Event Type: Non-Residential Programs

Dates: August 27 – December 18, 2021; specific dates below.
Time: 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Sliding Scale: $5000 – $750. Code ML1T21.

Description:
This certificate training program is open to and designed for leaders and aspiring leaders in both the non-profit and for-profit sectors. We will cultivate mindful and compassionate leadership skills and practices to embody our care for ourselves and others, with a mindset of service to community and the world.

A core, distinct pedagogical approach of this program is participating in and co-learning with a supportive community of like-minded peers both in the large group and small monthly pod meetings. Through lectures, group discussion, guided meditations, readings, reflections, experiential exercises, and personal meditation practice, we will cultivate skills and behaviors that can be applied directly to our personal and professional lives. By developing and incorporating these intentional practices, we will strengthen professional relationships and workplace environments, expanding impact beyond our own learning for the broader benefit of our work and organization(s).

This program includes training in three realms: personal, relational, and organizational. Some included themes are:

• Mindful, compassionate, values-aligned leadership
• Cultivating well-being: self-care, rest, and resilience
• Self-awareness and self-management: emotional intelligence and working with difficult emotions
• Transforming professional and personal relationships through embodied, skillful communication
• Courageous conversations
• Empowering and inspiring people and teams
• Coaching and mentoring: compassionate accountability
• Fostering and co-creating belonging

Program Includes:
Monthly large group sessions
Monthly pod sessions
Daily and monthly home practices and readings
Monthly written reflections
Optional monthly Tea and Q&A

Dates:
Program runs August 27 – December 18, 2021. Specific training dates below. All meeting times are: 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. US Pacific Time.

• Fri-Sat, Aug 27-28 (2 days); Opening Weekend
• Fri, Sept 17
• Fri, Oct 15
• Fri, Nov 12
• Fri-Sat, Dec 17-18 (2 days); Closing Weekend

Participation Commitment:

• Must attend at least 5 of 7 days
• Meditation: 20-30 min/day recommended
• Reading/Journaling: 4-8 hr/month
• Pod meetings: 1 hr/month
• Tea and Q&A: 1 hr/month (highly recommended but not required, and will be recorded)
• Attend ONE program orientation (highly recommended, especially if you have not used LearnDash before)
  • Wednesday, August 18; 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. US Pacific Time
  • Friday, August 20; 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. US Pacific Time
  • Wednesday, August 25; 5:00 – 6:00 p.m. US Pacific Time

Financial Information:
Sliding Scale: $5000 – $750. Please consider paying at the highest rate that you can afford: your generosity supports Spirit Rock, staff, and your fellow practitioners. These fees also support the teachers of this program. Any amount offered above the Base rate of $2500 is a tax deductible donation to Spirit Rock, and your generosity will enable and support the participation of others.

• Benefactor – $5000
• Sustainer – $3000
• Base – $2500

The following rates are available for those needing financial support.

• Supported – $2000
• Mudita/Karuna Scholarship – $1650*
• Black, Indigenous, and People of color (BIPOC) Scholarship – $750*

*Both the Mudita/Karuna Scholarship and BIPOC Scholarship rates are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Both are limited and reserved for those truly experiencing financial hardship.

Cancellation Policy for this Dharma Training Program:

• $100 cancellation fee** – On or before August 23, by 5:00 p.m. US Pacific Time (**fees reduced for scholarship participants)
• $500 cancellation fee** – August 24 until Sept 20
• No refunds – Sept 21 and beyond

Date: Friday to Sunday, July 30 – August 1, 2021
Time: Friday, 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.; Saturday & Sunday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Sliding Scale: $125-$1008. Code: PW1M21.

Description:
Our world is rife with division, oppression, and injustice. The precepts offer guidelines for living together in this world with skill and kindness. In our weekend, we will investigate the precepts—not killing, not stealing, not lying, and not misusing sexuality or intoxicants—as an embodied, relational path.

Through guided meditation, Dharma talks, interactive inquiry, and discussion, we’ll use the precepts to discover what it means to stay awake and be compassionate, and explore the potential for engaging in our shared human life without doing harm to ourselves, each other, and the planet.

All are welcome.

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: Registration opens August 1 – October 15, 2021. Materials available August 1 – December 1, 2021.
Sliding scale: $199 – $1,008. Code SB2N21.

