Spirit Rock Meditation Center News & Schedule Jan-May 2020

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news & schedule | jan ¡ may 2020

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SPIRIT ROCK | JAN–MAY 2020

SPIRITROCK.ORG

NEWS & INSIGHTS

Offerings to Deepen

Meditation Practice

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or thousands of people every year, Spirit Rock is a place of refuge, a place to come for inspiration, spiritual guidance, and connection with a community devoted to awakening and compassion. At the heart of our mission is the residential retreat, where practitioners come together from around the world to cultivate the path of loving awareness and clear seeing preserved and developed by Buddhist cultures for 2,600 years.

On retreat, whether for two days or two months, people sit and walk in meditation, eat together, and cultivate their hearts and minds so that they can return to their communities nourished, able to contribute more powerfully and wisely to the world we all share.

All spiritual traditions emphasize the importance of time for silence and contemplative practice. In our lineage, the value of retreat for cultivating a clear heart and mind is emphasized again and again, reflected in these lines from the Dhammapada:

Better than one hundred years lived with an unsettled mind, devoid of virtue, is one day lived with virtue and absorbed in meditation.

Better than one hundred years lived with an unsettled mind, devoid of insight, is one day lived with insight and absorbed in meditation.

(Dhammapada 110–111, translated by Gil Fronsdal) These verses speak beautifully to the interwoven aspects of ethical conduct, or “virtue,” and insight, and the power of spending even a single day devoted to cultivating them. This is the power of retreat, where we set aside our other work and interests to turn toward the heart of contemplative practice.

Even one day of retreat, these verses suggest, can change the course of our lives in profound ways.

As we grow into our beautiful new Community Meditation Center, one of the practice forms we’ve been developing is the extended multiday non-residential retreat. On these retreats, the flow of practice is similar to what you would find on our

residential retreats, but practitioners return home for sleep and integration. This helps make retreat more accessible for working folks, parents, and those of more limited resources. We are excited to announce that as of 2020, extended non-residential retreats in the CMC will include meals, offering even more of a seamless retreat experience. Along with accessibility, the nonresidential retreat format is a powerful contemplative practice structure itself, emphasizing the integration of meditation and home life. Imagine going on retreat, diving into silence and heartfelt practice, then returning home at night to be with your family or tend to the rest of your life, still immersed in practice!

The non-residential retreat form brings the qualities of lovingkindness and clarity we find on the cushion directly into our relationships and home life, into the places they’re most needed and most valued.

In our Summer and Fall 2019 newsletters, we focused on virtue, or sīla, the ethical guidelines at the heart of Buddhist practice.

In the Eightfold Path, this foundational aspect of practice, as in the verses above, is often followed by meditation, or samādhi, and then by wisdom, pañña. Samādhi is often translated as “concentration,” referring to the aspect of meditation practice that emphasizes focused attention. The meditative experience of being deeply relaxed and at ease, with a stable mind, also comes out in translations like “immersion” and “absorption.” These terms point especially to the deep meditation states known as jhāna, or absorption, but the term is also used to indicate the full range of meditative cultivation, including mindfulness itself.

Together, these three categories of practice, sīla-samādhi-pañña, describe the full path to liberation: wise action, meditation, and the clear heart of wisdom. In this issue, we dig deeper into the path with writings by Matthew Brensilver, Shaila Catherine, and Nikki Mirghafori, and a discourse of the Buddha on the value of retreat for cultivating joy, tranquility, and awakening.

We look forward to seeing you on retreat soon.

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NEWS & INSIGHTS THE BUDDHA'S PATH

SĪLA ,

SAMÃDHI ,

PAÑÑA

BY MATTHEW BRENSILVER, PHD Spirit Rock Teachers Council Member

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jahn Amaro, from the Thai forest tradition, a monastic of 40 years now, broke down the four noble truths in the language of medicine. There is the diagnosis, the cause or etiology, the prognosis (where it’s going), and the treatment. The diagnosis, the first noble truth, is that it is not easy being human.

That some measure of suffering is woven into the fabric of our life, that this is not our fault. And we can’t explain away the first noble truth in terms of our own personal failings or the conditions of our own life. This is actually something that’s deeply shared.

The recognition of its universality is important. Paul Fulton speaks about psychotherapy and its limitations, and I quote him here, not to be dismissive of psychotherapy, which is beautiful and sometimes more helpful or appropriate than meditation, but to acknowledge its limitations and touch into the universality of this diagnosis. Fulton writes, Psychotherapy is a powerful tool for many issues, but it takes discernment to know what can and cannot be addressed in therapy. Analyzing problems innate to being born as a human may be akin to handing a

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shovel to someone caught in a pit, when what is really needed is a ladder. To recognize insecurity as a fact of human existence—and not evidence of shameful shortcomings —helps relieve ourselves of the unrealistic expectation that it is a problem we should be expected to solve, and allows for a different way of encountering, holding, and opening to this as a reality. This possibility is where our dharma practice begins.

(Insight Journal, 2015) So, a diagnosis and a cause: tanhā, craving, which is different than desire, different than being clear on what supports our wellbeing. It’s that feverish, impulsive need to fill some hole in the heart that feels like it needs filling. And then the prognosis: that forms of freedom are possible that we do not suspect. That some of the capacities of the heart that we discover in stillness and silence are not easily imagined outside of that stillness. And then the treatment. What do we do? And the Buddhist suggestion is that there is a path: the Eightfold Path.

The Eightfold Path is broken down into three baskets. There's ethical conduct (sīla): wise speech, wise action, and wise livelihood. And then there's samādhi, or mind training: wise effort, wise mindfulness, wise concentration. And then the wisdom basket, pañña in Pali, of wise view and wise intention. I want to speak about sīla, samādhi, and pañña, both as how they are supported by love and how they grow love.

Ajahn Chah said that sīla-samādhi-pañña, ethical conduct, mind training, and wisdom, are not three separate activities; they are part of the same fruit. They are the mango pit, flesh, and skin. And that mango may be in a different state of ripeness or unripeness, may be big or small. But these three cultivations are one and the same: inextricably bound.

To be mindful of goodness brings love, and to be mindful of pain brings love.

That is something like a miracle, this weird asymmetry, that to attend to goodness brings love, and to attend to suffering also brings love. That’s not something we should take on faith. But this is the laboratory.

The more attuned we are to our hearts, the clearer our ethical behavior becomes.

So, the more we actually become embodied, start to feel our body fully, to feel our heart, the clearer ethical conduct becomes. It’s like we become attuned to our own system in such a way that we begin to see that doing good feels good.

And the kind of karmic loop, when we act out of alignment with our own deepest integrity, that feedback loop gets shorter and shorter, so we really feel it. And this clarity breeds more careful, nonharming behavior.

The steadier and more unified the mind gets, the deeper the love can be.

Sometimes the mind gathers so singularly around an object—the breath, a mettā phrase, the body, sound, sight, looking into the eyes of another person—the mind just becomes unified. And all the static, fragmentation, and division collapses.

And in that mind state, it’s like a drop of love reaches everywhere.

The mind is said to be boundless. That’s not making a statement about the nature of mind, but the actual experience is that in this moment there is love without end, without discrimination, without preference. And then lastly, the more clearly we see, the more effortless the love becomes. The more clearly we see, the less tenable hatred becomes.

Matthew Brensilver, PhD, began in the Tibetan tradition and has studied with Shinzen Young since 2003. A SRMC/IMS/IRC Teacher Training Program graduate, he serves on the Spirit Rock Teachers Council. He teaches about the intersection of mindfulness and mental health at UCLA’s MARC and with Mindful Schools.

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NEWS & INSIGHTS

IN THE WORDS OF THE BUDDHA...

THE VALUE OF PRACTICE “And how does a noble disciple live diligently? Firstly, a noble disciple has experiential confidence in the Buddha: ‘That Blessed One is perfected, a fully awakened Buddha, accomplished in knowledge and conduct, holy, knower of the world, supreme guide for those who wish to train, teacher of gods and humans, awakened, blessed.’

"They have experiential confidence in the teaching: ‘The teaching is well explained by the Buddha—visible in this very life, immediately effective, inviting inspection, relevant, so that sensible people can know it for themselves.’

"They have experiential confidence in the Sangha: ‘The Sangha of the Buddha’s disciples is practicing the way that’s good, straightforward, methodical, and proper. It consists of the four pairs, the eight individuals. This is the Sangha of the Buddha’s disciples that is worthy of offerings dedicated to the gods, worthy of hospitality, worthy of a religious donation, worthy of greeting with joined palms, and is the supreme field of merit for the world.’

"And they have the ethical conduct loved by the noble ones, unbroken, impeccable, spotless, and unmarred, liberating, praised by sensible people, not mistaken, and leading to immersion. But they’re not content with that ethical conduct loved by the noble ones, and make a further effort for solitude by day and retreat by night. When they live diligently, joy springs up. Being joyful, rapture springs up. When the mind is full of rapture, the body becomes tranquil.

When the body is tranquil, they feel bliss. And when blissful, the mind becomes immersed in samādhi. When the mind is immersed in samādhi, principles become clear. Because principles have become clear, they’re reckoned to live diligently. That’s how a noble disciple lives diligently.”

The Buddha, Samyutta Nikāya (Linked Discourses) 55.40, tr. Sujato

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NEWS & INSIGHTS

Instructions for Stabilizing the Mind

BY SHAILA CATHERINE

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nce you are sitting in a comfortable and alert posture, with a mind inclined toward qualities of ease, brightness, and spaciousness, apply an actively penetrative attention to experience the initial sensations of the breath touching the nostrils or upper lip. Choose a place at the nostrils or upper lip area—wherever you feel the sensations of the breath most distinctly. The actual location will vary from person to person, depending on the angle of the nose, structure of the jaw, shape of the lips, and facial features; there is no best or correct place. Feel where the breath naturally touches you. Whenever the attention drifts off that point of sensation, guide it back, simply and diligently. Each time the awareness wanders off with thoughts of past or future, simply drop this preoccupation with thoughts by reaffirming the directed focus of your activity. Ignore everything else: environmental sounds, pain, thoughts, or plans. If emotions, great insights, a review of yesterday's shopping list, a plan for redecorating your kitchen, a replay of a movie you recently watched, or any profound or mundane thought should arise, invest no interest in these events and guide the attention perseveringly back to the breath.

The discipline here is to discard all entanglement without judging yourself and return happily to the meditation subject, with a mind that is spacious, bright, and relaxed.

Let sounds, sensations, and thoughts go their own way; there is no need to follow them. You may initially notice a multitude of perceptions: sounds might impinge, pain might be felt, thoughts might meander through consciousness. These are all normal sensory experiences. You don't need to push them away, but you don't need to maintain interest in them, either. Keep sequestering the mind close to the breath, abandoning the

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urge to move toward the various sensory experiences that will inevitably arise. This streamlined practice, sustained over time, creates a powerful momentum of concentration by connecting and sustaining the attention on a chosen object.

Whenever the attention drifts off that point of sensation, guide it back, simply and diligently.

Each time the awareness wanders off with thoughts of past or future, simply drop this preoccupation with thoughts by reaffirming the directed focus of your activity.

Initially, the breath may appear with distinct physical properties: vibration, temperature, tension, pressure, roughness, for instance. To develop concentration, keep steadily aware of the continuity of connecting and sustaining (vitakka and vicāra) your attention on the breath, without a great emphasis on the physicality of changing sensations. As the attention remains connected for longer periods of time without distraction, there will be a corresponding withdrawal of perception from other bodily senses. Awareness of distinct sensations related to the sitting posture will diminish. Awareness of room temperature will fade. Sounds might occur as remote innocuous notes without pulling the attention toward them. Aches, pain, tensions, or twinges in the body will hardly be noticed. Parallel to this growing separation from physical sensory experiences, pleasant mental qualities of bliss, lightness, delight, rapture, pleasure, and happiness will grow, supporting the sustained connection.

You will gradually experience clear awareness—samādhi is not a

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dull or drifting state—yet the objects you perceive will not be bound to the gross field of sensory perception.

As we’ve noted, meditation requires diligent effort and clear intention. You cannot demand that distractions vanish, but you can cultivate a deep willingness to repeatedly and happily let go. If you try to adhere to the breath and wrestle violently with anything that threatens that hold, you will quickly become tense and probably decide to quit before you have barely begun. But if you allow yourself to enjoy letting go of distractions, to feel happy to reconnect, and to be unburdened by pressure to accomplish a certain number of consecutive breaths, happiness will arise through the simple joy of relinquishment.

You cannot demand that distractions vanish, but you can cultivate a deep willingness to repeatedly and happily let go.

When attention is continuously applied, intrusive thoughts subside. If a thought should arise, there will be no fuel for proliferation. It is just a tiny transparent thought that wisps through the mind without causing disturbance, like a momentary bubble on a stream or an ephemeral cloud in the sky. The few thoughts that do arise are entirely wholesome and often concern the meditation practice. Alertness thrives; the mind brightens. When access to jhāna is available, there are no hindrances in the mind: no craving, no judging, no doubt, no agitation, no greed. The pulsing activities of vitakka and vicāra continue. Relaxed, bright, and spacious, with a momentum of concentration supporting the process, the mind coheres around its object.

Excerpted from Shaila Catherine, Focused and Fearless: A Meditator’s Guide to States of Deep Joy, Calm, and Clarity, Wisdom Publications, 2008.

SHAILA CATHERINE has taught retreats worldwide since 1996.

She founded Bodhi Courses, an online dhamma classroom, and Insight Meditation South Bay in Silicon Valley. She authored two books on jhāna and vipassana—Focused and Fearless, and Wisdom Wide and Deep. She teaches practical skills for deep concentration, jhāna, and genuine awakening.

Reflections on Samãdhi

BY NIKKI MIRGHAFORI, PHD Spirit Rock Teachers Council Member

Samatha is part of the threefold central Buddhist path to liberation, namely sīla (ethical cultivation), samādhi (cultivation of the mind), and pañña (cultivation of wisdom). In this context, samādhi refers to more than just the establishment of onepointed concentration but also includes the cultivation of other meditative practices through mindfulness and loving-kindness.

