Date: April 20, 2019; 10:00am – 4:30pm
Sliding Scale: $75 – 200. Code WN2D19.

Description:
“Oh wondrous creatures. By what strange miracle do you so often not smile?” Hafiz

Treat yourself to a relaxing day of sitting and walking mindfulness meditation interspersed with the poetry and humor of the ages. The day will include guided meditations on the evolutionary origin of our body and emotions, reflections on aging and impermanence, and an exploration of the tricky delusions of mind and the mystery of consciousness itself. Throughout the day, we will hear from poets and crazy wisdom masters, from Lao Tzu and Rumi to Mark Twain and Lily Tomlin, giving us some perspective on this strange, impossible life we are leading. You may not get enlightened, but you are likely to have a few laughs and acquire a healthy dose of inspiration. Come on along!

“There ain’t no answer. There ain’t going to be any answer. There never has been an answer. That’s the answer.”
Gertrude Stein

“Read not the Times. Read the Eternities.” Henry David Thoreau

Dates: Monday, August 12, 3:00pm – Saturday, August 17, 11:30am; 5 nights
Sliding Scale: $1300 – $600, PLUS a donation to the teacher(s) and retreat staff. Code 276R19.
Will open for registration on 4/10/2019.

Retreat Description:
Life is intense: pleasure and pain, joy and sorrow, change everywhere, all the time. To open to this with mindfulness for even a moment is a big deal. We underestimate the courage, tenderness, and love called forth by life. In our retreat, we will practice opening the heart to our experience – to make peace with the human condition. As our hearts are transformed, the motivation to alleviate suffering in the world crystallizes and the circle of empathy widens.

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.

Dates: Monday, September 16, 3:00pm – Sunday, September 22, 11:30am; 6 nights
Sliding Scale: $1600 – $700, PLUS a donation to the teacher(s) and retreat staff. Code 287R19.
Will open for registration on 5/15/2019.

Please Note: Parts of this retreat will be held outdoors surrounded by nature, depending upon weather conditions. If held indoors, this retreat will be held in the Upper Walking Hall and has limited access; please read the details related to this below.*

Retreat Description:
During this silent retreat, we will practice the art and discipline of mindfulness meditation, with our collective intention being to train our minds and open our hearts. A significant feature of this retreat is that we will be doing some of our practice outside under ancient oak trees, letting the wisdom of nature help support us along on our path.

Throughout the retreat, we will make creative use of classic Buddhist meditation practices to explore the evolutionary origin of our body and emotions; engage in traditional Buddhist reflections on death and dying; examine our nature “as” nature; and all the while explore the tricky delusions of mind and the mystery of consciousness itself. In the process, we expect to find relief from our personal drama and a new sense of delight and meaning in our lives.
The retreat will include poetry and a little “crazy wisdom” as well.
The retreat is suitable for both beginning and experienced meditation students.

Recommended reading for this retreat is Wes Nisker’s book Buddha’s Nature.

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).

Location: Outdoors, or if bad weather, 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.

Dates: Monday, December 9, 3:00pm – Sunday, December 15, 11:30am; 6 nights
Sliding Scale: TBD, PLUS a donation to the teacher(s) and retreat staff. Code 316R19.
16 CE credits available for $160 for psychologists and California licensed MFTs, LCSWs, LEPs, LPCCs, nurses, and chiropractors.
Will open for registration on 8/7/2019.

Retreat Description:
This silent retreat will focus on cultivating the quality of loving kindness (metta in Pali), infusing our hearts, minds and bodies with a strong caring wisdom. Mindful presence and loving kindness are essential to living a spiritual life. Awareness as developed through mindfulness practice leads to clarity, insight and understanding. Loving kindness practices open the heart, allow a kind embrace of ourselves, and connect us intimately with all of life. The fusion of these qualities helps us to respond more compassionately to the challenges that we encounter in ourselves and in the world.

Qigong is a practice of aligning breath, movement, and awareness for exercise, healing, and meditation. With roots in Chinese medicine, martial arts, and philosophy, qigong is traditionally viewed as a practice to cultivate and balance (chi) or what has been translated as ‘intrinsic life energy.’ It recognizes, cultivates and nourishes the ‘energy’ aspect of our being. Qigong perfectly complements traditional sitting meditation practice and has a long and well-established history connected to contemplative traditions. On this retreat the loving kindness practices will be supported by periods of guided instruction as well as Qigong meditation, and regular meetings with the teachers. All are welcome to attend!

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 that improve patient/client care. 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:

• Utilize a heart-based practice for meeting stress, pain and burnout with kindness and wisdom;
• Utilize a lovingkindess practice for working with difficult clients/patients or co-workers;
• Incorporate self-compassion practices in ways that may reduce stress and anxiety and improve patient care;
• Demonstrate loving kindness with self-compassion meditation, in ways that may reduce emotional distress and improve job satisfaction;
• Describe how to use a self-compassion break, in ways that improve patient care and prevent compassion fatigue or emotional exhaustion;
• Describe how mindfulness and heart-based practices function to protect clear-seeing and emotional-regulation and how this supports being a more effective care-provider;
• Describe how mindfulness and heart-based practices incline one’s mind away from limiting, harsh self-narratives and increases curiosity and empathy, thereby improving one’s ability to listen and communicate effectively as a care-provider;
• Utilize specific mindfulness and heart-based practices to decrease stress and improve presence and emotional-regulation thereby allowing one to be a more effective care-provider;
• Incorporate mindfulness and heart-based practices into daily life and work routines for increased empathy, improved balance, and greater self-care and sustainability in one’s care-provider role;
• Utilize mindfulness practices in stressful environments to move from habitual reactivity to appropriate responses, in ways that improve patient care;
• Incorporate mindfulness practices in preparation for, and when working with clients, to regulate energy.