Event Type: Day Retreats

Date & Time: 5 Thursdays (every other Thursday); May 13, 27, June 10, 24, July 8; 1:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m. Pacific Time
Sliding Scale: Dana Day (By Donation) $0-$108. Code SF2G21.

Please Note: This retreat is offered online only. We invite you to try this creative form of practice as we take care of one another and respond skillfully to COVID-19.

Description:
The discourses of the Buddha, called suttas, are one of the world’s most majestic collections of spiritual teaching. They record many styles of teaching, from inspiring poetry to psychological guidance, social theory, and philosophical masterpieces that address the deepest human fears, hopes, and potential.

In this study and practice series, we dive into the beauty and richness of the Buddha’s teachings, reading texts from the Pāli Canon, the body of ancient texts preserved by Theravāda Buddhist cultures in South and Southeast Asia, in accessible English translations.

In this series, we explore the life of the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gotama, reading two different accounts of his practice and search for awakening and liberation. And we’ll read a majestic text from the Long Discourses that shows the importance of both ethics and concentration practice as supports for insight. Discourses include:

“The Noble Search” (MN26)
“The Longer Discourse With Saccaka” (MN36)
“The Fruits of the Ascetic Life” (DN2)

*Please Note: Though the classes in the series will build on each other, attendance at all five classes is not required. Participation in the first series (March-May 2021) is also not required.

Date & Time: Saturday, June 26, 2021; 10:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time
Sliding Scale: $45-$200. Code MT1D21.
Continuing Education Credits: This program offers 5.5 CE credits for $55 for psychologists and California licensed MFTs, LCSWs, LEPs, LPCCs, nurses, and chiropractors, licensed by the APA, California BBS, BRN, or BCE.

Description:
Qigong and Buddhism both recognize that joy shines naturally within each person, like the sun. Yet we all know that various conditions in our life and our world can be like clouds that obscure the radiance of our innate wellbeing.

This daylong will offer meditation and qigong practices that helps us clear the clouds and return to our innate sense of joy and wholeness.

Master Mingtong Gu will guide us in simple movements and the practice of sound healing to awaken our physical and emotional bodies. This naturally reconnects us to our happiness and wellbeing.

Debra Chamberlin Taylor will offer Dharma practice and guided meditation to help us open the heart of joy and discover wonder in the present moment. She will also guide practice for recognizing, valuing, and embodying even the most subtle, quiet joy.

Qigong and meditation can uplift spirits, enhance physical and emotional health and awaken consciousness.

All are welcome! No one will be turned away for lack of funds as space allows. For more information, please email Registration@spiritrock.org.

Date & Time: Sunday, June 27, 2021; 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time
Sliding Scale: $0-$108. Code JM1G21.

Please Note: This retreat is offered online only. We invite you to try this creative form of practice as we take care of one another and respond skillfully to COVID-19.

Open to all who identify as LGBTQI and GNC (Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans, Queer, Questioning Intersex, Asexual, Two-Spirited, and Gender Non-Conforming).

Description:
The Buddha first taught lovingkindness as a protection practice and as means of opening to a spacious heart. As we, the wide and diverse LGBTQI & GNC community gather for this day retreat, we’ll practice cultivating the beautiful quality of mettā (lovingkindness). We’ll explore how we can live within the heart of this intimate, supportive refuge, allowing us face the complexities and joys of our current conditions with balance and compassion. The Buddha recognized the great power of love, stating that “hatred never heals by hatred. Hatred is healed by love alone. This is the eternal law.”

“Love takes off masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within.” (James Baldwin)

Open to all who identify as LGBTQI and GNC (Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans, Queer, Questioning Intersex, Asexual, Two-Spirited, and Gender Non-Conforming). To support the retreat container, this retreat will not be open to allies.

Date & Time: 5 Thursdays (every other Thursday); May 13, 27, June 10, 24, July 8; 1:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m. Pacific Time
Sliding Scale: Dana Day (By Donation) $0-$108. Code SF2G21.

Please Note: This retreat is offered online only. We invite you to try this creative form of practice as we take care of one another and respond skillfully to COVID-19.

Description:
The discourses of the Buddha, called suttas, are one of the world’s most majestic collections of spiritual teaching. They record many styles of teaching, from inspiring poetry to psychological guidance, social theory, and philosophical masterpieces that address the deepest human fears, hopes, and potential.