Description:
With a focus on interactive discussion, community building and current events, Sylvia (via video recording) and Heidi (live via Zoom) will share practical, accessible tools to respond to, practice in, and live in these uncharted times with mindfulness, presence, and an open heart. (Re)connect and be nurtured by the support of like-minded sangha, shared stories, and meaningful moments. Join us as we explore how to bring our practice more fully into everyday life and out into the world!

This iteration will be interactive discussion-based, led by facilitating teacher Heidi Bourne, and will include Dharma talks, discussion and reflection, guided meditation, and Q&A.

Course material (included): 11 video-based teachings with Sylvia on how to make your day-to-day experience a basis for mindfulness practice. Filmed at her home, Sylvia offers reflections, teachings, and instructions for everyday experiences such as drinking coffee, driving, preparing food and even walking your dog. Videos recorded in 2014.

With easy, accessible instructions based on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness as well as Lovingkindness (Metta) practice, this class offers an opportunity to take your practice off of the cushion and into the world.

COURSE INCLUDES:
• 6 live Zoom sessions with Heidi Bourne (recorded and posted for later viewing)
• 11 recorded video teaching segments with Sylvia Boorstein
• A downloadable course manual

LIVE ZOOM SESSIONS:
6 weeks, Mondays, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
October 4 – November 8, 2021
Session dates: Oct 4, 11, 18, 25, Nov 1, 8

REGISTRATION AND ACCESSING COURSE MATERIAL:
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with the link to the course page. This course is useful for newer students as well as more experienced meditators who want to refresh their knowledge. The course materials will be available until December 1, 2021. Videos originally recorded in 2014.

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: Saturday, August 28, 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 HT1D21.

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 day, we will explore the timeless, beautiful art and practice of two mindful movement traditions: Qi Gong and Tai Chi Chuan.

Together, we will learn more about the benefits of these practices, and discover how to break down each step, work with the breath and body mechanics, and how to cultivate inner Qi (sometimes translated as spirit), to enable a sense of energy flow and ease.

Our time will include specific practices, such as the Eight Piece Brocade Qi Gong and Yang forms, as well as discussion, meditation, and Q&A.

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 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.

DATES: Registration opens August 1 – October 15, 2021. Materials available August 1 – December 1, 2021.
Sliding scale: $199 – $1,008. Code SB2N21.

Description:
With a focus on interactive discussion, community building and current events, Sylvia (via video recording) and Heidi (live via Zoom) will share practical, accessible tools to respond to, practice in, and live in these uncharted times with mindfulness, presence, and an open heart. (Re)connect and be nurtured by the support of like-minded sangha, shared stories, and meaningful moments. Join us as we explore how to bring our practice more fully into everyday life and out into the world!

This iteration will be interactive discussion-based, led by facilitating teacher Heidi Bourne, and will include Dharma talks, discussion and reflection, guided meditation, and Q&A.

Course material (included): 11 video-based teachings with Sylvia on how to make your day-to-day experience a basis for mindfulness practice. Filmed at her home, Sylvia offers reflections, teachings, and instructions for everyday experiences such as drinking coffee, driving, preparing food and even walking your dog. Videos recorded in 2014.

With easy, accessible instructions based on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness as well as Lovingkindness (Metta) practice, this class offers an opportunity to take your practice off of the cushion and into the world.

COURSE INCLUDES:
• 6 live Zoom sessions with Heidi Bourne (recorded and posted for later viewing)
• 11 recorded video teaching segments with Sylvia Boorstein
• A downloadable course manual

LIVE ZOOM SESSIONS:
6 weeks, Mondays, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
October 4 – November 8, 2021
Session dates: Oct 4, 11, 18, 25, Nov 1, 8

REGISTRATION AND ACCESSING COURSE MATERIAL:
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with the link to the course page. This course is useful for newer students as well as more experienced meditators who want to refresh their knowledge. The course materials will be available until December 1, 2021. Videos originally recorded in 2014.

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.

Dates: Saturday to Sunday, September 18-19, 2021
Times: 10:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. US Pacific Time
Sliding Scale: $75-$600. Our sliding scale options for this program include financial support for our teachers. Code ES2M21.

Open to Everyone!

Description:
Equanimity is one the four heart qualities described in classical Buddhist texts. It is said to bring balance and wisdom to the three other heart qualities of joy, love, and compassion. Equanimity can be experienced as stillness and composure that helps maintain steadiness, even amidst difficulties.

