Event Type: Day Retreats

Date: November 27, 2020. 10:00am – 3:00pm
Sliding Scale: $45-$200. Code SP1D20.

Please Note: This retreat is now 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:

“To be healed, we must come with all the other creatures to the feast of creation.”- Wendell Berry

This special holiday retreat will introduce mindfulness through yoga techniques and meditation. Join together in community to rest into the bounty of the season and enrich your sense of connection with the world.

The yoga asana will be basic, accessible, and focused on the cultivation of mindfulness. Yogic breathing practices will be introduced. Newcomers will have the opportunity to learn about mindfulness, and experienced practitioners will have the opportunity to explore deepening practice. Come prepared to explore the present moment!

Date: November 28, 2020. 10:00am – 3:00pm PT
Sliding Scale: $45 – $200. Code AT1D20.

Please Note: This retreat is now 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:

We are at a threshold of global transformation that is asking us to revisit some of the assumptions we have lived with in order to fashion a sustainable and just way of living. We are invited to look at the many blessings in our lives, as well as touch some aspects of our painful past—personally and collectively—that have brought us to where we are now. As we ask for forgiveness, it opens the gateway for more authentic joy and celebration.

This day retreat will include time for meditation, teachings, ritual, and inquiry in small groups to center our experience of forgiveness and gratitude.

Date: December 2-6, 2020. 10:00am –  4:30pm.
Sliding Scale: $225 – $1,500. Code KT1M20.

Please Note: This retreat is now 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 intention of the retreat is to recognize and validate the unshakable heart in the midst of things falling apart.

In the Girimananda Sutta, the Buddha declared: “This is peaceful, this is sublime: namely, the calming of all formations, the relinquishment of all acquisitions, the ending of craving, dispassion, the cessation of suffering, Nibbana.”

The retreat will investigate the concept and realization of Nibbana–the amata dhamma, “that which never dies”–as it is presented in the Theravāda and Mahāyāna traditions. Some of the texts used include the Greater Heartwood Sutta, the Mula Sutta, the Shurangama Sutra, and the Heart Sutra. We will also explore how deeper levels of realization and equanimity support meaningful and effective engagement in our precarious time.

This retreat includes study, discussion, meditation, chanting, devotional practices, and completes with a Kuan Yin Compassion Ceremony from the Chinese Mahāyāna tradition dedicated to peace and freedom from harm for all.

Date: December 12, 2020. 6:30pm – 9:30pm.
Sliding Scale: $20 – $108. Code JA3E20.

Please Note: This retreat is now 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 great love and sacred light that this season celebrates are found within our own hearts. We will use the powerful and sublime blend of chanting and meditation to carry us from the frenzy of “holiday mind” to the ocean of the awakened heart. This evening will include chanting (call and response) and meditation. We will conclude with a beautiful candlelight ritual to honor the winter solstice.

Please have a few candles near your computer so that you can be warmed by and feel connected to the worldwide community that will be praying together for the healing of our world.

Date: December 13, 2020. 10:00am – 4:00pm
Sliding Scale: $45-$200. Code PM2D20.
CECs pending for psychologists and California licensed MFTs, LCSWs, LEPs, LPCCs, nurses, and chiropractors.

Please Note: This retreat is now 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 art of forgiveness begins with connecting to the heart. The practice involves learning skills such as metta, mindful acknowledgement, and compassion. Practicing these skills enables you to free yourself from painful identification with past
events.

This is a day to bring remorse or grief about past actions and move beyond feelings of guilt and shame. Likewise, if someone has wronged you, you will be guided toward holding them in accountability without closing your heart. Additionally, forgiveness practice will move you toward clarity and acceptance for the ways you have let yourself down.

Practicing forgiveness allows you to move from a heavy, remorseful heart and a reactive mind to a heart that’s light but still feels regret, and a mind that is calm and clear. The day will be held in silence and consist of sitting and walking meditation, instruction in the art and practice of forgiveness, and a forgiveness ceremony.