In this study and practice series, we dive into the beauty and richness of the Buddha’s teachings, reading texts from the Pāli Canon, the body of ancient texts preserved by Theravāda Buddhist cultures in South and Southeast Asia, in accessible English translations.

In this series, we explore the life of the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gotama, reading two different accounts of his practice and search for awakening and liberation. And we’ll read a majestic text from the Long Discourses that shows the importance of both ethics and concentration practice as supports for insight. Discourses include:

“The Noble Search” (MN26)
“The Longer Discourse With Saccaka” (MN36)
“The Fruits of the Ascetic Life” (DN2)

*Please Note: Though the classes in the series will build on each other, attendance at all five classes is not required. Participation in the first series (March-May 2021) is also not required.

Date & Time: Saturday, July 10, 2021; 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time
Sliding Scale: $45-$200. Code OS2D21.

Please Note: This retreat is offered online only. We invite you to try this creative form of practice as we take care of one another and respond skillfully to COVID-19.

Description:
How can we find more clarity and stability during times of extraordinary change? How can we recover our sense of equilibrium when things get hard? Meditation provides a training ground to strengthen the internal basis from which we meet a changing world, and a laboratory to investigate how and why we get stuck.

In this daylong retreat, we’ll explore practices and perspectives from the Buddhist path that support us to meet the uncertainty of life with more confidence, grace, and insight. The day will include a combination of guided meditation, silent reflections, small group discussion, and large group Q&A. All are welcome, no prior experience required.

All are welcome! No one will be turned away for lack of funds as space allows. For more information, please email Registration@spiritrock.org.

Date & Time: Sunday, July 11, 2021; 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time
Sliding Scale: $45-$200. Code DR1D21.
Continuing Education Credits: This program offers 6 CE credits for $60 for psychologists, health & wellness coaches, and California licensed MFTs, LCSWs, LEPs, LPCCs, nurses, and chiropractors, licensed by the APA, NBHWC, California BBS, BRN, or BCE.

Please Note: This retreat is offered online only. We invite you to try this creative form of practice as we take care of one another and respond skillfully to COVID-19.

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. 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. Attendees will have the option of regular follow-up sessions.

All are welcome! No one will be turned away for lack of funds as space allows. For more information, please email Registration@spiritrock.org.

Date & Time: Sunday, July 18, 2021; 10:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. US Pacific Time
Sliding Scale: $45-$200. Our sliding scale options for this program include financial support for our teachers. Code ES1D21.

Open to Everyone!

Description:
In the Dhammapada, the Buddha points us to, “Experience this world as a bubble, a wave, an illusion, or a dream.” But how do we actually do that? Ironically, through living our lives more fully, we can learn to gradually let go more fully, through wise discernment.

In this time of unprecedented need for courage, there is also a need for creativity and a new story of what is possible. Through the lens of the core Buddhist teachings on the Four Noble Truths, we will explore the paradox of living fully and letting go through the ancient, transcultural wisdom tradition of storytelling.

In the morning, we will work with sacred myths from Buddhist, African-American, and Celtic cultures as guides for reimagining what is possible at this time. In the afternoon, we will co-create contemporary personal myths together, to inspire each other to live and let go more and more fully.

All are welcome! No one will be turned away for lack of funds as space allows. For more information, please email Registration@spiritrock.org.

Date & Time: Saturday, August 7, 2021; 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. US Pacific Time
Sliding Scale: $45-$200. Code KG1D21.
Continuing Education Credits: This program offers 6 CE credits for $60 for psychologists, health & wellness coaches, and California licensed MFTs, LCSWs, LEPs, LPCCs, and nurses, licensed by the APA, NBHWC, California BBS, or BRN.

Description:
Clinging can take many forms, from the extremes of addiction to the more daily attachments of opinions and views, from our stories and dramas to our relationships, from social media to Netflix. Recovery from these addictions is not only a way of abstinence and healing, but also a whole field of insight. In this way, our recovery becomes a powerful spiritual awakening in and of itself.

During this day, we will explore meditations and teachings that broaden our understanding of recovery to encompass the wisdom, serenity, and joy promised by the Dharma. Our time together will include guided mindfulness meditation, lecture, interactive exercises, personal reflection, discussion, and Q&A.