The equinox is a time of year when day and night are of equal length all over the world. Connecting with the earth’s relationship to the sun at equinox, offers an opportunity to reflect on how to bring steadiness and wisdom to individual, relational, and societal imbalances.

Join us in silent meditation, ritual, and reflection to celebrate, align with, and attune to this sacred time of year. We will draw on the foundational teachings of the Satipattana Sutta’s and practice meditation with earth, water, fire, air, and space. There will also be dharma talks, inquiry practice, ritual and journaling.

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: 5 Sundays; September 19 –  October 17, 2021. Time: 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. US Pacific Time
Class Dates: September 19, 26, October 3, 10, 17; class time is the same for all 5 Sundays.
Sliding Scale: $80-$180. Code: TE6C21.
Important Note: All participants must attend the first class meeting. Students are expected to attend at least 4 sessions.

Registration limit: 23 students. Series fills quickly so register early! No late additions unless by teacher approval.

ALL TWEENS IN MIDDLE SCHOOL ARE WELCOME (11-14 year olds)

Description:
In this five-week series, learn meditation, speak your truth, relax deeply, and develop your mind – all while hanging out with other great people your age. We will take the time to reconnect with ourselves in order to experience more peace, wisdom, and compassion through the practices of mindfulness and Insight meditation.

Classes will include movement, community-building games, meditation instruction, and council – a practice of witnessing and contributing to the group’s collective wisdom. This Fall series is offered to all tweens in Middle School.

Dates: 6 Sundays; September 19 – October 24, 2021; 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. US Pacific Time
Class dates: September 19, 26; October 3, 10, 17, 24; class time is the same for all 6 Sundays.
Sliding Scale: $108 – $240. Code: TE5C21.
Important Note: All participants must attend the first class meeting. Students are expected to attend at least 4 sessions.

Registration limit: 23 students. Series fills quickly so register early! No late additions unless by teacher approval.

ALL TEENS IN HIGH SCHOOL AND BEYOND ARE WELCOME

Description:
What would it be like to love yourself, trust yourself, and accept yourself… completely?

To be able to show up fully, in your own unique way?

Come join us! Let’s co-create a safe space to discover and nurture our authentic selves. A community where we can bring forth our joys and sorrows…and have honest conversations about what really matters.

In this six-week teen series, we’ll explore deep practices of mindfulness and lovingkindness…play with art and creativity…and connect through games, discussions, and one-on-one time.

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

Dates: Monday to Friday, September 27-October 1, 2021 (5 days). A daily schedule will be posted closer to the retreat.*
Sliding Scale: $225-$1500, PLUS a donation to the teacher(s). Code 296R21.

*Last year this retreat was 5 full days, from 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.; we have not received a confirmation of timing for this year (2021). Sorry for the inconvenience.

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.

All who self-identify as womxn are welcome!

Description:
This silent meditation retreat will offer myths, stories, and archetypes of Buddhist womxn, past and present, as inspiration to illuminate and embrace all aspects of our wisdom, compassion, and desire for freedom. We will weave diverse expressions of feminine energies and the innate ways womxn know and understand into the fabric of the retreat, community, and practice.

Our time together will include silent sitting and walking, meditation instruction, daily embodied movement, Dharma talks, meetings with teachers, and creative 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.

DATES: Registration opens August 1 – October 15, 2021. Materials available August 1 – December 1, 2021.
Sliding scale: $199 – $1,008. Code SB2N21.

Description:
With a focus on interactive discussion, community building and current events, Sylvia (via video recording) and Heidi (live via Zoom) will share practical, accessible tools to respond to, practice in, and live in these uncharted times with mindfulness, presence, and an open heart. (Re)connect and be nurtured by the support of like-minded sangha, shared stories, and meaningful moments. Join us as we explore how to bring our practice more fully into everyday life and out into the world!

This iteration will be interactive discussion-based, led by facilitating teacher Heidi Bourne, and will include Dharma talks, discussion and reflection, guided meditation, and Q&A.

Course material (included): 11 video-based teachings with Sylvia on how to make your day-to-day experience a basis for mindfulness practice. Filmed at her home, Sylvia offers reflections, teachings, and instructions for everyday experiences such as drinking coffee, driving, preparing food and even walking your dog. Videos recorded in 2014.

With easy, accessible instructions based on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness as well as Lovingkindness (Metta) practice, this class offers an opportunity to take your practice off of the cushion and into the world.