Date: December 19, 2020. 9:00am – 5:00pm
Sliding Scale: Dana (by donation). Code NU2G20.

Please Note: This retreat is now 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:

Whether you are at home alone or surrounded by family and friends during this time, your true teacher is right here in the form of your body and mind. We all need some help uncovering this reality and that is why the Buddha compassionately offered
his timeless teachings. Gathering together with Dharma friends online supports this process of discovery.

By bringing wise attention to the way we experience the world through the six senses, we can begin to understand how we are pushed and pulled by painful and pleasant feelings. Once we see that process, we have more choice in how to respond, and we experience greater freedom and clarity.

In this day retreat, there will be periods of Dharma teaching, guided meditation and Q&A interspersed with periods of quiet practice on your own. We welcome you to join us for this day of deepening exploration together.

Everyone is welcome.

Donations are also gratefully accepted, so if you would like to offer provisions for Aloka Vihara Forest Monastery, please click here for a dana list. Do not send provision offerings to Spirit Rock. Please arrange this directly with the Monastery. Thank you for your kindness!

Date: December 20, 2020. 10:00am – 5:00pm
Sliding Scale: $45-$200. Code KG1D20.
CECs Pending for psychologists and California licensed MFTs, LCSWs, LEPs, LPCCs, and nurses.

Please Note: This retreat is now 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:

Our Dharma practice and recovery program both rest on the foundation of intention and commitment. One day at a time, one breath at a time, we keep coming back to the present moment and our wish to be free. This day retreat will focus on preparing for the new year with a clear vision of our path, whether we are just establishing our recovery, renewing our commitment, or maintaining our program and practice.

Through mindfulness meditations, lecture, interactive exercises, Chi Kung, and personal reflection, we seek fresh inspiration for a year of growth and happiness.

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

Date: December 27, 2020. 10:00am – 3:00pm
Sliding Scale: $45-$200. Code JN2D20.

Please Note: This retreat is now 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:

Equanimity is a beautiful quality of heart that supports holding the joys and sorrows of our lives and of the world with balance. It acknowledges what is true in any moment, with an open, courageous, and caring heart. Together, we will practice cultivating this quality of heart that can be thought of as our true home.

Equanimity provides the support of a spaciousness, deep acceptance, and a malleability of heart. When we open to meeting the present experience with equanimity, we open to the possibility of freedom even in the midst of pain or difficulty. We will explore how this quality can serve as a foundation for clarity and strength: to speak the truth, and act with love, even in the face of hatred.

Date: December 31, 2020. 10:00am – 3:00pm
Sliding Scale: $45-$200. Code RR2D20.

Please Note: This retreat is now 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:

2020 has been a year to remember, and many of our collective memories have not been happy ones. Each of us will have had our own responses to the collective malaise: our own fears, our own anger, our own aspirations and hopes for the future. As we turn toward a new year, we have the opportunity to breathe a big sigh, and to deepen our capacity to trust the course of our life, whatever the external circumstances. Rather than assuming that we create our life, this class assumes that our task is to listen and look for the signs of its own unfolding, and to follow it wherever it takes us. Using writing prompts, short meditation sessions and the wisdom of the group, this day retreat will help you to deepen your trust in your own life and in life in its larger picture.

Date: Saturday, January 2, 2021. 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time
Sliding Scale: $45-$200. Code KL1D21.

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:
As we continue to endeavor in creating a just and liberatory world in these shifting times, qualities of Kindness, Compassion, Inclusive Joy, and Equanimity can be hard to access when there’s internal or worldly turmoil.

The teachings on the 4 Brahmaviharas or “Immeasurables” can help us stay centered and connected. These qualities are considered both emotional and mental qualities which we have and yet can use strengthening through intentional meditation and mindful interactions to clarify them from our own life experiences. My analogy is that they are like muscles we have which, when intentionally “pumped,” supports us to connect to them without becoming easily tired or overwhelmed.

