Spirit Rock Meditation Center Schedule & News | Sep - Dec 2017 by Spirit Rock Meditation Center

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Spirit Rock news & schedule | sep Âˇ dec 2017

“What the Buddha taught was simple: When we see clearly, we behave impeccably, out of love, on behalf of all beings.” –Sylvia Boorstein

SPIRIT ROCK NEWS | SEP – DEC 2017

A GENERATIONAL SHIFT: REFUGE & INCLUSION

A Message from Michelle Latvala EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

In two years, Spirit Rock will celebrate 30 years of offering the Dharma on this incredible land. Thirty years has historically been the timeframe used to define a generation, as in the average period during which children are born and grow up, become adults, and begin to have children of their own. Although somewhat arbitrary, this construct of a generation can still be useful in extrapolating beyond the individual to the collective, even to the organizational. Many of the extraordinary opportunities that Spirit Rock faces today are indeed similar to challenges faced in any generational shift. How do we steward the wisdom of the founding generation of teachers and practitioners while simultaneously evolving, learning and responding to the needs of emerging generations, all within a very different landscape in which Dharma and mindfulness are impacting the world more widely than 30 years ago? We are living this question right now, and we seek your input in answering it! Spirit Rock is embarking on a strategic thinking process that is dynamic, collaborative and multifaceted. We are partnering with Bob Agoglia, the former Executive Director of Insight Meditation Society, a recent Spirit Rock Community Dharma Leaders training graduate and, happily, a professional organizational consultant. Together we’re designing a process rich in dialogue with the many folks who care deeply about Spirit Rock — staff, volunteers, teachers, retreatants, practitioners, donors, community members and board members — as each of you has a perspective on how we can best support the Dharma unfolding at Spirit Rock.

Part of any robust strategy process is also reaffirming what is essential. Here at Spirit Rock, we know that the heart of what we offer is the Buddha’s teachings. We cultivate conditions and practices that support wisdom, compassion and freedom. Our teachers have a depth of understanding built over years of practice. Our land and the Dharma of nature intertwine to support these practices intimately. We are actively working to provide deep refuge and inclusion through seeing our conditioning more clearly. The reflection of what we uniquely steward here gets even clearer as the broader external landscape changes. As we make this generational shift, there could not be a better time to use this strategy process to clarify how best to serve the needs of individuals and the sangha in cultivating wisdom, kindness and wise action in the world. “Now more than ever,” writes teacher Larry Yang on page 4. So please keep your eyes open for an online survey in an email later this year that will give you a chance to add your voice to this process. Next year we will bring together all of the input and aim to be formalizing a strategic plan for Spirit Rock. Our intention is to bridge as healthily as possible from our first generation of Spirit Rock offering these teachings to our second generation of stewarding the Dharma. May all beings benefit from our work together.

Michelle Latvala

SPIRIT ROCK NEWS | SEP – DEC 2017

NOW MORE THAN EVER by Larry Yang When I was a much younger person, I kept searching for something that was elusive and seemingly beyond my reach — a way to be happy. The spiritual values of Unconditionality or Love I heard about so often that were elevated as goals seemed so far away from the limited experience of my small life. I kept seeing the particulars of my life to be too unique, too different, or even too difficult or painful to understand myself, let alone to be grasped by other people. I felt isolated, separated, and hopeless. Little did I know at the time how commonplace in our world this feeling of separation can be. I now see in hindsight that even when I did not follow an explicit spiritual faith tradition, there was still a motivation urging me toward living a life that was as fulfilled as was humanly possible. The realization began to emerge as I grew older — as I met more friends, lovers, business associates, acquaintances, and even enemies, and as I began to collect these people into my consciousness — that everyone was trying to live in the same way. Not to live the same life as I was, of course, but motivated by the same intentions of living the best life possible in the short time we have on this earth. In the midst of all the seeming differences, we were all seeking a way to be happy.

The experience of community brings with it complex issues of belonging: who is included, what power dynamics are involved, and how any community defines its collective identity through the individual identities that form it. I believe not only that the teachings of the Buddha help us navigate those complex issues but that such complexities are embedded in the Dharma itself.

In that commonality of experience is a deep teaching.

Issues of identity emerged as an expansive theme early in my own personal practice. Outside the Asian cultures of origin of the Buddha’s teachings, Western Buddhism has been most accessible to people who are middle to upper-middle class, white, heterosexual, and privileged. While there have been efforts to diversify and broaden the Dharma’s reach, this profile still remains largely accurate. One current challenge is whether the Dharma can expand beyond appealing to dominant cultural interests into true relevance for the multiplicity of our human cultural diversity and inclusivity. Can the Dharma become truly meaningful for the global cultural dynamics that currently face us all?

We learn not only from our personal individual lives but also from the rich gathering together of our collective experiences. When we tread any path, start any project, embark on any journey, it is often easier to do it awakening together in the company of friends and associates than alone. We learn both individually and collectively. This is why the Buddha offered the teachings of Sangha, of Community: because there is both wisdom and freedom in exploring our collective experience.

For me, it is through the lenses of community and identity that I began to see how identity can be a door into Dharma practice and spiritual freedom. The beauty of the Dharma is that everything — everything, even all the particulars of identity — is integral to our spiritual practice. Accordingly, freedom is not just about transcending identity but embracing it until what is beyond the experience of identity reveals itself. And, as with much of our human existence, this is not always a linear process.

Especially within our society’s current sociopolitical and cultural conditions, race, sexual orientation, and multiculturalism have never been more relevant to the evolution of our larger world. This relevance can be seen in many places: the overt inequities of the inordinate mass incarceration of and police violence toward African American men; the murders of transgender people, especially of color; the inability of people to find a sustainable livelihood in parallel to the increasingly extreme wealth of the few; the evergrowing economic disparities that marginalize affordable housing; arrogant and mean-spirited policies toward immigration; the polarized screeching of our current political discourse; or even the intrusions upon people being able to perform intimate bodily functions without state intervention. Communities are aching for spiritual guidance on the most varied and difficult of social dilemmas. Now more than ever, as the world’s problems are increasing exponentially in complexity, we need to address these problems as people, communities, and nations. In this lifetime and in this modern age we are being asked to carry, manage, and navigate more and more people, places, things, activities, and issues, whether we face challenges in our personal life about changing the world, caregiving for our families, or surviving adverse personal circumstances. Some of the complexity may

actions that are of benefit as best as we are able. We are called by the voice in our collective hearts to move toward that which lessens suffering and creates more happiness, not just for us personally but for us as communities within a global society and collective world. What we do on the meditation cushion — create clarity of mind, openness of heart, and mindfulness of thought, emotions, and actions — is not any different than the work we do in the world to create a better life for us all. As many spiritual masters and social activist elders have told us, “We must be the change we wish to see in the world.” Mindfulness can be the practice that connects our individual spiritual path with the path of all beings. Our paths toward freedom are the same — we are not separate from one another. Now more than ever, we need to remember this.

We need the freedom into which mindfulness invites us — the freedom to not have to follow the patterns of our unconsciousness, either individually or collectively. feel unresolvable — a family trying to make ends meet despite multiple stressors; inherent democratic values of our country being summarily dismissed by power without accountability; disparity, discrimination, and deception in a supposedly free society; terrorism with both its causes and impacts; justice when the needs and values underlying those intentions are increasingly complex in a more diverse society; or trying to find purpose and meaning in a world that might feel incomprehensible. Now more than ever we need our mindfulness practice. We need the Dharma. We need the freedom into which mindfulness invites us — the freedom to not have to follow the patterns of our unconsciousness, either individually or collectively. We do not have to follow the ways of the world simply because we have been taught them or because everyone else does. We do not have to be someone we are not, just because the world says that is who we should be. We need to remember that it is possible to notice deeply what is happening right now, and understand it with enough wisdom, treat it with the compassion inherent in our humanity, and move into responses and

This article was adapted from Larry Yang’s new book, Awakening Together: The Spiritual Practice of Inclusivity and Community © 2017 Larry Yang. Reprinted by arrangement with Wisdom Publications, Inc., wisdompubs.org. Larry Yang is a member of the Spirit Rock Teachers Council and one of the core teachers and leaders of the East Bay Meditation Center. He is one of the coordinating teachers of the Spirit Rock Teacher Training Program and the Community Dharma Leaders program.

The Paradox of Maranasati Practice By Eugene Cash I have always been intrigued by the relationship between life, death and practice that is offered in Buddhism. When I was young, I would meditate at a Soto Zen temple in San Francisco at 5:30 in the morning. On the wooden block used to call one to practice was written: “Great is the matter of Birth and Death. Life passes swiftly and is quickly lost. Awaken! Awaken! Do not waste your life!” This was how Buddhism and dharma practice greeted me. I love that greeting. In a world driven by valuing money, work, business and busyness, the Dharma offered a different orientation. The “Great” connection between birth and death tells me that the whole Dharma is right here, right now, embodied in the mystery and magic of our aliveness. This aliveness, the aliveness which is reading these words right now, is made sacred by the temporality of our lives. Our lives are precious because we die. Many of us live with the illusion that we won’t die. We know it, but only as a conceptual reality. Or we believe that it will happen later... or to someone else! I almost died a few years ago. I was riding on the Buddhist Bike Pilgrimage (BBP). Coming down a long steep descent, I lost control and crashed. I broke a lot of bones, had a head injury, and had to be airlifted to a hospital. I spent the next five weeks in three hospitals and the next year recovering from a mild traumatic brain injury. I didn’t die physically (although they weren’t sure what would happen in the first few days), but I lost my life. I lost who I’d been. I lost the usual way I knew myself and many of the basic capacities I’d developed over my life. Living through that experience became part of my practice. I didn’t make it my practice, but it was clear

that there was nothing else to do. Nothing else made sense except to be aware, kind and patient with the way things were. Most of us have an aversive relationship to death. In contemporary culture death is a bad thing. But Maranasati, mindfulness of death, is considered a primary practice for mindfulness and awakening. It is said that the Buddha declared: “Of all the footprints in the jungle that of the elephant is supreme. Of all the mindfulness practices, Mindfulness of Death is supreme.” In the story of his awakening, the Buddha describes his experience of letting go of the intoxication with youth, with health and with life itself. Intoxication is a drunkenness, an ignorance of the way things are. Here’s how the Buddha described it: “I lived in refinement, utmost refinement, total refinement. My father even had lotus ponds made in our palace: one where red lotuses bloomed, one where white lotuses bloomed, one where blue lotuses bloomed, all for my sake. I used no sandalwood that was not from Varanasi. A white sunshade was held over me day & night to protect me from cold, heat, dust, dirt, damp and dew. “I had three palaces: one for the cold season, one for the hot season, one for the rainy season. During the four months of the rainy season I was entertained in the rainy-season palace by minstrels without a single man among them, and I did not once come down from the palace. “Even though I was endowed with such fortune, such total refinement, the thought occurred to me: ‘When an untaught person, subject to aging, not beyond aging, sees another who is aged, he is horrified, humiliated, and disgusted, oblivious to himself that he too is subject to aging, not beyond aging. If I — who am subject to aging, not beyond aging — were to be horrified, humiliated, and disgusted on seeing another person who is aged, that would not be fitting for me.’ As I noticed this, my young person’s intoxication with youth entirely dropped away.” — Sukhamala Sutta, AN 3.38 He then continues this same contemplation on aging with health and life, concluding: “If I — who am subject to illness, not beyond illness — were to be horrified, humiliated, and disgusted on seeing another person who is ill, that would not be fitting for me. As I noticed this, my healthy person’s intoxication with health entirely dropped away. “If I — who am subject to death, not beyond death — were to be horrified, humiliated, and disgusted on seeing another person who is dead, that would not be fitting for me. As I noticed this, my living person’s intoxication with life entirely dropped away.” When our intoxication drops away, we become objective, we see things as they really are, and we are able to respond to reality fully. Our intelligent heartfulness becomes available to us as mature, embodied human beings. To let go of intoxication means to see

SPIRIT ROCK NEWS | SEP – DEC 2017

letting go of intoxication with life

clearly. We let go of our reactivity toward death as a bad thing. We see that everyone and everything dies. And we see how completely normal this is. Maranasati is a paradoxical practice. With meditation we get closer and more intimate with the natural condition of life and death. With our contemplative experience we see that it could be as close as the next moment. As we stay present and aware, we are surprised to find death disturbing yet enriching. Part of the paradox is that contemplating death can bring a richness and vibrancy to our life, our relationships and our work. The inevitability and ordinariness of death reveals a living Dharma that is available to each of us that can be realized in our human life. We can be surprised that ordinary life has the power to reveal the Dharma, the profound truth that the Buddha taught. But as we practice being here, now — present and awake in each moment — we discover that our lives are changing each moment. Life begins and ends moment by moment. This is the truth of impermanence.

Here are a few practices I’ve used to explore bringing the reality of mortality and impermanence alive here and now. When we practice closely with death in these ways, it helps awaken us from intoxication. It also helps us wake up to what’s important and how we want to live our lives. ♦

In your meditation practice, pay particular attention to beginnings and endings. The meditation begins and ends. Also, each breath, each sound, every thought, feeling, sensation, mood, and reaction begins and ends. Everything in your sensory experience arises and passes away.

♦

As you walk around in the world, be aware that everyone you see will die. And also be aware that everyone is alive right now. How does this impact you — in the moment and over time?

♦

In both meditation and daily life, consider: This could be my last breath. This breath brings me one breath closer to death. What happens as you take on this practice experientially?

♦

Visit a cemetery. Walk, sit and hang out there for a while. Consider that this will also be true for you. What happens?

♦

Read obituaries in the paper or online. Find someone who has died who is similar to you in some way — their age, occupation, family, geography. How is it to bring the truth of death in closer?

♦

Write your own obituary.

SPIRIT ROCK NEWS | SEP – DEC 2017

regenerative. It nourishes me with a wonderful sense of gratitude. Our teachers guide me to the calm within the storm. Being a volunteer at Spirit Rock has brought me a deeper awareness of equanimity, largely because I am a part of this community of graciousness and kindness. I now experience a deeper set of values, a desire to perform all chores with integrity and giving. My work here is not transactional, as it was throughout my career, and it is unencumbered. Thus I have a sense of freedom when I’m out on the grounds working, being clear with my intentions and actions. I am richly rewarded each day, as the Spirit Rock community continually shows me kindness and the powerful practice of equanimity. With this volunteer work I am afforded the gift of incrementally learning the Dharma of everyday living.

SPIRIT ROCK RELIES ON THE GENEROSITY of our many volunteers. We offer a range of opportunities from one-time projects to ongoing service. Visit spiritrock.org/volunteer or contact our Volunteer Coordinator at volunteering@spiritrock.org or (415) 488-0164 x224.

Volunteer Profile—

DANIEL HEAGERTY I first visited Spirit Rock several years ago and was immediately struck by its penetrating sense of calm. The spiritual practices that have occurred over the years seem to be embedded in the soils and trees. The land and buildings are deeply cultivated as a refuge. I became more engaged with Spirit Rock when I moved back from Oregon and settled in Mill Valley. I started volunteering regularly, especially for the Monday Night Dharma Talk & Meditation Group. I was drawn to the wonderful collection of staff and volunteers who openly practice loving-kindness. I found that the sense of a refuge, a place of peace and love, is as expansive as my ability to “show up” and participate. The more time I gave as a volunteer, the greater the rewards of the Sangha. The Spirit Rock staff practice genuine and exceptional gratitude. I learn from staff every day that I am at Spirit Rock. When offered the opportunity to become a Dedicated Volunteer (DV) supporting Hayden Hicks and the team in Facilities/Caretaking, I saw it as a gift. As a DV I am given the opportunity to show up on a regular basis with specific purpose and service. My work focuses on caring for our trees and trails. I cherish the labor and thrive on my deepening understanding of the love and strength of our Sangha. I spent four decades doing environmental work in the western US. I serve as a volunteer in environmental advocacy, Public Trust protections (climate and water) and addiction recovery. But being a volunteer at Spirit Rock is another realm. My work here is

SPIRIT ROCK NEWS | SEP – DEC 2017

Deep Remembering REFLECTIONS ON COMPLETING THE COMMUNITY DHARMA LEADERS PROGRAM

By Carrie Maria Tamburo “I vow to protect the Dharma, with integrity, in body, speech and mind, internally and externally, as I cultivate clear-seeing, love, compassion, joy and equanimity, for the benefit of all beings.” This was one of a “rain of vows” (91, to be exact) recited simultaneously in the meditation hall of the upper campus at Spirit Rock on April 29, 2017, during the graduation ceremony for the fifth iteration of the Community Dharma Leaders Program. I offer some reflections on what CDL5 has meant to me personally and as a part of this special collective. I approached it the way I approach life and practice — holding a sense of mystery, faith and intention, and it has felt transformative.

