Date: January 20, 2019; 10:00am – 5:00pm
Sliding Scale: $75 – 200. Code DR1D19.
6 CE credits available for $60, for psychologists and California licensed MFTs, LCSWs, LEPs, LPCCs, nurses, and chiropractors.

Description:
The Buddha famously said, “I have taught one thing and one thing only, dukkha [suffering or reactivity or a sense of unsatisfactoriness] and the cessation of dukkha.”

In this day retreat, we will explore this core teaching as it is expressed in the Four Noble Truths and the teaching of the Two Arrows. We will suggest ways to study and implement this teaching both in formal meditation and in everyday life, through practices and reflections that bring together the wisdom of seeing the roots of dukkha, the compassion and kindness that can hold our difficulties, and skillful action to transform dukkha.

Teachings are appropriate for health care professionals as well as the general public. Health care professionals will be able to incorporate the tools and practices offered in this program in ways beneficial to clients or patients. By understanding the dynamics of reactivity, and skillful means for managing stressful times, care providers will be able to better manages stressful conditions, and share these perspectives with their patients and clients. Continuing Education (CE) credit available. See below for attendance requirements and more information.

Learning Objectives for participating health care professionals-
Based on the content of this program, you will be able to:

• Describe the basic dynamics of reactivity in the mind and emotions;
• Explain how a non-reactive response to difficulties can reduce suffering;
• Describe the concept of the “two arrows,” and how separating unavoidable difficulties, pain, or hardship from the self-imposed suffering of mental reactivity, may prevent unnecessary suffering;
• Integrate mindfulness and compassion practices with clients to work with reactive mind states.

Continuing Education content level: Introductory

Dates: Saturday, February 2, 3:00pm – Saturday, March 30, 11:30am; 56 nights
Sliding Scale: $12200 – $5545, PLUS a donation to the teachers and retreat staff. Code 238R19.
Applications are still being accepted! The 2-Month retreat has a very short wait list and if you do not need scholarship funding, you may be able to get into the retreat. Scholarship funding has been allocated and is no longer available.

Visit the link below for:
February 1-Month Retreat Application
March 1-Month Retreat Application

Prerequisites for Long Retreats: BEFORE applying, you must have completed at least 14 nights of silent residential retreat time with at least 2 retreats being 5-nights or longer. These retreats should have been led by Spirit Rock, IMS, or IRC teachers, or other recognized Insight Meditation teachers. To qualify, these previous retreats must have a similar format to this retreat, with instructions, practices and talks focused on Insight Meditation. You will need to provide the teachers’ names, dates, location, length (# of nights), and style of the retreats when applying, along with a practice-meeting questionnaire.

Retreat Description:
An extended period of retreat offers the rare opportunity for sustained and dedicated practice. This retreat emphasizes quieting the mind, opening the heart, and developing profound clarity and depth of insight practice. Instruction will follow the traditional four foundations of mindfulness, combined with training in loving-kindness and compassion, through a daily schedule of silent sitting, walking, dharma talks and practice meetings with teachers.

These extended retreats (and all retreats at Spirit Rock) are not open for “self-retreats”.

Applications and Scholarships:
We are still accepting applications! If you do not need scholarship funding, you may be able to get in sooner. We are sorry to say that all of the scholarship funding has been allocated at this time. If you are able to attend the retreat and utilize our Payment Plan which requires you to pay a minimum deposit of $35/night ($1960), but then pay off the balance of the retreat fee following the retreat over a maximum of 6 monthly installments, please apply! We may be able to get you into the retreat.

Dates: Saturday, February 2, 3:00pm – Saturday, March 30, 11:30am; 56 nights
Sliding Scale: $12200 – $5545, PLUS a donation to the teachers and retreat staff. Code 238R19.
Applications are still being accepted! The 2-Month retreat has a very short wait list and if you do not need scholarship funding, you may be able to get into the retreat. Scholarship funding has been allocated and is no longer available.

Visit the link below for:
February 1-Month Retreat Application
March 1-Month Retreat Application

Prerequisites for Long Retreats: BEFORE applying, you must have completed at least 14 nights of silent residential retreat time with at least 2 retreats being 5-nights or longer. These retreats should have been led by Spirit Rock, IMS, or IRC teachers, or other recognized Insight Meditation teachers. To qualify, these previous retreats must have a similar format to this retreat, with instructions, practices and talks focused on Insight Meditation. You will need to provide the teachers’ names, dates, location, length (# of nights), and style of the retreats when applying, along with a practice-meeting questionnaire.