COURSE INCLUDES:
• 6 live Zoom sessions with Heidi Bourne (recorded and posted for later viewing)
• 11 recorded video teaching segments with Sylvia Boorstein
• A downloadable course manual

LIVE ZOOM SESSIONS:
6 weeks, Mondays, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
October 4 – November 8, 2021
Session dates: Oct 4, 11, 18, 25, Nov 1, 8

REGISTRATION AND ACCESSING COURSE MATERIAL:
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with the link to the course page. This course is useful for newer students as well as more experienced meditators who want to refresh their knowledge. The course materials will be available until December 1, 2021. Videos originally recorded in 2014.

Dates: 5 Sundays; September 19 –  October 17, 2021. Time: 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. US Pacific Time
Class Dates: September 19, 26, October 3, 10, 17; class time is the same for all 5 Sundays.
Sliding Scale: $80-$180. Code: TE6C21.
Important Note: All participants must attend the first class meeting. Students are expected to attend at least 4 sessions.

Registration limit: 23 students. Series fills quickly so register early! No late additions unless by teacher approval.

ALL TWEENS IN MIDDLE SCHOOL ARE WELCOME (11-14 year olds)

Description:
In this five-week series, learn meditation, speak your truth, relax deeply, and develop your mind – all while hanging out with other great people your age. We will take the time to reconnect with ourselves in order to experience more peace, wisdom, and compassion through the practices of mindfulness and Insight meditation.

Classes will include movement, community-building games, meditation instruction, and council – a practice of witnessing and contributing to the group’s collective wisdom. This Fall series is offered to all tweens in Middle School.

Dates: 6 Sundays; September 19 – October 24, 2021; 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. US Pacific Time
Class dates: September 19, 26; October 3, 10, 17, 24; class time is the same for all 6 Sundays.
Sliding Scale: $108 – $240. Code: TE5C21.
Important Note: All participants must attend the first class meeting. Students are expected to attend at least 4 sessions.

Registration limit: 23 students. Series fills quickly so register early! No late additions unless by teacher approval.

ALL TEENS IN HIGH SCHOOL AND BEYOND ARE WELCOME

Description:
What would it be like to love yourself, trust yourself, and accept yourself… completely?

To be able to show up fully, in your own unique way?

Come join us! Let’s co-create a safe space to discover and nurture our authentic selves. A community where we can bring forth our joys and sorrows…and have honest conversations about what really matters.

In this six-week teen series, we’ll explore deep practices of mindfulness and lovingkindness…play with art and creativity…and connect through games, discussions, and one-on-one time.

Dates: Monday to Friday, September 27-October 1, 2021 (5 days). A daily schedule will be posted closer to the retreat.*
Sliding Scale: $225-$1500, PLUS a donation to the teacher(s). Code 296R21.

*Last year this retreat was 5 full days, from 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.; we have not received a confirmation of timing for this year (2021). Sorry for the inconvenience.

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.

All who self-identify as womxn are welcome!

Description:
This silent meditation retreat will offer myths, stories, and archetypes of Buddhist womxn, past and present, as inspiration to illuminate and embrace all aspects of our wisdom, compassion, and desire for freedom. We will weave diverse expressions of feminine energies and the innate ways womxn know and understand into the fabric of the retreat, community, and practice.

Our time together will include silent sitting and walking, meditation instruction, daily embodied movement, Dharma talks, meetings with teachers, and creative 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.

Dates: Monday to Friday, October 4-8, 2021 (5 days). A daily schedule will be posted closer to the retreat.
Sliding Scale: $125-$1500, PLUS a donation to the teacher(s). Code 298R21.

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:
Spirit Rock warmly welcomes all self-identified Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) who are nourished by Buddhist teachings of lovingkindness and compassion. These practices help us relate to ourselves and the world from a place of love, clarity, and empowerment.
 
Lovingkindness supports our hearts’ natural capacity to respond with love, warmth, and tenderness. Over time, we develop a sense of interconnectedness with all creation.
 
Compassion practice gently turns us toward our suffering caused by an unfriendly world. It helps us meet our inner critic with clear-seeing and kindness.
 
This retreat will include Dharma talks, group discussions, silent sitting, and mindful walking periods.