I feel more deeply the delight of belonging to something bigger than “me,” a greater sense of lineage and of being part of it. This, and teaching, have deepened my confidence as a practitioner and as one who shares the teachings. I have touched more deeply my own wounding, my shadow, my intention to free myself, and my own beautiful qualities and how they serve me in teaching and in deepening my practice. In everything I have experienced here, there has been some level of challenge to who I know myself to be, joyfully and in difficulty. Many years ago, I received teachings from a great Tibetan lama, a being of profound realization. Before I met him, a teacher in his lineage said to me, “Your life is never going to be the same.” I let that statement sit until many years later when one day I simply knew that it was true. Likewise with this program, in mysterious ways that I cannot completely describe at this moment, I know that being a part of it has changed my life forever and that the blessings and purification of being here, in all the unknown ways that they may occur, will abide long and deeply. What we did as a group was equally profound — all the learnings from the multicultural work, the examination of greed, hatred and delusion at the collective level, the friendships, the support and bonding, the body of teachings presented and generated. And, yes, even the talent shows! Something has been born in people, on the surface and far beneath it. As I was speaking with a friend before graduation regarding what we had accomplished in the program, she inquired, “In the great scheme of things, what has your group done that is significant, that has made a difference in this world?” A huge question, maybe too big some would say, but I don’t think so. I think it goes right to the heart of what we have done here. We all stepped up and allowed ourselves to be challenged, angered, frustrated, energized, to be loved, to be held, to be happy, and more. We allowed ourselves to be taken apart and rearrranged, or perhaps dissolved, as a result of our participation. And we go forward, sharing and embodying the Dharma in the world, aspiring to be as free as we can be in order to help others to be as free as they can be, as aspiring bodhisattvas. And there is great power in that and in the fact that we have done it together, as a community — a pulse that radiates out into the world in ever “widening circles,” as the poet Rilke said. I believe that CDL5 has made an imprint for peace in this world. That’s how I would answer my friend’s question. Carrie Maria Tamburo is deeply committed to making the Dharma available in Spanish-speaking communities. She has a PhD in Spanish from UCLA and has been a Spanish professor and translator, as well as a Latin dance teacher. She currently leads the Spanish Dharma Group in San Diego.

Community Dharma Leaders Graduation Ceremony, April 29, 2017

SPIRIT ROCK NEWS | SEP – DEC 2017

Sharing Immense Gratitude... Hello Dear Friends, I want to thank each of you for wise action — for your willingness to co-create this place with your practice and your financial support. This path often reveals beauty, wisdom, and — heartbreakingly — the places where we are unable to let go. Expressing generosity and gratitude allow us to soften these tensions and to make beautiful things happen in the world. I’m approaching every Spirit Rock letter, email, and bit of communication as an opportunity to connect. I’m exploring the idea that we are constantly offered moments to see the truth of interdependence, greater community and shared values. I’m using “Love” as a sign off, because, amidst all, I feel moved to strive towards practicing fierce metta — an insistent love that witnesses suffering and vulnerability, then moves into compassion, equanimity and wise action. Thank you for modeling this, our Spirit Rock community, and for all that you’ve given of yourself that has sustained this sweet refuge for so many years. Love, Love,

THE IMPACT OF YOUR GENEROSITY Metta from a Scholorship Recipient I am writing to express my immense gratitude for the scholarship awarded to me for a residential retreat. I am profoundly thankful for the opportunity to deepen my practice and turn inward during these past ten days. As a student in nursing school, this retreat was invaluable. Without the generous dana of the Spirit Rock community, this experience would not have been possible for me. I am unable to express fully the importance of this practice for me, in life, and specifically, as it supports my ability to be present in providing mindful care as a student nurse. The gift of retreat for me, of stepping back and slowing down, is palpable in my renewed capacity to show up more fully, with compassion for the bittersweet nature of human life in all of its turnings. I am overwhelmingly moved by the openhanded kindness of the Spirit Rock community in providing me with this opportunity. I look forward to being able to continue the tradition of dana in the future to support the sustained practice of other people as I have experienced in this retreat. —With abundant metta, Ari M. B.

Rachel Uris Director of Development sangha@spiritrock.org

EXPRESS YOUR GENEROSITY Giving to Spirit Rock is a clear act of conviction— supporting refuge, compassion, clarity and kindness. Explore ways to give on our website: spiritrock.org/donate To volunteer, contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Juliana Birnbaum at (415) 488-0164 x224 or volunteering@spiritrock.org. If you have any questions about giving, or even the worldly dharma of money, please call Rachel Uris, Director of Development, at (415) 488-0164 x286 or email rachelu@spiritrock.org.

SPIRIT ROCK NEWS | SEP – DEC 2017

Spirit Rock Live: Monday Nights WITH JACK KORNFIELD & FRIENDS Monday, 7:15 – 9:15 pm PST; also available on demand. Fee: $0 – 108 sliding scale.

UPCOMING LIVE WEBCASTS

The Three Orientations of Being ADYASHANTI Saturday, September 16, 9:30 am – 4:30 pm PST See page 17 for details. Live webcast fee: $60 - 108. Code: AY1L17

The Essence of Buddhist Psychology JACK KORNFIELD Saturday, October 14, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm PST See page 20 for details. Live webcast fee: $30 - 108. Code: JK1L17

Explore the Dharma from home.

Liberation Dharma JOANNA MACY, WES NISKER Sunday, November 5, 9:30 am – 4:30 pm PST See page 23 for details. Live webcast fee: $30 – 108. Code JM1L17

NEXT STEP DHARMA » SPIRITROCK.ORG/NEXTSTEP

A post-retreat, online program for transitioning to daily life Meditation retreats can be powerful and transformative experiences. But how can we keep the practice alive in our fast-paced, modern society? How can we bring the values and intentions of contemplative practice into the complexity of our lives? In this six-week, online course, Spirit Rock-trained meditation teachers Oren J. Sofer and Jaya Rudgard offer in-depth training to nourish the insights and learnings from a retreat.

Enrollment in Next Step Dharma includes: • 21 short dharma talks and 16 guided meditations, all geared for integration • 18 recorded interviews with founding Insight Meditation teachers, including Jack Kornfield, Sharon Salzberg and Joseph Goldstein • 4 interactive, live Q & A Sessions with the course leaders, Oren J. Sofer and Jaya Rudgard • 6 weeks of mentoring for your practice • weekly readings and core integration practices • lifetime membership in the Next Step Dharma online community Next Step Dharma is an online affiliate program of Spirit Rock. Learn more at Spiritrock.org/nextstep

NON-RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS | SEP â&#x20AC;&#x201C; DEC 2017

NON-RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS Spirit Rock offers a breadth of trainings, including multi-day, non-residential retreats, drop-in and daylong programs, special events, weekly and monthly class series and online courses that open gateways to the Dharma and deepen understanding of the Buddha's teachings. We invite you to review our offerings on the following pages. Details are subject to change; visit spiritrock.org for up-to-date information. 12

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WEEKLY & MONTHLY DROP-IN PROGRAMS AT SPIRIT ROCK Mon. Night Dharma Talk & Meditation Group 7:15 – 9:15 pm | LIVE WEBCAST AVAILABLE JACK KORNFIELD, MARK COLEMAN & OTHERS Our Monday night drop-in program serves as an introduction to the practices of awareness and compassion that are the heart of our community and offers support and ongoing teachings to committed students. Fee: $15 - 30 sliding scale.

Spirit Rock Community Welcome | 6:15 – 7:05 pm Meets every Monday before the Monday Night Dharma Talk & Meditation Group. This free program is for those who are coming to Spirit Rock for the first time, are new to meditation, or who may have questions about retreats and other Spirit Rock Programs.

Wed. Morning Meditation Group | 10 am – 12 pm SYLVIA BOORSTEIN, DONALD ROTHBERG & OTHERS A sitting and practice-oriented discussion group, suitable for new and experienced practitioners. Fee: $15 - 30 sliding scale.

Thursday Women's Group | 10 am – 12 pm GRACE FISHER & OTHERS A place for women to come together, to share wisdom and to strengthen a sense of belonging in the world. Fee: $15 - 30 sliding scale.

Thursday Meditation & Yoga | 10 am – 12:15 pm ASHLEY SHARP & OTHERS Each class includes an hour of mindful yoga, guided meditation, a dharma talk, inquiry and discussion. Fee: $15 - 30 sliding scale.

Dharma & Recovery Group | 7:15 – 9:15 pm KEVIN GRIFFIN & OTHERS - 2nd Friday of every month This group explores the intersection of recovery with Buddhist teachings and practices. All who identify with any of the full range of addictions, including substances, behaviors, habitual thought and emotional patterns are welcome. Fee: $15 - 30 sliding scale.

NON-RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS | SEP – DEC 2017

NON-RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS INFORMATION Spirit Rock deeply welcomes anyone with an interest in studying the Dharma and practicing Insight Meditation. We are committed to ensuring that these teachings are available to all and that no one is turned away for lack of funds. We regularly hold events that don't have fees, called "Dana Days." And all Spirit Rock retreats and in-person programs (except Benefits) offer scholarships, sliding-scale fees and work exchange opportunities so that money isn't a barrier to practice. Please join us! REGISTRATION Registration is available on our website spiritrock.org. You can also mail a check to Spirit Rock, PO Box 169, Woodacre, CA, 94973. Please include your daytime phone number and email address and write the program code on the outside of the envelope and on your check. Pre-registration closes at

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Self-Healing with Qigong and Sound Immersion

noon Friday for weekend programs. For class series and other

ISABELITA PAPA | 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

business day before the program. In order to receive the pre-

When we are free of stress, we exist in a state of well-being and peace, and we feel more present, focused and mentally alert. The focus of this daylong will be to release physical, mental and emotional stress and make meditation easier through the selfhealing practices of qigong massage and movement, tapping on meridian points, awareness of the body, meditations on being, breathing exercises and healing sound. Fee: $75 – 200 sliding scale. Code: IP2D17. ISABELITA PAPA is certified to teach Dayan Qigong, Mindful Pilates and Restorative Yoga and is a Compassionate Communication facilitator. She offers classes in the San Francisco Bay Area, Mexico and Hawaii.

non-weekend programs, pre-registration closes at noon one registration price, you must pay in full at the time you register. There is an additional $5 fee for registering at the door. To register by phone, call (415) 488-0164 x219 or x266, Monday to Friday. VOLUNTEERING Volunteering is a meaningful way to participate in the Spirit Rock community. Volunteers help in every department and support every program. We hope you’ll consider offering us your time and energy helping with events, in housekeeping, on the land, in an office or in the kitchen. In gratitude for your service, volunteers receive free or reduced price attendance at

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Awakening with the Practices of the Heart SYLVIA BOORSTEIN with NOLIWE ALEXANDER 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

at volunteering@spiritrock.org or (415) 488-0164 x224. YOUNG ADULT/SENIOR RATES Young Adults (18-26) and Seniors (65+ with limited and fixed

The precious teachings of the Divine Abodes — Loving-kindness, Compassion, Empathic Joy and Equanimity — can transform and guide our daily lives with a tender fierceness that calls for inner and collective healing. When cultivated with devotion and care, the practices seep into our hearts and bring the truth of our shared humanity into focus. When shared as an ethical model of awareness, the practices allow us to embrace the truth of our suffering, especially in these complex and troubled times. Join us as we explore how this path allows us to witness the suffering of the world with compassion and find balance, peace and tranquility on and off the cushion. Fee: $75 – 200 sliding scale. Code: SB3D17.

income) are invited to attend regular daylongs for $45-$55,

SYLVIA BOORSTEIN – See page 44 for bio.

no credit will be issued. Credits cannot be accessed online; to

NOLIWE ALEXANDER is a life and business coach, dedicating both her coaching and Dharma practice to the POC, LGBTQI, At-Risk and Elder communities. She is a graduate of Spirit Rock’s Community Dharma Leaders program and East Bay Meditation Community Center’s Commit 2 Dharma program.

programs. Contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Juliana Birnbaum,

class series for half price (with some exceptions) and nonresidential retreats for $45 per day. CANCELLATIONS We do not offer refunds, but you can request a credit up to 4:00 pm two business days before an event, or Thursday for weekend programs. We will credit your registration fee towards another non-residential program. Credits are not transferrable to residential retreats and must be used within one year of their date of issue. If you do not contact us prior to this deadline, request or use a credit, contact EventsRegistrar@spiritrock.org or call (415) 488-0164 x219 or x266, 8 am - 4 pm, Monday to Friday.

NON-RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS | SEP – DEC 2017

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3-DAY NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREAT

Buddhist Practice & Gandhian/Kingian Nonviolence Training DONALD ROTHBERG, KAZU HAGA Saturday, September 2 – Monday, September 4 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

12 CE CREDITS The shared heart of the Buddha’s teachings and the practices of the nonviolence of Gandhi and Dr. King is the profound intention to bring love, wisdom and skillful action to every moment and all parts of our lives. This Labor Day weekend of practice and training brings together these two approaches to provide us with resources that are vital as we prepare for the challenges — personal as well as political, social, economic and ecological — of our current time. Buddhist practices offer us ways of transforming greed, hatred and delusion into wisdom, equanimity, kindness and a life of integrity, while Gandhian and Kingian nonviolence methods, grounded in love and the wisdom of interconnection, give us the means to work with conflicts and injustice in communities and the larger social world. Fee: $225 – 600 sliding scale. Code: DR3M17. DONALD ROTHBERG – See page 45 for bio. KAZU HAGA is a Kingian Nonviolence trainer based in Oakland, CA. He is the founder and coordinator of the East Point Peace Academy and teaches regularly at the East Bay Meditation Center.

SEP

08 FRI

Satipatthana: The Liberating Practice of Mindfulness MARK COLEMAN | 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

6 CE CREDITS The Buddha taught that there is a direct way for alleviating suffering and discovering peace, wisdom and freedom in our moment-to-moment experience — and that is through cultivating the Four Foundations of Mindfulness. In this daylong we will explore this liberating teaching that forms the basis for Insight Meditation practice. We will discover in our own experience how mindfulness is a direct support for illuminating insights into the transient, unreliable and selfless nature of all experience. What arises out of such insight is a tangible sense of inner freedom, spaciousness, peace and letting go. Fee: $75 – 200 sliding scale. Code: MC7D17. MARK COLEMAN – See page 44 for bio.

SEP

BENEFIT FOR SPIRIT ROCK AND HORSE BOY FOUNDATION

SAT

The Power of Mindful Self-Compassion

KRISTEN NEFF | 9:30 am – 4:30 pm 6 CE CREDITS

SEP

03 SUN

Green Tara Wisdom in Action: Women Embodying Our Truth LAMA PALDEN DROLMA, DEBRA CHAMBERLIN-TAYLOR 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

ALL SELF-IDENTIFIED WOMEN ARE WELCOME The Tibetan Buddhist goddess Tara is an enlightened female who shows us what love looks like in both peaceful and turbulent times. She tenderly holds our sorrows and fears and, when needed, she fiercely stamps her foot and shakes up the world. Now, more than ever, we need the deep wisdom, love and fierce compassion that Tara gives in order to stand up for our true human values. This day is for empowering women to uncover, embody and express the luminous wisdom, compassion and strength of who we truly are. We gather as women to bring forth our truth and gifts, which humanity so needs at this time. Fee: $75 – 200 sliding scale. Code: DC1D17.

Self-compassion involves treating ourselves kindly, like we would a good friend. Rather than continually judging and evaluating ourselves, self-compassion involves generating kindness toward ourselves as imperfect human beings. This workshop will provide simple tools for responding in a kind, compassionate way whenever we are experiencing painful emotions. We all want to avoid pain, but letting it in and responding compassionately to our own imperfections without harsh self-condemnation are essential steps toward living happier, more fulfilling lives. In this workshop, you will learn how to stop being so hard on yourself, handle difficult emotions with greater ease, and motivate yourself with kindness rather than criticism. Fee: $110 - 275 sliding scale. Code: KN1B17. KRISTIN NEFF is a pioneer in the field of self-compassion research and conducted the first empirical studies on self-compassion over a decade ago. She is currently an Associate Professor of Human Development and Culture at the University of Texas at Austin.

DEBRA CHAMBERLIN-TAYLOR – See page 44 for bio. LAMA PALDEN DROLMA was authorized as a lama in 1986 by her root teacher, Khabje Kalu Rinpoche. She is the founding teacher of Sukhasiddhi Foundation in Marin County, a Tibetan Buddhist center in the Shangpa Kagyu lineage.

Visit spiritrock.org for schedule updates and full teacher bios. 15

NON-RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS | SEP – DEC 2017

CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDIT OFFERINGS 2017

Continuing Education (CE) credit is co-sponsored by Spirit Rock and the Spiritual Competency Resource Center. CE credit is available for psychologists and California licensed MFTs, LCSWs, LEPs, LPCCs, Nurses, Chiropractors, and Acupuncturists. Not all programs are applicable to every license; please check the web description for specific license applicability, number of credits offered per event, and learning objectives. American Psychological Association has approved The Spiritual Competency Resource Center to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Spiritual Competency Resource Center maintains responsibility for these programs and their content. California Board of Registered Nursing has approved The Spiritual Competency Resource Center to sponsor continuing education for nurses licensed in California, Provider Number CEP16887. California Acupuncture Board has approved Spirit Rock as a Continuing Education Credit Provider, Provider Number 1425. California Board of Behavioral Sciences accepts CE credits for license renewal for programs sponsored by American Psychological Association approved providers. California Board of Chiropractic Examiners’ Code of Regulations 361(h) (2) provides that continuing education requirements may be met by taking continuing education courses by any California Healing Arts Board approved provider, including those approved by the BRN. CE credit awarded for instruction time only. For general information, including attendance and cancellation policies, please see: www.spiritrock.org/continuing-education. 9/2 9/8 9/9 9/11 9/17 9/19 9/22 9/23 9/24 10/5 10/7 10/8 10/14 10/21 10/21 10/22 10/29 11/11 11/12 11/12 11/16 11/19 11/25 12/2 12/9 12/16 12/23

Buddhist Practice and Gandhian/Kingian Nonviolence Training Satipatthana: The Liberating Practice of Mindfulness The Power of Mindful Self-Compassion Releasing Trauma’s Hold on Our Meditation Buddhist Goddess: Embodying the Divine Feminine Within Mindful Self-Compassion Recovering Wholeness, Worthiness and Emotional Balance True Nourishment from Mind to Cell Meditation As Medicine: Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Healing Trauma Using Loving-Kindness and Compassion Mindful Communication: How to Create Real Dialogue and Healthy Relationships The Wisdom of Aging: Mindfulness Meditation and the Feldenkrais Method The Essence of Buddhist Psychology The Whole of the Path in One Short Teaching Mindful Grandparenting and Mindful Post-Parenting of Adult Children Finding Ease and Freedom in Illness and Physical Pain The Five Longings Opening to Allness Loving the House that Ego Built Dharmic Self-Care for Medical and Mental Health Professionals Parenting with Kind Awareness Grateful Heart, Joyful Heart A Path for Couples Freedom from the Inner Critic Dharma through Myth and Stories Embodying Joy Relaxed and Awake

SEP

SUN

Writing As a Path to Awakening ALBERT FLYNN DESILVER | 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

The practice of writing is an exploration of consciousness, a process of moving toward deeper self-awareness, and leads us along the path of awakening to our true nature. Many of our greatest spiritual teachers from around the world were and are writers; we will reflect on their gifts as well as explore our own throughout this daylong workshop. The day will include dynamic writing prompts and exercises, periods of sitting meditation, dynamic movement exercises (that will lead into the writing periods), readings and discussion. New and experienced writers are welcome. Open to memoirists, novelists, scriptwriters, non-fiction writers and poets. Fee: $75 – 200 sliding scale. Code: AS1D17. ALBERT FLYNN DESILVER is an internationally published poet, writer, speaker and workshop leader. He served as Marin County’s first Poet Laureate from 2008-2010. He has two new books coming out in 2017, including Writing as a Path to Awakening, based on his workshops, and a novel, Brooklyn, Wyoming.