Retreat Description:
An extended period of retreat offers the rare opportunity for sustained and dedicated practice. This retreat emphasizes quieting the mind, opening the heart, and developing profound clarity and depth of insight practice. Instruction will follow the traditional four foundations of mindfulness, combined with training in loving-kindness and compassion, through a daily schedule of silent sitting, walking, dharma talks and practice meetings with teachers.

These extended retreats (and all retreats at Spirit Rock) are not open for “self-retreats”.

Applications and Scholarships:
We are still accepting applications! If you do not need scholarship funding, you may be able to get in sooner. We are sorry to say that all of the scholarship funding has been allocated at this time. If you are able to attend the retreat and utilize our Payment Plan which requires you to pay a minimum deposit of $35/night ($1960), but then pay off the balance of the retreat fee following the retreat over a maximum of 6 monthly installments, please apply! We may be able to get you into the retreat.

Dates: Saturday, March 2, 3:00pm – Saturday, March 30, 11:30am; 28 nights
Sliding Scale: $6095 – $2770, PLUS a donation to the teachers and retreat staff. Code 237R19.
Applications are still being accepted! The March retreat has a very short wait list and if you do not need scholarship funding, you may be able to get into the retreat much sooner. Scholarship funding has been allocated and is no longer available.

Prerequisites for Long Retreats: BEFORE applying, you must have completed at least 14 nights of silent residential retreat time with at least 2 retreats being 5-nights or longer. These retreats should have been led by Spirit Rock, IMS, or IRC teachers, or other recognized Insight Meditation teachers. To qualify, these previous retreats must have a similar format to this retreat, with instructions, practices and talks focused on Insight Meditation. You will need to provide the teachers’ names, dates, location, length (# of nights), and style of the retreats when applying, along with a practice-meeting questionnaire.

Retreat Description:
An extended period of retreat offers the rare opportunity for sustained and dedicated practice. This retreat emphasizes quieting the mind, opening the heart, and developing profound clarity and depth of insight practice. Instruction will follow the traditional four foundations of mindfulness, combined with training in loving-kindness and compassion, through a daily schedule of silent sitting, walking, dharma talks and practice meetings with teachers.

These extended retreats (and all retreats at Spirit Rock) are not open for “self-retreats”.

Applications and Scholarships:
We are still accepting applications! If you do not need scholarship funding, you may be able to get in sooner. We are sorry to say that all of the scholarship funding has been allocated at this time. If you are able to attend the retreat and utilize our Payment Plan which requires you to pay a minimum deposit of $35/night ($980), but then pay off the balance of the retreat fee following the retreat over a maximum of 6 monthly installments, please apply! We may be able to get you into the retreat.

Date: April 7, 2019; 10:00am – 5:00pm
Sliding Scale: $75 – 200. Code DR2D19.
6 CE credits available for $60, for psychologists and California licensed MFTs, LCSWs, LEPs, LPCCs, nurses, chiropractors, and acupuncturists.

Description:
Judgments of a reactive and compulsive nature are very strong in most of our lives. They can distort our perceptions, make relationships with others difficult, and undermine our work. In this day retreat, we will examine what judgments are and how to work with them, using mindfulness, “heart” practices, and inquiry, helping us to preserve the discernment often found in judgments, while working through the destructive aspects of judgments. We will also explore how we internalize the judgments of our society in a number of ways, particularly related to race, gender, sexual orientation, etc. You will have the option of regular follow-up sessions.

Teachings are appropriate for health care professionals as well as the general public. Health care professionals will be able to incorporate the tools and practices offered in this program in ways beneficial to clients or patients. Continuing Education (CE) credit available. See below for attendance requirements and more information.

Learning Objectives for participating health care professionals-
Based on the content of this program, you will be able to:

• List 3 practices to help transform the judgmental mind;
• Describe how reactivity, specifically reactive judgments, can cause suffering;
• Describe how reactive judgment differs from discernment;
• Describe how loving-kindness practices can be an effective antidote to distress arising from strong negative judgments.

CE content rating: Intermediate

Dates: May 18 – 19, 2019; 10:00am – 5:00pm
Sliding Scale: $150 – 400. Code DR1M19.
12 CE credits available for $120, for psychologists and California licensed MFTs, LCSWs, LEPs, LPCCs, nurses, and chiropractors.

Description:
We are living at a time when conflict and insecurity are increasingly pervasive, whether in close relationships, the workplace, political polarization, or relationships between ethnic groups. Conflicts may be the source of much frustration, despair, anger, and burnout, and for those engaged in spiritual or psychological work, they may be a major challenge. How do we deal with friction in my job or relationship or should we leave? How do we respond to injustice? How do we communicate with those with different political views? How do we reduce the tendency to automatic reactivity?