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

Tentative Schedule: (subject to change)
7:00-7:45 a.m. Guided sit – Heart Practices
9:15-10:00 a.m. Sit with Instructions
10:00-10:30 a.m. Walking – suggested home practice
10:30-11:15 a.m. Q&A with teachers
11:30 am-12:20 p.m. Teacher Mtgs for Those Assigned
11:30 am-12:20 p.m. Movement Practice-Optional
2:00-3:00 p.m. Dharma Talk
3:15-3:45 p.m. Teacher meeting
3:15-4:00 p.m. Affinity – LGBTQIA
4:00-4:45 p.m. Affinity – Black folks
4:30-5:00 p.m. Movement check-ins
5:00-6:00 p.m. Movement Practice-Optional

Date & Time: Friday, October 8, 2021; 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. US Pacific Time
Sliding Scale: $45-$200. Our sliding scale options for this program include financial support for our teachers. Code GF1D21.
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.*

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 Self-identified womxn

Description:
“The body knows it belongs, it’s the mind that makes us so homeless.”

These words of John O’Donohue so capture our lived experience of feeling disconnected and alone. As we emerge from the isolation of the pandemic, many of us are struggling with our place of belonging in the uncertainty of this new unfolding, and deeply divided world.

In this daylong retreat, we will explore our conditioning and the stories we tell ourselves about our lack of belonging. We’ll practice with cultivating concentration, as a means of providing a true refuge within ourselves, as well as equanimity and patience to strengthen our capacity to understand what prevents us from truly knowing our sense of belonging. We will also make space for emotions like anger, resentment, and grief that can hinder our ability to move in the world from a place of embodied belonging.

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

Tentative Schedule: (subject to change)
10:00 a.m. Intro
10:15 – 10:35 a.m. Sit
10:35 – 11:15 a.m. Talk, guided meditation, discussion
11:15 – 11:25 a.m. Break
11:25 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Movement/walking meditation
12:00 – 1:00 p.m. Lunch
1:00 – 1:30 p.m. Sit
1:30 – 2:20 p.m. Talk, guided meditation, discussion
2:20 – 2:30 p.m. Break
2:30 – 2:50 p.m. Walking/movement meditation
2:55 – 3:40 p.m. Talk, guided meditation
3:40 – 4:00 p.m. Journaling, possibly small group break outs, depending on size
4:00 – 4:20 p.m. Sit
4:20 – 5:00 p.m. Closing talk and shared reflections

Date & Time: Sunday, October 10, 2021; 1:00-5:00 p.m. US Pacific Time
Sliding Scale: Dana (By Donation) $0-$108. Code AK1G21.

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:
Samatha (settling/stilling) and vipassana (insight) are often described as two separate meditation practices. However, meditation master Ajahn Chah referred to them as two ends of the same stick: you pick up one, and therefore pick up the other at the same time.

This half-day program will explore how these two qualities can be developed together in our meditation practice. The afternoon will include guided meditation, Dhamma reflections, and time for Q&A.

Date & Time: Saturday & Sunday, October 16 & 17, 2021; 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. US Pacific Time
Sliding Scale: $75-$600. Our sliding scale options for this program include financial support for our teachers. Code DR2M21.
Continuing Education Credits: This program offers 9 CE credits for $90 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:
The Divine Abodes (Brahmaviharas) of lovingkindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity, are the places of the open, boundless, and luminous awakened heart. In this non-residential retreat, you will learn the formal practices of lovingkindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity, and receive guidance on how to bring these practices into your daily life. All of these practices strengthen self-confidence, self-acceptance, generosity of spirit, and steadiness of mind and heart, revealing our fundamental kindness and caring.

The retreat will be held in the context of silence, alternating sitting meditation and walking meditation. Core instructions in the different practices will be offered, along with talks, discussion, and brief daily guided movement 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.

Tentative Schedule: (subject to change)
10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Pacific each day

Saturday Focus on Lovingkindness and Compassion
10:00 a.m. Welcome, Sitting, Introductions, Short Talk, Sitting Meditation
11:15 a.m. Walking Meditation
11:45 a.m. Sitting Meditation
12:15 a.m. Teaching/Discussion
1:00 p.m. Lunch/Home Practice
2:00 p.m. Standing/Sitting Meditation
2:30 p.m. Movement or Walking Meditation
2:45 p.m. Sitting Meditation
3:30 p.m. Walking Meditation
4:00 p.m. Sitting Meditation, Teaching/Discussion
5:00 p.m. End of First Day