The practice of samatha, nevertheless, lays a foundation for establishing the stability of mind in order to cultivate other essential qualities of the heart and mind.

Samatha is often translated from Pali as the English word "concentration." The word concentration, unfortunately, often has the connotation of tense effort and conjures up the image of a furrowed brow, with a practitioner needing Herculean effort to stop distractions in their tracks and working hard to pull a distracted mind to one-pointed concentration. A more apt translation, often used by many Buddhist teachers, is stabilizing, unifying, or calming the mind. Here, the idea is not so much to attempt to tame and force into submission the lion of the unruly mind with force and threat of a whip, but instead, calming a beloved puppy by affectionate, yet continuous, gentle stroking.

The mind training and establishing of samādhi is not achieved by the force of will, but by putting the supportive conditions in place for the mind to stabilize into a state of ease and calm by itself. Just as we cannot will ourselves to fall asleep (have you tried? and how did it work?!), we cannot will ourselves into a state of samādhi. We must let go of demanding an outcome and contentedly nurture the necessary supportive conditions: establishing seclusion of mind, we relax and receive the joy of the present moment with a spacious attitude, trusting the process with interest, while gently persisting (ātāpi). In this way, the mind will naturally settle into a state of unification and calm, just as a child who is fed and rocked gently will fall asleep in her mother’s arms.

From: nikkimirghafori.com NIKKI MIRGHAFORI, PHD, studied jhānas and vipassana with Ven. Pa Auk Sayadaw, who instructed her to teach. She is a Stanfordtrained compassion cultivation instructor and a UCLA-trained mindfulness facilitator, and serves on the Spirit Rock Teachers Council and Board of Directors. She was previously incarnated as an artificial intelligence scientist.

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NEWS & INSIGHTS

A Request from Jack...

Dear Friends in the Dharma, At Spirit Rock we want to inspire the courage to see the world through the eyes of love.

Many of us were taught about courage in the form of the warrior or the explorer, bravely facing danger. The Buddha taught, however, that great courage is not demonstrated by aggression or ambition, but by acting with dedication and care. The courageous heart is the one that is unafraid to open to this marvelous world.

Awakening to compassion, we come to trust our capacity to embrace life without armoring, facing difficulty while remaining open and kind. To find this path, we require places where we can go for refuge—to sit in silence and discover the healing heart, the courageous medicine of love.

Spirit Rock is one of those healing places. Every year, tens of thousands of people from across the globe come to our beautiful valley to take a breath, establish mindful loving awareness, and release the struggles with life that have kept their hearts closed.

Please join me in sustaining this beautiful refuge by making a gift today to support Spirit Rock. Here we can awaken together; we can deepen our courage and connect with our common radiance.

Yes, the world is uncertain and often filled with injustice.

But our practice knows this is not the end of the story. In this human life, in our family, community, and society, every difficulty is an opportunity to stand up with dignity and let the heart respond. Compassion is both tender and strong.

Compassion can say yes to love and no to abuse. Compassion can say yes to care and no to racism, no to violence. How we respond makes all the difference.

When 17-year-old Yasim came to the United States as a refugee, she felt disoriented and lost, overwhelmed with anxiety and worry. When she tried to direct thoughts of

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love toward herself, she found only a hard, black hole in her heart... her family, while they were trying to survive, had been very harsh, and her legacy was painful. She was doubtful, self-critical, filled with shame.

She attended a retreat and learned loving-kindness meditation. Through her practice, she began to hold all of her trauma with tenderness and self-compassion.

Then she noticed the black hole dissolving, replaced with warm spaciousness. Yasim discovered what it’s like to turn toward suffering in a new way, stretching into brave compassion. Now a social worker, she is teaching this to others.

Each of us is a mysterious, unique, amazing being, fully worthy of love and compassion. Love and compassion invite us to turn toward the world. They offer the gifts of a flexible heart, wide enough to embrace experience, vulnerable yet centered.

Spirit Rock reminds you that you are not alone on this path. You have the blessings of community and interdependence. You have generations of ancestors at your back. You have the great trees of the forest as steadfast allies. You have the turning of the seasons and the renewal of life as your music. You have the vast sky of emptiness to hold all things graciously.

With your collaboration as a caring donor, Spirit Rock will continue to serve as an effective force inspiring courage and compassion amidst difficult times.

As you read these words, feel yourself as part of the stream of humanity walking together, finding ways to carry the lamp of compassion. This is the purpose of a spiritual practice, of choosing a path with a courageous heart.

Yours in the Dharma,

Jack Kornfield

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Flow of Generosity

OTHER WAYS TO GIVE Learn about ways to give by visiting spiritrock.org/

METTA FROM A SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT I’m an emergency room nurse, and this retreat was invaluable in helping me re-center and rejuvenate myself and my spirit. I spend my workdays caring for others, and this retreat gave me the opportunity to focus on caring for myself. I’m going back to work a rested, better, kinder version of myself. I wouldn’t have been able to go without scholarship and am so grateful for the experience.

—Anonymous scholarship recipient, The Power of Insight Meditation Retreat

DONOR APPRECIATION I donate to Spirit Rock because the teachings have given me such valuable guidelines for living my life and have helped to open my heart so I can be kinder and more compassionate—all living beings are now more sacred to me. I consider Spirit Rock my spiritual home and hope that people all over the world can benefit as I have.

—Janene Frahm, Spirit Rock donor

donate or write to sangha@spiritrock.org.

Stewardship Circle: Consider joining our Stewardship Circle by offering a monthly gift of $25 or more. We offer members online dharma talks, livestreams, articles, and other content, all to support your practice.

Visit: spiritrock.org/stewardshipcircle-welcome.

Sure Heart Sangha: We invite you to join this community of benefactors with an annual gift of $1,000 or more. James Baraz and Kate Munding offer dharma teachings, group video calls, and other special gatherings.

Visit: spiritrock.org/giving/sureheart.

Give a gift of stock or IRA distribution: Offering a gift of stock or a Required Minimum Distribution from an IRA might be an excellent option for giving because you can offer support to Spirit Rock and lower your taxable income.

Donor-Advised Fund: A Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) allows you to grow your contribution tax-free and immediately receive the maximum tax deduction that the IRS allows.

Legacy Gift: Plan for the future with Spirit Rock in mind. Leaving a gift in your estate is a powerful way to demonstrate your love. We invite you to consider naming Spirit Rock as a beneficiary in your will.

We love our volunteers! To join us, contact our volunteer coordinator Juliana Birnbaum at (415) 4880164 x244 or volunteering@spiritrock.org.

QUESTIONS? Please call Rachel Uris at 415.488.0164 x286 or email sangha@spiritrock.org.

Spirit Rock is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, tax ID #94-2971001

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NEWS & INSIGHTS

TRAINING PROGRAMS Designed for those pursuing a deeper understanding of the dharma through study and practice, Training Programs offer foundational as well as advanced teachings to integrate into your personal and professional lives, ranging from four months to four years.

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DHARMA & YOGA TRAINING PROGRAM

A YEAR TO LIVE

Djuna Mascall, Leslie Booker, Anne Cushman, Mark Coleman, Tias Little, Sean Feit Oakes

Vinny Ferraro

MINDFUL NON-PROFIT LEADERSHIP TRAINING PROGRAM

In person | Online January–December 2020

Marc Lesser, MBA, Nikki Mirghafori, Ph.D

January–May 2020 | RYT200

This yearlong program, based on the book A Year to Live by Stephen Levine, is designed for people of all ages, regardless of life stage. In community, we will focus on waking up and living life more fully through the exploration of death as a spiritual practice.

Ultimately, this is a yearlong practice in forgiveness, gratitude, and letting go. Through guided meditations, inquiry, and small group discussions, we will be guided, with the support of community, through a process of living this year as if it were our last.

January–May 2020

This five-month immersive training addresses body, mind, and heart through the study of mindful asana, pranayama, anatomy, mindfulness principles, meditation, and the wisdom teachings of yoga and Buddhism. Students will develop their personal practice as well as the ability to guide and lead others.

The heart of the practices will include the Brahma-Viharas, with a focus on metta, providing both refuge and support for kindness and compassion toward ourselves and others.

• A five-month training program for meditation and mindfulness practitioners and aspiring yoga teachers.

• Fulfills the requirements for the Yoga Alliance 200-hour Registered Yoga Teacher certification.

• Led by a certified yoga therapist to be accessible for a wide range of physical abilities.

• Minimum of a two-year yoga and mindfulness practice required.

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Limited in-person spots left!

All are warmly welcome!

PROGRAM DETAILS: • Format: 12 monthly half-day sessions (either in person or online) and dharma buddy groups (via Zoom) in between sessions.

• Sliding scale rates/scholarships available.

All are 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.

spiritrock.org/yeartolive

This five-month training program is geared toward those in leadership positions working in social and environmental justice, education, health care, and other non-profit organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area. It will cultivate mindful leadership skills of focus, clarity, emotional regulation, compassion, self-awareness, and wellbeing for non-profit leaders in the social change sector.

Through mindfulness curriculum, meditation instruction, group discussions, and practice opportunities, participants will cultivate skills and behaviors that can be applied directly to their personal and professional lives.

By developing and incorporating these intentional practices, participants will strengthen professional relationships and workplace environments, expanding impact beyond their own learning for the broader benefit of their work and organization. Sliding scale rates/ scholarships available.

spiritrock.org/mindful-leadership

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VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION

Linda Stokely

LIVING DHARMA EXPLORING AND INTEGRATING THE EIGHT-FOLD PATH IN DAILY LIFE Mark Coleman, JoAnna Hardy April–December 2020 How do we cultivate mindfulness, kindness, and balance given the inner stresses of modern life and the outer social challenges of inequity and the pressure of climate change?

In this practical, experiential, and meditative program, through the exploration of the Buddha’s Eightfold Path, we will inquire how to live and respond to life with awareness, wisdom, and compassion.

In this journey, we will create a vibrant learning community to study, meditate, inquire into the Threefold Way of sila, samadhi, and pañña (ethics, mindfulness, and wisdom), and how to make these teachings practically relevant in our lives today.

This program may serve as a foundation for more extensive practitioner programs and trainings.

HOW DID YOU FIRST FIND OUT ABOUT SPIRIT ROCK? When I moved back to Petaluma in 2001, a friend of mine who knew I had been sitting and going on retreats with a group in Cupertino took me to Spirit Rock to hear Jack Kornfield speak on a Monday night. At the time I was working long hours and trying to raise my teenage son, so the long drive made it hard to return on a regular basis. Now that I am retired and my son is a grown, responsible, loving young man, the time is there to devote to family, friends, and the things I enjoy, like meditation.

WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO VOLUNTEER? I was on a spiritual quest and was searching for a group to sit with whose teachings focused on joy, kindness, and compassion. The meditation groups in my area were either very ritual-oriented and too much like my religious upbringing or they were focused on recovery, forgiveness, and healing, but those were not my issues. While looking at Spirit Rock’s classes, I found the info on being a Dedicated Volunteer. Making a more regular commitment to the community interested me greatly.

Being rewarded with residential retreats was not my motivation, but it certainly is appreciated and valued. I look forward to those experiences.

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED AS A VOLUNTEER? I am fortunate to work in the Programs Department, where I have learned about different teachers and classes. And I have learned that the kitchen staff are pros at making healthy vegetarian food taste so delicious!

WHAT HAS VOLUNTEERING ADDED TO YOUR LIFE? Volunteering has filled the work practice void in my meditation practice. The silent retreats I attended at Jikoji, and in Willits as well, both included a work period each day. Volunteering here on a regular basis imparts that same sense of calm, focus, and progress that I felt during those work practice periods.

spiritrock.org/living-dharma It has also added a beautiful drive once a week through the countryside between Petaluma and Woodacre. It reminds me of what Pema Chödrön said about spaciousness opening the heart. It’s an inspiring way to start the day.

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DROP-INS AND NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREATS Spirit Rock offers a breadth of trainings including, multiday non-residential retreats, drop-in and day retreats, 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 structure these offerings so you can commute home in the evening for sleep, family, or further practice, or stay in nearby accommodations. We invite you to review our offerings on the following pages. Details are subject to change; visit spiritrock.org for up-to-date information.

New for 2020, our multiday extended non-residential retreats offer longer hours than day retreats, are held mostly in Noble silence, and include a light breakfast and lunch. These offerings are similar to our residential retreat format and allow participants an opportunity to integrate their pratice into daily life by going home or off the land each evening.

We look forward to seeing you here at Spirit Rock at any of our programs designed to support and deepen your practice.

WEEKLY & MONTHLY DROP-IN PROGRAMS AT SPIRIT ROCK Community Welcome | Mondays, 6:15–7:00 PM This FREE program is for everyone who is new to Spirit Rock or interested in learning more about insight (vipassana) meditation. You can give meditation a try, experiment with different postures and techniques, and learn more about how Spirit Rock can support you. It’s a wonderful opportunity to ask questions in a relaxed, informal setting and connect with others who are new to the Spirit Rock community.

Monday Night Dharma Talk and Meditation Group 7:15–9:15 PM | LIVESTREAM AVAILABLE JACK KORNFIELD AND FRIENDS 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. Rate: $15–$30 sliding scale.

Wednesday Morning Meditation Group 10 AM–NOON SYLVIA BOORSTEIN, DONALD ROTHBERG AND OTHERS A sitting-and-practice-oriented discussion group, suitable for new and experienced practitioners. Rate: $15–$30 sliding scale.

Thursday Women's Group | 10 AM–NOON GRACE FISHER AND OTHERS A place for women to come together, to share wisdom and to strengthen a sense of belonging in the world.

Rate: $15–$30 sliding scale.

Dharma and Recovery Group | 7:15–9:15 PM KEVIN GRIFFIN AND 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, and habitual thought and emotional patterns, are welcome.

Rate: $15–$30 sliding scale.

NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREATS

NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREATS RATES JAN

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RETREAT FOR NEW YEAR'S DAY 2020 SYLVIA BOORSTEIN AND FRIENDS 10:00 AM–4:30 PM

LIVESTREAM AVAILABLE In the spirit of beginning again, with renewed zeal for the promised goal of a mind liberated from suffering and a heart available for impartial, compassionate response, we’ll spend this day practicing mindfulness and metta meditation.

Experienced practitioners as well as people new to practice will equally enjoy the combination of short teachings on the Eightfold Path, emphasizing the relevance of each Path part to a dedicated practice life on retreat as well as in daily life.

Meditation sessions will be followed by question-and-answer sessions so that participants can receive guidance on their practice. Code: SB1D20. Livestream code: SB1L20.

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.

Spirit Rock deeply welcomes anyone with an interest in studying the dharma and practicing insight meditation. We offer reduced rates, scholarships, and work exchange opportunities, and regularly hold "dana" pay-as-you-can programs allowing you to offer any amount.

Non-residential programs vary in rates, and always have a sliding scale. We encourage those who can to pay at the top of the sliding scale. This generosity allows others to attend who might not be able to otherwise and helps sustain our programs.

• Drop-ins/Classes: $15+ • Day Retreats: $95+ • Non-Residential Multiday Retreats: $90+/day; $45+/day for Young Adults (18–26); and Seniors (65+ with limited income) • Extended Multiday Retreats*: $115+/day; $55+/day for Young Adults (18–26) • Evenings: $30+ • Special Events: $125+ • Benefits: $125+ NOTE: Teacher support is built into these rates, and a portion of them may be tax-deductible. *Extended Multiday Retreat rates include a light breakfast and lunch.

VOLUNTEERING

“Everything is always changing. There is a cause–and–effect lawfulness that governs all unfolding experience. What I do matters, but I am not in charge. Suffering results from struggling with what is beyond my control. —sylvia boorstein

Volunteering is a meaningful way to participate in the Spirit Rock community. Volunteers help in every department and support every program. In gratitude for your service, volunteers receive free or reduced-price attendance at programs. Contact our volunteer coordinator, Juliana Birnbaum, at volunteering@spiritrock.org or (415) 488-0164 x224.

REGISTRATION Registration is available on our website. 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. Preregistration closes at noon Friday for weekend programs. For class series and other non-weekend programs, pre-registration closes at noon one business day before the program. In order to receive the pre-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 x208, 8:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

CANCELLATIONS We do not offer refunds, but you can request a credit up to 4:00 p.m. two business days before an event (or Thursday for weekend programs). We will credit your registration fee toward another nonresidential 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, no credit will be issued.

Credits cannot be accessed online; to request or use a credit, contact EventsRegistrar@spiritrock.org or call (415) 488-0164 x219 or x208, 8:00 a.m–4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Please note, Non-residential cancellation fees vary.

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SPIRITROCK.ORG

NEW!

NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREATS

JAN

JAN

03 05 —

FRI

SUN

3-DAY EXTENDED NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREAT

FOUNDATIONS OF MINDFULNESS: TRAINING THE MIND, FREEING THE HEART MARK COLEMAN | 8:00 AM–6:00 PM

NOBLE SILENCE*, LIGHT BREAKFAST AND LUNCH INCLUDED.

9 CE CREDITS AVAILABLE Mindful awareness is the foundation for living with wisdom and compassion. In this retreat, we will explore mindfulness practices, which are at the heart of the Buddha’s teachings.

These core teachings support insight and awakening, as well as bringing genuine joy, peace, understanding, and freedom to our practice and our lives. During this retreat, we will learn skills and techniques to (re)establish and refine mindfulness in the body, mind, and heart, and discover ways to more fully embody and bring these practices with us out into the world. The retreat will include a variety of sitting and walking meditations, talks, group practice check-ins, mindful movement, meditation outdoors on the land, and time for discussion and Q&A. All experience levels welcome. Code: MC1P20.

MARK COLEMAN, MA, 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, Make Peace with Your Mind, and From Suffering to Peace.

JAN

10 FRI

SKILLFUL SPEECH IN DIFFICULT SITUATIONS OREN JAY SOFER | 10:00 AM–5:00 PM

6 CE CREDITS AVAILABLE How can we draw upon our spiritual practice in challenging moments of conflict with others? When things get hard, how do we handle it? Speech practice is one of the main ways to translate contemplative practice into life and relationships.

In this day retreat, we’ll explore a range of tools for handling difficult conversations, including: • How to get grounded in the midst of intense emotions • How to hold your own and respond skillfully in the face of aggressive speech • How to transform your own negative emotions into powerful guides for action. Code: OS1D20.

OREN JAY SOFER, SEP, holds a degree in comparative religion from Columbia University, is trained in Somatic Experiencing™ and Nonviolent Communication, and is a member of the Spirit Rock Teachers Council. He is founder of Next Step Dharma and author of Say What You Mean: A Mindful Approach to Nonviolent Communication.

SPIRIT ROCK | JAN–MAY 2020

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NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREATS

CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDIT OFFERINGS Continuing Education (CE) credit is available for psychologists

NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREATS

and California licensed MFTs, LCSWs, LEPs, LPCCs, nurses, chiropractors, and acupuncturists.

1/3–5

Foundations of Mindfulness: Training the Mind, Freeing the Heart

1/10

Skillful Speech in Difficult Situations

1/17

Unlocking the Body's Wisdom: Releasing and Healing Trauma

1/24

Focused Attention: Meditation for Developing Concentration and Serenity

1/25

Radical Compassion: Loving Ourselves, Each Other, Our World

1/26

Triggers as Teachers: Cultivating Practices and Resources for Wise Response

• Spirit Rock is a provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number CEP16905.

2/7-9

Keeping Cool in the Fire: Transforming Inner and Outer Conflict

• The California Acupuncture Board has approved Spirit Rock as a Continuing Education Credit Provider, Provider Number 1425.

2/7

Awakening to Our Precious Life

Through Contemplating Death

• The California Board of Chiropractic Examiners accepts CE credits for license renewal from programs sponsored by the Board of Registered Nursing approved providers.

2/9

Heart Practices for Couples

2/21

Anxiety: It's Not All in Your Mind

3/5–8

Cultivating Kindness: Metta Retreat

3/13

Calming the Restless Mind

3/20

Discovering Our Spiritual Superpower: What Do We Rest Our Hearts Upon?

3/22

Lightness of Letting Go: The Dharma of Happiness

3/29

Embodied Awakening: Trauma, Healing,

and Collective Liberation

4/3

Resilience: Transforming Adversity into Learning and Growth

• The Spiritual Competency Resource Center is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Spiritual Competency Resource Center maintains responsibility for these programs and their content. CE credits for psychologists are provided by the Spiritual Competency Resource Center (SCRC), which is co-sponsoring these programs.

• The California Board of Behavioral Sciences accepts CE credits for license renewal for programs offered by approved sponsors of CE by the American Psychological Association.

For those with a different license or board, please contact your licensing board to ask if CE credit from the above-approved sponsors is accepted. Not all programs are applicable to every license; please check the online description for specific license applicability, schedule, and learning objectives. *Noble Silence: Continuing Education Credit is awarded for instructional time only. Programs held in “Noble Silence,” including residential retreats and extended non-residential retreats, will include lectures, guided meditations and practices, and group exercises. Credit will not be awarded for extended silent sessions.

For general information, including attendance, cancellation, and grievence policies, please see:

spiritrock.org/continuing-education-credit

RESIDENTIAL RETREATS 1/13–20 January Metta Retreat 1/26–31 Heavenly Messengers: Awakening

Through Illness, Aging, and Death

4/10–12 Awake in the Wild: Insight and Peace Through

Meditation in Nature 4/19

Renew and Revitalize: Sustaining Yourself as a Care Provider

4/24

Cultivating True Nourishment: Mindful Eating and Self-Care

5/8

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction: Cultivating Lifelong Tools to Reduce Stress, Pain, and Anxiety

5/15

Chronic Pain, the Choices: Tools to Transform Our Experience

5/17

The Awakened Heart: An Invitation to Love

5/22

Cultivating Wise Speech: Becoming More Skillful in Your Speech Practice

5/23–24 Making the Invisible, Visible: A Trauma Healing

Journey from Hauntings to Wholeness 5/31

Introduction to Insight Meditation

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SPIRIT ROCK | JAN–MAY 2020

SPIRITROCK.ORG

NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREATS

JAN

11

SAT

MINDFULNESS MEDITATION JACK KORNFIELD | 9:30 AM–5:00 PM

LIVESTREAM AVAILABLE In this traditional insight meditation (vipassana) day retreat, the emphasis is on quieting the mind and opening the heart.

By cultivating a calm mind and a kind heart toward ourselves and others, we learn how to live with loving awareness. And we develop a more easeful relationship with life, regardless of our circumstances. Instructions will be given for both sitting and walking meditation. Lively discourse on the dharma will be provided throughout the day, with time for questions and discussion. This day retreat is suitable for both new and experienced meditators who are looking to refresh and deepen their practice. Code: JK1D20. Livestream code: JK1L20.

JAN

JAN

17 19 —

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 NoTime Like the Present.

FRI

SUN

3-DAY NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREAT CHANGES AND TRANSITIONS IN YOUR 40 S AND 50 S

PHILLIP MOFFITT AND JENNIFER WARD FRIDAY: 1:30 PM–5:30 PM, SATURDAY: 9:30 AM–5:00 PM SUNDAY: 9:30 AM–1:00 PM Change is a fact of life, and yet we can find ourselves illequipped to manage it skillfully. The typical concerns that change brings up can lead to confusion, apathy, or poor decisions. In this workshop, you can learn skills to effectively respond to the challenges of change.

• Gain insights about your strengths and challenges in dealing with change.

• Recognize habits of mind that undermine you, and learn practices to disengage from their influence.

• Create a strategy for effectively navigating your change.

Expect a weekend of dynamic inquiry, and learn how to meet change with authenticity, confidence, and clarity.

Code: PM1M20.

PHILLIP MOFFITT, MA has practiced vipassana since 1983. He is founder and president of the Life Balance Institute. He is the author of Dancing with Life, Emotional Chaos to Clarity, and Awakening Through the Nine Bodies.

JENNIFER WARD is the director of programs at the Institute for Change & Transition, where she develops the curriculum for workshops and trainings in partnership with Phillip Moffitt. As a Certified Change & Transition Strategist, Jennifer consults with individuals and leads group workshops about skillfully navigating major life changes.

SPIRIT ROCK | JAN–MAY 2020

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NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREATS

JAN

17 FRI

UNLOCKING THE BODY'S WISDOM: RELEASING AND HEALING TRAUMA SAKTI ROSE | 10:00 AM–4:30 PM

5.5 CE CREDITS AVAILABLE Life is about connection. Trauma steals this from us and can have long-term effects that block our development psychologically, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Using somatic and meditative techniques, we can heal the wounds from traumatic events. We can rediscover safety and resilience instead of reenacting patterns of flight, fight, and freeze. Our day together will be filled with meditation, mindful movement, applied somatics, group interaction, and creative expression.

Through simple embodied practices, we can reawaken safety and joy in each moment and thereby reconnect to our innate wisdom and authentic self. Code: SR1D20.

JAN

24 FRI

19

SUN

AWAKENING JOY: 10K SORROWS, 10K JOYS JAMES BARAZ | 10:00 AM–4:30 PM

Although it is a foundational Buddhist teaching, joy can seem frivolous or unspiritual, especially in these challenging times when it’s easy to get overwhelmed or outraged. We need skills to help us open to suffering, while not missing all the blessings.

In this day retreat, we’ll discover ways to cultivate wholesome states to develop our natural capacity for well-being and joy, which then becomes our gift to a troubled world. We’ll explore how to open to the whole package of life with joy for our blessings and compassion for suffering, holding it all with balance and equanimity that allows us to act with wisdom.

Code: JB1D20.

JAMES BARAZ is a founding teacher of Spirit Rock and serves on the Spirit Rock Teachers Council. He started the Community Dharma Leaders program and the Kalyana Mitta Network. James has taught the Awakening Joy online course since 2003 and serves as adviser to One Earth Sangha, which focuses on Buddhist responses to climate change.

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SPIRIT ROCK | JAN–MAY 2020

TINA RASMUSSEN | 10:00 AM–5:00 PM

6 CE CREDITS AVAILABLE Focused attention helps us return our awareness to one object of meditation, collecting and calming the mind. This practice supports us in counteracting the damaging neurological impacts of overstimulation from today’s world, from sources like social media, texting, and technology. This practice “builds the muscle” of concentration, allowing us to settle into the serenity of our deeper nature. In this day, we’ll learn how to recognize our habitual patterns that cause suffering in our relationships, practice, and daily life.

We’ll explore ways to break our patterns and develop powerful, laserlike awareness, which leads to the same profound stillness and deep joy found in the Buddha’s smile. Code: TR1D20.

TINA RASMUSSEN, PHD, learned to meditate at the age of 13 and has been meditating for over 30 years. She was ordained as a Theravada Buddhist nun by Ven. Pa Auk Sayadaw of Burma, who also authorized her to teach. Tina is the co-author of Practicing the Jhanas, as well as several books on human potential.

SAKTI ROSE, MA, SEP, has practiced Buddhist meditation for over 35 years and is a senior Somatic Experiencing™ Practitioner. She has taught mindfulness meditation in hospitals and meditation centers for over 15 years and has a private practice in Marin County working with individuals suffering from trauma and stress-related illness.

