment has to offer you.

Opening on to chaparral covered hills just outside Los Angeles in Ventura County, the CCE offers community and personalized support for serious meditators. Here, your contemplative practice can ripen – beyond meditation technique, beyond early milestones – into something steady, surprising, and alive.

  • “It was a refreshing surprise to spend several days at the CCE. What a gem. It's a safe, cozy, beautiful place that feels like home."

    - Daron, Retreatant

  • "Here, I get nourished on all levels."

    - Anyez, Retreatant

  • Marcy is gifted. Her purity and clarity shine. I could feel the purity and clarity within me expanding in resonance.

    - Georgia, Retreatant

  • "Thank you for being a beautiful example of what is possible with consistent, earnest practice."

    -Charlie, Retreatant

The History

The Center for Contemplative Enrichment was founded by Marcy Ahn Crawford and Louis Wilde. For years, they crossed paths on meditation retreats. Eventually, they became best dharma friends.

Marcy and Louie met regularly to talk about practice, sharing a simple observation: mainstream mindfulness does immense good, yet it often tilts toward secular benefits rather than the traditional aim of spiritual awakening. In 2021, they formed the Center for Contemplative Enrichment to fill this specific gap: a sincere, trustworthy place for meditators to connect and deepen their practice. Bringing this vision to fruition during the height of the pandemic underscored the importance of in-person connection, particularly for meditation retreats.

Along with establishing the CCE as a registered California non-profit, Marcy and Louie searched for a physical location for the community they envisioned. That search led them to the current CCE property, a sanctuary just outside the city limits of Simi Valley. Surrounded by open space, wildlife, and hundred year-old trees, they began to build a retreat center. Through generous donations and volunteer support, they built out the property, adding accommodations like an Airstream, mini hotel rooms and a simple but spacious cabin, providing comfortable meditation gear, and nurturing thriving grounds and gardens. They have welcomed meditators from around the world ever since.

Vision

We envision the CCE as a connected community of earnest practitioners working together to support each other, in turn the groups they serve, and by extension, the world.

Mission

Our mission is to create a go-to institution to support earnest practitioners and teachers in all traditions and to provide an umbrella organization for those interested in bridging the gap between earnest non-secular and secular practice benefits.

Values

We value traditional contemplative traditions and teachers, one-on-one and small group interactions among practitioners and teachers, earnestness, compassion and humility.

The Offerings

  • True Nature is a place for CCE community members to stay connected online. Among other offerings, the once-monthly online sitting group led by Marcy provides the opportunity for meditation and practice-based discussion. Learn more.

  • Intensive practice makes a different kind of seeing possible. On retreat at the Center for Contemplative Enrichment, you’ll step out of the habits and hurry of daily life, and deepen your connection to yourself, others, and the natural world around you in a gentle, safe environment. Learn more.

  • Private coaching with Marcy is for those who are ready to accelerate growth by prioritizing insight and integration. If there is a sense there’s something more just beneath the surface of your awareness, or you have a new clarity waking up inside, private meditation coaching might be a supportive next step. Learn more.

  • Embodied Metta is lovingkindness felt in the body. Ten self-paced videos with Marcy guide you to embody metta and carry it into everyday life. Learn more.

  • Embodied Teaching™  trains attentional skills in real time. Rather than lessons about mindfulness, you learn to embody specific qualities of attention during ordinary interactions. Learn more.

The Team

  • Marcy Ahn Crawford

    CO-FOUNDER AND RESIDENT TEACHER

    Marcy has been meditating for over 20 years. Her background includes growing up in the United Methodist faith, multiple 12-step recovery programs, and meditation study in Zen, Mahamudra, pragmatic Dharma, Vipassana, and Advaita Vedanta traditions. She is a Certified Unified Mindfulness Teacher and a Rinzai Zen practitioner. Marcy’s primary teacher is Ursula Jarand.

  • Louis Wilde

    CO-FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT

    Louis had a twice-daily Transcendental Meditation practice throughout most of his 20s. In his mid-60s, he returned to meditation, starting with westernized Vipassana, and has since practiced intensely in a variety of other traditions. Marcy has been his main practice support for the last decade. His passion is creating a safe environment, close to nature, that fosters awakening.

  • Steven Davenport

    Board Member

  • Austin Raines

    Board Member

  • Nicole Dunn

    Board Member