Founded in 1977 by Elizabeth Lesser and Stephan Rechtschaffen, inspired by Sufi mystic, Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan and his ecumenical spirituality, today it offers classes to over 25,000 people a year, at the 190-acre (0.77 km2) campus.

Omega’s workshops, conferences, and retreats aim to create dialogues on the integration of modern medicine and natural healing; connect science, spirituality, and creativity; and build the groundwork for new traditions and lifestyles.

First established while Lesser and Rechtschaffen were staying at New Lebanon Shaker Village, the center found a new home in 1980, moving to land that once housed the Sholem Aleichem Folk Institute's Camp Boiberick, in the Hudson River Valley.

Workshops are organized into six categories: body, mind, and spirit; health and healing; creative expression; relationships and family; leadership and work; and sustainable living.

Other Omega speakers and teachers have included Adyashanti, Maya Angelou, Deepak Chopra, Pema Chödrön, Jeanne Fleming, Jane Goodall, Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan, Ram Dass, Thich Nhat Hanh, Allen Ginsberg, Gloria Steinem, Pete Seeger, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Philip Glass, Betty Williams, Lon Milo DuQuette, and many others.