All welcome: newcomers, 12 Steppers, Recovery Dharma, Refuge Recovery or just the curious.

All are welcome! No one will be turned away for lack of funds as space allows. For more information, please email Registration@spiritrock.org.

Date & Time: Sunday, August 8, 2021; 9:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time
Sliding Scale: $45-$200. Code PM1D21.

Please Note: This retreat is offered online only. We invite you to try this creative form of practice as we take care of one another and respond skillfully to COVID-19.

Description:
In this 20th offering of Poetry Day, our usual sitting and walking practices will be informed by periods of reading poetry to each other. Each poem is carefully selected by Phillip Moffitt with an eye toward selections that point us to Dharma insights.

Poems of this nature comfort us, and inspire us to take our meditation understandings into our daily life such that we see the world through Dharma eyes and respond from the Dharma heart. This is a day of fun and lightheartedness, and if you haven’t ever read a poem in front of others, don’t miss this opportunity to free your voice and find a new form of expression.

All are welcome! No one will be turned away for lack of funds as space allows. For more information, please email Registration@spiritrock.org.

Date & Time: Saturday, August 14, 2021; 10:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time
Sliding Scale: $45-$200. Code TU1D21.

Please Note: This retreat is offered online only. We invite you to try this creative form of practice as we take care of one another and respond skillfully to COVID-19.

Description:
It hardly seems that any of us are able to make it through a day without being emotionally triggered. It could be a tragic or anger-inducing news story, a disagreement with family or friends (or even a stranger!), a comment or article on social media, a stressful situation at work…the list is endless. Often emotions turn our lives into a roller coaster ride of reactivity which can have the effect of turning our meditative practice into an escape clause rather than the source of our inner strength. It is possible, however, to engage our meditative practice in a more proactive way by cultivating several awakening emotions. They are considered awakening emotions because when present, they bring clarity and wisdom.

During our day together, we will explore these awakening emotions, how to distinguish them from non-awakening emotions, how to cultivate them and how to recognize their impact upon our practice.

All are welcome! No one will be turned away for lack of funds as space allows. For more information, please email Registration@spiritrock.org.

Date & Time: Saturday, August 21, 2021; 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time
Sliding Scale: Dana (By Donation) — $0-$108. Code AP1G21.

Please Note: This retreat is offered online only. We invite you to try this creative form of practice as we take care of one another and respond skillfully to COVID-19.

Description:
In meditation, people often expend large amounts of energy trying to stop their thinking so that they can be peaceful. This can result in a very tense and limited mind state. This afternoon’s teaching will focus on how to actually use thinking as a skillful tool, rather than trying to annihilate it.

Date & Time: Sunday, August 29, 2021; 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time
Sliding Scale: $45-$200. Code WT1D21.

Please Note: This retreat is offered online only. We invite you to try this creative form of practice as we take care of one another and respond skillfully to COVID-19.

Description:
Most people practice mindfulness in a focused way—attending to their breathing, and returning to their breath when their attention has wandered. But there are actually many different ways to practice being aware.

In this daylong, we will learn about the Spectrum of Awareness Practices: from focused awareness to investigative and choiceless awareness, to natural awareness. Natural awareness is an effortless, radiant, and spacious state of being that includes awareness of awareness.

The day will include opportunity to practice with the full Spectrum of Awareness through sitting, walking, and dialogue.

All are welcome! No one will be turned away for lack of funds as space allows. For more information, please email Registration@spiritrock.org.

Date & Time: Saturday, September 11, 2021; 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. US Pacific Time
Sliding Scale: $45-$200. Our sliding scale options for this program include financial support for our teachers. Code SF1D21.

Please Note: This retreat is offered online only. We invite you to try this creative form of practice as we take care of one another and respond skillfully to COVID-19.

Open to Everyone!

Description:
The ancient Buddhist map of existence known as the Six Realms is both a vision of the cosmos and all its inhabitants and an elegant psychological model we can use in everyday life. Working with the realms as psychological archetypes (demon, ghost, animal, human, titan, angel) reveals patterns in how we process both harm and help in our personal and collective past, which play out as trauma and privilege in the present.