This daylong combines short teachings, guided meditations, and mindful interactions to support our ability to identify and build the capacity to be as confident in these qualities as possible—felt qualities in ourselves and as qualities to share with others.

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: Sunday, January 3, 2021. 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Pacific Time
Sliding Scale: $45-$200. Code DM1D21.

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 our current global situation and resulting personal life challenges, anxiety is a natural reaction. However, our bodies are not designed for chronic stress, and it can derail our well-being.

Our day retreat will utilize mindfulness and embodied practices to relieve anxiety and restore a sense of trust in our body’s ability to self-regulate. Our sessions will weave Dharma wisdom, rhythmic breath work, and mindful movement emphasizing somatic awareness.

These practices are designed to release chronic tension, regulate our nervous systems, calm reactivity, and develop a gentle relationship with ourselves. This process of resourcing will reconnect us with our innate calm presence, for agency over our responses and greater resilience. We will then turn toward the hindrance of anxiety and investigate its nuances with kindness and self-compassion. We may come to know anxiety as a teacher—one that deepens mindful awareness and a tender connection to our inner states.

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: Saturday, January 9, 2021. 10:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time
Sliding Scale: Dana (By Donation) — $0-$108. Code PS1G21.

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:
A pandemic. Unemployment. Fears for our democracy. Why should we shift our relationship to money now? Because our response to money is actually something we can control in this time of uncertainty and dread. Imagine when we are on the other side of this difficult time: do we still want to be stressed about money? Still defining ourselves by our net worth? By transforming how we think and act with money now, we can have peace-of-mind, purpose, and power–no matter the size of our wallets–and we can strengthen ourselves for the challenges ahead.

This online, experiential event creates the conditions for you to start shifting your relationship with money. Through guided meditation and interactive exercises, you will release stressful patterns and cultivate new neural pathways for a wiser and more spacious money life.

Date: Tuesday to Thursday, February 2 – 4, 2021. 10:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time
Sliding Scale: $45-$200. Code LR1M21.

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:
Maya Angelou once wrote: “The ache for home lives in all of us. The safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.” James Baldwin reflected: “Perhaps home is not a place but simply an irrevocable condition.” In The Wiz, Stephanie Mills sang: “When I think of home I think of a place where there’s love overflowing.” No matter how we think of home, it is a place that many of us need. The needing of a place called home is the needing to be in a place where we are safe and taken care of.

Home is the experience of taking refuge in something that restores us through love. Homecoming is opening to how home is calling us into being held and cared for. As a community in retreat, we will be using Lama Rod’s book Love and Rage as root text.

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

Dates: Sunday, February 14, 2021; 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time
Sliding Scale: $45-$200. Code DG1D21.
Continuing Education Credits pending.

Description:
This Valentine’s Day program is an opportunity for couples to awaken the heart of joy and love together. To be intimate we must learn to be fully present. Through partner meditations, verbal and nonverbal communication exercises, and group sharing, couples will practice the art of intimacy and learn skills to deepen their shared journey.

Important note: This program is not appropriate for attending alone, as the majority of the day will be spent in partner 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: Sunday, February 28, 2021. 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time
Sliding Scale: TBD. Code TB1B21.
Continuing Education Credits pending.

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 medicine our world calls for is compassion; we need to love ourselves and each other into healing and freedom. While compassion arises naturally, the flowering of full, mature compassion—Radical Compassion—requires training.

This workshop offers a powerful tool for cultivating compassion. Using the RAIN meditation we will directly awaken the four dimensions of Radical Compassion—mindfulness, embodied presence, active caring and all-inclusiveness. Beginning with our inner life, we’ll explore widening the circles of compassion through a sequence of short talks, guided meditations, and interpersonal meditations and reflections. The day will include time for questions and sharing.

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