JAN

FOCUSED ATTENTION: MEDITATION FOR DEVELOPING CONCENTRATION AND SERENITY

JAN

25 SAT

RADICAL COMPASSION: LOVING OURSELVES, EACH OTHER, OUR WORLD TARA BRACH | 10:00 AM–5:00 PM

6 CE CREDITS AVAILABLE | A BENEFIT FOR SPIRIT ROCK & INSIGHT MEDITATION COMMUNITY OF WASHINGTON The medicine our world calls for is compassion; we need to love ourselves and each other into healing and freedom. While compassion arises naturally, the flowering of full, mature compassion—radical compassion—requires training. This workshop offers a powerful tool for cultivating compassion. Using the RAIN meditation, we will directly awaken the four dimensions of radical compassion: mindfulness, embodied presence, active caring, and allinclusiveness. Beginning with our inner life, we’ll explore widening the circles of compassion through a sequence of short talks, guided meditations, and interpersonal meditations and reflections. The day will include time for questions and sharing. Code: TB1B20.

TARA BRACH, PHD, is an internationally known meditation teacher and author of the best-selling Radical Acceptance and True Refuge. She is founder of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, DC; offers a popular weekly podcast; and is active in bringing meditation into DC-area schools and prisons and to underserved populations.

SPIRITROCK.ORG

NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREATS

JAN

26

SUN

TRIGGERS AS TEACHERS: CULTIVATING PRACTICES AND RESOURCES FOR WISE RESPONSE DAVID RICHO | 10:00 AM–4:30 PM

5 CE CREDITS AVAILABLE We are all triggered at times by what people say or do, especially in relationships. Our triggers can teach us about ourselves, both what’s still unresolved and what we need to work on. Our goal isn’t to root out all our triggers, but to use them as trailheads for our own inner journeys that have long awaited us. Whether via the psychology path, especially when grieving the past, or the spiritual paths of mindfulness and loving-kindness, we’ll discover and cultivate practices and resources to support us. In this day retreat, we’ll explore how to move from the suffering of reacting to the freedom of responding. Code: DO1D20.

JAN

FEB

31 02 —

FRI

SUN

26

SUN

THE DHARMA OF MONEY: CREATING YOUR MONEY KARMA SPENCER SHERMAN | 10:00 AM–4:30 PM

TIAS LITTLE | FRIDAY: 6:00–9:00 PM SATURDAY: 10:00 AM–5:30 PM SUNDAY: 10:00 AM–5:30 PM

In yoga and the meditative arts, the body is a necessary vehicle for harnessing the potency of prana, the essential life force.

The prana moves throughout our bodies in multiple tributaries, including the bloodstream, lymph, connective tissues, glands, and nerves. In this retreat, we will explore ways to enliven and clarify this energy by alternating between meditative movement and deep stillness. Our aim is less about doing or performing postures and more about sensing the subtlety and power within.

In the way that the Wind Horse in ancient Tibet transported prayers and good intentions, we ride the wind of prana to regenerate health, wisdom, and well-being. Code: TL1M20.

TIAS LITTLE synthesizes classical yoga, Sanskrit, Buddhist studies, anatomy, massage, cranial-sacral therapy, and trauma healing. He has studied the meditative arts and Buddhism for 30+ years and has an MA in Eastern Philosophy. Tias is the author of The Thread of Breath, Meditations on a Dewdrop, and Yoga of the Subtle Body.

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.

JAN

3-DAY NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREAT WISDOM OF THE SUBTLE BODY

FEB

FEB

FRI

SUN

07 — 09

3-DAY NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREAT KEEPING COOL IN THE FIRE: TRANSFORMING INNER AND OUTER CONFLICT DONALD ROTHBERG | 10:00 AM–5:00 PM

A DANA (BY DONATION) DAY What if you were able to let go of aversion, avoidance, and grasping, in order to experience “enough”? This retreat is a rare opportunity to use the dharma to bring equanimity, joy, and purpose to your financial life. We will dive into the intentions, practices, and actions that cultivate a wise and compassionate relationship with money. Through guided meditations, writing, movement, and group exercises, we will release stressful patterns and cultivate successful strategies to create healthy money karma. Code: PS1G20.

SPENCER SHERMAN has a finance MBA from Wharton, teaches MBSR, and authored The Cure for Money Madness and Money & Spirit Workshop. He believes everyone can feel ease with money regardless of how much we have. His 25-year meditation practice supports him in helping others create a conscious relationship with money.

12 CE CREDITS AVAILABLE Conflicts can be challenging, whether in difficult personal choices, close relationships, the workplace, political polarization, or relationships between ethnic groups. Conflicts may be the source of much frustration, despair, anger, and burnout. In this retreat, we will offer—through talks, meditations, and exercises—a number of core principles and practices for working with conflicts. Guided by a vision of non-dual “conflict transformation,” rooted in the Buddha’s Middle Way and the contemporary work of peacemakers, including seeing conflicts as differences of goals or values (not necessarily connected with hostility), we will approach conflicts as opportunities for learning, reconciliation, steadiness, trust, and compassion. Code: DR1M20.

DONALD ROTHBERG—See page 14 for bio.

SPIRIT ROCK | JAN–MAY 2020

19

FEB

07 FRI

AWAKENING TO OUR PRECIOUS LIFE THROUGH CONTEMPLATING DEATH NIKKI MIRGHAFORI | 10:00 AM–5:00 PM

6 CE CREDITS AVAILABLE We all know that we die, yet we tend to ignore it, putting our collective heads in the sand or fearfully running away from any discussion. Instead of a conflictual relationship with reality, we can harness the power of this reflection to stay aligned with our deepest values, to live and love more fully, and to be present for this miraculous show called our life. Embracing our life’s impermanence also allows for a deep letting go, freedom, and fearlessness in preparation for our actual moment of death. Join us for a day of practice and exploration through dharma talks, guided meditation, and dialogue to turn toward and befriend this powerful contemplation. Code: NM1D20.

NIKKI MIRGHAFORI, PHD, studied jhānas and vipassana with Ven. Pa Auk Sayadaw, who instructed her to teach. She is a Stanford-trained compassion cultivation instructor and a UCLA-trained mindfulness facilitator, and serves on the Spirit Rock Teachers Council and Board of Directors. She was previously incarnated as an artificial intelligence scientist.

NEW!

NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREATS

FEB

FEB

FRI

MON

14 — 17

NOBLE SILENCE. LIGHT BREAKFAST AND LUNCH INCLUDED.

The four noble truths are the Buddha’s first teaching, which is said to contain the sum of all of his teachings. There is a rarely taught practice, based on one of the oldest Theravadan texts, of utilizing the four noble truths to attain 12 insights that bring freedom and well-being. These insights prescribe a radically different way for us, with all of our vulnerability and fear, to engage with life just as it is and find joy even in the midst of suffering. In this four-day, silent retreat, we will explore each of the four noble truths in depth and learn how we can apply the insights of this teaching to our daily lives. The goal of this retreat is to discover how the four noble truths become the four ennobling truths. Code: PM1P20.

PHILLIP MOFFITT—See page 17 for bio.

FEB FRI

09 SUN

HEART PRACTICES FOR COUPLES DEBRA CHAMBERLIN TAYLOR AND GEORGE TAYLOR | 10:00 AM–4:30 PM

5.5 CE CREDITS AVAILABLE This Valentine’s Day program is an opportunity for couples to awaken the heart of joy and love together. To be intimate, we must learn to be fully present. Through partner meditations, verbal and nonverbal communication exercises, and group sharing, couples will practice the art of intimacy and learn skills to deepen their shared journey. Please note: This event is not appropriate for attending alone, as the majority of the day will be spent in partner practice. Code: DG1D20.

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. GEORGE TAYLOR, MFT, has been a licensed couples 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.

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SPIRIT ROCK | JAN–MAY 2020

DANCING WITH LIFE: THE TWELVE INSIGHT PRACTICES OF THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS PHILLIP MOFFITT | 8:00 AM–6:00 PM

21

FEB

4-DAY EXTENDED NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREAT

ANXIETY: IT'S NOT ALL IN YOUR MIND JILL SATTERFIELD | 10:00 AM–5:00 PM

6 CE CREDITS AVAILABLE Anxiety is prevalent; it’s something that most of us deal with daily on some level. The seeds of anxiety are thoughts, and the fertilizer is a story, which is usually about something that hasn’t yet occurred. How we work with the mind, and how we include the body in the process, is pivotal to quelling anxiety when it is present and before it wreaks havoc. Mindfulness of the mind and mindfulness of the body are equally important.

We will mine both as opportunities to lessen the possibility and the severity of anxiety. Our day will include mindfulness and somatic practices while seated, walking, and lying down.

Code: JS1D20.

JILL SATTERFIELD is an international meditation teacher, wellness program director, speaker, and coach. Jill's integration of mindfulness and embodiment practices includes somatic therapy and contemplative psychology.

She has been in the field of integrating mindfulness into health care and wellness for over 35 years.

SPIRITROCK.ORG

NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREATS

FEB

FEB

22 23 —

FRI

SAT

2-DAY NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREAT THE INNER WORK OF SOCIAL JUSTICE: SOCIALLY ENGAGED MINDFULNESS RHONDA V. MAGEE | 10:00 AM–4:30 PM

In a world of increasingly expressed racism, climate distress, and inequality, what is the use of Buddhist practice and ethics? Join us to explore socially engaged practices for creating refuges for healing self-care, community-building, and social justice. We’ll form a community of learning and practice, exploring ways of bringing presence-based and place-based awareness for self and for others. Together, we’ll reflect on the difficulties we face on personal, interpersonal, and systemic levels, and create spaces for inclusive, equitable, and community-based work to address and repair harm as the need arises. Code: RM1M20.

RHONDA V. MAGEE is professor of law at the University of San Francisco and has spent more than 20 years exploring the intersections of anti-racist education, social justice, and contemplative practices. She is author of The Inner Work of Racial Justice: Healing Ourselves and Transforming Our Communities Through Mindfulness.

FEB

29 SAT

ENERGY, EMBODIMENT, AND INQUIRY: BUDDHIST APPROACHES TO YOGA AND BREATHWORK SEAN FEIT OAKES | 10:00 AM–5:00 PM

At the heart of both the Buddhist and Hindu lineages are practices that prepare the practitioner for transformative insight. Yoga cultivates states of stability, empowerment, and embodiment. For students of either meditation or yoga, we’ll learn a sequence of movement warm-ups that lead into breathwork and an exploration of subtle energy. All of the practices are internally focused and accessible to all bodies. The focus is on intimacy with the body as an energetic field, and on bringing loving awareness to the complex beauty of our human experience. Students who wish to have a full yoga asana practice in their day should plan for that outside of the workshop time. Code: SF1D20.

SEAN FEIT OAKES, PHD, teaches Buddhism and yoga, focusing on the integration of meditation, trauma resolution, and social justice. He received teaching authorization from Jack Kornfield and wrote his dissertation on extraordinary meditative states.

His current research explores identity, ancestry, and rebirth, and working with the body in contemplative inquiry.

SPIRIT ROCK | JAN–MAY 2020

21

NEW!

NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREATS

MAR MAR — THU SUN

05 08

4-DAY EXTENDED NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREAT

CULTIVATING KINDNESS: METTA RETREAT OREN JAY SOFER | 8:00 AM–6:00 PM

NOBLE SILENCE. LIGHT BREAKFAST AND LUNCH INCLUDED.

12 CE CREDITS AVAILABLE Metta, often translated as “loving-kindness,” grows from our innate capacity for basic human caring and connection. It can be cultivated as a powerful support for well-being, concentration, and the deepening of insight meditation practice. In this silent metta retreat, we will explore a range of techniques for developing kindness, as well as ways to navigate the obstacles that often get in the way of living with more ease, happiness, and peace. Our time together will include silent and guided sitting meditation, walking meditation, dharma talks, instructions, Q&A, and group interviews with the teacher. Open to both beginning and more experienced meditators. Code: OS1P20.

OREN JAY SOFER—See page 15 for bio.

MAR

13 FRI

CALMING THE RESTLESS MIND HOWARD COHN | 10:00 AM–4:30 PM

5.5 CE CREDITS AVAILABLE We all want to have a calm and peaceful mind. Much of our restlessness and agitation stems from an untrained mind and lack of clear awareness of what’s happening in our mind and body, moment by moment. Innocently trying to alleviate our stress by dwelling in the past and planning the future, we fail to notice what is happening in the present and compound our stress. During this insight meditation day retreat, we will explore ways to train our hearts and minds to find a calm abiding in the present moment. Code: HC1D20.

HOWARD COHN, MA, serves on the Spirit Rock Teachers Council and has taught vipassana since 1985. He has studied with teachers of several traditions, including Theravada, Zen, and Dzogchen, and has been strongly influenced by H.W.L. Poonja. Howard leads the Mission Dharma sangha and is the author of Invitation to Meditation.

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SPIRIT ROCK | JAN–MAY 2020

SPIRITROCK.ORG

NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREATS

MAR MAR — SAT SUN

14 15

2-DAY NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREAT GUIDES ON THE PATH OF FREEDOM: THE SEVEN FACTORS OF AWAKENING MATTHEW BRENSILVER 10:00 AM–4:30 PM

The Buddhist path is often described as a journey of both relinquishment and cultivation. We practice freeing ourselves from clinging, and cultivating qualities that support us in this liberating process of letting go. The seven factors of awakening—mindfulness, investigation, energy, joy, tranquility, concentration, and equanimity—are psychological qualities we can develop, as well as practices to be cultivated. When fully developed, they support us in embodying a life and way of being that is full of understanding and love. In this weekend retreat, we will explore these qualities of heart and discover how they can help guide us along the path to freedom. Code: MB1M20.

MATTHEW BRENSILVER, PHD, began in the Tibetan tradition and has studied with Shinzen Young since 2003.

An SRMC/IMS/IRC Teacher Training Program graduate, he serves on the Spirit Rock Teachers Council. He teaches about the intersection of mindfulness and mental health at UCLA’s MARC and with Mindful Schools.

MAR

20 FRI

MAR

21

SAT

CHANTING AND MEDITATION: AN EQUINOX CELEBRATION JAI UTTAL, DEBRA CHAMBERLIN-TAYLOR 7:30 PM–9:30 PM

Join us on the equinox to celebrate the awakened heart! As we sing and meditate with our entire body, heart, and spirit, the "noise" of life can stop and we can reconnect with the sheer joy, depth, and beauty of being. The heart is an honored gateway to our most profound and boundless nature. Using the ancient and sublime blend of kirtan (chanting) combined with periods of guided and silent meditation, we can open the heart of infinite love. Kirtan in the Bhakti tradition taps the nectar of spiritual longing and devotion, and invites us to surrender everything into the sacred. Code: JA1E20.