Sunday Focus on Joy and Equanimity
10:00 a.m. Welcome, Introduction to Day, Short Talk, Sitting Meditation
11:00 a.m. Walking Meditation
11:30 a.m. Sitting Meditation
12:00 p.m. Walking Meditation
12:15 p.m. Teaching/Discussion
1:00 p.m. Lunch/Home Practice
2:00 p.m. Standing/Sitting Meditation
2:45 p.m. Movement or Walking Meditation
3:00 p.m. Sitting Meditation
3:30 p.m. Walking Meditation
3:45 p.m. Sitting Meditation/Teaching/Discussion/Closing
5:00 p.m. End of Second Day

Date & Time: Sunday, October 24, 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 AY1B21.

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 Open Gate Sangha and Spirit Rock’s Scholarship Fund

Description:
We live in a world of ideas, assumptions, and ever-competing dogmas. To simply leap from one belief to another perpetuates the endless sorrow of humanity. There is no greater tool for conscious evolution than the art and spirit of inquiry.

Questioning our opinions, assumptions, beliefs, and ingrained identity is essential to all forms of spiritual transformation. To engage in the dynamic act of living with a questioning mind, grounded in the silence and stillness of meditation, is the doorway to transformation
of the heart and mind.

This daylong retreat will be an exploration of the art and spirit of inquiry and meditation, as we leap beyond the immense content of consciousness that humanity continues to accumulate. When we step out of this conglomeration of conditioning, we arrive at a freedom and love that is our own salvation, and the potential salvation of humanity.

As this is a benefit program, our “no one turned away” scholarships are not available for this specific program.

Date & Time: Friday, November 5, 2021; 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. US Pacific Time
Sliding Scale: $45-$200. Our sliding scale options for this program include financial support for our teachers. Code JS2D21.
Continuing Education (CE) credit available:
This program offers 4 CE credits for $40 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:
Anxiety has many root causes ranging from the psychological to the physiological to the historical. No matter the origin, the distress and discomfort are palpable and understandable.

This workshop will explore a variety of ways to approach, meet and be with anxiety as it presents in the body – along with a cultivation of kind understanding about the mental and emotional challenges it presents.

Along with meditation, we’ll soothe the nervous system, and learn to read the signals of anxiety in the body, before they take hold of the mind.

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

Tentative Schedule: (subject to change)
10:00 – 10:30 a.m. Welcome and settling
10:30 – 11:00 a.m. Seated and standing practice
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Context and didactic teaching, short practices interspersed
12:00 – 12:30 p.m. Q&A
12:30 – 1:00 p.m. Lunch and rest break
1:00 – 3:00 p.m. Practices, Q&A, short breaks and closing

Date & Time: Saturday, November 6, 2021; 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. US Pacific Time
Sliding Scale: $45-$200. Our sliding scale options for this program include financial support for our teachers. Code OS3D21.
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:
We make decisions every day—from seemingly inconsequential choices to larger ones that can affect the course of our life. How can the Dharma guide our choices to support integrity and both individual and collective well-being?

In this daylong program, we’ll explore a range of practical tools for making decisions that incorporate meditation, reflection, intuition, and inquiry. You’ll learn how to navigate the choices in your life with more confidence, clarity and ease, as well as how to find more balance with the results of the decisions you make. Our day will include periods of silent meditation, movement, writing, and interactive exercises.

Clinicians will learn several conceptual frameworks to understand the decision-making process; how to identify and strengthen key mental qualities that support making decisions; as well as guided practices to share with clients for making clear decisions.

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, November 7, 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 AC1D21.

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 self-identified women

Description:
Inspire your imagination and unleash your stories in an immersive day of creative writing, meditation, mindful movement, and embodied energy practices. Like meditation, writing is a powerful way to wake up to the ordinary and extraordinary moments of our human lives. But for centuries, women’s stories have often been excluded from the spiritual canon—dismissed as too ordinary, too emotional, too wild, or too messy to convey awakening wisdom. We’ll use embodied meditation practices to settle our minds and open our hearts so we write from a deeper place. Mindful movement practices will cultivate inner listening and unclog pathways of creative energy. Writing prompts will awaken the river of memory and imagination. Through sharing our stories without judgement or critique, we will connect with ourselves, each other, and the heart of life.

All those who identify as women are welcome.