SEP

MON

Releasing Trauma’s Hold on Our Meditation: Joining Meditation and Somatic Skills 2 SAKTI ROSE | 5 Mondays, 10 am – 12 pm

5-WEEK CLASS SERIES | 8 CE CREDITS This class series is designed for meditators who have met with barriers in their meditative experience and are unsure why. This series will add to the body of skills learned and practiced in “Trauma and Mindfulness 1” and will deepen what’s already been learned. We will continue to explore traumatic experiences which give rise to stuck patterns of fight, flight and freeze. By developing skills, individuals can recognize and reduce the painful effects of trauma and thereby free up energy for meditation. Fee: $125 – 200 sliding scale. Code: SR3C17. SAKTI ROSE is a senior Somatic Experiencing™ Practitioner and teaches mindfulness meditation in hospitals and meditation centers.

SEP

The Sound of Dharma

FRI

TERRY VANDIVER with WES NISKER 1:30 – 4:30 pm

In this workshop we will explore a vital but largely overlooked path to inner peace and open-hearted happiness — the use of sound and singing. The half-day will include brief sessions of silent meditation and simple movement to open the body, and then we will bring our focus to sounds and singing. We will practice singing seed syllables on long tones, breathing and basic vocal technique, resonance and vibration. Suitable for those who have no training in singing or chanting. Fee: $50 – 150 sliding scale. Code: WN2H17. TERRY VANDIVER has led movement and yoga at retreats at Spirit Rock and internationally for 30 years. She has a degree in music and has studied classical Indian singing and world chant for 8 years. WES NISKER - See page 45 for bio.

NON-RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS | SEP – DEC 2017

SEP

SUN

Buddhist Goddess: Embodying the Divine Feminine Within ERIN SELOVER | 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

6 CE CREDITS We all embody a unique configuration of enlightened qualities that are waiting to emerge with the right conditions. Without the right support, these qualities lie dormant and manifest in self-doubt, mood issues, addiction and disease. It is essential for the health of ourselves, our communities, and the Earth that we express these qualities fully and courageously. This daylong is an opportunity to somatically identify and empower your unique awakened energy through the exploration of Buddhist goddesses, especially Prajnaparamita, the Buddhist goddess of non-dual wisdom. Fee: $75 – 200 sliding scale. Code: ES2D17. ERIN SELOVER teaches mindfulness-based classes throughout the San Francisco Bay Area in schools, mental health settings and the private sector. She is a psychotherapist and a graduate of the Spirit Rock/IMS/IRC Teacher Training Program.

SEP

TUE

SEP

BENEFIT FOR SPIRIT ROCK AND OPEN GATE SANGHA

SAT

The Three Orientations of Being

ADYASHANTI | 9:30 am – 4:30 pm LIVE WEBCAST AVAILABLE There are three basic orientations toward our subjective and objective experiences of life: to accept life and seek to be in accord with it; to reject life and seek to transcend it; and to improve upon it. This day will explore how these orientations affect our experience of being and our spiritual life, how to utilize them without becoming fixated, and looking beyond them altogether to something more fluid, dynamic, wise and loving. Fee: $110 – 275 sliding scale. Code: AY1B17. Live Webcast Fee: $60 - 108 sliding scale. Code: AY1L17.

Mindful Self-Compassion LINDA GRAHAM, JANE BARAZ 8 Tuesdays, Sep 19 – Nov 7, 7:00 - 9:30 pm, plus 1/2 day Saturday, Oct 21, 9:30 am - 1:30 pm

8-WEEK CLASS SERIES + 1/2 DAY | 19 CE CREDITS Mindful Self-Compassion, as developed by Kristin Neff and Christopher Germer, is a powerful 8-week training in empirically-supported tools and techniques that enables participants to respond to difficult moments in their lives with kindness, care, understanding and wise action. This course helps participants deal effectively with life’s challenges and crises while creating community and deepening practice. Participants cultivate new, more wholesome coping strategies, leading to more clarity, response flexibility and resilience, and less greed, hatred, delusion and suffering. Fee: $250 – 470 sliding scale. Code: LG1C17. LINDA GRAHAM, MFT, is an experienced psychotherapist and meditation teacher who integrates modern neuroscience, mindfulness practices and relational psychology in her nationwide trainings. She is the author of Bouncing Back. JANE BARAZ, MA, teaches Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) at UCSF’s Osher Center for Integrative Medicine. She is also a trained teacher in Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC).

ADYASHANTI is the author of Falling into Grace, The End of Your World, True Meditation, Emptiness Dancing, and The Impact of Awakening. His spontaneous, direct teachings have been compare to those of the early Zen masters but are free of any tradition or ideology.

NON-RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS | SEP – DEC 2017

SEP

22 FRI

3-DAY NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREAT

Recovering Wholeness, Worthiness and Emotional Balance RALPH DE LA ROSA | Friday, September 22– Sunday, September 24, 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

12 CE CREDITS The teachings on Buddhanature indicate something radical — that each of us was born already whole, worthy, free, full of love, and with a capacity for immense joy. As we traverse the myriad difficulties and crises of life, we never lose this fundamental sanity, but we do lose the experience of it as stress, hurts, and limiting beliefs begin to accumulate in our nervous systems. This in turn breeds a profound sense of disconnection from the most primary aspects of our lives — the earth, our bodies, our emotional depths, our breath and each other. This retreat will center on mindfully re-establishing the feeling of connection. Fee: $225 – 600 sliding scale. Code: RD1M17. RALPH DE LA ROSA is an integrative psychotherapist, meditation instructor and a transformative life coach in private practice in New York City.

SEP

23 SAT

True Nourishment from Mind to Cell ANDREA LIEBERSTEIN, ELISSA EPEL, VEN. JAMPA SANGMO | 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

6 CE CREDITS In this daylong we will practice several types of mindfulness, including mindful eating, body awareness and compassion meditation. This will lay the foundation for developing clear vision and becoming intimate with the true nature of our mind, which allows natural insight and wisdom to arise and can help us make conscious choices about the seemingly small behaviors that underlie physical health. We will also discuss new scientific discoveries linking our habits of thinking and lifestyle choices to cellular aging. Lastly, we will focus on how and why we eat and other forms of nourishment. When our deepest hungers are satisfied, we can enjoy eating without excesses and find optimal well-being and cellular health. Fee: $75 – 200 sliding scale. Code: AL3D17. ANDREA LIEBERSTEIN, MPH, RDN, RYT, is a mindful eating expert, mindfulness-based stress reduction instructor, registered dietitian, nutritionist, mindfulness-based coach, and registered yoga instructor. She is the author of Well Nourished. ELISSA EPEL, PHD, is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, at University of California, San Francisco and Director of the Aging, Metabolism, and Emotions Lab and the Center for Obesity Assessment, Study, & Treatment. She is co-author of The Telomere Effect. VENERABLE JAMPA SANGMO is a Tibetan Buddhist Nun. She took robes with her teacher Khensur Jampa Tegchok Rinpoche in 2008.

SEP

SUN

SPECIAL EVENT

Meditation As Medicine: Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) BOB STAHL, STEVE FLOWERS | 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

6 CE CREDITS The Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program consists of intensive training in mindfulness meditation, gentle mindful movement and group support. The program is designed for people who yearn for more balance in daily life, and it promotes healthy living, renewal and stress management. Mindfulness is the practice of cultivating non-judgmental awareness in day-to-day life. Mindfulness develops the potential to experience each moment, no matter how difficult or intense, with serenity and clarity. One can feel more alive and gain access to the powerful inner resources for healing. Participants learn lifelong tools to help maximize life, even in the midst of stress, pain and illness. Fee: $90 – 250 sliding scale. Code: BS1S17. BOB STAHL, PHD, directs MBSR programs at Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz and El Camino Hospital in Mt. View and Los Gatos, and Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose. He is the Guiding Teacher at Insight Santa Cruz. STEVE FLOWERS, MS, MFT, is director of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Clinic at the Enloe Medical Center in Chico, CA. He is the author of The Mindful Path through Shyness and co-author of Living with Your Heart Wide Open.

SEP

THU

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) LISA WALKER, MD, SUSAN DUBIN-MCNEIL, EDD 8 Thursdays, September 28 - November 16, 7:00 – 9:00 pm; plus, Saturday, Nov 4, 9:30 am - 1:30 pm

8-WEEK CLASS SERIES + 1/2 DAY The MBSR program is an intensive 8-week training program designed to empower participants to take an active role in the creation of their own health and wellness. Program participants may expect to learn specific meditation and mindfulness practices and incorporate them into their daily lives as a routine means to respond to the challenges in living our stress-filled lives. Participants learn to better manage stress, fear, anxiety, depression and improve their coping skills related to illness, pain and stress-related conditions. Mindfulness practices that address communications styles enhance relationships and improve quality of life. Fee: $250 - 470 sliding scale. Code: LW1C17. LISA WALKER, MD, is a board certified general adult psychiatrist who provides emergency psychiatric services for Sonoma County. She was trained to teach MBSR by the Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts. SUSAN DUBIN-MCNEIL, EDD, is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist. She provides clinical supervision and training for pre- and post-doctoral interns, as well as consultation to licensed clinicians working in community mental health settings.

NON-RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS | SEP – DEC 2017

OCT

THU

Healing Trauma Using Loving-Kindness and Compassion PAWAN BAREJA | 6 Thursdays, Oct 5, 12, 19 and Nov 2, 9, 16, 7:00 - 9:00 pm

6-WEEK CLASS SERIES | 10 CE CREDITS The class is designed to empower you to hold your trauma responses using somatic (body-based) skills and mindfulness meditation tools. Specifically, mindfulness practices will be used to work with the stress responses in the body to help you free up your energy. The practices of Loving-kindness, Compassion, Sympathetic Joy and Equanimity will be used to help so you feel more settled, grounded and calm in your everyday life. Fee: $150 – 240 sliding scale. Code: PB1C17. SEP

29 FRI

3-DAY NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREAT

The Nine Bodies: Explorations in Consciousness PHILLIP MOFFITT, DANA DEPALMA Friday, September 29 – Sunday, October 1, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm

In this non-residential retreat based on his new book, Awakening through the Nine Bodies, Phillip will share his understanding of the Nine Bodies teachings that were transmitted to him by the Himalayan yoga master Swami Sri Premvarni Balyogi. The teachings are an exploration of the many dimensions and manifestations of consciousness in meditation. They map out a journey that starts with the consciousness that arises in the physical body and is directly observable and then takes us through ever more subtle levels of consciousness. Instructions will be given for accessing the various Bodies, including how to identify the consciousness capacities of each Body. Fee: $225 – 600 sliding scale. Code: PM2M17.

PAWAN BAREJA, PHD, has a body-oriented counseling practice based on Peter Levine’s Somatic Experiencing™ (SE) work for coping with trauma and life changes, and is also an assistant in SE Trainings. She is currently in the Spirit Rock Teacher Training program.

OCT

07 SAT

Awakening and Forgetting ANNA DOUGLAS | 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

When we begin a meditation practice, we are challenged by the power of the distracted mind. This is the “first insight” of mindfulness — that the mind wantonly and persistently keeps leaving the chosen object of our attention. Only with continued practice, do we become familiar with our capacity to remember and to see clearly our present experience. In this day of practice, we will identify the obstacles to remembering, as well as the qualities of heart/mind that set us firmly on the path of awakening. Fee: $75 – 200 sliding scale. Code: AD5D17. ANNA DOUGLAS – See page 44 for bio.

PHILLIP MOFFITT – See page 45 for bio. DANA DEPALMA – See page 44 for bio.

SEP

30 SAT

2-DAY NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREAT

Women’s Weekend Retreat HEATHER SUNDBERG | Saturday, September 30 Sunday, October 1, 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

This intimate, non-residential weekend retreat for women will drink in the rich silence and aliveness of meditation practice, combined with periods of teachings, reflection, sharing, optional simple movement practice, check-ins with Heather, ritual and singing. This retreat may be perfect for you if you: enjoy connecting with a group of women on a meditation path; do not have the time for a longer retreat period; are a mother with children at home; want to integrate your practice more fully into your daily life. Fee: $150 – 400 sliding scale. Code HS1M17. HEATHER SUNDBERG is a graduate of the Spirit Rock/IMS Teacher Training and was the Spirit Rock Family Program Teacher and Manager for a decade. She teaches at Mountain Stream Meditation Center in the Sierra Foothills.

OCT

07 SAT

Mindful Communication: How to Create Real Dialogue and Healthy Relationships OREN J. SOFER | 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

6 CE CREDITS The tools shared in this daylong will be a combination of the core guidelines for Wise Speech offered by the Buddhist tradition, as well as the contemporary discipline of Nonviolent Communication. These practices form a powerful foundation for cultivating insight, awareness, self-understanding and empathy. Through strengthening our capacity to stay present and to be more skillful in difficult situations, the pain and misunderstandings that come out of unwise and habitual speech can begin to ease, and our conversations and relationships can grow in meaningful, healthy ways. Fee: $75 – 200 sliding scale. Code: OS2D17. OREN J. SOFER is Senior Program Developer at Mindful Schools, founder and Guiding Teacher of Next Step Dharma, and a Collaborative Trainer with Bay Area Non-Violent Communication. He is a graduate of the Spirit Rock/IMS/IRC Teacher Training Program.

NON-RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS | SEP – DEC 2017

OCT

08 SUN

The Wisdom of Aging: Mindfulness Meditation and the Feldenkrais® Method WES NISKER, DAN CLURMAN | 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

OCT

MON

ISABELITA PAPA | 6 Mondays, 1:30 - 3:30 pm

5 CE CREDITS | Anyone 55 and older welcome As we age we may begin to sense our priorities and perspectives changing — less compulsion to “do” or achieve, a keener awareness of mortality and the preciousness of life, more gratitude for what is here and now, and increased compassion for our common humanity. During this day together we will reflect on these matters, practice meditation, and experience Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement, a practice that can keep aging bodies coordinated and flexible. Fee: $75 – 200 sliding scale. Code: WN4D17.

6-WEEK CLASS SERIES Qigong is an ancient self-healing technique and self-care practice. Its flowing movements relieve stress, promote healing, increase energy and strengthen the immune system. In this series, we will learn how to purge stuck qi, which can manifest as stress, aches and pain around the joints, chronic pain and restless mind. In addition, we will learn accupressure massage, tapping on energy points, and cleansing of the bones and bone marrow through breathing and slow stretching. Fee: $150 – 240 sliding scale. Code IP1C17.

WES NISKER – See page 45 for bio.

ISABELITA PAPA – See page 14 for bio.

DAN CLURMAN, MA, is a certified Feldenkrais® Practitioner and personal coach. He integrates somatic awareness into his work as a coach and organizational trainer in communication skills.

OCT

08 SUN

A Soft & Radical Transformation of the Heart PASCAL AUCLAIR | 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

In this daylong we will open to and cultivate intimacy with the vibrant reality that is alive in and around us, inviting balance of heart and mind, friendliness and clarity to set the right conditions for wisdom to arise. We will explore the art of Insight practice and how we can abandon our habitual patterns of mind, and tune into the uniqueness of the present experience, letting it reveal its universal nature. With curiosity and calm, we will see through the mirages and miseries of the heart’s own making. Joy and compassion will appear. Fee: $75 – 200 sliding scale. Code: PA1D17. PASCAL AUCLAIR is a graduate of the Spirit Rock/IMS teacher training program and now teaches retreats at both centers. He is a co-founder of True North Insight Meditation Centre in Canada.

SAT

BENEFIT FOR SPIRIT ROCK

The Essence of Buddhist Psychology JACK KORNFIELD | 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

6 CE CREDITS | LIVE WEBCAST AVAILABLE 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. Fee: $110 – 275 sliding scale. Code: JK1B17. Live webcast fee: $30 - 108 sliding scale. Code: JK1L17. JACK KORNFIELD – See page 45 for bio.

CATHERINE FLAXMAN | 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

CATHERINE FLAXMAN, MFT, co-founded the Lomi School, a holistic approach to eastern spirituality and western psychology.