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.

DEBRA CHAMBERLIN-TAYLOR—See page 20 for bio.

DISCOVERING OUR SPIRITUAL SUPERPOWER: WHAT DO WE REST OUR HEARTS UPON? GRACE FISHER | 10:00 AM–4:30 PM

5.5 CE CREDITS AVAILABLE The Pali word for “faith,” saddha, is often also translated as “to place the heart upon.” In this day together, we’ll explore different aspects of faith as a beautiful spiritual superpower, engaging with heart qualities such as courage and trust. In these challenging times, we so need to be able to stand upon a reliable foundation from which to engage with the world from our most responsive, wise, and open heart. By understanding and connecting more deeply to what sustains us, what truly matters to us, we can begin to live our lives as an act of faith.

Code: GF1D20.

GRACE FISHER, MFT, JD, MED, MA, is the staff dharma teacher at Spirit Rock. She has a private psychotherapy practice in San Anselmo where she works with teens, individual adults, and couples.

SPIRIT ROCK | JAN–MAY 2020

23

NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREATS

MAR MAR

MAR

SAT

SUN

21 – 22

22

SUN

2-DAY NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREAT

CONNECTING WITH COURAGE: BUDDHIST PRACTICES FOR EXPLORING WHITE PRIVILEGE JD DOYLE 10:00 AM–5:00 PM

PAWAN BAREJA, PHD, has a body-oriented counseling practice based on Peter Levine's Somatic Experiencing™ 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.

MAR

29

SUN

JD DOYLE, MA, is in Spirit Rock’s Teacher Training and has practiced Buddhism for over 20 years in the U.S., Thailand, and Burma. JD is a core teacher at the East Bay Meditation Center. Their practice is committed to expanding concepts of gender and addressing the impact of racism in our world.

PAWAN BAREJA | 10:00 AM–4:30 PM

5.5 CE CREDITS AVAILABLE The Buddha taught, “Learn to let go; this is the secret to happiness.”

Sometimes, when we open to our own sadness or feel the pain of the world, we are left with inner turmoil and burnout. How can we follow the Buddha’s teachings to open with love to our suffering, live gently in the world, and let go gracefully of the things that are not meant for us? This day retreat will offer Buddhist practices for letting go that can restore our sense of freedom and balance our minds and hearts. Code: PB1D20.

OPEN TO ALL SELF-IDENTIFIED WHITE PEOPLE.

Join us in discovering how the Buddha’s teachings guide us in attending to the discomfort, and experiencing the awakening, that arise during our exploration of white privilege and racism. We’ll learn how mindfulness and heart practices support our investigation of these complex histories at both the individual and collective levels, and give us tools to respond with more confidence, skill, and compassion. Together in the safety of an open, supportive group, we’ll explore ways to transform our hearts and minds and create healing communities that are accessible and open to all!

Code: JD1M20.

LIGHTNESS OF LETTING GO: THE DHARMA OF HAPPINESS

EMBODIED AWAKENING: TRAUMA, HEALING, AND COLLECTIVE LIBERATION SEAN FEIT OAKES | 10:00 AM–5:00 PM

6 CE CREDITS AVAILABLE Many people come to meditation and yoga to help heal old wounds, both physical and emotional. Trauma is a nervous system injury, caused by shocking or dangerous experiences as well as ongoing relational and systemic threats. As nervous system interventions, meditation and yoga can be helpful in trauma healing, but like all interventions, they must be used with sensitivity. In this day retreat, we will explore current trauma resolution theory and learn gentle practices that can support healing and resilience. This day retreat is designed for those who suffer from trauma, as well as caregivers, family members, and teachers of yoga and meditation. Code: SF2D20.

SEAN FEIT OAKES, PHD—See page 21 for bio.

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SPIRIT ROCK | JAN–MAY 2020

SPIRITROCK.ORG

NEW!

NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREATS

MAR MAR — THU SUN

26 28

3-DAY EXTENDED NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREAT

FINDING YOUR GROUND: MINDFUL YOGA AND EMBODIED MEDITATION ANNE CUSHMAN, LESLIE BOOKER 8:00 AM–6:00 PM

NOBLE SILENCE. LIGHT BREAKFAST AND LUNCH INCLUDED.

How do we stay grounded, centered, and rooted in compassion and wisdom—especially in times of personal and global challenge? In this three-day silent retreat, we’ll offer teachings and tools from the dharma and yoga traditions for settling our nervous system, grounding our energy, and connecting in an embodied way with what matters most. We will draw on the wisdom of the Buddha’s noble eightfold path and the traditional eight limbs of classical yoga to support us in our exploration. Each day will include periods of gentle guided yoga; seated, walking, standing, and lying-down meditation instruction and practice; and dharma reflections and discussion. Code: AC1P20.

ANNE CUSHMAN is a pioneer in the integration of mindfulness, embodied meditation, and creative expression. A member of the Teachers’ Council at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, she founded the first Buddhist meditation training for yoga teachers. Her books include The Mama Sutra, Enlightenment for Idiots, and Moving Into Meditation.

LESLIE BOOKER brings her heart and wisdom to the intersection of dharma, embodied practice, and activism. Working for over a decade with the most vulnerable populations in New York, she shares her expertise nationally as a trainer and author. Booker will graduate from Spirit Rock’s Teacher Training in 2020.

APR

03 FRI

RESILIENCE: TRANSFORMING ADVERSITY INTO LEARNING AND GROWTH LINDA GRAHAM | 10:00 AM–5:00 PM

6 CE CREDITS AVAILABLE Steady mindfulness practice allows us to hold any disruption to our well-being with more awareness and acceptance. Steady self-compassion practice allows us to meet our sorrows and struggles with more care and courageous action. Steady training of resilience allows us to cope more skillfully with any disappointment, difficulty, even disaster. Together, we’ll learn tools and techniques drawn from contemplative traditions, relational psychology, and modern neuroscience to help us transform any adversity into learning and growth. In this day, we’ll practice the skills that reliably help heal stress and trauma, and deepen wisdom and well-being, together in community.

Code: LG1D20.

LINDA GRAHAM, MFT, is an experienced psychotherapist and a teacher of Mindful Self-Compassion in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is the author of Resilience: Powerful Practices for Bouncing Back from Disappointment, Difficulty, and Even Disaster.

APR

04 SAT

RESTORING WELL-BEING: INTEGRATING QIGONG AND MEDITATION TEJA BELL | 10:00 AM–4:30 PM

This day retreat will bring together the two rivers of meditation and qigong, as our mindfulness practice freely flows between stillness and motion. This ancient practice both calms and strengthens our nervous system, and restores balance to the mind, body, and spirit. We’ll discover how the integration of these wisdom traditions supports both the effectiveness and the joy of our practice, and opens gateways to insight, wisdom, and freedom. In community, we’ll connect mindful attention with equanimity as skillful means to more fully embody compassionate presence and well-being, both in our practice and in our lives. Code: TJ1D20.

TEJA BELL (Fudo Myoo Roshi) is a lineage dharma teacher and Rinzai Zen master, the 85th ancestor of the lineage of Lin-Chi I-Chuan. He teaches dharma and qigong as embodied mindfulness through integrating somatic skills with meditation practices, and has taught over 150 retreats at Spirit Rock since 1999.

SPIRIT ROCK | JAN–MAY 2020

25

NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREATS

APR

05 SAT

EXPANDING YOUR SPIRIT: FINDING CONNECTION INCLUDES SWEATLODGE, DETAILS ON WEBSITE

VERLINDA MONTOYA, CAROL CANO 9:00 AM–5:00 PM OPEN TO ALL SELF-IDENTIFIED WOMEN OF COLOR Knowledge helps give context and understanding, but it’s through action that true transformation and expansion take place. You are not just the personal identity, created by the experiences and impressions of your mind, but also the spirit that grows and evolves with the body, heart, and mind.

Together, we will discover how to more deeply understand the mind through expanding beyond it, integrating the deeper wisdom of our hearts and spirits. In community, we will explore spiritual and meditation practices and rituals, and traditional sweat lodge, that help expand our innate qualities of consciousness, gratitude, and love, and unify mind, body, heart, and spirit. Code: CC1D20.

VERLINDA MONTOYA is an elder, medicine woman, and spiritual leader from the Picuris Pueblo of New Mexico.

She founded Heart of Humanity.

CAROL CANO, MA, began her practice over 30 years ago at Wat Kow Tahm in Thailand. She is currently participating in the Spirit Rock Teacher Training program. Carol is a core teacher and a former board member of East Bay Meditation Center. She co-founded Philippine Insight Meditation Community in Philippines.

APR

APR

10 12 —

FRI

SUN

3-DAY NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREAT AWAKE IN THE WILD: INSIGHT AND PEACE THROUGH MEDITATION IN NATURE MARK COLEMAN | 8:00 AM–6:00 PM

12 CE CREDITS AVAILABLE On this silent mindfulness retreat in the serenity of nature, we will explore potent practices that open the heart and mind to insight, intimacy, and interconnection with all life. Through various Buddhist awareness and heart meditation practices, we will discover how mindfulness can help us see through the illusion of separateness and learn from nature’s wisdom teachings of transience, interdependence, and letting go. We will also explore how nature evokes a profound peace and genuine transformation in our practice and in our lives, and brings forth the beautiful qualities of joy, wonder, and love for all life. Code: MC1M20.

MARK COLEMAN—See page 15 for bio.

APR

17 FRI

LIBERATE THE BODY, STRETCH THE MIND WES NISKER, KATCHIE ANANDA 10:00 AM–4:30 PM

This day retreat combines the ancient practices of Buddhist mindfulness meditation and 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 philosophy, as well as plenty of poetry and good humor! There will also be ample time for discussion, as well as attention to individual challenges. The retreat is appropriate for both experienced and beginning students of mindfulness meditation and/or yoga. Code: WN1D20.

WES "SCOOP" NISKER serves on the Spirit Rock Teachers Council and is a meditation teacher, author, radio commentator, and performer. His books include Essential Crazy Wisdom and Crazy Wisdom Saves the World Again!

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.

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SPIRIT ROCK | JAN–MAY 2020

SPIRITROCK.ORG

NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREATS

APR

19

SUN

RENEW AND REVITALIZE: SUSTAINING YOURSELF AS A CARE PROVIDER PHILLIP MOFFITT | 9:00 AM–5:00 PM

7 CE CREDITS AVAILABLE | A DANA (BY DONATION) DAY Care providing has obvious challenges—stress, energy demands, tension, and excess workload. And it has hidden costs—self-criticism, sacrificing self-care, and despair. In this day retreat, we focus on renewal and explore some of the skillful means the Buddha taught that can mitigate the stress of care providing. You will learn the importance of placing attention, the art of letting go of expectations, how to determine what your true responsibilities are, and how to recognize and respond to the confusion that arises around care providing. Code: PM1G20.

PHILLIP MOFFITT—See page 17 for bio.

APR

24 FRI

CULTIVATING TRUE NOURISHMENT: MINDFUL EATING AND SELF-CARE ANDREA LIEBERSTEIN | 10:00 AM–4:30 PM

5.5 CE CREDITS AVAILABLE This retreat is designed to guide us back home to the wellsprings of nourishment within each of us. Through mindfulness meditation, loving-kindness, self-compassion, inquiry, and mindful eating practices, we’ll deepen skills to navigate the thoughts, feelings, and cravings that lead us to seek nourishment outside of ourselves through food or other means, which is not truly fulfilling. We will explore our embodied experience of true nourishment and introduce a model of nourishment to cultivate a life that is fulfilling on all levels. We will learn practices to experience food as pleasure and delight, and to support us in being able to more fully abide in our true nature and wholeness. Code: AL1D20.

ANDREA LIEBERSTEIN, MPH, RD, RYT, is a mindful eating expert, mindfulness-based stress reduction instructor, registered dietitian, nutritionist, mindfulness-based coach, and registered yoga instructor. She has been teaching mindfulness meditation since 1993.

APR

25 SAT

AWAKENING IN EACH MOMENT WITH COMPASSION: AN LGBTQI+ DAY RETREAT FRESH “LEV” WHITE, RAMÓN HONEA, AMBER FIELD, SKEETER BARKER 10:00 AM–4:30 PM

OPEN TO SELF-IDENTIFIED LGBTQI+ COMMUNITY MEMBERS Practicing compassion for ourselves and for others in community not only allows us to be sustainable in our personal and community struggles but also supports us in allowing new wisdom, joy, and love to be integrated as part of our life experiences. Join us on this spacious land, where we will dip into the Buddhist practices of compassion for self and others, supported by offerings of music, movement, and reflection that open, nourish, and reconnect the heart. Our day together will include guided meditation, music, mindful movement, discussion, and a community-building potluck lunch. If you can, please bring food to share. Code: FR1D20.

FRESH “LEV” WHITE discovered meditation in the '80s and has been practicing, training, and teaching at the East Bay Meditation Center since 2012. Founder of the Bay Area’s first Trans, GQ Mindfulness sangha, he is also a contributor to Real World Mindfulness for Beginners and an upcoming Trans Buddhist Anthology.

RAMÓN HONEA is a gay, second generation Oakland Latinx native. He served for 20 years as a teacher/ administrator in the Oakland Unified School District.

Leading meditation since 2009, Ramon obtained a mindfulness teaching credential through the Mindfulness Training Institute in 2018.

AMBER FIELD is a queer, gender expansive Korean American adoptee facilitator, teacher and performer.

Amber also facilitates somatic and creative expression workshops and trainings on various themes such as adoption, grief, diversity and solidarity, and collective emergence.