Through meditations and relational exercises, we’ll bring mindfulness, compassion, and appreciation to our present situation, and explore how we can see beings in various states of existence, from hellish to heavenly, all around us. This kind of reflective practice reveals how central emotions and mind states are to our experience of life’s challenges and pleasures, and suggests pathways for healing and liberation from all conditioned ways of being.

Tentative General Schedule:
10:00 a.m. -12:30 p.m. morning session
12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. lunch
1:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. afternoon session
Sessions will include meditations, talk, and small groups

All are welcome! No one will be turned away for lack of funds as space allows. For more information, please email Registration@spiritrock.org.

Date & Time: Friday, September 17, 2021; 10:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. US Pacific Time
Sliding Scale: $45-$200. Our sliding scale options for this program include financial support for our teachers. Code MC2D21.
Continuing Education (CE) credit available:
This program offers 5.5 CE credits for $55 for psychologists, health & wellness coaches, and California licensed MFTs, LCSWs, LEPs, LPCCs, nurses, and chiropractors, licensed by the APA, NBHWC, California BBS, BRN, or BCE.*

Please Note: This retreat is offered online only. We invite you to try this creative form of practice as we take care of one another and respond skillfully to COVID-19.

Description:
In response to the ongoing challenging conditions of the pandemic, on this Vipassana/Insight meditation retreat we will cultivate the beautiful quality of mindfulness.

Mindful awareness nurtures a clarity, wisdom and well-being, qualities so essential at this time. Through “at-home” mindfulness practices we’ll explore understanding the root causes of stress and suffering and develop the causes for a genuine happiness. These foundational Buddhist practices help you live with a profound ease and freedom wherever you are – the innate peace we all seek.

As well as sitting and walking insight meditation practice, heart based teachings will be integrated into the day so that we learn to live with a loving awareness. There will be periods of meditation, talks, questions and discussion. It’s a wonderful retreat to truly integrate these teachings more fully into our lives and practice. We will do so with the supportive community of like-minded meditators.

All are welcome! No one will be turned away for lack of funds as space allows. For more information, please email Registration@spiritrock.org.

Date & Time: Saturday, September 25, 2021; 10:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. US Pacific Time
Sliding Scale: $55-$275. Our sliding scale options for this program include financial support for our teachers. Code JK1B21.
Continuing Education (CE) credit available:
This program offers 5.5 CE credits for $55 for psychologists, health & wellness coaches, and California licensed MFTs, LCSWs, LEPs, LPCCs, nurses, and chiropractors, licensed by the APA, NBHWC, California BBS, BRN, or BCE.*

Please Note: This retreat is offered online only. We invite you to try this creative form of practice as we take care of one another and respond skillfully to COVID-19.

A BENEFIT FOR SPIRIT ROCK

Description:
Discover inner capacities for wakefulness, joy, dignity, and compassion – your Buddhanature. Join us for this day of mindful meditations and teachings on love, consciousness, healing, and the nature of mind. Our training will study the fundamental principles of Buddhist psychology, combining practical examples, teaching stories, visionary wisdom, and case studies. We will explore applications of these revolutionary perspectives in our healing work, our meditation, and our life.

All are welcome! No one will be turned away for lack of funds as space allows. For more information, please email Registration@spiritrock.org.

Date & Time: Sunday, September 26, 2021; 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. US Pacific Time
Sliding Scale: Dana (By Donation) $0-$108. Code NU1G21.

Please Note: This retreat is offered online only. We invite you to try this creative form of practice as we take care of one another and respond skillfully to COVID-19.

Description:
At the heart of the Buddha’s teaching are the qualities of clear seeing and compassion for all beings. Each quality supporting the development of the other. This day of practice will be dedicated to rediscovering and nurturing this natural wisdom and love so that we can bring it to all aspects of our lives.

Tentative General Schedule:
9:00 a.m. Welcome, intro & precepts
9:15 a.m. Guided still meditation
10:00 a.m. Guided movement meditation
10:30 a.m. Dhamma reflection
11:00 a.m. Still meditation
11:30 a.m. Movement meditation
12:00 p.m. Meal reflection & break
1:30 p.m. Qi Gong/Movement
2:30 p.m. Dhamma reflection & Q&A
3:30 p.m. Guided still meditation
4:15 p.m. Movement meditation
4:45 p.m. Last words and blessing
5:00 p.m. Close