An online and in-person school for remembering the mystic already within us — through phases of unlearning, grief, beauty, creation and love. A school for connecting to other mystics and learning, creating and being. A school where the student is the teacher and through connection and expression, we grow together.
Opening · September 24, 2026 · Carmel-by-the-Sea
"We are all mystics. The more I journey through diverse landscapes, the more I am convinced of the transformative power of the love vibration within each of us — connecting us all to a higher vibration of collective divine consciousness."
— Tara Ryan, The New Mystic
The Curriculum
The school moves through a pilgrimage of the soul — drawn from the structure of The New Mystic. Each phase is a season of teachings, contemplative practice, sacred poetry, and shared circle.
Ways to Begin
Whether you walk alone, in circle, in private companioning, or in group retreat — each path opens to the same threshold.
Self-paced and seasonal cohorts moving through the twelve phases. Welcoming contemplative practice, and a living archive of writings.
From $22 / gathering Learn MoreOne-to-one, one-to-few and one-to-group sessions. Held space for grief, threshold, discernment, and the questions only a deeper listening can meet.
By inquiry Begin a ConversationMy home where we can gather for in-person connection, day-long circles, and seasonal gatherings at Tara's barn in Carmel-by-the-Sea. Intimate. Embodied. Limited seats.
Seasonal View GatheringsFrom the Studio
Tara's altar boxes, collages, and devotional pieces are part of the daily practice — visual prayers gathered from years of pilgrimage, and contemplative work. Classes from local artists and creators.
The Teacher is Us
Tara is a teacher, writer, and spiritual companion drawing from two decades of corporate leadership, contemplative training, and an ever-deepening communion with the sacred. The thought for a "school" came from her work during her Master of Divinity and a book she wrote called The New Mystic, where she wants all of us to feel like a welcome student, here with friends to learn together. And from her work in cooperative inquiry — the hope that we all contribute equally to learning more about truth and love in oneness.
She has founded The New Mystic School to gather seekers who feel the call of mysticism beyond the boundaries of any single tradition.
Her work weaves Christian mysticism, ancient wisdom and ceremony, the feminine divine, contemplation, and the lived theology of nature. She holds space for grief, threshold, remembering, discovery, creativity and joy.
New This Year
A book of essays, prayers, and poetry charting one woman's pilgrimage through twelve phases of becoming. 172 pages of contemplative writing rooted in Carmel coast, Irish soil, plant medicine, and the Christian mystical tradition reimagined for our time.
"This book is an offering of my words — my thoughts on recognizing myself as a mystical person, and how I have, at moments, managed to fuse heart, mind and soul over the last years."
Order the BookLetters from Tara on becoming mystical, with first access to the school, the book, and the seasonal gatherings in Carmel. Doors open September 24, 2026. Soft cadence — about once a moon cycle.
A new moon arriving soon
Welcome to the circle.