SKEETER BARKER honors the peaceful warrior nature that is uniquely revealed in each of us, through this journey called yoga. Skeeter’s purpose is to create a safe space for all students to arrive on their mat, practice the beautiful art of unfoldment and connection to true authentic self. Skeeter welcomes you to your mat, however you find yourself there.

SPIRIT ROCK | JAN–MAY 2020

27

NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREATS

MAY

03 SUN

COMING OUT OF THE FOG: CLARITY AND KINDNESS AJAHN KARUNADHAMMO | 9:00 AM–5:00 PM

A DANA (BY DONATION) DAY Much of our life is spent in a fog of confusion, either blatant or subtle. How can we see more clearly and free ourselves from our habitual reactive responses of attraction, aversion, and confusion? In this day retreat, we’ll explore coming out of this fog using meditations to overcome the hindrances to clarity and (re)establish positive states of mind based on clear-seeing and kindness. Our time together will include periods of sitting and walking meditation, dhamma reflections, and time for discussion and questions.

Please bring lunch to share with the monks, see website for more details. Code: AK1G20.

VEN. AJAHN KARUNADHAMMO connected with the Theravada tradition in his early 30s and was ordained as an anagarika in 1996 as part of the original Abhayagiri group.

In 1998, he took full bhikkhu ordination, becoming the first American-born bhikkhu at the first American branch monastery of the Thai lineage of Ajahn Chah and Ajahn Sumedho.

MAY

08 FRI

MINDFULNESS-BASED STRESS REDUCTION: CULTIVATING LIFELONG TOOLS TO REDUCE STRESS, PAIN, AND ANXIETY JUANITA DE SANZ | 10:00 AM–5:00 PM

6 CE CREDITS AVAILABLE This day of practice is an introduction to those new to mindfulness, as well as an opportunity to deepen awareness for practitioners and for students who have taken the eight-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Program. In this retreat, we will cultivate intentional and skillful ways to be present with thoughts, feelings, and body sensations as they arise. Our day together will include: • Guided instruction in mindfulness practices • Gentle stretching and mindful movement • Small and large group inquiry and discussion • An exploration of our ability to work mindfully with stress, pain, grief, and anxiety. Code: JZ1D20.

JUANITA DE SANZ, MS, LMFT, is a psychotherapist with over 20 year's experience, an EMDR consultant, and a certified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction teacher. She has private practices in Marin and San Francisco, providing integrative psychotherapy to individuals and clinical supervision to therapists seeking EMDR certification.

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SPIRIT ROCK | JAN–MAY 2020

SPIRITROCK.ORG

NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREATS

2-DAY NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREAT

COMING TOGETHER: A RETREAT FOR ASIANS IN THE DIASPORA

MAY MAY

09 10 SAT

SUN

10:00 AM–4:30 PM

DAWN MAURICIO, GULLU SINGH, LOUIJE KIM OPEN TO ALL PEOPLE OF ASIAN DESCENT This weekend retreat invites folks of the Asian diaspora into a kinship of experience, holding the paradox of the relative plane of identity and history in balance with the Buddha’s ultimate pointing toward truth and liberation. Held in the wisdom and compassion of the dharma, the community can move toward a collective healing, appreciating both its connectedness and difference. The retreat will offer guided meditations, mindful movement, and devotional practices. We will blend periods of silent practice with relational practices to support connection to the heart and to each other. Open to beginning meditators as well as seasoned practitioners. Code: DU1M20.

DAWN MAURICIO is a mindfulness yoga and meditation teacher with a playful, dynamic, and embodied approach.

She has been practicing and studying insight meditation since 2005 and teaching mindfulness yoga since 2006.

Currently, she enjoys teaching both yoga and meditation in Canada, the United States, and beyond.

GULWINDER "GULLU" SINGH practices corporate law and teaches dharma/meditation at InsightLA, at SRMC, and in legal/corporate settings. He is currently a Spirit Rock teacher in training. Gullu is inspired to share the practice to help cope with the challenges of work and life and inject more sanity, compassion, and wisdom into the world.

LOUIJE KIM is a community mental health therapist and dharma practitioner in the SF Bay Area. They are a part of the current Spirit Rock Teacher Training cohort. Louije is most drawn to practice in the style of Burmese monastic Sayadaw U Tejaniya as promulgated by Western convert Buddhist teachers.

SPIRIT ROCK | JAN–MAY 2020

29

NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREATS

MAY

15 FRI

CHRONIC PAIN, THE CHOICES: TOOLS TO TRANSFORM OUR EXPERIENCE JILL SATTERFIELD | 10:00 AM–5:00 PM

6 CE CREDITS AVAILABLE Chronic and severe pain is consuming, and is a leading cause of suicide, as well as understandable emotional and mental duress. Physical pain can submerge both the mind and heart, entangling emotions and thoughts with physical sensations.

During this retreat, we’ll (re)discover the connection between mind and body, the capacity to distinguish between unpleasant sensations and associated thoughts and feelings, and wise discernment and choice about what to focus on and when. We’ll learn skills to better cope with and transcend our experience with chronic pain, including an exploration of integration and separation; non-identification and kindness; breath and visualization; concentration and open awareness practices. Code: JS2D20.

MAY

22 FRI

CULTIVATING WISE SPEECH: BECOMING MORE SKILLFUL IN YOUR SPEECH PRACTICE DONALD ROTHBERG | 10:00 AM–5:00 PM

6 CE CREDITS AVAILABLE Connecting our meditation practice with our speech and communication is one of the main ways to bring spiritual values further into our everyday lives. In this day retreat, we will support this intention by integrating periods of sitting and walking meditation with talks, communication exercises, and discussion. We will focus on: • The fundamental teachings of the Buddha on wise speech.

• Cultivating mindfulness during both speaking and listening.

• Learning how to practice wise and compassionate speech in challenging situations—such as when there are intense emotions, when there is conflict, or when there are difficult interpersonal or group dynamics. Code: DR2D20.

DONALD ROTHBERG—See page 14 for bio.

JILL SATTERFIELD—See bio on page 20.

MAY MAY

23 24 SAT

MAY

17

SUN

THE AWAKENED HEART: AN INVITATION TO LOVE JACK KORNFIELD | 9:30 AM–5:00 PM

6 CE CREDITS AVAILABLE FOR IN-PERSON ATTENDANCE LIVESTREAM AVAILABLE | A BENEFIT FOR SPIRIT ROCK The awakened heart has immense capacities for joy, love, and compassion. The beautiful truth is, these gifts can be activated, developed, and opened. Join us for this day of powerful meditations, stories, and dialogue, illuminating your own inner gifts, held by teachings on love, gratitude, forgiveness, and the true nature of the heart. This will be a practice-based day in community, where we will be sharing visionary perspectives and offering trainings and blessings that can transform our meditation practice(s) and our lives. Code: JK1B20. Livestream Code: JK2L20.

JACK KORNFIELD—See bio on page 17.

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SPIRIT ROCK | JAN–MAY 2020

SUN

2-DAY NON-RESIDENTIAL BENEFIT WEEKEND RETREAT

MAKING THE INVISIBLE, VISIBLE: A TRAUMA HEALING JOURNEY FROM HAUNTINGS TO WHOLENESS PETER A. LEVINE | 10:00 AM–5:00 PM

12 CE CREDITS AVAILABLE FOR IN-PERSON ATTENDANCE LIVESTREAM AVAILABLE | A BENEFIT FOR SPIRIT ROCK & SOMATIC EXPERIENCING‰ TRAUMA INSTITUTE Somatic Experiencing® is a body-oriented approach to the healing of trauma and other stress-related conditions developed by Peter A. Levine, PhD. During this weekend retreat, we will discuss how, unbeknownst to us, we may be more influenced by events and circumstances than our ancestors experienced during their lifetimes, which are far out of conscious awareness. However, these lingering, experiential “ghosts” still have powerful influences on our emotions, reactions, behaviors, and choices. By bringing them into awareness and decoding their space-time patterns, we can truly live our lives and (re)claim our destinies as we move toward authentic freedom. Code: PL1B20. Livestream code: PL1L20.

PETER A LEVINE, PHD, is the developer of Somatic Experiencing™, a naturalistic and neurobiological approach to healing trauma, and the founder of the Somatic Experiencing® Trauma Institute. Dr. Levine is the author of several bestselling books on trauma; including Waking the Tiger, In an Unspoken Voice, and Trauma and Memory.

SPIRITROCK.ORG

NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREATS

MAY MAY

29 30 FRI

SAT

2-DAY NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREAT WOMEN AWAKENING AS WE AGE DEBRA CHAMBERLIN TAYLOR AND ANNA DOUGLAS | 10:00 AM–4:30 PM

FOR WOMEN AGE 60 AND OVER Join a community of women to explore how the joys and sorrows of aging can be profound opportunities for awakening. We’ll acknowledge that some of the most difficult changes in life come at the age when we feel most vulnerable. We’ll support each other to meet these changes with awareness and compassion, and to discover the inner ease and freedom that’s possible as we learn to let go. We’ll celebrate the joys of being an elder and honor the gifts that have developed over a lifetime. Code: DC1M20.

ANNA DOUGLAS, PHD, 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.

DEBRA CHAMBERLIN-TAYLOR—See page 20 for bio.

MAY

31

SUN

Join from anywhere—

LIVESTREAMED PROGRAMS When you can’t come to Spirit Rock, we come to you!

Livestreamed programs provide excellent teachings and support for your practice. They are filmed and broadcast in real time.

They are also available for viewing for a period of time after the live event, so it gives anyone anywhere the ability to view the program at their own discretion.

1/1

Retreat for New Year's Day 2020 with Sylvia Boorstein & Friends

1/11

Mindfulness Meditation with Jack Kornfield

5/17

The Awakened Heart: An Invitation to Love with Jack Kornfield

5/23 Making the Invisible, Visible: A Trauma -5/24 Healing Journey from Hauntings to Wholeness

with Peter A. Levine

INTRODUCTION TO INSIGHT MEDITATION HOWARD COHN | 10:00 AM–4:30 PM

5.5 CE CREDITS AVAILABLE This day of silent insight meditation is an invitation to strengthen in ourselves the noble qualities of mindfulness and friendliness. Cultivating a relaxed, kind, and curious attention to our moment-to-moment experience, we can recover our natural peace, clarity, wisdom, and compassion. This capacity to pay attention in the present moment enables us to connect with ourselves more intimately and directly, understand the causes of both suffering and happiness, and discover our natural freedom and ease. Instructions for both sitting and walking meditation will be offered, along with time for questions. Code: HC2D20.

HOWARD COHN—See page 22 for bio.

Join Jack Kornfield & Friends from home—

MONDAY NIGHT LIVE Start your week off with a clear mind and peaceful heart. Tune into Spirit Rock Live: Monday Nights with Jack Kornfield and Friends, a livestream of our Monday Night sitting group. Now in its 34th year, the Monday Night sitting group at Spirit Rock has been a welcoming refuge for the community to gather, hear the teachings of the Buddha, and practice mindfulness meditation.

Sign up before Monday night and you can watch the livestream until the following Sunday.

7:15 PM–9:15 PM EVERY MONDAY NIGHT

SPIRITROCK.ORG/MONDAYNIGHTLIVE

SPIRIT ROCK | JAN–MAY 2020

31

FAMILY AND YOUTH PROGRAMS JAN

12

SUN

The Spirit Rock Family Program supports families in planting the seeds of the dharma in their daily lives.

Through classes, day retreats, and residential retreats, families, youth, and parents learn to slow down, savor the present moment, and reconnect with the wholesome qualities of heart and mind.

WINTER FAMILY DAY KATE MUNDING AND EVE DECKER 10:30 AM - 3:00 PM

Family Days are a wonderful opportunity to spend the day connecting 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.

We have plenty for your children, with mindfulness activities geared toward youth ages 4 to 14. During the second half of the day, youth ages 4 to 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. Please bring lunch and something to share for the communal potluck.

Sliding scale: $65–200, per family, add $5 at the door. Code: FA1D20.

VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED to assist with Family Days and attend free of charge; children are welcome to volunteer alongside an adult. For more info: volunteering@spiritrock.org or call (415) 488-0164, x224.

KATE MUNDING serves on the Spirit Rock Teachers Council and is a guiding teacher for the Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley. She has practiced meditation in the Theravada tradition since 2004, and is the founder of HeartMind Education, providing mindfulness-based education programs, trainings, and resources to students and the adults in their lives.

EVE DECKER is a graduate of Spirit Rock’s Community Dharma Leader Program. An accomplished musician, she teaches music and mindfulness to children and adults at East Bay Meditation Center, Spirit Rock, and Aurora School in Oakland.

APR

26

SUN

SPRING FAMILY DAY KATE MUNDING AND EVE DECKER 10:30 AM - 3:00 PM

See description under the January 12 Family Day progam.

Sliding scale: $65–200 per family, add $5 at the door.

Code: FA2D20.

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SPIRIT ROCK | JAN–MAY 2020

FEB

25 TUE

LOTTERY OPENS FOR FAMILY RETREAT KATE MUNDING, OFOSU JONES-QUARTEY, ABHAYAGIRI MONASTICS, TBD RETREAT DATES: JULY 29–AUGUST 2, 2020 (5-day, 4-night retreat)

This popular retreat includes dharma programming for children and adults: meditation, dharma talks, time on the land, a campfire, council practice, parent discussion groups, and experiential play that makes the dharma tangible for children through song, skits, stories, art, and games. Code: 370R20.

SPIRITROCK.ORG

FAMILY PROGRAMS

JAN

MAR

SUN

SUN

19 01

WINTER TEEN MEDITATION SERIES SARA OAKES AND TBD 1ST FIVE SUNDAYS: 6:00 PM–8:30 PM 6TH SUNDAY: 11:00 AM–3:00 PM

JAN

FEB

WINTER MIDDLE SCHOOL MEDITATION SERIES

SUN

SUN

MICHELE ANDROPOULOS, ANDREW CHAIKIN

19 23

FIVE SUNDAYS: 6:30 PM–8:30 PM

6-WEEK CLASS SERIES—ALL TEENS IN HIGH SCHOOL AND

5-WEEK CLASS SERIES—ALL TWEENS IN MIDDLE SCHOOL WELCOME!