SAT OCT

Mindful Grandparenting and Mindful Post-Parenting of Adult Children

6 CE CREDITS Mindful grandparenting and mindful post-parenting of adult children afford opportunities to practice meditation in action, develop presence in the moment, and examine the ways in which we cling to opinions, judgments, expectations, old hurts, unfinished business and outmoded roles. We will explore the interface between meditation, somatic processes, and heart-based practices as we examine the causes of suffering, the subjective and seductive nature of perception and thought, and the relationship between loving and letting go. Fee: $75 – 200 sliding scale. Code: CF1D17.

OCT

Self-Healing through Gentle Qigong

The Whole of the Path in One Short Teaching SYLVIA BOORSTEIN with DANA DEPALMA 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

5 CE CREDITS In just 26 lines, the Metta Sutta offers the Buddha’s instructions for developing the perfections of the heart, cultivating the virtues that sustain ethical living, and training the mind in steadiness, clear-seeing and essential understandings that support unshakable wisdom. In other words, these are the complete instructions for practice in one short teaching! Taking the Metta Sutta as our guide, this day will combine periods of teachings with exploration of the Sutta, reflections in dyads, and practice periods of guided and silent sitting meditation, and walking and eating meditation. Fee: $75 – 200 sliding scale. Code: SB4D17. SYLVIA BOORSTEIN – See page 44 for bio. DANA DEPALMA – See page 44 for bio.

NON-RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS | SEP – DEC 2017

OCT

SUN

Dharma for Artists NINA WISE | 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

The Dharma is a profound source of inspiration and support for artists, whatever our medium of expression. Insights gained from our meditation practice inform our art-making, and dharma teachings provide guidance as we negotiate the often challenging terrain we encounter in our careers. This daylong includes silent meditation practice, gentle movement, and dharma teachings specifically geared to the issues faced by artists. How do we maintain equilibrium on a path that may not deliver financial stability? How do we deal with rejection? How do we create a healthy relationship with our inner critic? In addition, we’ll discuss the ways a meditation practice enhances the quality of our work. Fee: $75 – 200 sliding scale. Code: NW1D17. NINA WISE is a performer who has devoted her career to investigating the relationship between art and spirit. As Artistic Director of Motion, she has received multiple fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts.

OCT

27 FRI

3-DAY NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREAT

Dharma and Recovery Intensive: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps KEVIN GRIFFIN | Friday, Oct 27 – Sunday, Oct 29, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm

OCT

SUN

Finding Ease and Freedom in Illness and Physical Pain NIKKI MIRGHAFORI, OREN J. SOFER 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

6 CE CREDITS As human beings living in fragile bodies, when we or our loved ones are ill or in pain, it often feels like a mistake. Health challenges, especially chronic ones, are accompanied by a host of physical and emotional challenges. How can we work with them skillfully and find ease in their midst? How can this universal challenge bring about compassion and wisdom, instead of despair and bitterness? Ultimately, can our condition be a transformational gift for awakening? In this daylong, participants will learn practical tools for working with the emotional and physical aspects of illness and the unpleasant sensations commonly regarded as “pain,” as well as discover how Buddhist wisdom teachings can help us develop more compassion, insight and freedom. Fee: $75 – 200 sliding scale. Code: NM2D17. NIKKI MIRGHAFORI, PHD, studied jhanas and analytical Vipassana with Ven. Pa Auk Sayadaw who instructed her to teach. She is a Stanford-trained compassion cultivation instructor, a UCLA-trained mindfulness facilitator, and a Spirit Rock-authorized retreat teacher and Board Member.

This three-day non-residential retreat is a unique opportunity to work in an intensive way to open and deepen your recovery. We will work the Twelve Steps using Buddhist teachings and practices through meditation, lecture, discussion, interactive and written exercises. Students will learn mindfulness and loving-kindness meditation practices that support their recovery. Sessions will explore Twelve Steps themes — Powerlessness, Higher Power, Inventory, Amends and Spiritual Awakening — and Buddhist topics — Four Noble Truths, Eightfold Path, Five Hindrances, Five Precepts, Three Refuges and Four Foundations of Mindfulness. The Buddha’s teachings on craving and letting go will be emphasized, as well as self-compassion and loving-kindness. Fee: $225 – 600 sliding scale. Code: KG2M17. KEVIN GRIFFIN is the author of the seminal book, One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps, and A Burning Desire: Dharma, God and the Path of Recovery. He has been practicing Buddhist meditation for three decades and been in recovery since 1985.

Visit spiritrock.org for schedule updates and full teacher bios.

OREN J. SOFER – See page 19 for bio.

NON-RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS | SEP – DEC 2017

OCT

28 SAT

Slow and Steady: Establishing Successful Meditation Techniques OREN J. SOFER | 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

The benefits of mindfulness and contemplative practice are real, tangible, and can be experienced by anyone who practices with proper guidance. Yet to experience these benefits directly, we need to take time in our life to practice. We must give our minds the right conditions for the powers of wisdom and concentration to grow, which includes refining our understanding of the teachings and ensuring that we are using the techniques properly. In this daylong, we will nourish our capacities for clear-seeing and inner-steadiness and deepen the foundations of mindfulness practice by giving careful attention to the body, the breath, feelings and the mind. Fee: $75 – 200 sliding scale. Code: OS3D17. OREN J. SOFER – See page 19 for bio.

OCT

SUN

SPECIAL EVENT/ BOOK SIGNING TO FOLLOW

The Five Longings: What We’ve Always Wanted and Already Have DAVID RICHO | 9:30 am – 4:00 pm

4 CE CREDITS We all have five longings — love, meaning, freedom, happiness and growth — that reveal us to ourselves, showing us what we want, what our life is for, what keeps us going, and what keeps us looking. Longings are mysterious. We often can’t quite name them and they do not yield easily to explanation. Nor can they ever be perfectly, fully or finally gratified. Sometimes we find more than we hoped for, sometimes less. Our healthy practice is a radical one: We notice and ask for some fulfillment of our longings from those we trust. We give up expecting all or perfect satisfaction. We notice that we have longings for the lasting in a world that is always changing and take that as a clue to the presence of something transcendent in us. With such spiritual consciousness we finally discover that all five longings reflect qualities in our true nature. We are seeking what we are. Fee: $90 – 250 sliding scale. Code: DR2S17. DAVID RICHO, PHD, MFT, teacher, workshop leader and writer, works as a psychotherapist in Santa Barbara and San Francisco, CA. He combines Jungian, transpersonal and mythic perspectives in his work. The teachings in this daylong are based on his new book, The Five Longings.

NOV

03 FRI

The Silent Dance of Life: A Celebration of Ruth Denison SANDY BOUCHER, ARINNA WEISMAN, NINA WISE, AYYA ANANDABODHI, ALEKSANDRA KUMOREK | 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

Join us in celebrating our capacity for deep knowing as illustrated in the life and teachings of Ruth Denison, pioneer Vipassana teacher, and expressed in the feature-length film Ruth Denison: The Silent Dance of Life by filmmaker Aleksandra Kumorek. In our morning practice, we will experience the power of Ruth’s teachings and access the radiant joy that she was known for. In the afternoon we will hear stories of Ruth’s singular teaching style and original personality from several of her students and Dharma heirs, followed by a screening of the film. Fee: $75 – 200 sliding scale. Code: SY2D17. SANDY BOUCHER, MA, has practiced, written about and taught both Vipassana and writing for 30 years. She leads retreats on Dharma and writing and has published nine books. ARINNA WEISMAN has studied Vipassana Meditation since 1979 and has been teaching since 1988. She is the founding teacher of Insight Meditation Center of the Pioneer Valley in Easthampton, MA. NINA WISE - See page 21 for bio. AYYA ANANDABODHI has practiced meditation since 1989 and lived in Amaravati and Chithurst monasteries in the UK for 18 years. In 2009, she moved to the US to help establish Aloka Vihara, a training monastery for women, where she now resides. ALEKSANDRA KUMOREK has been working as a writer, film director and producer in Germany for more than 20 years and teaches at universities in Germany and Switzerland. She is a longtime Buddhist practitioner and co-founder of the Mindful Artists Network.

NOV

04 SAT

MONASTIC DAY

Mindfulness of Breathing: From Tranquility to Liberation VENERABLE AJAHN PASANNO | 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

DANA DAY (BY DONATION) The Buddha taught mindfulness of breathing as one of the primary contemplative practices. Although it is taught widely in the West, the full potential of this practice is sometimes missed. The Anapanasati Sutta describes the use of mindfulness of breathing in 16 steps that comprehensively develop awareness, beginning with awareness of the body, feelings and mind, through development of wisdom and relinquishment of all suffering — the complete liberation of the heart. Ajahn Pasanno will guide us through these 16 steps with periods of instruction, sitting and walking meditation, and discussion. Please bring lunch and, if you wish, almsfood to offer the monks. Code: AP1G17. VEN. AJAHN PASANNO took ordination in Thailand in 1974 with Ven. Phra Khru Nanasirivatana and later trained under Ajahn Chah at Wat Pah Nanachat, becoming its abbot in his ninth year. Currently, he is the abbot of Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery in Redwood Valley, CA.

NON-RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS | SEP – DEC 2017

NOV

Liberation Dharma

SUN

JOANNA MACY, WES NISKER 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

LIVE WEBCAST AVAILABLE As the drumbeat of tragedy fills the mind of the world, many of us are feeling grief, or fear, and often a sense of helplessness. In this workshop we will turn to face those difficult emotions and simultaneously invigorate our love for the world and our desire to help the healing. Using the inspirational teachings and exercises developed by Joanna Macy, along with guided mindfulness meditation, we will explore the many ways that we are connected to each other and to the life of the planet. It is through that sense of interconnection that we will feed our personal liberation and gain the strength to help heal the wounds of our species and our world. Fee: $75 – 200 sliding scale. Code: JM1D17. Live webcast fee: $30 - 108 sliding scale. Code: JM1L17. JOANNA MACY, PHD, is a scholar of Buddhism, systems theory and deep ecology. As the root teacher of the Work That Reconnects, she has created a ground-breaking theoretical framework for personal and social change. Her books include World as Lover, World as Self and Coming Back to Life: Practices to Reconnect Our Lives, Our World. WES NISKER – See page 45 for bio.

NOV

10 FRI

Five Trainings for a Happy Life ANUSHKA FERNANDOPULLE 9:30 am – 4:00 pm

What are the ingredients for a happy and satisfying life? We all want to know this and struggle to find the recipe throughout our life. Buddhist teachings have some clues for us, including five specific trainings around action and speech that will help us to lead a harmonious life. As we engage with these practices, we can learn to live (and die) free from regret. Come reflect about your life and learn about these ancient practices translated for modern life. Fee: $75 – 200 sliding scale. Code: AF3D17. ANUSHKA FERNANDOPULLE – See page 44 for bio.

NOV

SAT

The Heavenly Messengers: Aging, Illness, Death and Awakening ANNA DOUGLAS | 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

As we age, the Buddha’s teachings of impermanence, emptiness of self, and the suffering of wanting things to be different all reveal themselves more clearly as we experience these truths directly. And it is not all bad news: In the midst of these intimations of our mortality, something else emerges. Paradoxically, we may discover that remembering our mortality is indeed vital to putting us in touch with our best and truest self. Fee: $75 – 200 sliding scale. Code: AD6D17. ANNA DOUGLAS – See page 44 for bio.

NOV

SAT

Opening to Allness RICK HANSON | 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

6 CE CREDITS Modern brain science is beginning to shed light on the underlying neurological basis of the experience of “Allness” and how to stimulate its factors. This experiential workshop will focus on practical methods, grounded in neuroscience, for opening into the mind process as a whole, and from there opening into an intimation of nature as a whole and then material reality as a whole. Fee: $75 – 200 sliding scale. Code: RH4D17. RICK HANSON, PHD, is a psychologist, Senior Fellow of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley and New York Times best-selling author. His books include Hardwiring Happiness and Buddha’s Brain.

NOV

SUN

Loving the House that Ego Built HOWARD COHN | 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

6 CE CREDITS During this day we will explore the nature of ego and the enormous stress that comes with trying to be “someone.” With Insight Meditation, we can make peace with our various self-views. Sitting and walking in silence, supported by instructions and dharma talks, we will cultivate embodied presence. We will use the healing tools of mindfulness and loving-kindness to meet the activity of self with balance and openness, perhaps even “loving the house that ego built.” Fee: $75 – 200 sliding scale. Code: HC5D17. HOWARD COHN – See page 44 for bio.

NOV

SUN

Dharmic Self-Care for Medical and Mental Health Professionals LISA DALE MILLER, LMFT, LPCC, SEP 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

6 CE CREDITS Increasing numbers of physicians, nurses and mental health professionals report that their physical, emotional and mental well-being has been undermined by years of pushing through and chronically ignoring the need for rest and restoration. This daylong specifically for medical and mental health professionals will provide a safe, colloquial environment for allowing body, mind and heart to dive into deep restoration. We will alternate periods of qigong and meditation practice with Buddhist psychological teachings. Participants will leave renewed and take with them a set of practical, easy-to-apply restorative skills to use at work and in daily life. Fee: $75 – 200 sliding scale. Code: LM2D17. LISA DALE MILLER, LMFT, LPCC, SEP, is an Integrative Psychotherapist and Somatic Experiencing Practitioner. She specializes in treating complex trauma, chronic pain, anxiety, depression, stress and somatic disorders, substance use disorders and relationship distress. She is the author of Effortless Mindfulness.

NON-RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS | SEP – DEC 2017

NOV

THU

3-DAY, NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREAT

Parenting with Kind Awareness GRACE FISHER | Thursday, Nov 16, and Friday, Nov 17, 9:30 am - 12:30 pm; Saturday, Nov 18, 9:30 am – 4:00 pm

9 CE CREDITS | All parents, grandparents and care givers welcome This non-residential retreat, rooted in contemplation of the Dharma and cultivation of mindfulness practices, will offer parents the opportunity to truly take the practice home. The first two mornings will be devoted to formal practice sessions at Spirit Rock, while the afternoon and evening sessions will take place back in daily life. The third day will be spent in retreat practice on the land. The invitation is to explore how we as parents can integrate the practices and teachings as we move between the different retreat spaces: the formal and informal, the stillness of the Spirit Rock land, and the “whole catastrophe” of life with kids. Fee: $175 – 500 sliding scale. Code: GF1M17.

NOV

SAT

Softening the Hard Edges of Difficult Emotions RUTH KING | 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

In today’s climate of inflamed divisiveness, many of us are asking: How do I work with my thoughts, fears and beliefs in ways that nurture the dignity of all life? How do I comfort my own raging heart in a sea of ignorance, distress and violence? How can my actions reflect the world I want to live in and leave to future generations? In this daylong retreat, we will investigate our conditioning and explore the cycle of misperception. Through this inquiry we will be able to drop below the turbulence of distress to discover what we have forgotten that must be remembered. Fee: $75 – 200 sliding scale. Code: RK1D17. RUTH KING is a guiding teacher at Insight Meditation Community of Washington, a core teacher in Spirit Rock’s Dedicated Practitioners Program, and founder of Mindful Members Insight Meditation Community in Charlotte, NC. Ruth is a life coach and consultant, and the author of Healing Rage.

GRACE FISHER is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with a private practice in San Anselmo, CA. She is a former lawyer who holds Masters degrees in Education and Counseling Psychology.

Transgender & Allies Metta Daylong FRESH! WHITE, RENÉ RIVERA, ABE DOHERTY, BRI BARNETT, JENNA RAPUES

9:30 am – 4:30 pm NOV

SUN

On this Eve of Transgender Day of Remembrance, we will be offering guidance through the Buddhist practice of Metta. Led by Trans-identified teachers and experienced practitioners, we are bringing together All-Gendered folks for an opportunity to explore and practice meditation and movements in support of implementing, complementing and/or expanding our experiences with self-love and self-care. During this day, we will have the opportunity to practice opening our hearts to ourselves through sitting, movement meditation and brief writing exercises. Fee: $75 – 200 sliding scale. Code: FW1D17. FRESH! WHITE is a Certified Life and Mindfulness Coach, writer, speaker, facilitator, and meditation and dharma leader. He is co-leader of East Bay Meditation Center’s Family Sangha and launched the first Bay Area Trans* & GQ Mindfulness and Meditation group in July 2015. He is a graduate of Spirit Rock’s Community Dharma Leaders Program. He is co-author of Trans Bodies, Trans Selves: A Resource for the Transgender Community. RENÉ RIVERA is on the boards of Spirit Rock and East Bay Meditation Center and is the Executive Director of Bike East Bay. ABE DOHERTY is a co-leader of the Trans* and Gender Queer/Gender Diverse Deep Refuge Group at East Bay Meditation Center. Abe has been out as a transgendered person since 1993 and is particularly interested in supporting diversity within sanghas. BRI BARNETT is Development Associate at the San Francisco LGBT Center. Previously, she was involved in organizing for labor, environmental, racial, and housing justice, including conducting outreach for the Union of Concerned Scientists and volunteering with Causa Justa: Just Cause and the Transgender Law Center. JENNA RAPUES, MPH, is Interim Director of the UCSF Center of Excellence for Transgender Health. Previously, she directed provider and community-based transgender HIV and health promotion efforts within the San Francisco Department of Public Health.

