Date: February 23, 2019; 10:00am – 5:00pm
Sliding Scale: $75 – 200. Code MC2D19.
6 CE credits available for $60, for psychologists and California licensed MFTs, LCSWs, LEPs, LPCCs, nurses, and chiropractors.

ASL interpretation is available for this day retreat.

Description:
Interested in living with genuine peace? The Buddha taught that there is a direct way for alleviating suffering and living with genuine ease, wisdom, and freedom in our lives: through cultivating the Four Foundations of Mindfulness.

In this day retreat, we explore this liberating practice. We will investigate how mindfulness supports insights into what causes suffering and what creates happiness. What arises from this understanding is a tangible sense of inner freedom, spaciousness, peace, and letting go.

Suitable for beginners and experienced meditators who wish to refresh their understanding of this essential Buddhist practice.

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 practices that can be used to cultivate mindfulness;
• Describe how mindfulness practices can promote insight in to the origins of stress and suffering;
• Incorporate mindfulness of breath practices to develop presence moment awareness, and to calm the mind in preparation for, and when working with clients;
• Implement mindfulness-based self-care strategies to promote professional and personal well-being, including reducing emotional exhaustion & burnout.

Continuing Education content level: Introductory

Dates: Monday, April 1, 3:00pm – Friday, April 5, 11:30am; 4 nights
Sliding Scale: $1000 – $500, PLUS a donation to the teacher(s) and retreat staff. Code 240R19.

This retreat is full. Please submit an application if you are interested in being on the wait list. We do receive cancellations, so the longer you’re able to wait, the better your chances of getting in.

Please note: All Young Adult rates and Scholarship funds have been allocated for this retreat.

If you are interested and need financial assistance, we may have a work exchange available.

Retreat Description:
Have you ever been curious about Insight Meditation? This silent retreat will teach the essentials of this practice and offer key Buddhist teachings. We will explore ways to awaken our mind and heart so that we can learn to live a life of wisdom, compassion, inner peace, and freedom.

This retreat will combine sitting and walking meditations, dharma talks and opportunities to meet with a teacher. An excellent opportunity for those new to retreat practice, and also ideal for experienced practitioners who wish to do a shorter retreat.

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.

Date: May 3, 2019; 9:30am – 4:30pm
Sliding Scale: $75 – 200. Code MC3D19.
6 CE credits available for $60, for psychologists and California licensed MFTs, LCSWs, LEPs, LPCCs, nurses, and chiropractors.

Description:
Meditating in the serenity of nature provides a beautiful and supportive environment for cultivating natural mindful awareness. In the stillness of nature, we will explore various sensory-based mindfulness practices as we sit and walk in meditation among the hills and woodlands of Spirit Rock.

Through various nature-based meditations, we will explore the natural joy and insight that arises in nature, sense the interconnection between our inner and outer landscape, and discover how nature evokes the beautiful qualities of peace, wonder, and love.

Particularly suitable for those wishing to learn to meditate outdoors and experience the fruits of nature-based meditation.

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:

• Incorporate mindfulness meditation and its related disciplines in ways useful for clients;
• Describe a meditation technique for cultivating joy, that may improve patient care by reducing emotional exhaustion;
• Demonstrate mindfulness and nature practices that can aid in reducing client stress levels;
• Describe how practicing in nature can reduce suffering and increase a sense of ease and joy;
• Identify the barriers to experiencing joy, and describe to clients practices to cultivate sympathetic joy.

Continuing Education content level: Introductory

Dates: Monday, May 20, 3:00pm – Saturday, May 25, 11:30am; 5 nights
Sliding Scale: $1300 – 600, PLUS a donation to the teacher(s) and retreat staff. Code 254R19.
11 CE credits available for $110 for psychologists, and California licensed MFTs, LCSWs, LEPs, LPCCs, nurses, and chiropractors.

We are very sorry, this retreat is FULL. Please submit an application if you are interested in being on the residential wait list or attending as a commuter. We do have cancellations, so the longer you’re able to wait, the better your chances of getting in.

If you are interested and need financial assistance, we may have a work exchange available.

Retreat Description:
In this mindfulness meditation retreat, we will explore the innate quality of awareness as the foundation for cultivating clarity, understanding, and insight into our human experience. We will investigate how, through mindfulness practice, we can develop insight into the causes of stress and the causes of genuine happiness. We will examine what it means to abide, with kindness and awareness, in the midst of life, so we can live with a genuine non-reactive freedom wherever we are.

As well as sitting and walking insight meditation practice, we will emphasize integrating loving kindness and compassion into all moments of the retreat. This allows a kind embrace of ourselves and connects us intimately with each other and the world. In this retreat, there will be periods of meditation, dharma talks, and opportunity for questions and discussion. Suitable for experienced and newer students to meditation.

Financial assistance is available for all Spirit Rock residential retreats. Our scholarship rate is $40/night and available for 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 at least three benefits of how a health care professional cultivating a mindfulness practice can improve patient care;
• Utilize mindfulness practices to steady the mind and opening the heart in preparation for clients and patients, in ways that may improve focus and reduce rumination;
• Describe a mindful communication practice;
• Describe how mindful communication practices can improve interactions with patients, colleagues, and clients;
• Utilize mindfulness exercises and practices to improve emotional regulation during stressful times;
• Apply the principles of equanimity to reduce stress and professional burnout;
• Utilize compassion practices to reduce compassion fatigue when working with clients or patients;
• Utilize mindfulness of the body practices to improve attentional abilities when working with others in a clinical setting;
• Use mindfulness techniques to identify and prevent habitual reactivity, in ways that reduce emotional exhaustion and result in improved patient care

Dates: Monday, June 10, 3:00pm – Sunday, June 16, 11:30am; 6 nights
Sliding Scale: $1600-$700, PLUS a donation to the teacher(s) and retreat staff. Code 261R19.

We are very sorry, this retreat is FULL. Please submit an application if you are interested in being on the residential wait list or attending as a commuter. We do have cancellations, so the longer you’re able to wait, the better your chances of getting in.

Retreat Description:
Following a long Buddhist tradition of meditating in the forest beginning with the Buddha, the majority of the retreat will be spent outside, practicing in the beauty of nature.

During the retreat, we will learn traditional Buddhist meditation practices, and complimentary techniques that help deepen our relationship to ourselves, the earth, and awaken our receptivity to nature as our teacher. We will explore how mindfulness practice is profoundly supported by the teachings of nature as we sit and walk outdoors. This deepening awareness opens us to profound experiences of interconnectedness, insight, and love. It also allows us to experience ourselves as part of the broader web of life and attune to a sense of mystery and wonder.

This is a rare opportunity to sit in community, in silence, in a beautiful natural setting in the woods and hills above the main campus at Spirit Rock.

Suitable for both new and experienced students.

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).

Held outdoors, or if bad weather, indoor location: Upper Walking Hall. This retreat is designed as a smaller and more intimate retreat. It will mostly be held outdoors but should bad weather visit us, we will have an indoor location – the upper Walking Hall. We want you to know that this upper walking hall is located at the top of a flight of stairs adjacent to the main meditation hall. It is not accessible by wheelchair or scooter. If you have mobility limitations such that you cannot climb a flight of stairs (or hike a moderate distance) this retreat is not appropriate for you. Please call the registration department for more details BEFORE you register for this retreat if you have concerns related to accessibility to the upper Walking Hall or the short hike to the daily outdoor meditation location.