BEYOND ARE WELCOME.

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 with 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 and contributing to the group’s collective wisdom. The final class will include a potluck dinner celebration. During the class, parents are welcome to read, meditate, and connect with each other in the foyer of the Community Meditation Center.

Sliding scale: $100–200. Code: TE2C20.

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 and a half-day of practice among the trees on Spirit Rock land. During the class, parents are welcome to read, meditate, and connect with each other in the Spirit Rock bookstore and foyer. Sliding scale: $120–240. Code: TE1C20.

MICHELE ANDROPOULOS has been working as a Physical Education specialist within the Mount Diablo Unified School District for 18 years. Michele teaches 8-to-13-yearoldscombining physical activity with a mindful approach.

She has been an active volunteer at SRMC and participating teacher at SRMC family days.

SARA OAKES has practiced in the insight meditation tradition since 2004. She is a graduate of both the Dedicated Practitioners and the Community Dharma Leader Programs at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. She has a private practice in craniosacral therapy, Organic Intelligence, and Somatic Experiencing in the East Bay.

APR

MAY

SUN

SUN

05 17

SPRING TEEN MEDITATION SERIES JULIANA SLOANE, ANTHONY “T” MAES 1ST FIVE SUNDAYS: 6:00 PM–8:30 PM 6TH SUNDAY: 11:00 AM–3:00 PM

6-WEEK CLASS SERIES—ALL TEENS IN HIGH SCHOOL AND BEYOND ARE WELCOME.

See program description above, under "Winter Teen Meditation Series." Sliding scale: $120–240. Code: TE3C20.

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 leads a sitting group in San Francisco and is the Coordinating Teacher of the meditation and yoga program at the San Francisco County Jail.

APR

MAY

SPRING MIDDLE SCHOOL MEDITATION SERIES

SUN

SUN

LAURA BRAINARD AND TBD

05 10

SUNDAYS: 6:30 PM–8:30 PM 5-WEEK CLASS SERIES—ALL TWEENS IN MIDDLE SCHOOL WELCOME!

JULIANA SLOANE co-leads a women’s sitting group in San Francisco and loves sharing the dharma with young people through Spirit Rock’s Teen and Family Program.

She is passionate about the possibilities of personal and community transformation held in the dharma, and brings this into her work with adults and youth alike.

ANTHONY "T" MAES has worked with Spirit Rock's family program since 2009, teaching day retreats, New Years' teen retreats, and the Abhayagiri monastery weekend. He has also taught retreats for Inward Bound Mindfulness Education and is a teacher and coordinator of East Bay Meditation Center's Teen Sangha.

See program description above under, "Winter Middle School Meditation Series." Sliding scale: $100–200. Code: TE4C20.

LAURA BRAINARD is passionate about mentoring children through fun mindfulness practice to develop life skills for well-being. She completed theMindful Schools training program,taught mindfulness in a public school and loves volunteering for the Spirit Rock Family Day program. Laura is a tutor and is completing her Waldorf teaching degree.

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RESIDENTIAL RETREATS

RESIDENTIAL RETREATS

For 2,600 years, silent 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. Residential retreats last from a few days to a full two-month retreat, and all retreats are silent with some exceptions. 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 on short notice, please join a waitlist as spaces regularly open up. For more information, contact Retreats@spiritrock.org or (415) 488-0164 x247 or x252.

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RESIDENTIAL RETREATS

SPIRIT ROCK | JAN–MAY 2020

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RESIDENTIAL RETREATS

JAN

JAN

TUE

SUN

07 12

WINTER INSIGHT MEDITATION RETREAT HOWARD COHN, ERIN TREAT, ASHLEY SHARP 5 nights, Tuesday–Sunday

This is a silent insight meditation (vipassana) retreat designed for both new and experienced meditators. The retreat includes systematic instructions in vipassana meditation, following the four foundations of mindfulness. The retreat will also include loving-kindness meditation, meetings with teachers, and evening talks highlighting the central teachings of the Buddha and their practical application to our lives. Code: 326R20.

JAN

JAN

13 20

MON MON

METTA RETREAT DONALD ROTHBERG, BETH STERNLIEB, MELVIN ESCOBAR 7 nights, Monday–Monday

14 CE CREDITS AVAILABLE Metta, or loving-kindness, practice is the cultivation of the intention of benevolence as the orientation of our heart and mind. It is also a path to wisdom. We develop our capacity for metta through meditation (which is practiced steadfastly on retreat) in order for it to manifest in an ongoing way in our daily lives. In this retreat, we will learn the formal practice of metta along with its companion practices of compassion, joy, and equanimity. All four of these practices–known as the Brahma Viharas or Divine Abodes–strengthen self-confidence, selfacceptance, and steadiness of mind and heart, revealing our fundamental disposition toward kindness. Code: 328R20.

RESIDENTIAL RETREATS Residential retreats vary in rates, and always have a sliding scale. We encourage those who can pay at the top of the sliding scale to offer what they can, knowing they’re allowing others to attend who might not be able to otherwise and helping to sustain our programs.

Residential Retreat Rates: $100+/night to $175+/night dependent on the length of the retreat.

Single room guarantee rates are available, as well as non-residential rates. All rates include three meals a day unless noted otherwise.

In addition to the registration fees, which cover only a portion of the true retreat fees, all residential retreat practitioners are invited to support retreat teachers and retreat staff (retreat managers and cooks) by offering restricted donations. Teacher and staff “dana” is a form of practice and a way to support teachers and retreat staff.

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE, WORK EXCHANGE, AND YOUNG ADULT RATES 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 widely accessible so that money isn’t a barrier to your practice.

Financial assistance is available for all residential retreats through our scholarship fund; although Spirit Rock offers almost $500,000 in scholarships each year, we still find there are limited funds available for each retreat, so apply early. For all residential retreats, we offer a limited number of young adult rates, which are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

We do not have a senior rate for residential retreats. We strongly encourage you to apply for a scholarship if you require financial assistance. For most retreats, we have two work retreatant roles—one in the kitchen and one in housekeeping.

To apply as a work retreatant, you must meet the criteria outlined on our website.

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 an application to submit via postal mail.

CANCELLATION FEES In general, the cancellation fee schedule is as follows: $100 for cancellation eight weeks or more before a retreat; $175 for cancellation four to eight weeks before a retreat; $300 for cancellation two to four weeks before a retreat. No refunds less than two weeks prior to the retreat. To cancel a retreat reservation, contact Retreats@spiritrock.org so we have your cancellation in writing.

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RESIDENTIAL RETREATS AT A GLANCE—2020

JANUARY Jan 7–12

Winter Insight Meditation Retreat Howard Cohn, Erin Treat, Ashley Sharp (yoga) registration opened 9/4/19

Jan 13–20

January Metta Retreat

Jan 21–25

Dharma and Yoga: Opening Space

Jan 26–31

Jan 26–31

Donald Rothberg, Beth Sternlieb, Melvin Escobar (yoga) registration opened 9/11/19 14 CE Credits Available Anne Cushman, Dawn Mauricio, Rolf Gates (yoga)—registration open now

Apr 19–26 Apr 19 –May 3

Feb 29 –Mar 28

Mar 29 –Apr 1

Reclamation of the Sacred (Lottery) Thanissara, Kittisaro, TBD—lottery opens 11/19/19

May 4–10

Equanimity Retreat (Parallel)

Debra Chamberlin-Taylor, Bonnie Duran, Eugene Cash (guest) registration open now 12 CE Credits Available

May 4–10

Natural Awareness (Parallel) *UWH

Insight Meditation Retreat: Awakening the Heart of Joy (Parallel) *UWH

May 11–19

Spring Insight Meditation Retreat

Heavenly Messengers: Awakening Through Illness, Aging, and Death (Parallel)

May 20–27

FEBRUARY

Feb 1 –Mar 28

Eugene Cash, Pamela Weiss, DaRa Williams, Erin Treat Located at Garrison Institute—program participants only

MAY

Sharda Rogell, Howard Cohn—registration open now

Feb 1–29

Community Dharma Leaders Retreat (CDL6) Retreat 2

February Insight Meditation One-Month Retreat (Lottery) James Baraz, Kamala Masters, Tempel Smith, John Martin, Beth Sternlieb, Susie Harrington

May 28 –Jun 4

Vinny Ferraro, Wes Nisker—registration opens 1/7/20 Matthew Brensilver, Brian Lesage, TBD registration opens 1/8/20

The Magic of Awareness James Baraz, Anam Thubten, Trudy Goodman Kornfield, Jill White Lindsay (yoga)—registration opens 1/21/20

The Nine Bodies of Consciousness: A Practical Map for Insight Practitioners (Parallel) Phillip Moffitt, Dana DePalma, TBD (yoga) registration opens 1/28/20

Insight Meditation Two-Month Retreat (Lottery) (see One-Month listing for teachers)

Tempel Smith, Sharda Rogell, Anthony “T” Maes (qigong) registration opens 1/7/20

May 28 –Jun 4

Settling, Seeing, and Spacious Awareness: A Retreat for Experienced Practitioners (Parallel) *UWH

MARCH

Donald Rothberg, TBD—registration opens 1/28/20

March Insight Meditation One-Month Retreat (Lottery)

JUNE

Andrea Fella, Phillip Moffitt, Eugene Cash, Winnie Nazarko, Bhante Buddharakkhita, DaRa Williams, Lissa Edmond (yoga)

Jun 5–10

Ayya Anandabodhi, Ayya Santacitta, Ven. Dhammadipa, TBD (yoga)—registration opens 2/3/20

Foundations of Mindfulness Meditation Retreat Mark Coleman, Diana Winston, TBD (yoga) registration opens 11/25/19

Jun 11–21

APRIL Apr 2–10

Advanced Practitioners Program (APP2) Retreat 3

Apr 11–18

Living Awareness Through Insight Meditation

Susie Harrington, Brian Lesage, Ven. Analayo, Guy Armstrong —program participants only Mary Grace Orr, Gil Fronsdal, John Travis, Heather Sundberg, Rebecca Kronlage (yoga) registration opens 12/10/19

*UWH = Upper Walking Hall

Retreats in dark red = offsite

Therigatha: Awakening Verses of the Early Buddhist Nuns

Sayadaw U Tejaniya Style Retreat (Lottery) Alexis Santos, Andrea Fella, Carol Wilson, Susa Talan, Mark Nunberg, Franz Moeckl (movement) lottery opens 1/14/20

Jun 22–28

Mindfulness for Everyone: The Basics and Beyond

Jun 29 –Jul 5

Cultivating the Wisdom of the Heart: Finding Freedom in Love and Compassion (Lottery)

Diana Winston, Alex Haley, Jill Satterfield (movement) registration opens 2/18/20 12 CE credits available

Noliwe Alexander, Carol Cano, Jozen Gibson, Pawan Bareja, Margarita Loinaz Open to Self-Identified People of Color lottery opens 1/28/20

JULY Jul 7–17

July Metta Retreat Tempel Smith, John Martin, Bonnie Duran, Devin Berry,

Oct 20–27

Marcy Reynolds (qigong)—registration opens 2/4/20

Anne Cushman, Kate Johnson, Rolf Gates (yoga), Janice Gates (yoga)—registration opens 6/16/20

15 CE Credits Available Jul 17–26

July Insight Meditation Retreat (Lottery) Kamala Masters, Joseph Goldstein, TBD lottery opens 2/4/20

Oct 28 –Nov 1

Aug 3–9 Aug 10–19

Aug 19–28 Aug 28–30

NOVEMBER

Family Retreat (Lottery) Kate Munding, Ofosu Jones-Quartey, TBD Abhayagiri Monastics—lottery opens 2/25/20

Sep 4–7 Sep 14–20

Vinny Ferraro, Pam Dunn, La Sarmiento, Enrique Collazo registration opens 3/31/20

Concentration Retreat Phillip Moffitt, Tempel Smith, Marcy Reynolds (qigong) registration opens 4/7/20

Exploring the Essential Factors of Awakening Mark Coleman, Howard Cohn, Bonnie Duran registration opens 4/14/20

Abhayagiri Teen Meditation Retreat

September Insight Meditation Retreat

Oct 12–19 38

Nov 20–29

Nov 30 –Dec 6

Finding True Refuge During Uncertain Times Anushka Fernandopulle, Kate Munding, TBD registration opens 7/8/20

Heart of Awareness John Martin, Dawn Scott, Jaya Rudgard Jashoda Edmonds (yoga)—registration opens 7/14/20

November Insight Meditation Retreat Matthew Brensilver, Wes Nisker, TBD registration opens 7/21/20

An Invitation to Mindfulness JoAnna Hardy, Erin Treat registration opens 5/5/20

Nov 30 –Dec 6

Dec 7–13

15 CE Credits Available

Relational Dharma: Waking Up Together (Parallel) *UWH

Women’s Meditation Retreat

(Parallel) *UWH

Metta and Qigong Retreat Dana DePalma, Vinny Ferraro, TBD, Teja Bell (qigong) registration opens 8/4/20

Dec 14–17

Mindfulness for Beginners

Dec 18–23

Winter Solstice Insight Meditation Retreat: Embracing the Dark, Inviting the Light

Pamela Weiss and others—registration opens 5/21/20

Diana Winston, TBD 6 CE Credits Available registration opens 8/11/20

Donald Rothberg registration opens 8/18/20 Dec 27 –Jan 3

Fall Insight Meditation Retreat (Lottery) Phillip Moffitt, Matthew Brensilver, TBD lottery opens 5/6/20 9 CE Credits Available

Natural Radiance: The Freedom of Awareness Mark Coleman, TBD 15 CE Credits Available registration opens 7/29/20

Finding Freedom in the Body (Parallel) Mary Grace Orr, Bob Stahl, Christiane Wolf, Marcy Reynolds (qigong)