In this day retreat, we will suggest some core principles and practices for working with conflict and reactivity, including dharma tools used by Stephen Fulder over many years of work on the front lines of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We will be guided by a vision of non-dual “conflict transformation,” rooted in the Buddha’s Middle Way and the contemporary work of peacemakers. A starting point is seeing conflict as simply a difference, tension, or contradiction between goals, intentions, or values, which may or may not be connected with hostility and aggression. Our hope is that we can better approach conflicts as opportunities for learning, reconciliation, steadiness, trust, and compassion. During the day, there will be guided meditations, short talks, discussion, interactive exercises, and work with conflict scenarios.

Stephen Fulder will teach only on Saturday; Donald Rothberg will teach both days.

Teachings are appropriate for health care professionals as well as the general public. Health care professionals will be able to incorporate the tools and practices offered in this program in ways beneficial to clients or patients. Continuing Education (CE) credit available. See below for attendance requirements and more information.

Learning Objectives for participating health care professionals-
Based on the content of this program, you will be able to:

• Demonstrate to clients a conflict transformation model to clarify the dynamics of repetitive conflicts;
• Describe how mindfulness of conflictual dynamics is key to working skillfully with conflicts;
• Describe how skill in working with difficult emotions such as fear and anger is key to skill in transforming conflicts;
• Describe how compassion practices may be used when working with challenging people or situations;
• Describe how working through attachments to one’s views is key to the skillful work with conflicts;
• Describe how conflicts can be opportunities for learning and transformation;
• Describe how conflicts can helpfully be defined in terms of differences of intentions, goals, and values, rather than necessarily involving hostility or aggression;
• Describe some of the reasons why conflicts are hard for many people.

Continuing Education content level: Introductory

Dates: Monday, December 16, 3:00pm – Monday, December 23, 11:30am; 7 nights
Sliding Scale: TBD, PLUS a donation to the teacher(s) and retreat staff. Code 318R19.
14 CE credits available for $140, for psychologists and California licensed MFTs, LCSWs, LEPs, LPCCs, nurses, and chiropractors.
Will open for registration on 8/14/2019.

Retreat Description:
In this retreat, we will emphasize centering ourselves at the time of the holidays and the New Year, through quieting our minds, grounding in our bodies, opening up our hearts, and using inquiry to help give energy to our practice. There will be a special emphasis on opening to the darkness, including to our difficulties and challenges, as well as to the coming light–to our beauty, joy, wisdom, and love. The retreat will include complete meditation instructions, sitting and walking meditation, daily loving kindness practice, daily qigong practice, evening talks, practice discussions, and a Winter Solstice ceremony.

Financial assistance is available for all Spirit Rock residential retreats. Our scholarship rate is $40/night and available for all those with financial hardship with special funds allocated to People of Color (POC), folks with serious medical conditions, and young adults (age 18-26). Scholarship funding is offered on a first-come, first-serve basis. Scholarships are budgeted per retreat and because they are in high demand, can run out quickly. We encourage you to register for a retreat as close as possible to the registration opening date (lotteries are an exception).

A unique scholarship opportunity — the Hemera Contemplative Fellowship! If you are 18 years of age or older with a commitment to service — serving others through your profession — you should consider reviewing the eligibility for this Fellowship. In general, this Fellowship is for those who are full-time in the listed eligible professions and are new to silent residential retreat practice. Follow this link for more detailed information: Hemera Contemplative Fellowships. ONE scholarship allowed per person, per calendar year.

Teachings are appropriate for health care professionals as well as the general public. Health care professionals will be able to incorporate the tools and practices offered in this program in ways beneficial to clients or patients. Continuing Education (CE) credit available. See below for attendance requirements and more information.

Learning Objectives for participating health care professionals-
Based on the content of this program, you will be able to:

• List 4 ways of developing mindfulness, of different parts of our experience;
• Describe a loving-kindness meditation that may be useful during difficult times;
• Describe practices that may be used during stressful times, such as holidays or family gatherings, to find balance and calm;
• Incorporate mindfulness of breath practices to settle and stabilize awareness and to calm the mind, that may be used in preparation for and when working with clients.
• Incorporate various mindfulness practices to improve emotional self-regulation, that may be used while working with clients;
• Utilize body awareness practices to deepen presence and the ability to listen well with clients;
• Demonstrate three ways to bring mindfulness into daily life in ways that improve well-being;
• Demonstrate three ways to bring lovingkindness into daily life in ways that improve well-being;
• Describe the applicability of mindfulness meditation as a resource for health care providers;
• Utilize Qigong movements to develop the centering and grounding of the body, and settling and calming of the mind and body.

Continuing Education content level: Introductory