NON-RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS | SEP – DEC 2017

NOV

Grateful Heart, Joyful Heart

SUN

JAMES BARAZ, JANE BARAZ 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

6 CE CREDITS Research shows that those who practice gratitude increase their feelings of joyfulness, enthusiasm, interest, attentiveness and energy. Gratitude also activates other positive emotions such as kindness, compassion, generosity, awe, delight, love and contentment. With gratitude we tend to see what is filling and fueling our lives rather than what is missing. We don’t have to wait for moments of gratitude to descend on us. We can consciously cultivate it through practice. In this daylong, we will learn a variety of practices drawn from Buddhist psychology as well as neuroscience and contemporary psychology to help us establish the habit of noticing what’s good in our lives. Fee: $75 – 200 sliding scale. Code: JB3D17. JAMES BARAZ – See page 44 for bio. JANE BARAZ – See page 17 for bio.

NOV

24 FRI

Yoga & Dharma: The Joys of Mindfulness ASHLEY SHARP | 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

Mindfulness brings joy and happiness into life. Without the practice of mindfulness, the mind may grow dull with the monotony of repetitive regrets or anxieties, and we may lose a sense of curiosity about the world. Mindfulness leads to a sense of spaciousness and stillness, yet it is not just about feeling present and happy all the time. It also helps us to deal with troubling situations and navigate through the complexities of life. This special Thanksgiving daylong will introduce mindfulness through yoga techniques and mindfulness meditation. The yoga asana will be basic and focused on the cultivation of mindfulness. Fee: $75 – 200 sliding scale. Code: SP2D17. ASHLEY SHARP has studied yoga with Swami Dayananda, Erich Schiffmann, Patricia Sullivan and Sat Santokh Sing and completed an 18-month mindfulness and yoga training at Spirit Rock. She is a registered Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance.

“All experience is preceded by mind, led by mind, made by mind. Speak or act with a peaceful mind, and happiness follows like a never-departing shadow.” —Buddha

NOV

25 SAT

A Path for Couples: Joyful Connection, Mindful Communication DEBRA CHAMBERLIN-TAYLOR, GEORGE TAYLOR 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

6 CE CREDITS Most couples envision sharing a life of love and joy. And then somewhere along the way, they start to feel as though they are bushwhacking through a thicket of life’s issues. They wonder, “Is there a map or trail that will guide us on our journey?” This workshop offers a time-tested path for couples that leads partners towards the treasures that are hidden in their hearts. Participants will learn specific practices that will reignite the spark of an alive and growing love and which can be done in an ongoing way at home. Fee: $75 – 200 sliding scale. Code: DG3D17. DEBRA CHAMBERLIN-TAYLOR – See page 44 for bio. GEORGE TAYLOR, MFT, has been a licensed couple’s counselor for 25 years, and married to Debra Chamberlin-Taylor for 35. He is the author of A Path for Couples. His great joy is in seeing couples find the deep well of love and laughter that a committed relationship offers to them.

NOV

SUN

Mindful Work: Bringing Your Full Self and Practice to Work NIKKI MIRGHAFORI, MARC LESSER 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

Our practice does not end at the edge of our cushion. In fact, the entirety of our life and work are our practice. Many of us spend more time at work than any other place in our lives. Our workplace can serve as our temple for daily life practice, where the proverbial rubber meets the road. Our work can also serve as our sacred offering to the world. In this daylong, we will explore how depth, meaning and clarity from our practice can be integrated with our work life. We will also explore ways to transform personal and interpersonal challenges at work into opportunities to discover, grow, learn and open our hearts. Fee: $75 – 200 sliding scale. Code: NM3D17. NIKKI MIRGHAFORI – See page 21 for bio. MARC LESSER is a CEO, Zen teacher, author and speaker. He is currently CEO of ZBA Associates, a leadership coaching and consulting company. Previously, he was CEO and co-founder of Search Inside Yourself Leadership. Marc was a resident of the San Francisco Zen Center for 10 years and former director of Tassajara Zen Mountain Center and currently leads a weekly Zen meditation group in Mill Valley, CA. Marc is the author of several books, including Z.B.A.: Zen of Business Administration.

Visit spiritrock.org for schedule updates and full teacher bios. 25

NON-RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS | SEP – DEC 2017

NOV

SUN

SPECIAL EVENT

Zen Stories NORMAN FISCHER | 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

In this daylong retreat we will sit, walk and practice with classical Zen stories from the Book of Serenity and other collections. “What is Buddha? The oak tree in the courtyard.” “What is the Way? Everyday mind is the Way.” How do pithy sayings like these from the old Masters illuminate our path today? What is Zen and how is it different from and the same as any other Buddhist practice? We will meander through such questions during our day together. Fee: $90 – 250 sliding scale. Code: NF2S17. NORMAN FISCHER is a poet and Zen Buddhist Priest. He is senior dharma teacher at the San Francisco Zen Center and is the founder and spiritual director of the Everyday Zen Foundation.

NOV

WED

2-DAY NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREAT

Liberate the Body and Stretch the Mind: Meditation and Yoga WES NISKER, KATCHIE ANANDA 9:30 am – 4:30 pm, Wednesday, Nov 29 Thursday, Nov 30

This retreat combines the traditional practices of Buddhist mindfulness meditation and yoga to help us embody the amazement of being alive and human. Periods of meditation will alternate with yoga, allowing the techniques to support each other and create a sense of mind-body connection, vitality and well-being. The retreat will feature an exploration of Buddhist and Yogic philosophies, as well as plenty of poetry and good humor. Fee: $150 – 400 sliding scale. Code: WN1M17. WES NISKER – See page 45 for bio. KATCHIE ANANDA is a yoga teacher and trainer certified in Anusara, Jivamukti, Integral and Ashtanga yoga. Yoga Journal named her one of the top five yoga teachers making change in the world.

DEC

02 SAT

Freedom from the Inner Critic MARK COLEMAN | 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

6 CE CREDITS Are you prone to judging everything you do as not good enough, not quite right, or not living up to some impossibly high standard? Do you find yourself harshly judging your meditation, your practice or your other spiritual practices? If you would you like to be more free from the torment of the inner critic, then this daylong is for you. You will learn how to recognize judging thoughts and how to deal effectively with inner critic attacks. This will be a practical and experiential course taught with compassion and humor, and the need to not take ourselves too seriously! Fee: $75 – 200 sliding scale. Code: MC8D17. MARK COLEMAN – See page 44 for bio.

DEC

02 SAT

Contemplating Death, Awakening to Life EUGENE CASH | 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

Buddha encouraged the practice of Maranasati (Mindfulness of Death) to cultivate equanimity, insight into impermanence, freedom from clinging, appreciation for the preciousness of human birth and as a preparation for our own death. Recognizing the normalcy of death can provide nourishment for our lives — how we live, what we value and care about, and how to understand and recognize our interconnectedness with all that lives. In this daylong for experienced students, we will explore and practice a number of ways to understand and contemplate our mortality — as a mindfulness of body practice, an investigation of our own impermanence, and a practice that leads to freedom. Cost: $75 – 200 sliding scale. Code: EC1D17. EUGENE CASH – See page 44 for bio.

NON-RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS | SEP – DEC 2017

DEC

03 SUN

A Fierce Heart: A Daylong for People of Color SPRING WASHAM | 9:30 am – 4:30 pm Book signing to follow

Finding strength, courage and wisdom in any moment is the theme of this special day. We invite all self-identified people of color to gather for a daylong of inspiration, community, love and renewal. On our spiritual path, we balance the two great wings of awakening — wisdom and compassion. Perfect wisdom gives rise to perfect compassion. In this daylong we will explore wisdom, compassion, strength and courage. Learning to meet the inner and outer challenges of life with an open heart takes a fierceness that we can develop and cultivate through practice. This daylong retreat will include periods of meditation, teachings on the theme of the day, and group discussion. There will be a practical emphasis on how we apply and live these powerful teachings in our everyday lives. This is an excellent daylong for those who are new to practice as well as for experienced practitioners. Following the daylong, Spring will be signing copies of her new book, A Fierce Heart. Fee: $40 – 100 sliding scale. Code: SW2D17. SPRING WASHAM – See page 45 for bio.

DEC

03 SUN

Awakening through the Body: Embodied Wisdom for Challenging Times HEATHER SUNDBERG, MANUELA MISCHKE-REEDS | 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

This daylong retreat will explore mindfulness of the body from several complementary traditions. Heather will teach from the perspective of the First Foundation of Mindfulness, weaving in her understandings from the school of Somatic Experiencing. Manuela will teach from the perspective of Meditating with the Body®, developed by Dr. Reggie Ray, which allows the meditator to connect with the inherent wisdom of the body. She also brings the perspective of Hakomi Psychotherapy and Somatic Experiencing to meditation practice. Suitable for new and experienced meditators, we will explore the depth of somatic knowledge and the body as an object of meditation. Fee: $75 – 200 sliding scale. Code: HS1D17. HEATHER SUNDBERG – See page 19 for bio. MANUELA MISCHKE-REEDS, MA, MFT, is a licensed somatic psychotherapist, Dharma Ocean teacher, international teacher of somatic psychology and writer. She co-directs and teaches at the Hakomi Institute of California. She has a private psychotherapy practice in Menlo Park, CA, and is the author of 8 Keys to Practicing Mindfulness.

DEC

08 FRI

Introduction to Insight Meditation ANUSHKA FERNANDOPULLE | 9:30am – 4:00pm

Insight Meditation is the practice of connecting with mindfulness to our direct experience so that we can understand what is true about ourselves, our lives and our world. In this daylong workshop, we will learn to cultivate mindfulness in sitting and walking meditation. We’ll also discover how even eating can be a meditation. We will learn how to apply mindfulness interpersonally while listening and speaking. And we will investigate how mindfulness can be brought to our experience of the body, heart and mind through all of our sense doors. Fee: $75 – 200 sliding scale. Code: AF4D17. ANUSHKA FERNANDOPULLE – See page 44 for bio.

DEC

09 SAT

Dharma through Myth and Stories PAWAN BAREJA | 9:30 am – 4:00 pm

6 CE CREDITS When working with trauma, it is easy to get caught in selfjudgment, shame, thinking and planning. Stories and myths have a way of bypassing our thinking brain and appeal to our emotional and lower brain. For that reason, they have been used over the ages to help people work with and assimilate difficult events in their lives. They are also used to initiate and empower us with right intention and to engage in right action. In this daylong we will invoke the power of stories and myths from Buddhist and nonBuddhist traditions to help loosen the mental and emotional knots of trauma. Fee: $75 – 200 sliding scale. Code: PB5D17. PAWAN BARJEA – See page 19 for bio.

DEC

09 SAT

Meditation, Chanting and Winter Solstice Ritual DEBRA CHAMBERLIN-TAYLOR, JAI UTTAL 6:30 – 9:30 pm

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. Fee: Sliding Scale $30 - $100. Code: JA2E17. DEBRA CHAMBERLIN-TAYLOR – See page 44 for bio. JAI UTTAL - In 30 years of commitment to the spiritual practice of kirtan, Jai Uttal has cultivated a voice and musical style that carries the listener into the heart of devotion, prayer, and healing, and to an ecstatic remembrance of the divine.

NON-RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS | SEP – DEC 2017

DEC

09 SAT

A Monastic Day Apparent Here and Now AYYA ANANDABODHI, AYYA SANTACITTA, ISABELITA PAPA (QIGONG) | 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

DANA DAY (BY DONATION) While we are often pulled into planning, fears and anxieties about the future or dwelling on the past, we can train our minds to turn towards “this presently arisen state” and get to know what obstructs us from the true peace of presence. Meeting our experience in this way, everything is teaching us! During this daylong we will come together as a community to support each other by keeping Noble Silence. The nuns will offer guided sitting and walking meditation, dharma reflections, chanting and opportunities for dialogue. There will be a shared vegetarian meal; you’re invited to bring almsfood to share with the nuns. After the meal there will be an opportunity for qi gong practice with Isabelita Papa. Code: NU2G17. AYYA ANANDABODHI – See page 44 for bio. AYYA SANTACITTA is co-founder of Aloka Vihara, a training monastery for women in Placerville, CA. She has trained as a nun in both the East and West since 1993, primarily in the lineage of Ajahn Chah, and she also integrates Dzogchen teachings into her practice and teachings. In 2011 she received full bhikkhuni ordination. ISABELITA PAPA – See page 14 for bio.

DEC

SUN

Your One Wild and Precious Life: A Day for Adventurous Women KATE MUNDING, BETSY ROSE 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

Does liberation have a special meaning for women? How do we translate inner liberation into outer freedom from societal and conditioned restraints? When a wild and precious dream calls to us, what do we trust to impel us through the barriers that may stand in our way? This daylong will be rooted in exploration of our personal experiences of constraint and freedom, both within ourselves and in our external conditions. Especially at this time, when many gains women have made are under threat, we need the support of community, dharma practice, and the inspiration of each other’s stories of courage and breaking the mold. Fee: $75 – 200 sliding scale. Code: KM4D17. KATE MUNDING is the founder of Heart-Mind Education, providing mindfulness-based education programs, trainings and resources to students and the adults in their lives. She is a graduate of the Spirit Rock/IMS/IRC Teacher Training and a guiding teacher for the Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley. BETSY ROSE is a singer, writer, recording artist and mother. She is a renowned children’s artist, teaching them the power of their own voices and creativity through singing and song-making workshops.

DEC

SUN

The Art and Practice of Forgiveness PHILLIP MOFFITT | 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

DANA DAY (BY DONATION) As an art, forgiveness begins with connecting to the subtle nuances of the heart, and as a practice it involves learning vital skills such as metta, mindful acknowledgement and compassion. Repeatedly practicing these skills enables you to free yourself from painful identification with past events. This is a day to bring your remorse or grief about past actions and move beyond any guilt and shame so that you arrive at genuine regret. And if you are caught in anger or vengeance toward someone who has wronged you, you will be guided toward holding them in accountability and responsibility. Code: PM2G17. PHILLIP MOFFITT – See page 45 for bio.

DEC

15 FRI

Awareness Is Your Best Friend HOWARD COHN | 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

Everyone is looking for a reliable refuge, something or someone we can completely trust in. We often look for this refuge in things, people and or situations that leave us dissatisfied and frustrated. The Buddha’s teachings and methods introduce us to and ultimately help us trust awareness as the source and cause of happiness, peace and freedom. This daylong will follow the Buddha’s path of cultivating awareness through the practice of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness. You will realize that your awareness is your best friend. Fee: $75 – 200 sliding scale. Code: HC6D17. HOWARD COHN – See page 44 for bio.

NON-RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS | SEP – DEC 2017

DEC

SAT

Embodying Joy: Practices for Creating Well-Being through Qigong & Meditation DEBRA CHAMBERLIN-TAYLOR, MINGTONG GU 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

6 CE CREDITS Our inherent joy is like sunlight that is always shining within. This natural radiance is often obscured by passing clouds of emotion and thought. At this workshop we will share practices and teachings from Buddhist and qigong traditions to help you uncover and reclaim your natural inner joy. Practices will include movement, meditations and sound. You will learn various qigong movements that awaken joy through strengthening the endocrine and immune systems, thereby reducing stress, anxiety and depression by activating and balancing the energy body. Fee: $75 – 200 sliding scale. Code: MT3D17. DEBRA CHAMBERLIN-TAYLOR – See page 44 for bio. MINGTONG GU is an internationally recognized teacher and healer who received his training from grandmasters of China and Tibet and at the world’s largest qigong hospital. He is the founder of the Chi Healing Center in Petaluma, CA.

DEC

SUN

Awakening Together LARRY YANG | 9:30 am – 4:30 pm Book signing to follow

Building community can seem like a worthy purpose, a high aspiration, even a wholesome ideal. But the teachings of the Buddha invite us into experiencing more than that — the refuge of sangha is an indispensable part of our spiritual path and a dire necessity in this complex world that often feels more fragmented than interconnected. In this daylong we are invited to cultivate a sense of community as our personal and collective spiritual practice. We will build sangha through the lens of the Dharma, and we will explore how valuable opening our minds and hearts can be in creating relationships of interdependence. Fee: $75 – 200 sliding scale. Code: LY1D17. LARRY YANG – See page 45 for bio.

“Mindfulness is not just about meditation. Mindfulness is the gateway to a free and joyful heart.” —jack kornfield

NON-RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS | SEP – DEC 2017

DEC

23 SAT

Relaxed and Awake DAN CLURMAN | 10:00 am – 4:00 pm

5 CE CREDITS By changing our habits of movement, we relax and awaken the body; by changing our habits of awareness, we awaken and relax the mind. We can then join in the dance of existence with more freedom and ease. Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement® is a highly effect sensory-motor approach to re-educating the nervous system and developing mindfulness of the body-mind. During this daylong, periods of meditation will alternate with guided Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement® lessons. All the techniques used will support each other to foster mind-body harmony, vitality and well-being. Cost: $75 – 200 sliding scale. Code: DA2D17. DAN CLURMAN – See page 20 for bio.

DEC

Elements of a Full Life Path

SUN

AMMA THANASANTI 10:00 am – 4:00 pm

DANA DAY (BY DONATION) Full Life Practice considers the totality of the human being in the world. It is an invitation to stop, inquire and recognize what is true and liberating at the core of all existence and to bring that into all facets of life. This daylong will begin with body awareness practices that allow us to drop the story we are telling ourselves about what is happening and enter into the underlying experience. The afternoon will be an interactive exploration of our personal needs and how they are part our own journey of healing and maturation. Combining healing, maturation and engagement alongside awakening grounds the divine into our human experience and supports a life full of aliveness and wholeness. Code: AT1G17.

DEC

29 FRI

2 1/2 DAY NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREAT

Finding Your Life’s Deep Current: A Writing Retreat ROGER HOUSDEN | Friday, December 29, and Saturday, December 30, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm; Sunday, December 31, 9:30 am - 12:30 pm

Who we are is as much a mystery to ourselves as to everyone else, and we could say that what we are here for is to unfold the mysteries of our true identity and the unique story of our life. Our purpose is bound up in the truth of who we are, and who we are runs like an underground stream through all our days. This writing retreat is an opportunity to drop your line down into that stream and explore what you may never have fully given voice. Fee: $200 – 550 sliding scale. Code: RH2M17. ROGER HOUSDEN is the author of 20 books on poetry, art and pilgrimage, including the best-selling Ten Poems to Change Your Life series.

