Pachānanda School and Retreat Center

I’m Niki Coate, founder of Pachānanda Retreat Center. I prefer to refer to myself as their keeper, much like being the caretaker of a dragon. And Pachānanda’s story is my story.
I’ve always been the weird one. Not so weird that I couldn’t fit in, but not normal enough to be considered so. Being different created sort of a cushion between me and normal reality, an identity in which I’ve been somehow freed of expectations to behave like other people. And I’ve always liked that about myself, this freedom-wielding weirdness. But even more than “liking” it, I have always deeply craved experiences that go beneath the surface to expose the surface for what it is: a mask covering the real juiciness of life.
As long as I can remember, I’ve been on a highly dynamic journey of discovering what life is all about, of rejecting the regular way of doing things, and pushing my limits to find something deeper, more fulfilling, more… well…interesting and inspiring. And more consistently joyful.
I remember my first full-time job post-college, as a journalist, which was exactly what I was supposed to be doing since my parents had spent a pretty penny on my BA in Journalism. I sat stunned, like a trapped wild animal, looking over the edge of my flimsy cubicle wall, scanning for any signs of life, hoping to catch someone else’s eye who was wondering the same thing as me — Is this it? Is this all there is to life? This daily grind, living for the weekends and two weeks of vacation? Sure, there was stability of a paycheck, and blood-sucking predictability in my days, but where was the adventure? The meaning? The mystery?