Dates: Tuesday, January 8, 3:00pm – Tuesday, January 15, 11:30am; 7 nights
Sliding Scale: $2000 – $900, PLUS a donation to the teacher(s) and retreat staff. Code 228R19.
14 CE credits available for $140 for psychologists, and California licensed MFTs, LCSWs, LEPs, LPCCs, nurses, and chiropractors.

This retreat is now in progress.

Retreat Description:
Metta, or loving-kindness, practice is the cultivation of the intention of benevolence as the orientation of our heart and mind. It is also a path to wisdom. We develop our capacity for metta through meditation (which is practiced steadfastly on retreat) in order for it to manifest in an ongoing way in our daily lives.

In this retreat, we will learn the formal practice of metta along with its companion practices of compassion, joy, and equanimity. All four of these practices – known as the Brahma Viharas or Divine Abodes – strengthen self-confidence, self-acceptance, and steadiness of mind and heart, revealing our fundamental disposition toward kindness.

Financial assistance is available for all Spirit Rock residential retreats. Our scholarship rate is $40/night and available for all those with financial hardship with special funds allocated to People of Color (POC), folks with serious medical conditions, and young adults (age 18-26). Scholarship funding is offered on a first-come, first-serve basis. Scholarships are budgeted per retreat and because they are in high demand, can run out quickly. We encourage you to register for a retreat as close as possible to the registration opening date (lotteries are an exception).

A unique scholarship opportunity — the Hemera Contemplative Fellowship! If you are 18 years of age or older with a commitment to service — serving others through your profession — you should consider reviewing the eligibility for this Fellowship. In general, this Fellowship is for those who are full-time in the listed eligible professions and are new to silent residential retreat practice. Follow this link for more detailed information: Hemera Contemplative Fellowships. ONE scholarship allowed per person, per calendar year.

Teachings are appropriate for health care professionals as well as the general public. Health care professionals will be able to utilize the lovingkindness practices offered in this program in ways beneficial that benefit their professional work. Continuing Education (CE) credit available. See below for attendance requirements and more information.

Learning Objectives for participating health care professionals-
Based on the content of this program, you will be able to:

• Incorporate a lovingkindness practice to bring more warmth, kindness, and balance into caring for patients and clients;
• Utilize a lovingkindness practice to bring more concentration on developing a caring way of being with patients and client;
• Describe the potential effectiveness of a lovingkindness practice as an antidote to distress;
• Incorporate a lovingkindness practice, in working with or in preparation for clients, to counter the stresses of the workplace environment, in ways that may reduce stress;
• Describe a lovingkindness practice to patients or clients to support their well-being and counter challenging situations;
• Describe techniques to cultivate compassion, that may be used to prevent compassion fatigue;
• Describe practices to cultivate forgiveness, for self or others, that may be used to relieve the stresses of working in the health care field;
• Incorporate lovingkindness and compassion practices when working with clients or patients to combat reactive mind states;
• Describe how to shift inner self-talk from self-criticism to self-care and self-compassion;
• Describe how a self-compassion break may be used to improve patient care and prevent compassion fatigue and care-giver burnout;
• Utilize a lovingkindness practice for working with difficult clients/patients or co-workers.

Continuing Education content level: Introductory