DEC

30 SAT

Keep Coming Back: Dharma, Recovery and Renewal KEVIN GRIFFIN | 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

Our dharma practice and our recovery program both rest on the foundation of intention and commitment. One day at a time and one breath at a time, we keep coming back to the present moment and to our wish to be free. This daylong retreat will focus on beginning the 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, and personal reflection, we will seek fresh inspiration for a year of growth and happiness. Fee: $75 – 200 sliding scale. Code: KG2D17. KEVIN GRIFFIN – See page 21 for bio.

AMMA THANASANTI is committed to bringing love and awakening into all facets of life and to help others do the same. As a former Buddhist nun of 26 years, Amma Thanasanti combines the power of classical Buddhist teachings, passion for wholeness and creativity in all that she does.

DEC

SUN

SPECIAL EVENT

Let Go, Start Over, Let Go: A New Year’s Meditation, Emancipation & Celebration WES NISKER, NINA WISE | 8:00 pm – 1:00 am PEOPLE OF ALL AGES WELCOME

Celebrate the coming of the new year and ending of the old. Let go of the past and move on to the present. Reflect on your losses and gains, sorrows and joys through silent practice and guided ritual. Contact your deepest wisdom. Reconnect with the great mystery. Set intentions for yourself and hopes for the world in the coming year. Laugh, sing and awaken! This celebratory event will feature periods of meditation practice, movement, performances, chanting and ritual DJ dancing from midnight until 1:00am. Fee: $75 – 200 sliding scale. Code: WN1S17. WES NISKER – See page 45 for bio. NINA WISE – See page 21 for bio.

online programs Essential Buddhist Teachings: Introduction to Buddhism

Concentration Meditation: Purification of Mind

MARK COLEMAN | Self-paced online course

In this modern world that emphasizes the importance of multitasking and micro-tasking for increased productivity in our ever busier and more demanding lives, the meditation cushion calls for the exact opposite effort. In concentration (samatha) meditation, our effort is on a simplified, single point of focus that will result in a calmer, more joyful mind. This online class provides an overview of concentration meditation from its basic beginnings as mindfulness of breathing to its culmination as a doorway to vipassana practice. Fee: $249. Code: TR1N17.

This course offers an overview of core Buddhist teachings and meditation practices, such as socially engaged Buddhism, joy, and generosity. These teachings are instrumental on the journey of awakening as taught within the Insight Meditation tradition. The series emphasizes cultivation of mindful awareness and learning to apply and live these wisdom practices in our daily lives. Fee: $245. Code: MC4N17. Course includes: • 10 video chapters - 3 segments per chapter • Teacher support – 2 group video conferences with Mark Coleman • E-Sangha - connect via our Dharma Buddy Groups • Downloadable audio recordings, home practice exercises and additional readings MARK COLEMAN – See page 44 for bio.

A Field Guide to the Mind: Practical Abhidhamma

TINA RASMUSSEN, STEPHEN SNYDER | Self-paced online course

Course includes: • 4 video chapters to view at your convenience • Teacher support – 2 group video conferences with Tina Rasmussen & Stephen Snyder • E-Sangha - connect in small groups via our Discussion Forum • Downloadable audio recordings TINA RASMUSSEN, PHD, has meditated for over 40 years and was ordained as a Theravada Buddhist nun by Ven. Pa Auk Sayadaw of Burma, who authorized her to teach. She is the co-author with Stephen Snyder of Practicing the Jhanas. STEPHEN SNYDER began practicing Buddhist meditation in 1976 and has studied with several Western Zen masters.

STEVE ARMSTRONG | Self-paced online course In the Abhidhamma, the third basket of the Buddha’s teaching, we are offered a practical map for investigating and understanding life. Experiences are seen through the deconstructing lens of awareness to be made up of discrete moments of mental and physical phenomena arising and coalescing and unfolding in lawful, observable ways. In this online course, we will be deconstructing these phenomena so that we can begin to understand how our life works from the inside and how we can develop the mind in order to free the heart from suffering. Fee: $299. Code: SA1N17. Course includes: • 6 video chapters – 3 segments per chapter • Teacher support – 3 group video conferences with Steve Armstrong • 6 guided meditations • 36-page Course Manual • E-Sangha - connect via our Dharma Buddy Groups and Discussion Forum STEVE ARMSTRONG has studied the Dhamma and practiced Insight Meditation since 1975 and has led meditation retreats internationally since 1990. Steve is cofounding teacher of the Vipassana Metta Foundation’s dharma sanctuary on Maui.

Make Peace with Your Mind — Free Yourself from Your Inner Critic MARK COLEMAN | Self-paced online course Have you ever noticed how cluttered your mind is? Or how critical it can be, especially of yourself? In this practical, experiential online course based on techniques from his newest book, Mark shows you how to recognize the ways your thoughts impact your experience. Taught with compassion and humor, Mark reminds us not to take ourselves too seriously! Fee: $99. Code: MC3N17. Course includes: • 2 hours of video instruction in eight 15-minute segments • A copy of Mark’s new book, Make Peace with Your Mind: How Mindfulness and Compassion Can Free You from Your Inner Critic • 8 reflections/at-home exercises • Downloadable audio talks MARK COLEMAN - See page 44 for bio.

family & youth programs at Spirit Rock

SEP

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SUN

01 03

Abhayagiri Teen Weekend Retreat Abhayagiri Monastery, Mendocino County AJAHN PASANNO, FOREST FEIN 2 nights, Friday – Sunday

ALL 14-20 YEAR OLDS WELCOME A group of 14-20 year olds and Spirit Rock Family Program teachers will travel from Spirit Rock to Abhayagiri Monastery in Redwood Valley, Mendocino County, for a weekend of camping and practice with the Abhayagiri Monastic Community. Teens participate in the monastic schedule, which includes periods of meditation and chanting, working and hiking on the land, and teachings from the monastics. Suggested donation $200 - 400. Code: TE1R17. AJAHN PASANNO – See page 22 for bio. FOREST FEIN, MA, is the Curriculum Director and Lead Instructor of the Mindfulness Programs for Youth at UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Medicine. He is the founder of “Mindful Human: The Art, Science + Practice of Mindful Living” and offers classes, workshops, and one-on-one mindfulness training for teens and adults.

OCT

SUN

Fall Teen Meditation Series SEAN FEIT OAKES, SARA OAKES 6 Sundays, October 1 - October 29, 6:00 - 8:30 pm; November 5, 11:00 am – 3:00 pm

6-WEEK CLASS SERIES Learn meditation, relax deeply, speak your truth and develop your mind — all while hanging out with other great people your age. Through the practices of mindfulness and Insight Meditation, we take the time to reconnect to ourselves in order to experience more peace, wisdom and compassion. Classes will include movement, community building games, meditation instruction and council, a practice of witnessing the group’s collective wisdom. The series will culminate with a half-day of practice and a potluck celebration. During the class, parents are welcome to read, meditate and connect with each other in the Spirit Rock bookstore and foyer. Fee: $120 - 240 sliding scale. Code: TE5C17. SEAN FEIT OAKES completed the Spirit Rock Dedicated Practitioners Program, Mindfulness Yoga and Meditation Training, and Community Dharma Leaders program. He is core Teacher Training faculty for Piedmont Yoga in Oakland, CA, and Yoga Garden San Francisco. SARA OAKES is a graduate of the Dedicated Practitioners Program at Spirit Rock and is currently finishing her training in Somatic Experiencing (SE) Trauma Resolution. She has a private practice in Craniosacral therapy and SE for people of all ages in the East Bay.

FOR COMPLETE BIOS, SEE SPIRITROCK.ORG 32

FAMILY PROGRAMS | SEP – DEC 2017

OCT

WED

Fall Path of Parenting GRACE FISHER | 5 Wednesdays, October 4 - November 1, 6:00 – 8:00 pm

5-WEEK CLASS SERIES ALL PARENTS AND CAREGIVERS ARE WELCOME. Parenting has the potential to be a profound spiritual practice in which we cultivate our capacity for boundless love and wise action. In this class, we’ll apply the practice and teachings of mindful awareness and loving-kindness to the joys and challenges of daily life with kids. Fee: $100 - 200 sliding scale. Code: FA3C17. GRACE FISHER – See bio on page 24.

The Spirit Rock Family Program supports families in planting the seeds of the Dharma in their daily lives. Through classes, daylongs and retreats, families, youth and parents learn to slow down, savor the present moment and re-connect with the wholesome

OCT

SUN

Fall Family Day KATE MUNDING, EVE DECKER 10:30 am - 3:00 pm

Family Days are a wonderful opportunity to connect with your children, yourself and a community of supportive peers. Come play, share, learn and open your heart! We start our morning with a program for everyone, weaving the theme of the day into songs, skits and family activities. During the second half of the day, youth ages 4-14 will attend age-appropriate groups with our experienced Spirit Rock mindfulness leaders. They will play, make art, sing songs, and practice mindfulness together. Parents of children ages 4 and older will have an opportunity to meditate, hear a talk related to parenting as practice, and connect with one another through group discussions. Fee: $65 - 200 sliding scale. Code: FA4D17. VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED to assist with the Family Days and attend free of charge; children are welcome to volunteer alongside an adult. Please contact the Volunteer Coordinator for more information at: volunteering@spiritrock.org or call (415) 488-0164, x224. KATE MUNDING – See page 28 for bio. EVE DECKER is a graduate of Spirit Rock’s Community Dharma Leaders program. An accomplished musician, she teaches music and mindfulness to children and adults at the East Bay Meditation Center, Spirit Rock, Aurora School in Oakland and elsewhere.

qualities of heart and mind. DEC

JAN

27 01

WED MON

OCT

WED

Fall Middle School Meditation Series ANDREW CHAIKIN, LEYNA ROGET BRABANT 5 Wednesdays, October 4 - November 1, 6:00 – 8:00 pm

Learn meditation, relax deeply, speak your truth and develop your mind — all while hanging out with other great people your age. Through the practices of mindfulness and Insight Meditation, we take the time to reconnect to ourselves in order to experience more peace, wisdom and compassion. Classes will include movement, community building games, meditation instruction and council, a practice of witnessing the group’s collective wisdom. The final class will include a potluck celebration. During the Middle School series, parents are welcome to attend the Path of Parenting 5-week class series, which runs concurrently with this program. Fee: $100 - 200 sliding scale. Code: TE6C17. ANDREW CHAIKIN is a graduate of the Spirit Rock Community Dharma Leaders program and Dedicated Practitioners Program and is a certified teacher of Search Inside Yourself. He is the Coordinating Teacher of the meditation and yoga program at the San Francisco County Jail. LEYNA ROGET BRABANT is trained in Integral Parenting, MBSR, Intuition Medicine, and kids yoga. She is the founder of Calm Mind, Happy Heart in Berkeley, CA.

New Year’s Teen Retreat Walden West Environmental Camp, Saratoga, CA MATTHEW BRENSILVER, MARVIN BELZER, JAYA RUDGARD 5 nights, Wednesday – Monday

TEENS AGES 15 – 19 YEARS OLD WELCOME Get your head straight, chill out, learn to focus and appreciate life to its fullest! Explore your heart and mind. Connect with other teens in a positive, meaningful way. Reflect on the mystery and truth of your life. This retreat will be an opportunity for teens to explore mindfulness practice through guided periods of silent sitting and walking meditation, small group discussions, creative activities and unstructured free time. Besides learning meditation practices, there will also be time for walks, playing music, telling stories and enjoying each others’ company. Since meditation practice may be new to some teens, each period of sitting and walking meditation will be limited to 30 minutes. Fee: $1230 - 560 sliding scale. Code: 326R17. MATTHEW BRENSILVER, PHD, is a graduate of the Spirit Rock/IMS/IRC Teacher Training. He teaches at UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center and at Against the Stream, San Francisco. MARVIN BELZER, PHD, has taught mindfulness meditation for 20 years. He is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the UCLA Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences. JAYA RUDGARD is a graduate of the Spirit Rock/IMS/IRC Teacher Training and teaches mindfulness and the Dharma in the US and elsewhere.

RESIDENTIAL RETREATS | SEP â&#x20AC;&#x201C; DEC 2017

RESIDENTIAL RETREATS For 2,600 years, meditation retreats have been a central part of the Buddhist Path of Awakening. Time in retreat allows us to step out of the complexity of our lives to listen deeply to our bodies, hearts and minds. Spirit Rock retreats combine the fertile atmosphere of silence with time for meditation and walks in nature, supported by systematic Buddhist teachings. Careful guidance and training is offered in meditation. Most retreats are suitable for both new and more experienced students of meditation. Retreats last from a few days to a full two-month retreat. Find inspiration for planning your next retreat on the following pages. For complete details of specific retreats, visit spiritrock.org/calendar/retreats. If you are able to attend a retreat, at short notice, please join a waitlist as spaces regularly open up. For more information, contact Retreats@spiritrock.org or (415) 488-0164 x296.

RESIDENTIAL RETREATS | SEP â&#x20AC;&#x201C; DEC 2017

GENERAL INFORMATION: Registration Retreats open for registration four months before the start date (longer if a lottery retreat). Check our website for specific open dates. We encourage you to register online; however, you may also download application forms to submit via fax or mail. In addition to the registration fees, which only cover a portion of the retreat costs, you are invited to support the teachings and the retreat through the spiritual practice of generous giving or "dana." Participants will be invited to offer dana (donations) for the teachers, managers and cooks through which they are compensated for their work.

Financial Assistance, Work Exchange and Young Adult Rates Financial assistance is available for all residential retreats through our scholarship funds; there are limited scholarship funds available, please apply early. For all residential retreats, we offer a limited number of Young Adult special rate accommodations available on a first-come, first-served basis. We do not have a Senior rate for residential retreats; however, we strongly encourage you to apply for a scholarship, if you require financial assistance. For most retreats, we have two work retreatant roles â&#x20AC;&#x201D; one in the kitchen and one in housekeeping. To apply as a work retreatant, you must meet the criteria outlined on our website spiritrock.org.

Cancellation Fees In general, the cancellation fee schedule is as follows: $100 for cancellation 8 weeks or more before a retreat; $175 for cancellation 4-8 weeks before a retreat; $225 for cancellation 1-4 weeks before a retreat; $300 for cancellation 1 week before a retreat. No refunds as of 3:00 pm on the last business day prior to the retreat start day. To cancel a retreat reservation, contact Retreats@spiritrock.org or (415) 488-0164, x296.

RESIDENTIAL RETREATS | SEP – DEC 2017

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FRI

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01 03

Abhayagiri Teen Weekend Abhayagiri Monastery, Mendocino County AJAHN PASANNO, FOREST FEIN 2 nights, Friday - Sunday

See page 32 for full description & details.

SEP

Insight Meditation for the Curious

THU

SUN

MARK COLEMAN, DIANA WINSTON 3 nights, Thursday – Sunday

14 17

Have you ever been curious about Insight Meditation? This silent retreat will teach the essentials of this practice and offer key Buddhist teachings. We will explore ways to awaken our mind and heart so that we can learn to live a life of wisdom, compassion, inner peace and freedom. This mini-retreat will combine sitting and walking meditations, dharma talks and opportunities to meet with a teacher. An excellent opportunity for those new to retreat practice, and also ideal for experienced practitioners who wish to do a short retreat. Fee $980 - 445 sliding scale. Code: 296R17. MARK COLEMAN – See page 44 for bio. DIANA WINSTON – See page 45 for bio.

