Weekend Single Day Retreats

An Open Approach to Breath Awareness - With Matthew Daniell

Sat 11/23/19 - 9:00am to 5:00pm

Breath awareness is a central mindfulness teaching of the Buddha. It is a foundation for touching calm, steadying attention in the present, and a gateway to clarity and insight. The way it is often taught however may impose limitations on how fully our awareness can grow and open using it as a base. Have you ever found yourself struggling to 'get the breath' and push away other experience, only to find yourself tired and frustrated? I certainly have. Or perhaps you've had a great formal mediation on the breath but then suddenly find yourself reactive once you get off the cushion? But what if we were to approach the breath in a more open light way where we didn't strive to get it right, or block thoughts or experiences that are other than this anchor? What if we deeply embraced attitudes that knew the breath was serving a light steady inclusive awareness and not the other way around? What if we truly embraced an openness that breath awareness was a powerful tool in daily life and not just a calming relief from daily life? In this daylong silent retreat we will explore the subtle, but powerful implications, that truly cultivating an open approach to breath awareness can have on the quality of how we live our life.

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Lunch: For those staying for the entire retreat, a volunteer will provide vegetarian soup, salad and bread at lunchtime. Participants are encouraged to bring their own lunch or a supplement for the soup, if they prefer. A microwave and refrigerator are available.

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Waking Up To Your Life: A Retreat for Beginning and Newer Students - With Ted Jones

Sat 12/07/19 - 10:00am to 12:30pm

Insight meditation is a time-tested method of mind training that enables us to change our relationship to each moment’s experience, and thus our lives. In this retreat, specially designed for beginners and those with limited meditation experience, we will systematically explore (through sitting and walking meditation periods, teachings, and discussion) how to calm and steady the mind and see more clearly.  As we strengthen this capacity we begin to move from suffering and reactivity to responsiveness, freshness and ease. We learn how to touch and live in the mindful moment.

Read About Ted Jones

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No Toys Retreat - With Matthew Daniell

Sat 12/21/19 - 9:30am to 1:00pm

We fill our lives with toys, playthings, and objects. If we remember our relationship to toys as children or the versions of toys, we may fill our lives today with fond memories, or realities of lots of unused stuff.  Did they, and do they actually fill our hearts and minds with lasting happiness in the way we thought they would when we got them? 

In our meditation practice do all of the techniques, inner pep-talks and psychological strategies that we employ work to stabilize and open the heart and mind effectively?  Do they at times become inner toys that we play with but don’t see that they are actually adding complexity to our inner journey, blocking the freshness and joy of clear direct seeing?  Do reading and podcasts and the teacher’s words sometimes become things that block this simplicity as well? 

In this retreat we will emphasize ‘putting away our toys’ and practice together in simple silence without verbal guidance, and with an emphasis on inner simplicity in using the tools for practice we already have.  Exploring this bare bones approach to practice in the shared support of each other’s presence we may find a mature simplicity in moments of being present that is resilient in the face of difficult emotions, nourishing, joyful and wise; no toys needed! 

There will be an extended period for discussion towards the end of the retreat.  This retreat is designed for experienced practitioners.

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Calm, Still, Quiet: Winter Residential Retreat (Saturday) - With Chris Crotty (SATURDAY ONLY OPTION)

Sat 01/18/20 - 9:00am to 9:00pm

In winter, the stars seem to have rekindled their fires, the moon achieves a fuller triumph, and the heavens wear a look of a more exalted simplicity.

                                                                                              - John Burroughs

Winter is a natural time for turning inward, while retreat provides an opportunity to focus attention on your meditation practice and contemplate the Buddha’s teachings. In this second annual Winter Residential Retreat with Chris, the outer stillness of the natural world supports us in quieting our mind, and directly experiencing the calm and stillness of concentration. With a mind free from distraction, we use mindfulness (insight meditation) to investigate the path to peace taught by the Buddha and perfected during retreat practice for over 2500 years.  

Combining periods of sitting and walking meditation, with Dharma teachings, the Winter Residential Retreat is held in noble silence. This retreat is suitable for those who have not yet sat retreat, as well as ongoing practitioners who wish to further their practice–meditation instruction and dharma talks will accommodate all experience levels.   

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This is the Saturday only portion of this weekend retreat that runs 1/17-1/19.  This day runs from 9am-9pm.  It is not required that you stay for the entire day.  However, lunch and dinner are included in your registration fee.  There are no half day registrations.

Cancellation/Refund Policy:

Due to the high fixed cost of this weekend retreat, a full refund, minus $50 processing fee, will be given for cancellations up to two weeks prior to the retreat (January 3rd). 50% of your retreat fee will be refunded if you cancel after January 3rd, and no refunds will be given for cancellations occurring after 12:00 pm on January 15th. This policy applies to both the Residential Retreat and Commuter Retreat prices. 

For the Saturday only retreat fees, the above policies apply regarding refunds, with the exception that the processing fee will be $25. 

To pay by check or read our refund policy, click here