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(s): 6 Tuesdays; November 9 – December 14, 2021 (Nov 9, 16, 23, 30; Dec 7, 14)
Time: 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. US Pacific Time (same time for each class)
Sliding Scale: $75-$600. Code JB1C21.

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:
This series will help you learn basic “Presencing” and “Purposing” skills that calm the mind, body, and emotions, and find meaning, direction, and hope in the midst of accelerating adversities.

Discover how to repair and establish robust, personal social support networks connecting across economic, cultural, and geographic boundaries. Find out how to take responsibility for promoting individual and collective resilience while organizing “neighborhood hubs” where people come together to share information, check in on each other, and obtain needed resources in an emergency.

Gain insight into how to motivate voluntary, nonprofit, private, and public organizations to build a local culture of resilience, by having them incorporate resilience principles and practices into their programs and policies.

Each of these lessons will incorporate methods to cultivate awareness of and manage racial and cultural biases to prevent and repair social injustices and inequities.

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, November 12, 2021; 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. US Pacific Time
Sliding Scale: $45-$200. Our sliding scale options for this program include financial support for our teachers. Code DA1D21.
Continuing Education (CE) credit available: This program offers 4 CE credits for $40 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:
By changing our habits of movement, we awaken the body; by changing our habits of thinking, we awaken the mind. We can then join in the dance of existence with more freedom and ease. This daylong combines mindfulness meditation with sessions of Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement® lessons, the brilliant sensory-motor approach to re-educating the neuromuscular system. Meditation will alternate with guided Feldenkrais movement lessons, allowing the techniques to support each other and enhance mind-body connection and well-being. There will be time for discussion.

The workshop is appropriate for beginning and experienced students of either mindfulness meditation or The Feldenkrais Method®

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

Tentative Schedule: (subject to change)
10:00-10:10 am Introduction
10:10-10:40 am Feldenkrais movement lesson
10:40-11:00 am Discussion and meditation
11:00-11:30 am Feldenkrais movement lesson
11:30-11:40 am Break
11:40 am-12:00 pm Discussion and meditation
12:00-1:00 pm Lunch
1:00-1:15 pm Meditation
1:15-1:45 pm Feldenkrais movement lesson
1:45-1:55 pm Break
1:55-2:20 pm Discussion and meditation
2:20-2:45 pm Feldenkrais movement lesson
2:45-3:00 pm Discussion and closing meditation

Dates: Saturday & Sunday, November 13-14, 2021
Times: 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. US Pacific Time
Sliding Scale: $75-$600. Our sliding scale options for this program include financial support for our teachers. Code PB1M21.
Continuing Education Credits: This program offers 10 CE credits for $100 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.*

Description:
At the end of life, no one wishes they had bought nicer things or read more social media posts. In our fast paced, goal-driven lives, we strive for meaningful connection with ourselves and others.

The simple practice of gratitude can awaken us to the outrageous beauty of life force already pulsing all around us. Gratitude is an antidote to our mind’s fear, opening the door to humility, reverence, and even devotion. It can permeate our deepest fears from eco-anxiety to sickness and loss. With gratitude and awe, we meet the world and feel the wonder and connection to the earth and all beings with the energy to transform and accept what is needed.

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

Tentative Daily Schedule: (subject to change)
10:00-10:30 a.m. Opening meditation
10:30-11:00 a.m. Talk
11:00-11:45 a.m. Activity
11:45-12:30 a.m. Walking meditation
12:30-1:30 a.m. Lunch
1:30-2:00 a.m. Movement
2:00-2:30 a.m. Talk
2:30-3:15 a.m. Breakout groups
3:15-3:45 a.m. Large group discussion
3:45-4:00 a.m. Closing and dedication of merit

Date & Time: Friday, November 19, 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 MC3D21.
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:
Have you noticed the negative effects of self-judgment. If you wish to be more free from the torment of the inner critic, this daylong is good medicine. During our day together, you will learn:

• How to recognize judging thoughts;
• Learn to deal effectively with inner critic attacks;
• How to distinguish between negative judgment and wise discernment and discrimination;
• The importance of self-acceptance, self-compassion and metta as an antidote to the critic;
• The need and role of humor in helping us with the critic;
• Cultivating forgiveness in response to judgment.

The day will be a combination of talks, and interactive exercises, mindfulness and loving kindness techniques and practices and is open to new and experienced students. This will be a practical and experiential course taught with lightness, compassion and humor and the need to not take ourselves too seriously.