SEP

MON

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18 24

Finding Freedom in the Body BOB STAHL, ANUSHKA FERNANDOPULLE, CHRISTIANE WOLF, MARCY REYNOLDS (QIGONG) | 6 nights, Monday – Sunday

10 CE CREDITS In this retreat we will work primarily with the first of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, mindfulness of the body. You will be introduced the 32 Parts of the Body meditation from an Insight perspective of the true nature and wonders of the body. This practice has also been used for healing illness and most importantly to help eradicate the erroneous view of self. Various methods will be taught to strengthen mindfulness of the body and to explore the mind/body connection. Suitable for both new and experienced meditators, as well as health care professionals. Fee: $1475 - 670 sliding scale. Code: 298R17. BOB STAHL – See page 18 for bio. ANUSHKA FERNANDOPULLE – See page 44 for bio CHRISTIANE WOLF, MD, PHD, is a physician turned mindfulness and MBSR teacher and teacther’s trainer. She is a graduate of the Spirit Rock/IMS/ IRC Teacher Training Program and is the co-author of A Clinician’s Guide to Teaching Mindfulness. MARCY REYNOLDS is a longtime practitioner of qigong and Vipassana Meditation. She currently teaches MBSR at El Camino Hospital and qigong at Insight Santa Cruz.

at a glance

RESIDENTIAL RETREATS 2017

NOVEMBER Nov 1–8

Waking Up Together

Nov 9–16

Dedicated Practitioners Programs Retreat 2

Nov 17–26

SEPTEMBER Sept 1–3

Ajahn Pasanno, Forest Fein registration opens 6/12/17

Insight Meditation for the Curious

Sept 18–24

Finding Freedom in the Body (Parallel)

Sept 25 –Oct 1

Oct 2–9

Mark Coleman, Diana Winston registration opens 5/10/17 Bob Stahl, Anushka Fernandopulle, Christiane Wolf, Marcy Reynolds (qigong) —registration opens 5/17/17

Thanissara, Kittisaro, Jaya Rudgard & others registration opens 7/12/17

The Magic of Awareness Anam Thubten, James Baraz, Kate Munding —registration opens 7/26/17

Dec 3–10

The Courage to Live: The Practice of Forgiveness (Lottery)

Dec 11–17

In the Presence of Love: Metta and Qigong

The Dharma and the Drama (Parallel) *UWH Wes Nisker, Nina Wise —registration opens 5/17/17

Embodied, Empowered and Awake: A Women’s Meditation and Movement Retreat

Dec 18–23

Larry Yang, Gina Sharpe, Noliwe Alexander, Devin Berry, Konda Mason, Amana Bremby Johnson (yoga) Lottery opens 6/27/17 Spring Washam, Tempel Smith, Teja Bell (qigong) registration opens 8/9/17

Solstice Insight Meditation Retreat Donald Rothberg, John Travis, Heather Sundberg registration opens 8/16/17

Anne Cushman, Spring Washam, Erin Selover, Kate Johnson (yoga), Jennifer Berezan (music) —registration opens 5/24/17

Dec 27 –Jan 3

New Year’s Insight Meditation Retreat (Lottery)

OCTOBER

Dec 27 –Jan 1

New Year’s Teen Retreat (Walden West)

Maranasati: Contemplating Death/Awakening to Life

Eugene Cash, Pamela Weiss, Spring Washam, Alexis Santos, DaRa Williams, Janice Clarfield (yoga) Lottery opens 7/27/17 Matthew Brensilver, Marvin Belzer, Jaya Rudgard registration opens 8/31/17

(Parallel) Eugene Cash, Nikki Mirghafori, Bhikkhu Analayo (via

Oct 2–9

Settled, Seeing and Spacious Awareness (Parallel) *UWH

Oct 10–15

Embodying Awakening: Yoga and Meditation (Parallel)

Oct 10–15

Empty Mind, Full Heart: Awakening to Equanimity and Compassion (Parallel) *UWH

Donald Rothberg, Susie Harrington registration opens 5/31/17 Anne Cushman, Pascal Auclair, Leslie Booker (yoga) registration opens 6/7/17

Sharda Rogell —registration opens 6/7/17

Oct 27–31

Thanksgiving Insight Meditation Retreat

DECEMBER

videocast), Janice Clarfield (yoga) —registration opens 5/31/17

Oct 16–26

Sally Armstrong, Ruth King, Bonnie Duran, Tempel Smith —program participants only

Abhayagiri Teen Meditation Retreat

Sept 14–17

Sept 18–24

Nov 27 –Dec 2

James Baraz, Sharda Rogell, Frank Ostaseski, Ange Stephens, Pam Dunn, Vinny Ferraro —registration opens 7/5/17

JANUARY 2018 Jan 4–11

Jan 12–15 Jan 20–26

Metta Retreat Sylvia Boorstein, Donald Rothberg, Larry Yang, Heather Sundberg, Konda Mason (yoga) registration opens 9/5/17

Awakening in Every Moment Sylvia Boorstein, Dana DePalma —registration opens 9/12/17

Essential Dharma Meditation Retreat Howard Cohn, TBD —registration opens 9/20/17

Fall Insight Meditation Retreat (FULL with waitlist available) Jack Kornfield, Trudy Goodman Kornfield, Gina Sharpe, Spring Washam, Christiane Wolf, Alexis Santos, Teja Bell (qigong) Lottery opens 5/16/17

***For the February and March Month-long Retreat dates, see page 43.

Awakening Strength, Courage and Tenderness: A Retreat for the LGBTQI Gender-Fluid Community Arinna Weisman, Larry Yang, Melvin Escobar (yoga) registration opens 6/27/17

Retreats in purple type = offsite *UWH = Upper Walking Hall

RESIDENTIAL RETREATS | SEP – DEC 2017

SEP

The Dharma and the Drama

MON

SUN

WES NISKER, NINA WISE 6 nights, Monday – Sunday

18 24

During this retreat we will draw on the radical new understandings of contemporary science, history and culture, helping to support and amplify the teachings of the Buddha. The retreat will make creative use of classic Buddhist meditation techniques: to explore the evolutionary origin of our body and emotions; to practice traditional Buddhist reflections on death and dying; to examine our nature “as” nature; and to ground awareness in the body through gentle yoga movement. All the while, we will examine the tricky delusions of mind and the mystery of consciousness. In the process we expect to find relief from our personal drama and a new sense of delight and meaning in our embodied lives. Fee: $1475 - 670 sliding scale. Code: 299R17. WES NISKER – See page 45 for bio. NINA WISE – See page 21 for bio.

SEP

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25 01

Embodied, Empowered and Awake: A Women’s Meditation and Movement Retreat ANNE CUSHMAN, SPRING WASHAM, ERIN SELOVER, KATE JOHNSON (YOGA), JENNIFER BEREZAN (MUSICIAN) 6 nights, Monday – Sunday

ALL THOSE WHO IDENTIFY AS WOMEN ARE WELCOME. We all need nourishing spaces to slow down and listen to the wisdom of our bodies so we can grow into the wise, wild, present, and joyful women that the world desperately needs. Join a diverse circle of women for a retreat that integrates a seamless flow of mindfulness meditation in both movement and in stillness. We will consciously create a nourishing space for women of all races, sizes, ages, sexual identities, religions and classes to dive into the depths of our individual and collective rivers. We’ll honor the lineages of awakened women as we sit and move in a circle of sisters, grandmothers, mothers, and daughters. Fee: $1475 - 670 sliding scale. Code: 300R17. ANNE CUSHMAN is a graduate of the Spirit Rock/IMS/IRC Teacher Training Program and the author of Moving into Meditation and the novel, Enlightenment for Idiots. SPRING WASHAM – See page 45 for bio. ERIN SELOVER – See page 17 for bio. KATE JOHNSON – is a graduate of the Spirit Rock Community Dharma Leaders program and is currently in Spirit Rock’s Teacher Training program. She is on the Buddhist Peace Fellowship staff. JENNIFER BEREZAN is a unique blend of singer/songwriter, teacher, ritualist and activist. She weaves the sacred into original contemporary musical styles. Her work is deeply imbued with Buddhist and Earth-based themes.

RESIDENTIAL RETREATS | SEP – DEC 2017

OCT

02 09

MON MON

Settled, Seeing and Spacious Awareness: A Retreat for Experienced Students DONALD ROTHBERG, SUSIE HARRINGTON 7 nights, Monday – Monday

Prerequisite: At least two 5-night silent insight meditation retreats or permission of the teachers.

OCT

02 09

MON MON

Maranasati: Contemplating Death/ Awakening to Life EUGENE CASH, NIKKI MIRGHAFORI, BHIKKHU ANALAYO (VIA VIDEOCAST), JANICE CLARFIELD (YOGA) 7 nights, Monday – Monday

In the context of a small and intimate retreat, we will train in three interrelated modes of practice. First, we will settle and stabilize our minds and bodies, becoming more concentrated through both sitting and moving forms of meditation, including qigong. As we settle, we become better able to examine the different dimensions of our experience — our bodies, thoughts and emotions — and the general patterns of experience, both personal and universal. We can then see more clearly where we are reactive, where we suffer, where there is a thick sense of self, and learn to be more with the impermanent flow of experience, transforming our reactivity and habits. We can also tune in more to an increasingly unconfined and luminous awareness beyond reactivity, that is a source of freedom, wisdom and compassion, both in retreat practice and daily life. Fee: $1725 - 785 sliding scale. Code: 303R17. DONALD ROTHBERG – See page 45 for bio. SUSIE HARRINGTON teaches meditation nationwide and is the guiding teacher for Desert Dharma, which serves many communities in the Southwest near her home in Moab, UT. She is a graduate of the Spirit Rock/IMS/IRC Teacher Training Program.

21 CE CREDITS Prerequisite: One 5-night Insight Meditation retreat or permission of the teacher. Buddha described Maranasati (mindfulness of death) as being “Supreme of all the mindfulness practices.” He encouraged Maranasati practice to live an awakened life. This supreme practice supports our appreciation of the preciousness of human birth and the development of equanimity amidst the difficulties of human existence. It helps us gain freedom from rigidity and clinging through a more expansive perspective of the inevitable and natural letting go. Maranasati matures our insight into impermanence and change, nourishing a skillful orientation to both life and death. Bhikkhu Analayo will make a guest teaching via videocast at the retreat. Fee: $1725 – 785 sliding scale. Code: 302R17. EUGENE CASH – See page 44 for bio. NIKKI MIRGHAFORI – See page 21 for bio. BHIKKHU ANALAYO ordained in Sri Lanka in 1995 and completed a PhD thesis on the Satipatthana-sutta at the University of Peradeniya. Currently, he is a member of the Centre for Buddhist Studies, a professor at the University of Hamburg, works as a researcher at Dharma Drum Buddhist College, Taiwan, and regularly teaches meditation in Sri Lanka. JANICE CLARFIELD has an international reputation as an inspiring teacher and practitioner of yoga, meditation and energy healing. She teaches an eclectic, integrative and contemplative approach to the practice.

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10 15

Embodying Awakening: Yoga and Meditation ANNE CUSHMAN, PASCAL AUCLAIR, LESLIE BOOKER (YOGA) 5 nights, Tuesday – Sunday

Cultivate an embodied awakening of mind and heart in this silent retreat that blends the traditions of yoga and Insight Meditation (Vipassana). Through an integrated flow of meditation in movement and in stillness, we discover that what we call “body” and what we call “mind” are different aspects of the same living presence. And we will explore how to use this integration of body and mind to fully live our practice through an engaged life that addresses both the suffering in the world and the historical suffering stored in our bodies. You’ll learn skills that can help you stay centered and open-hearted as you take your practice off the mat and cushion and into a world that so needs it. Fee: $1230 - 560 sliding scale. Code: 304R17. ANNE CUSHMAN – See page 38 for bio. PASCAL AUCLAIR – See page 20 for bio. LESLIE BOOKER is a senior teacher and Director of Trainings for the Lineage Project, an organization that brings yoga and meditation to incarcerated and court-involved youth in New York City.

RESIDENTIAL RETREATS | SEP – DEC 2017

OCT

TUE

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10 15

Empty Mind, Full Heart: Awakening to Equanimity and Compassion SHARDA ROGELL 5 nights, Tuesday – Sunday

Each of us would like to be more balanced and spacious rather than reactive and contracted when we meet life. Yet sometimes we find ourselves being overly sensitive or closed, even though we wish to be more open-hearted. Engaging in the practice of mindful awareness together will allow us to explore the relationship between equanimity — a mind that is non-reactive, yet awake and connected — and compassion — a response of the heart that can embrace present moment experience with kind awareness. In order to open our hearts, we will practice emptying our minds of fixed views, ideas and beliefs that interfere with clarity and wisdom, allowing us to engage more fully in the world. Fee: $1230 - 560 sliding scale. Code: 305R17. SHARDA ROGELL – See page 45 for bio.

OCT

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THU

16 26

Fall Insight Meditation Retreat This retreat is full - waitlist available JACK KORNFIELD, TRUDY GOODMAN, GINA SHARPE, SPRING WASHAM, CHRISTIANE WOLF, ALEXIS SANTOS, TEJA BELL (QIGONG) 10 nights, Monday – Thursday

This retreat will emphasize quieting the mind, opening the heart, and developing clarity and depth of practice. Traditional meditation instruction will be combined with a spirit of lovingkindness and silent sitting, walking, dharma talks and practice meetings with teachers. Fee: $3015 - 1370 sliding scale. Code: 306R17. JACK KORNFIELD – See page 45 for bio. TRUDY GOODMAN, PHD, is founder and Guiding Teacher of InsightLA and is the Guiding Teacher and co-founder of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy in Cambridge, MA. GINA SHARPE is co-founder and Guiding Teacher of New York Insight Meditation Center. She has been teaching the Dharma since 1995 and is particularly inspired by the potential and application of Dharma to transform and illuminate interpersonal and multicultural relations. She is a guiding teacher in the Spirit Rock Teacher Training Program. SPRING WASHAM – See page 45 for bio. CHRISTIANE WOLF – See page 36 for bio. ALEXIS SANTOS has practiced Insight Meditation in India, Burma and the US since 2001. He is a graduate of the Spirit Rock/IMS/IRC Teacher Training Program and assists at retreats throughout the US. TEJA BELL teaches gigong, martial arts, healing energy practices, Aikido and the Chinese Internal Arts. He is a fully ordained Rinzai Zen priest.

OCT

FRI

TUE

27 31

Awakening Strength, Courage and Tenderness: A Retreat for the LGBTQI Gender-Fluid Community ARINNA WEISMAN, LARRY YANG, MELVIN ESCOBAR (YOGA) 4 nights, Friday – Tuesday

ALL SELF-IDENTIFIED LGBT*QI ARE WELCOME. How do we open to the challenges and uncertainties of our lives and the worlds we live in without being imprisoned in hatred, passivity or grief? The Buddha’s teaching of liberation offers us a practice to build the capacities of faith, kindness and wisdom and to orient towards building peace. In the blessings of our queer community we will explore ourselves through guided meditations dharma talks and group and individual inquiry. Fee: $1035 - 470 sliding scale. Code: 308R17. ARINNA WEISMAN – See page 22 for bio. LARRY YANG – See page 45 for bio. MELVIN ESCOBAR, LCSW, RYT, is a registered yoga teacher and licensed psychotherapist. He received his yoga teacher training through the Integral Health Fellowship at Niroga Institute and is a graduate of EBMC’s Commit2Dharma program.

RESIDENTIAL RETREATS | SEP – DEC 2017

NOV

FRI

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Thanksgiving Insight Meditation Retreat: A Journey into Presence, Peace and Gratitude THANISSARA, KITTISARO, JAYA RUDGARD, AND OTHERS | 9 nights, Friday - Sunday

Join us at this special time of year to reflect on the deeper truths that support our lives, personally and collectively. Thanksgiving retreat at Spirit Rock is a special opportunity to spend the holiday in the company of a like-minded community, surrounded by the peace and silence of the land. We will spend our days in Noble Silence with the sitting and walking practices of Calming and Insight Meditation. Supported in this sacred container, we will explore how the teachings of the Buddha point us to directly touch and understand our experience, opening us to compassion and wisdom. Fee: $2620 - 1190 sliding scale. Code: 314R17.

NOV

01 08

WED

Waking Up Together JAMES BARAZ, SHARDA ROGELL, FRANK OSTASESKI, ANGE STEPHENS, PAM DUNN, VINNY FERRARO 7 nights, Wednesday - Wednesday

From the smallest insects to the vast galaxies, all existence, including our human life, only survive through mutual cooperation. When we release ourselves from a narrow sense of separateness, we open to a wider world view, one that wisely appreciates that we are not alone nor can we manage this life alone. In this retreat we will focus on the Buddha’s teachings of non-separateness and interconnectedness by emphasizing the relational side of the path. We will explore our deep belonging and how this can lead us to the development of community, compassionate action, true service, greater diversity and inclusivity, and working for social justice. Fee: $1725 - 785 sliding scale. Code: 310R17. JAMES BARAZ – See page 44 for bio. SHARDA ROGELL – See page 45 for bio. FRANK OSTASESKI co-founded the Zen Hospice Project, the first Buddhist hospice in America. In 2004 he created the Metta Institute to provide broad-based education on mindfulness and compassionate end-of-life care. He is the author of Five Invitations: Discovering What Death Can Teach Us about Living Fully. ANGE STEPHENS, MA, MFT, is an integral psychotherapist specializing in working with people with life threatening illness, traumatic loss and grief, as well as with professional and personal caregivers. She is Co-Director of the Metta Institute End-of-Life Care Practitioner Program. PAM DUNN is a leader and teacher trainer for Challenge Day, an organization dedicated to teaching empathy, compassion, and other core social and emotional skills to students, and a guiding teacher for Mindful Schools. VINNY FERRARO is the Senior Trainer for Mindful Schools in Oakland and a nationally recognized leader in designing and implementing interventions for atrisk youth. He is a graduate of the Spirit Rock/IMS/IRC Teacher Training Program.

THANISSARA spent 12 years as a Buddhist nun and was a founding member of Chithurst and Amaravati Buddhist Monasteries in the UK. She also co-founded Dharmagiri South Africa and is co-facilitator of the Spirit Rock Community Dharma Leaders program. KITTISARO was a monk for 15 years and helped found Chithurst Monastery and Devon Vihara in the UK. Kittisaro is co-founder of Dharmagiri South Africa and teaches and lives between South Africa and the US. JAYA RUDGARD - See page 33 for bio.

NOV

DEC

MON

SAT

27 02

The Magic of Awareness ANAM THUBTEN, JAMES BARAZ, KATE MUNDING 5 nights, Monday - Saturday

The paradox of awareness is very profound and yet very simple. It can’t be described because it has no objective qualities and no limitation. Sometimes it comes naturally to the surface when we are fully in the present moment and no longer lost in thoughts or mental projections. Pure consciousness is neither high nor low, neither pleasant nor unpleasant, neither good nor bad. Join us for this retreat where we will learn how to pay attention to this quality of awareness through formal and informal meditation. Once we know how to pay attention, it can be experienced in an instant, in all circumstances. When we reside in that liberated mind, we find the very thing we have been seeking all along. Fee: $1230 - 560 sliding scale. Code: 316R17. JAMES BARAZ – See page 44 for bio. ANAM THUBTEN grew up in Tibet and at an early age began to practice in the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Among his many teachers, his most formative guides were Lama Tsurlo, Khenpo Chopel and Lama Garwang. He is the founder and spiritual advisor of Dharmata Foundation and teaches widely in the US and abroad. KATE MUNDING – See page 28 for bio.

