For more information on “Meditating with the Redwoods” daylong retreats, go HERE
UPCOMING DAYLONG RETREAT
Le In, Let Be, Let Go, Let Flow
A Daylong Retreat on Life, Change and Impermanence
Insight Meditation Teacher: Carla Brennan
Saturday, January 25, 9:30am – 3:30pm
Aptos, CA
REGISTRATION: Registration is required. Go to: EVENTBRITE. Details and directions will be sent after registration. Please consider carpooling.
A daylong retreat offers sanctuary and simplicity in the midst of our complicated, hectic lives. We are invited to put aside – for a few hours – the minutiae of everyday tasks to instead reconnect and rediscover ourselves. It is a day of deepening our awareness and paying close attention to our immediate lived experience.
From our mindfulness practice, we can observe that our life is a continuous stream of changing experience. One moment we hear a loud sound and it may be followed by silence; a strong emotion may be triggered by an unexpected comment; thoughts may arise unbidden; sensations in the body constantly shift and change between pleasant and unpleasant.
This is what it is to be a sentient being; we experience a constantly changing flow of sense input and perceptions. Do we meet this ongoing river of lived experience with acceptance, awareness and care? Or do we react to it with resistance, fear and tension?
In “Let In, Let Be, Let Go, Let Flow” we will explore the four aspects of wakeful awareness that can bring more ease and insight to our lives. By learning to “let in” we develop the courage to welcome our experience as it arises, whether it is in the body or comprised of emotions or thoughts. By learning to “let be” we witness our experience as it is, without an urge to control or manipulate. By learning to “let go” we allow change to happen naturally without holding tight. By learning to “let flow” we become one with the impermanent nature of reality.
Gradually, we begin to know the freedom that comes from recognizing our true nature as the open, empty space from which all things appear (are born) and disappear (die).
This retreat is open to people who have had some instruction and experience with mindfulness meditation. We will alternate between teachings, silent sitting and walking meditation. Please plan to attend the entire day. Bring a bag lunch.
REGISTRATION: Registration is required. Go to: EVENTBRITE. Details and directions will be sent after registration. Please consider carpooling.
DEPOSIT: A $20 deposit is necessary to reserve your place in the retreat. Space in the retreat is limited to 15.
FULL COST: The rest of the cost of the retreat is on a donation basis. We have a suggested sliding scale of $75 – $175 (including the $20 deposit.) You can pay the remainder by cash or check (to “Bloom of the Present”) at the retreat. No one is turned away due to lack of funds.
CARLA BRENNAN M.Ed., is the Guiding Teacher of Bloom of the Present Insight Meditation in Santa Cruz County. She has trained for 45 years in the Zen, Insight Meditation and Tibetan Buddhist traditions. She trained in Insight Meditation at Insight Meditation Society and Spirit Rock Meditation Center. Carla also taught Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for 18 years and is an artist and psychologist. She recommends practicing in nature to her students as a way to discover their own true nature.
BLOOM OF THE PRESENT INSIGHT MEDITATION is a Buddhist community dedicated to bringing greater wisdom and compassion into the world. Mindfulness meditation programs are held throughout Santa Cruz County, CA. Carla Brennan is the Guiding Teacher. We are open to anyone who wishes to study contemplative practices and develop more freedom in their lives. BOTP is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization.
We welcome, accept and affirm people of all races, cultures, ethnicities, sexual orientations, gender identities, classes, religions, abilities and ages. We are committed to providing a safe place for all people to explore the dharma and awaken to their true nature. BOTP is a member of Out in Our Faith, an interfaith organization in Santa Cruz that supports LGBTQI people in their spiritual practice.
OTHER RECOMMENDED RETREAT CENTERS
Cloud Mountain Retreat Center
South of Seattle, WA.
http://cloudmountain.org/index.php?page=2016-retreats
Mountain Stream Meditation Center
Centered in Nevada City, CA. Guiding Teachers, John Travis and Heather Sundberg
http://www.mtstream.org/meditation-retreats.html
Insight Meditation Society
The original insight meditation retreat center in the US in Barre, MA.
http://www.dharma.org/
Barre Center for Buddhist Studies
Retreats combining study and practice.
http://www.bcbsdharma.org/
Forest Refuge
For longer self-retreats in Barre MA.
http://www.dharma.org/meditation-retreats/forest-refuge
Vallecitos Mountain Ranch
A lovely remote retreat center in northern New Mexico
http://www.vallecitos.org/
Southern Dharma Retreat Center
A small retreat center in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina, mostly insight meditation.
https://www.southerndharma.org/about.shtml
Desert Dharma – Sky Mind Retreats
Nature-based insight meditation retreats. Guiding teacher Susie Harrington.
https://desertdharma.org/index.html
Gaia House
Main retreat center in England
http://gaiahouse.co.uk/retreats/group-retreat-programme/
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC (Tara Brach)
https://imcw.org/Calendar/categoryId/3/PageId/EventListView
https://www.tarabrach.com/calendars/
Garrison Institute
Offers a variety of programs, mostly Buddhist related. On the Hudson River in New York.
http://www.garrisoninstitute.org/retreats-a-gatherings/calendar-of-events
DAYLONG RETREATS WITH CARLA