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, November 21, 2021; 9:30 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 PM3D21.
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.*

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 art of forgiveness begins with connecting to the heart. The practice involves learning skills such as metta, mindful acknowledgment, 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 accountable 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 consist of sitting and walking meditation, instruction in the art and practice of forgiveness, a forgiveness ceremony, and include periods of guided silent 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: Friday, November 26, 2021; 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. US Pacific Time
Sliding Scale: $45-$200. Our sliding scale options for this program include financial support for our teachers. Code SP1D21.

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:
Gratitude seats us into the fullness of the present moment and all that we have. Mindfulness, yoga asana, mudra, and meditation are techniques that support the embodiment of gratitude for everything that this beautiful world offers us. Through gratitude we can come into alignment with the dharma of interconnectivity and awe. Be prepared to do yoga asana designed to sustain mindfulness rather than athletic competencies. The day will weave together periods of silence, practice and teachings.

Tentative General Schedule:
The morning will have yoga asana, meditation and a dharma talk.
Lunch will be from 12:30 – 1:30 pm.
After lunch will be reclining meditation, slow stretching, meditation and a talk. There will be opportunities for Q&A.

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(s): 6 Tuesdays; November 9 – December 14, 2021 (Nov 9, 16, 23, 30; Dec 7, 14)
Time: 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. US Pacific Time (same time for each class)
Sliding Scale: $75-$600. Code JB1C21.

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:
This series will help you learn basic “Presencing” and “Purposing” skills that calm the mind, body, and emotions, and find meaning, direction, and hope in the midst of accelerating adversities.

Discover how to repair and establish robust, personal social support networks connecting across economic, cultural, and geographic boundaries. Find out how to take responsibility for promoting individual and collective resilience while organizing “neighborhood hubs” where people come together to share information, check in on each other, and obtain needed resources in an emergency.

Gain insight into how to motivate voluntary, nonprofit, private, and public organizations to build a local culture of resilience, by having them incorporate resilience principles and practices into their programs and policies.

Each of these lessons will incorporate methods to cultivate awareness of and manage racial and cultural biases to prevent and repair social injustices and inequities.

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, December 11, 2021; 7:00-9:00 p.m. US Pacific Time
Sliding Scale: $20-$108. Code JA1E21.

Please Note: This program 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 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.

Dates: Sunday to Thursday, December 12-16, 2021 (5 days). A daily schedule will be posted closer to the retreat.
Sliding Scale: $225-$1500, PLUS a donation to the teacher(s). Code 316R21.

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:
Life is complex as we all have come to experience over the last 2 years. One of the opportunities that has become evident is the benefits that can be gained from the awareness of Forgiveness.

Embracing that insight and engaging with Forgiveness practices; no matter the Trauma, Loss, Grief, or Anger, will move us forward in our journey towards liberation.

The practice of Forgiveness can offer freedom from the challenges and the ramifications of being held in “bondage” to a person (including ourselves), circumstance or condition created by not forgiving. Starting from where we are, we can cultivate the possibilities of living into our fullest potential.

We are invited to bring our courage to explore and cultivate the opening of our hearts and minds. The intention is to investigate – even in small ways – a practice that can be experienced as difficult. The aspiration is not to achieve perfection in Forgiveness, but rather, a life which is more and more free from suffering and full with the potential for joy.

We will explore the practices of Forgiveness and Letting Go, with the primary supports of Mindfulness, Kindness, Compassion, Equanimity and Gratitude.

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: Saturday to Sunday, December 18-19, 2021
Times: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. US Pacific Time
Sliding Scale: $75-$600. Our sliding scale options for this program include financial support for our teachers. Code DR3M21.

Description:
At this time of the Winter Solstice, of maximum darkness, we will take stock of our lives and strengthen our orientation toward wisdom and compassion in all parts of our lives. We will remind ourselves of impermanence and the fragility of everything, of our tendencies at times to reactivity rather than responsiveness, and of our interdependence. Seeing clearly how things are and our vulnerability to confusion, how could we be other than kind? Developing our kindness, through seeing when we are not kind, is the great work of the purification of the heart. As we go back to the fundamentals of the wise heart, our insight and commitments can deepen, and we may also arrive at new understandings and directions that can guide us in this next cycle of our lives.

In this two-day retreat, we will support this process with sitting and walking meditation, short talks, and discussion.

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