RESIDENTIAL RETREATS | SEP – DEC 2017

DEC

SUN

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The Courage to Live: The Practice of Forgiveness (Lottery) LARRY YANG, GINA SHARPE, NOLIWE ALEXANDER, DEVIN BERRY, KONDA MASON, AMANA BREMBRY JOHNSON (YOGA) 7 nights, Sunday - Sunday

Forgiveness can bring up so much around injury, pain and trauma that we have experienced in the past, both as individuals and as communities. Our inability to let go sometimes numbs our lives in the present, and it can limit how we live into the future. If we don’t start somewhere, does that mean we will never have the opportunity to try and live into all the possibilities of our fullest potential? We are invited to bring our courage to explore and cultivate the continuing opening of our hearts and minds. The intention is to explore a most difficult practice, not to achieve perfection in forgiveness, but to live the life that we envision for ourselves, a life which is more and more free from suffering. That would be enough. Fee: $1725 - 785 sliding scale. Code: 318R17.

DEC

MON

SUN

In the Presence of Love: Metta & Qigong Retreat SPRING WASHAM, TEMPEL SMITH, TEJA BELL (QIGONG) 6 nights, Monday - Sunday

This silent retreat will focus on cultivating the quality of lovingkindness (metta), infusing our hearts, minds and bodies with a strong, caring wisdom. Mindful presence and loving-kindness are essential to living a spiritual life. Awareness as developed through mindfulness practice leads to clarity, insight and understanding. Loving-kindness practices open the heart, allow a kind embrace of ourselves, and connect us intimately with all of life. The fusion of these qualities helps us to respond more compassionately to the challenges we encounter in ourselves and in the world. Qigong, the movement practice of aligning breath, movement and awareness perfectly complements traditional sitting meditation practice. Fee: $1475 - 670 sliding scale. Code: 320R17. SPRING WASHAM – See page 45 for bio. TEMPEL SMITH – See page 45 for bio. TEJA BELL – See page 40 for bio.

LARRY YANG – See page 45 for bio. GINA SHARPE - See page 40 for bio. NOLIWE ALEXANDER – See page 14 for bio. DEVIN BERRY is co-founder of Deeper Still teen meditation sangha at East Bay Meditation Center, a founding board member of Mindful Peacebuilding, and co-founder of the Transforming Historical Harms Project of the Bay Area. KONDA MASON has been teaching yoga as a certified Kripalu Yoga teacher for 20 years. She is one of the co-founders of the International Association of Black Yoga Teachers and is a Spirit Rock board member. AMANA BREMBRY JOHNSON is a visual artist who also teaches contemplative yoga practices and mentors Theravada practitioners wishing to deepen their understanding of the Dharma and find continuity of practice within daily life. She is a graduate of the Spirit Rock Community Dharma Leaders program and EBMC’s Commit2Dharma.

DEC

MON

SAT

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Solstice Insight Meditation Retreat DONALD ROTHBERG, JOHN TRAVIS, HEATHER SUNDBERG 5 nights, Monday - Saturday

In this retreat, we will emphasize centering ourselves at the time of the holidays and the New Year, quieting our minds, grounding in our bodies, opening up our hearts, and using inquiry to help give energy to our practice. There will be a special emphasis on opening to the darkness, including to our difficulties and challenges, as well as to the coming light, such as beauty, joy and love. We will have a winter solstice ceremony. Fee: $1395 - 635 sliding scale. Code: 322R17. DONALD ROTHBERG – See page 45 for bio. JOHN TRAVIS – See page 45 for bio. HEATHER SUNDBERG – See page 19 for bio.

2018

2018 One- and Two-Month Retreats Lottery opens July 18, 2017

Prerequisite: A minimum of two silent 7-night Vipassana retreats led by Spirit Rock, IMS or IRC teachers, or the equivalent. An extended period of retreat offers the rare opportunity for sustained and dedicated practice. Our one- and two-month retreats emphasize quieting the mind, opening the heart, and developing profound clarity and depth of insight practice. Instruction will follow the traditional four foundations of mindfulness, combined with training in loving-kindness and compassion, through a daily schedule of silent sitting, walking, dharma talks and practice meetings with teachers.

DEC

JAN

WED

27 03

New Year’s Insight Meditation Retreat (Lottery) EUGENE CASH, PAMELA WEISS, SPRING WASHAM, ALEXIS SANTOS, DARA WILLIAMS, JANICE CLARFIELD (YOGA) 7 nights, Wednesday - Wednesday

This is a traditional Insight Meditation (Vipassana) retreat with sitting and walking in silence, and regular meetings with teachers. Each day there will be systematic meditation instructions, dharma talks and gentle yoga. We will mark the turning of the year with a late evening sitting and simple ceremony on New Year’s Eve. In celebration of the New Year, our focus will be on cultivating loving awareness and embracing each moment as fresh and new. Fee: $2110 - 960 sliding scale. Code: 324R17. EUGENE CASH – See page 44 for bio. PAMELA WEISS is an executive coach and Founder of Appropriate Response, a company that has brought the power of mindful awareness to hundreds of leaders inside organizations such as Genentech, Salesforce.com and Pixar. She leads a weekly sitting group at SF Insight. SPRING WASHAM – See page 45 for bio. ALEXIS SANTOS – See page 40 for bio. DARA WILLIAMS has practiced Insight Meditation for more than 25 years. She is a graduate of the Spirit Rock/IMS/IRC Teacher Training and is an Associate Guiding Teacher at IMS. DaRa is a certified Focusing Oriented Therapist and a practitioner and trainer of Aboriginal Focusing Oriented Complex Trauma Therapy.

For the month-long retreats only: Spirit Rock is extending the upper age limit of the young adult scholarship rate to individuals 18-32 years of age. This special rate is $35 per night. A limited number of special rates will be available. Additional scholarship funding has been offered once again for our POC communities.

Jan 27 Sat – Feb 24 Sat - 28 nights

February Insight Meditation One-Month Retreat (Lottery) JAMES BARAZ, CAROL WILSON, ADRIANNE ROSS, GREG SCHARF, DARA WILLIAMS, ERIN TREAT, MARTHA LINK (YOGA) Fee: $5850 – 2660 sliding scale. Code: 336R18.

Feb 24 Sat – Mar 24 Sat - 28 nights

March Insight Meditation One-Month Retreat (Lottery) ANDREA FELLA, GREG SCHARF, SUSIE HARRINGTON, BRIAN LESAGE, JOHN MARTIN, AMANA BREMBRY JOHNSON (YOGA) Fee: $5850 - 2660 sliding scale. Code: 338R18.

Jan 27 Sat – Mar 24 Sat - 56 nights

Insight Meditation Two-Month Retreat (Lottery) Fee: $11700 - 5320 sliding scale. Code: 340R18.

JANICE CLARFIELD – See page 39 for bio.

DEC

JAN

27 01

WED MON

Teen New Year’s Retreat MATTHEW BRENSILVER, MARVIN BELZER, JAYA RUDGARD

Teens ages 15 – 19 years old welcome. See page 33 for retreat description and details.

Visit spiritrock.org for schedule updates and full teacher bios. 43

SPI RIT ROCK TEAC H ERS COU N C IL (In order of left to right, top to bottom.) AYYA ANANDABODHI has practiced meditation since 1989 and lived in Amaravati and Chithurst monasteries in the UK for 18 years. In 2009, she moved to the US to help establish Aloka Vihara, a training monastery for women, where she now resides. GUY ARMSTRONG has been practicing Insight Meditation for more than 30 years and began teaching in 1984. He spent a year as a Buddhist monk in Thailand. Guy is a Guiding Teacher of Insight Meditation Society (IMS). He is author of Emptiness: A Practical Guide for Meditators. SALLY ARMSTRONG began practicing Insight Meditation in 1981 and teaching in 1996. She has served at Spirit Rock in a number of roles and is co-founder and co-teacher of the Dedicated Practitioners Program. She is a Co-Guiding Teacher at Spirit Rock.

DANA DEPALMA has practiced Insight Meditation since 1993. She holds a Masters Degree in Counseling Psychology and is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She teaches daylongs, classes and retreats at Spirit Rock and is the Spirit Rock Staff Dharma Teacher. ANNA DOUGLAS has a background in psychology and art, in addition to more than 25 years of vipassana practice. She has also studied with teachers in the Zen, Advaita and Dzogchen traditions.

JAMES BARAZ has practiced Insight Meditation since 1974 and has been teaching since 1980. James leads ongoing meditation and Awakening Joy classes in Berkeley. He is the co-author of Awakening Joy and Awakening Joy for Kids.

ANDREA FELLA has practiced Insight Meditation since 1996 and began teaching in 2003. She teaches at the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, CA, and around the US.

SYLVIA BOORSTEIN has been teaching since 1985 and teaches both Vipassana and Metta Meditation. Her many books include That’s Funny, You Don’t Look Buddhist and Happiness Is an Inside Job.

ANUSHKA FERNANDOPULLE has trained for more than 20 years in the Theravada tradition in the US, India and Sri Lanka. She is on the teaching team at San Francisco Insight and the Leadership Sangha at East Bay Meditation Center, and is lead teacher of the San Francisco LGBT sangha.

EUGENE CASH is a founding teacher of San Francisco Insight. He is also the co-founder and co-teacher of the Dedicated Practitioners Program. In addition, he teaches the Diamond Approach® in San Francisco and Holland. DEBRA CHAMBERLIN-TAYLOR has been leading retreats since 1978. In addition to practicing Vipassana, she has been influenced by Dzogchen and Diamond Heart®. She also leads workshops on embodiment of awareness and conscious relationships. HOWARD COHN has led vipassana retreats since 1985 and leads a weekly sitting group in San Francisco. He has studied with teachers of several traditions, including Theravada, Zen and Dzogchen, and has been strongly influenced by H.W.L. Poonja.

MARK COLEMAN has been teaching Insight Meditation retreats since 1997. He also leads wilderness meditation retreats, integrating mindfulness meditation with nature, and is the author of Awake in the Wild and Make Peace with Your Mind.

GIL FRONSDAL has practiced Zen and Vipassana since 1975 and holds a PhD in Buddhist Studies from Stanford. He is founding teacher of the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, CA, and author of a translation of The Dhammapada. WILL KABAT-ZINN has practiced Insight Meditation for more than 15 years and has been teaching since 2007. He lives in the East Bay with his wife and two children and leads a weekly sitting group on Sunday evenings in Berkeley.

(left to right, top to bottom.) JACK KORNFIELD trained as a Buddhist monk in Thailand, India and Burma and holds a PhD in clinical psychology. He has taught meditation since 1974 and is a founding teacher of IMS and Spirit Rock. His books include A Path with Heart, The Wise Heart and No Time Like the Present.

SPRING WASHAM has practiced meditation since 1997. She is a founding teacher of the East Bay Meditation Center in Oakland, CA. Spring is considered a pioneer in bringing mindfulness-based meditation practices to inner city communities. She is author of A Fierce Heart.

PHILLIP MOFFITT has practiced Vipassana since 1983. He is founder and president of the Life Balance Institute. He is a Co-Guiding Teacher at Spirit Rock and the author of Dancing with Life, Emotional Chaos to Clarity and Awakening through the Nine Bodies.

DIANA WINSTON is the Director of Mindfulness Education at UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center. She has practiced Vipassana since 1989, including a year as a Buddhist nun in Burma, and is the author of Fully Present and Wide Awake: A Buddhist Guide for Teens.

WES "SCOOP" NISKER is a meditation teacher, author, radio commentator and performer. His books include Essential Crazy Wisdom and You Are Not Your Fault.

JULIE WESTER has been a teacher of Insight Meditation since 1985 and is a senior meditation teacher at Spirit Rock. A student of sacred feminine wisdom traditions, her primary teachers have included Ruth Denison, Joanna Macy, Lama Tsultrim Allione and the women of her own family lineage.

MARY GRACE ORR is a vipassana teacher and former Guiding Teacher of Santa Cruz Insight. She has practiced many spiritual disciplines for the past 25 years and has trained in the Diamond Approach®. SHARDA ROGELL began teaching Insight Meditation in 1985. She brings a strong emphasis to awakening heartfulness and has been influenced by non-dual teachings, Dzogchen and the Diamond Approach®. DONALD ROTHBERG has practiced meditation since 1976. He is the guiding teacher for the Path of Engagement program. He is the author of The Engaged Spiritual Life and co-teaches the Wednesday morning class at Spirit Rock. TEMPEL SMITH has been practicing Metta and Insight Meditation since 1989, including a year as a fully ordained monk in Burma. He graduated from the Teacher Training program led by Jack Kornfield at Spirit Rock and has been leading retreats for more than ten years. JOHN TRAVIS founded Mountain Stream Meditation in 1993 and opened a center in Nevada City, CA, in 2013. He has practiced meditation for almost 50 years and spent a decade living in Asia.

LARRY YANG is a longtime meditator trained as a psychotherapist. He is interested in creating access to the Dharma for communities who have felt the experience of exclusion or difference. Larry is a teacher at the East Bay Meditation Center. He is the author of Awakening Together.

Teachers Emeritus AJAHN AMARO trained in Thailand with Ajahn Chah and Ajahn Sumedho. He is the former co-abbot of Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery near Ukiah, CA. He is now abbot of Amaravati Monastery in the UK. ROBERT HALL, MD, is a physician of the body/mind, a psychiatrist, poet and meditation teacher. He is a pioneer of the integration of bodywork, psychotherapy and spiritual practice. He lives and teaches at El Dharma in Todos Santos, Mexico.

bay area and beyond: ongoing classes with spirit rock teachers Berkeley – James Baraz · Thursdays, 7:30-9:30 pm Berkeley Buddhist Monastery, 2304 McKinley Ave. www.insightberkeley.org/aboutus Berkeley – Will Kabat-Zinn · Sundays, 7-9 pm Ashtanga Yoga Berkeley, 933 Parker St., #38, Bay 5 www.ashtangayogaberkeley.com Berkeley – Wes Nisker · Wednesdays, 7:30-9 pm Yoga Kula Berkeley, 1700 Shattuck Ave. · www.yogakula.com Marin Sangha – Phillip Moffitt · Sundays, 6-8 pm St. Luke Presbyterian Church, 10 Bayview Dr., San Rafael www.marinsangha.org Oakland - Larry Yang · (Alphabet Sangha of Oakland) Tuesdays, 7-8:30 pm · East Bay Meditation Center, 285 17th St. —For LGBTIQ-SGL (Alphabet) communities www.eastbaymeditation.org/alphabet alphabetsangha@eastbaymeditation.org Palm Springs – Larry Yang · Sundays, 4:30-7:30 pm 1111 E. Tahguitz Canyon Way, Bldg. C, 2nd Floor www.desertinsight.org Placerville – Anandabodhi Bhikkhuni, Santacitta Bhikkhuni 2409 Tolowa Trail · Aloka Vihara · www.saranaloka.org Redwood City - Gil Fronsdal, Andrea Fella Insight Meditation Center, 108 Birch at Hopkins www.insightmeditationcenter.org insightmeditationcenter@gmail.com or (650) 599-3456 San Francisco – Anushka Fernandopulle · Mondays, 7-9 pm CIIS, 1453 Mission St., Rm. 216 · www.anushkaf.org San Francisco – Eugene Cash · Sundays, 7-9 pm First Unitarian Church, 1187 Franklin St. at Geary www.sfinsight.org or (415) 994-5951 San Francisco – Howard Cohn · Tuesdays, 7:30-9 pm St. John’s Episcopal Church, 1661 15th St. at Julian www.missiondharma.org or (415) 447-7761 Sierra Foothills – John Travis · Mondays, 7-8:30 pm 710 Zion St., Nevada City · www.mtstream.org Todos Santos, Baja, Mexico – Robert Hall www. roberthalldharmatalks.wordpress.com

Spirit Rock News © 2017 Spirit Rock Meditation Center | Sep - Dec 2017 Published three times a year by Spirit Rock Meditation Center P.O. Box 169, Woodacre, CA 94973 | (415) 488-0164 Design | Stacy Evett-Miller Photography | TwoIrises.com

Spirit Rock

An Insight Meditation Center

5000 Sir Francis Drake Boulevard P.O. Box 169, Woodacre, CA 94973

spiritrock.org

MULTI-DAY, NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREATS AT SPIRIT ROCK SEP 2 – 4

NOV 16 – NOV 18

Buddhist Practice and Gandhian/Kingian Nonviolence Training

Parenting with Kind Awareness

Donald Rothberg, Kazu Haga | 3 days, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm

Nov 16 & Nov 17, 9:30 am - 12:30 pm;

SEP 22 – 24

Recovering Wholeness, Worthiness and Emotional Balance Ralph De La Rosa | 3 days, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm SEP 29 – OCT 1

Grace Fisher | 3 days, Nov 18, 9:30 am – 4:00 pm NOV 29 – NOV 30

Liberate the Body and Stretch the Mind: Meditation and Yoga Wes Nisker, Katchie Ananda | 2 days, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm

The Nine Bodies: Explorations in Consciousness

DEC 29 – DEC 31

Phillip Moffitt, Dana DePalma | 3 days, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm

Finding Your Life’s Deep Current: A Writing Retreat

SEP 30 – SEP 31

Women’s Weekend Retreat Heather Sundberg | 2 days, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm OCT 27 – OCT 29

Dharma and Recovery Intensive: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps Kevin Griffin | 3 days, 9:30 am - 5:00 pm

Roger Housden | 2 1/2 days, Dec 29 & Dec 30, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm Dec 31, 9:30 am - 12:30 pm