The Wisdom Circle Intensive
November 12-15, 2026
Four days. In the redwoods. With men who will actually see you.
The Wisdom Circle Intensive is a four-day retreat in the Santa Cruz, California redwoods that is offered to the public and will include men from The Wisdom Circle, a seven-month men's personal growth group based in Redwood City, California. The Wisdom Circle is led by Ted Riter, an ordained rabbi and certified teacher of embodiment and polarity.
You’re carrying more than you let on.
And you've been carrying it alone.
Colleagues don't see it. Friends don't ask. Family assumes you're fine, because you're always fine.
Four days won't erase what you're carrying. But it will show you that you don't have to carry it by yourself.
What this is:
Four days of real brotherhood, honest conversations and embodied practice. Not networking, not small talk, men who will actually meet you.
Conversations that go somewhere. The kind you don't get to have anywhere else in your life, with people who won't look away.
Practice: movement, breathwork, teachings, small-group work
Tools you leave with. Not just a good weekend. Ways to feel more grounded, connected, and honest once you're back in your actual life.
What’ll you take home
A deeper awareness of your patterns.
Practices you can use when you're stressed or disconnected.
Greater capacity to speak honestly.
A clearer sense of what you're ready to change.
Relationships with men who know something real about you.
And the experience of having spent four days living differently.
The rhythm of the retreat
Mornings begin with practice, movement, breathwork, the body work that grounds everything after it.
Teachings throughout. Material that gives the four days its shape and direction.
Small group work, where the real, specific stuff of your life gets brought into the room.
And private time, space to actually integrate what's moving, not just move from one session to the next.
Meals are included throughout.
Before you come
Every man who joins talks with Ted personally first. This isn't a form you fill out and a spot you buy, it's a conversation, so we both know this is the right room for you.
Housing
Category A — $2,000-$2,400; Four-day retreat plus meals and tent accommodation.
Category B — $2,500-$2,900, Four-day retreat plus meals and cabana/private-room accommodation.
Enroll by September 1 for the lowest rate.
Enroll by October 1 for the next tier.
After that, full price through the day before the retreat.
Members of the TWC 7-month cohort receive a 10% discount.
Transportation to and from the retreat is not included.
Who is this retreat for?
This is for men who are ready to step out of their usual lives for four days and be met differently.
You might be new to men's work. You might have been doing this work for years.
You might be successful on paper and privately struggling.
You might be looking for deeper friendships with other men.
You might be at a transition point...in your relationship, career, fatherhood, identity or simply in how you want to live.
You don't need to be in crisis.
You need only be willing to show up honestly and participate fully.
What men say about working with Ted
The Wisdom Circle is an incredible way to raise your bar and be held accountable for living an incredible life, surrounded by high quality men with world-class facilitation.
—David Clavens, Magician & Coach
I now look for opportunities to use the tools I've learned to communicate with more intention to heal broken relationships, empathize with others and approach everything from a place of understanding and love. It also taught me to put more stock in myself, value myself more and believe that I can work to change things about myself that I don't like.
—A., Tech Executive
Ted’s thoughtful direction, exercises, and curated space. Our monthly in-person meetings always left me energized, joyous, and introspective.
—Joe D.
You won't find a coach with a deeper heart than Ted. He feels like family. He brings incredible insight and wisdom to his work that allowed me to see deeper truths about myself, while providing the compassion needed to make real, difficult change. My life is fundamentally different after our work together.
—Brad Gordon
Who is Ted?
I'm an ordained rabbi and certified coach. I spent years leading a synagogue community before turning fully toward men's work, and for over a decade I've trained extensively with John Wineland in masculine embodiment and leadership and now serve as a lead facilitator for his programs. I've led men's circles for years, including The Wisdom Circle, a seven-month container built on the same commitment this Intensive holds: no shortcuts, no quick fixes, real change earned slowly, with other men. I bring my full lineage into every room I hold, rabbinic training, embodiment work, Mussar, not as separate credentials, but as one way of working.
FAQs
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The most important requirements are:
A willingness to be vulnerable: to share your truths, the things that keep you up at night, the things that carry shame, the things that you want no one else to know.
And, a generosity of practice: being a nonjudgmental YES to whatever your brothers bring into the Circle.
Once you apply, I will reach out to schedule a call. It's a real conversation, not a formality, so I can get a sense of where you're at and make sure this is a good fit, and so you can ask me anything before committing.
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No. This is built to hold you wherever you're starting from, whether this is your first time in a room like this or your fiftieth.
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The Intensive stands on its own. You don't need to be part of The Wisdom Circle to attend, and attending doesn't enroll you in it. Many of the men in the room will be current members or alumni of the seven-month program, so you'll be in company with men who've already done sustained work together, alongside others coming in fresh. Either way, you're joining a real room, not a beginner's version of one.
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Payment is non-refundable after October 1st, but can be held toward a future program if your plans change.
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Confidentiality is foundational in The Wisdom Circle Intensive. We set clear agreements around trust and respect from the start. By establishing boundaries and modeling vulnerability, I work to ensure you feel secure in sharing your truth. It’s this atmosphere of trust that makes deep, meaningful work possible.
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The Wisdom Circle extended programs have been an inspiring reflection of diversity. In this Intensive, you'll be joining men from a wide range of backgrounds, spanning different ages (30s–60s), ethnicities, countries of origin, professions, income levels, relationship structures and dynamics, sexual identities, religious traditions, and physical abilities. The group will thrive on this diversity, as it enriches the experience for everyone.
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You may face some discomfort as you let go of old habits and step into a more authentic version of yourself. This could mean confronting beliefs that have held you back or trying new ways of relating that might feel awkward at first. But with challenge comes growth, and the group is here to support you as you push beyond your comfort zone.
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No. The Wisdom Circle Intensive is a facilitated men's personal-growth and character-development retreat, not psychotherapy or a clinical treatment program.
We work with real life...relationships, purpose, emotional patterns, embodiment, communication and the choices you're making every day.
If you need clinical mental-health treatment, this isn't a substitute for that care.