Maranasati: Contemplating Death, Awakening to Life (Parallel) Eugene Cash, Nikki Mirghafori, Victoria Cary, Hakim Tafari (movement) 18 CE Credits Available registration opens 7/29/20

James Baraz, Sharda Rogell, Howard Cohn, Terry Vandiver (yoga)—registration opens 4/28/20

OCTOBER Oct 2–11

Nov 16–19

Deepening into the Heart of Love and Freedom Arinna Weisman, Lama Rod Owens, TBD Open to Self-Identified LGBTQI+ registration opens 6/30/20

DECEMBER

Oren Jay Sofer, Bart van Melik registration opens 5/12/20 15 CE Credits Available Sep 21–27

Nov 9–15

Ajahn Karunadhammo, Ajahn Nyaniko, Forest Fein registration opens 5/26/20

registration opens 5/12/20 Sep 14–20

Nov 2–8

Insight Meditation Retreat for Young Adults (ages 18–32)

SEPTEMBER Aug 29 –Sep 3

Loving Awareness: A Retreat for Experienced Meditators (Lottery) Jack Kornfield, Trudy Goodman Kornfield, Teja Bell (qigong)—lottery opens 5/26/20

AUGUST Jul 29 –Aug 2

Moving into Meditation: Mindful Yoga and Embodied Dharma

10 CE Credits Available

New Year’s Insight Meditation Retreat (Lottery) Eugene Cash, Pamela Weiss, DaRa Williams, Tuere Sala, Devon Hase (movement)—lottery opens 7/21/20

Dec 27 –Jan 1

New Year’s Teen Retreat (St. Columba, Inverness, CA) (Lottery) Matthew Brensilver, TBD —registration opens 8/25/20

Community Dharma Leader (CDL6) Retreat 3 Eugene Cash, Pamela Weiss, DaRa Williams, Erin Treat program participants only *UWH = Upper Walking Hall

Retreats in dark red = offsite

RESIDENTIAL RETREATS

JAN

JAN

TUE

SAT

21 25

DHARMA AND YOGA: OPENING SPACE ANNE CUSHMAN, DAWN MAURICIO, ROLF GATES 4 nights, Tuesday–Saturday

Take a few days to open up space in your body, your mind, your heart, and your busy life using the deep wisdom of embodied dharma and mindful yoga. Unplug your devices, unwind your nervous system, nourish your spirit, and realign yourself with your heart’s deepest values and intentions. This silent retreat offers a seamless flow of meditation in stillness and in motion combined with wisdom teachings from the traditions of yoga and Buddha dharma. Each day includes gentle guided yoga asana and pranayama; seated, walking, standing, and lying down meditation instruction and practice; and dharma reflections and discussion. You’ll go home with powerful, practical tools for staying grounded and spacious in your daily life, while responding with wisdom and compassion to the suffering in the world and the urgent needs of our times. Code: 330R20.

JAN

JAN

SUN

FRI

26 31

HEAVENLY MESSENGERS: AWAKENING THROUGH ILLNESS, AGING AND DEATH DEBRA CHAMBERLIN-TAYLOR, EUGENE CASH, BONNIE DURAN 6 nights, Sunday–Friday

12 CE CREDITS AVAILABLE The Buddha called sickness, aging, and death "heavenly messengers" because they can powerfully guide us toward awakening. At this retreat we'll learn to open our hearts and minds to all aspects of life, including the heavenly messengers. This opening cultivates the awareness, acceptance, and nourishing wisdom needed to meet life’s inevitable changes with more ease. Learning to embrace impermanence helps us embody the Awakened Heart-Mind that holds our fears, vulnerabilities, and sorrows in wisdom, compassio, and peace. This workshop-style retreat will be held in morning and evening silence with interactive exercises each afternoon. Mindfulness and loving-kindness meditations will be taught daily. Code: 332R20.

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RESIDENTIAL RETREATS

JAN

JAN

SUN

FRI

26 31

INSIGHT MEDITATION RETREAT: AWAKENING THE HEART OF JOY SHARDA ROGELL, HOWARD COHN 5 nights, Sunday–Thursday

During this retreat, we will deepen into periods of sustained silence and direct our attention to what’s truly present. As we explore how our tendency to get caught in distracting storylines and beliefs disconnects us from the fullness of our present moment experience, we will understand more fully what obscures the path of joy. Only when we access our own loving heart and clarity of mind can we know the true heart’s release that is possible for all of us. We will draw on the practices of formal sitting, walking, work meditations, and guided heart meditations, along with dharma talks, and individual and group discussions to steady and sustain us, and reawaken our hearts. There will be opportunities for group practice as well as open periods to find your individual rhythm in the retreat. Code: 333R20.

MAR

APR

SUN

WED

29 01

FOUNDATIONS OF MINDFULNESS MEDITATION RETREAT MARK COLEMAN, DIANA WINSTON 3 nights, Sunday–Wednesday

Do you wish to live with more clarity, wisdom, and peace? The Buddha taught that there is a direct way for alleviating suffering and living with genuine ease and freedom in our lives–and that is through cultivating awareness through the four foundations of mindfulness. In this retreat, we will explore this liberating practice. We will investigate how mindfulness supports insights into what causes suffering and what creates genuine well-being. What arises out of such understanding is a tangible sense of inner clarity, spaciousness, peace, and freedom. The retreat will be a mix of guided meditations, dharma talks, sitting and walking practice, and mindful movement, all held in the beauty and power of silence. Code: 338R20.

APR

APR

SAT

SAT

11 18

LIVING AWARENESS THROUGH INSIGHT MEDITATION MARY GRACE ORR, GIL FRONSDAL, JOHN TRAVIS, HEATHER SUNDBERG 7 nights, Saturday–Saturday

Join us for this seven-night retreat of exploring awareness through the vehicle of the body and in the spirit of a heart of friendliness, compassion, and nonreactive balance. In this silent retreat, we will practice sitting and walking meditation.

Instructions will be offered daily including a dharma talk every evening, and there will be individual and group practice meetings with the retreat teachers. There will also be optional times for guided mindful yoga practice. This retreat is suitable for both beginning and experienced practitioners. Code: 342R20.

APR

MAY

SUN

SUN

19 03

RECLAMATION OF THE SACRED THANISSARA, KITTISARO 14 nights, Sunday–Sunday

This retreat focuses on the embodiment of insight that reveals a blessed sacredness within all life. Through training attention, wise discernment, and investigation, the Amata Dharma–undying Dharma-is intuitively known as the core matrix within which all emerges and dissolves. Such knowing transforms our world, enabling and strengthening an inner sense of freedom and confidence. The retreat is supported by Pali chanting, mantra practice, Kuan Yin devotions, including a bowing practice, and the Great Compassion Ceremony, focused around the cultivation of the Bodhisattva Heart. It also will have daily sessions of qigong. Code: 348R20.

As you face loss, frustration, hurt, and conflict...have respect for yourself, and patience and compassion. —Jack Kornfield

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SPIRITROCK.ORG

RESIDENTIAL RETREATS

MAY MAY

04 10

MON SUN

EQUANIMITY RETREAT TEMPEL SMITH, SHARDA ROGELL, ANTHONY “T” MAES 6 nights, Monday–Sunday

Often, we are drawn to meditation practice because of our heartfelt wish to calm our minds and open our hearts. But in our lives and when we sit down to meditate, we often find ourselves reacting to thoughts of the past with regret, shame, or anger, and to the future with anxiety and fear, often feeling overwhelmed. In this retreat, we will develop the practice of equanimity, which allows us to be with challenging situations in our lives with balance, acceptance and more clarity. As this capacity deepens, we are able to be more fully present for both the joys and the sorrows of life, meeting each situation with kindness and compassion. Equanimity is one of the four Brahma Viharas (Divine Abodes), or beautiful qualities of heart, we can develop through practice and meditation. The other Brahma Viharas of loving-kindness, compassion, and joy will be introduced as a complement to the equanimity practice. Code: 350R20.

MAY MAY

04 10

MON SUN

NATURAL AWARENESS VINNY FERRARO, WES NISKER 6 nights, Monday–Sunday

During this silent retreat, we will practice the art and discipline of mindfulness meditation, with our collective intention being to train our minds and open our hearts.

A significant feature of this retreat is that we will be doing some of our practice outside under ancient oak trees, letting the wisdom of nature help support us along on our path.

Throughout the retreat, we will make creative use of classic Buddhist meditation practices to explore the evolutionary origin of our body and emotions; engage in traditional Buddhist reflections on death and dying; examine our nature "as" nature; and all the while explore the tricky delusions of mind and the mystery of consciousness itself. In the process, we expect to find relief from our personal drama and a new sense of delight and meaning in our lives. The retreat will include poetry and a little “crazy wisdom” as well. Code: 351R20.

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RESIDENTIAL RETREATS

Integrate the fruits of retreat into daily life

NEXT STEP DHARMA SPIRITROCK.ORG/NEXTSTEP 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 Jay Sofer and Jaya Rudgard offer in-depth training to nourish the insights from a retreat.

Enrollment in Next Step Dharma includes: • 21 short dharma talks and 16 guided meditations • 18 recorded interviews and four live Q&A sessions • Six weeks of mentoring for your practice • Lifetime membership in the Next Step Dharma community Next Step Dharma is an affiliate program of Spirit Rock.

MAY MAY

11 19

MON

TUE

SPRING INSIGHT MEDITATION RETREAT MATTHEW BRENSILVER, BRIAN LESAGE 8 nights, Monday–Tuesday

Nobody tells us this when we're growing up, but being human is kind of a big deal. It feels great, it hurts, it's intense.

We know it won't go on forever. Given this, what kind of happiness is possible for us? The Buddha suggested that we have underestimated the capacity of our heart. Retreat helps us to remember. In mindfulness meditation, we practice resting, looking deeply, knowing moment-by-moment what it's like to be human. Initially, some of us are hesitant to look because we're concerned about what we'll find. But our practice shows us that the more deeply we look, the more reason we have to love. Together, we'll sit in the refuge provided by a 2,600-year legacy of wisdom and kindness. In the silence, we come to know the preciousness of our life and the poignancy of the human condition. From this openness, so much goodness unfolds. Code: 352R20.

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MAY MAY

20 27

WED WED

THE MAGIC OF AWARENESS JAMES BARAZ, ANAM THUBTEN, TRUDY GOODMAN KORNFIELD, KATE MUNDING, JILL WHITE LINDSAY 7 nights, Wednesday–Wednesday

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. Code: 354R20.

SPIRITROCK.ORG

RESIDENTIAL RETREATS

2020 ONE- AND TWO-MONTH RETREATS MAY

JUN

THU

THU

28 04

THE NINE BODIES OF CONSCIOUSNESS: A PRACTICAL MAP FOR INSIGHT PRACTITIONERS PHILLIP MOFFITT, DANA DEPALMA 7 nights, Thursday–Thursday

As a support for insight meditation, the Nine Bodies teachings offer you a new means for tracking and classifying meditative experiences, which can help you stay present with whatever arises. These explorations may also increase the clarity and specificity of your mindfulness and enable the arising of insight.

The retreat will start by focusing on the consciousness that arises in the physical body and then present a series of meditations for exploring ever more subtle levels of consciousness. These teachings and meditations are not presented as an alternative or a substitute for your current lineage practice, but rather, to help you be more empowered in your insight meditation practice; the retreat will include how to utilize the Nine Bodies teachings while practicing vipassana. This retreat systematically explores a set of teachings about the nature of consciousness that were first transmitted to Phillip Moffitt by the Himalayan yoga master Sri Swami Balyogi Premvarni 20 years ago. They are the basis for Phillip Moffitt’s book: Awakening Through the Nine Bodies.

Code: 356R20.

MAY

JUN

THU

THU

28 04

SETTLING, SEEING, AND SPACIOUS AWARENESS: A RETREAT FOR EXPERIENCED PRACTITIONERS DONALD ROTHBERG 7 nights, Thursday–Thursday

In the context of a small 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 then become better able to examine closely both our experiences of our bodies, thoughts, and emotions, and the general patterns of experience. We see more clearly when we are reactive, when we suffer, when there is a thick sense of self, and we learn to be more with the impermanent flow of experience. We can also tune in more, as we settle and see, 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. Completion of at least two five–night or longer silent insight meditation retreats or permission of the teachers. Code: 357R20.

LOTTERY OPENED JULY 16, 2019 Prerequisites: Completion of at least 15 nights of silent residential retreat time for February- or March-only retreats or 21 nights of silent residential retreat time for the two-month retreat. These retreats should have been led by Spirit Rock, IMS, or IRC teachers, or other recognized insight meditation teachers. For your previous retreats to qualify, they must have been silent retreats and had a similar format to this retreat, with instructions, practices, and talks focused on insight meditation. Please refer to the website for specific details.

An extended period of retreat offers the rare opportunity for sustained and dedicated practice. Our one- and twomonth 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.

For the monthlong 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 $40 per night. A limited number of special-rate spaces will be available. Additional scholarship funding will be offered for our POC communities.

FEBRUARY INSIGHT MEDITATION ONE-MONTH RETREAT February 1–29, 28 nights JAMES BARAZ, KAMALA MASTERS, TEMPEL SMITH, JOHN MARTIN, BETH STERNLIEB, SUSIE HARRINGTON Sliding scale: $6,200–$2,800. Code: 334R20.

MARCH INSIGHT MEDITATION ONE-MONTH RETREAT February 29–March 28, 28 nights ANDREA FELLA, PHILLIP MOFFITT, EUGENE CASH, WINNIE NAZARKO, BHANTE BUDDHARAKKHITA, DARA WILLIAMS Sliding scale: $6,200–$2,800. Code: 335R20.

INSIGHT MEDITATION TWO-MONTH RETREAT February 1–March 28, 56 nights Sliding scale: $12,400–$5,600. Code: 336R20.

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the spirit rock teachers council AYYA ANANDABODHI has practiced meditation since 1989

DANA DEPALMA has practiced Insight Meditation since 1993.

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.

She holds a Master's Degree in Counseling Psychology and is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She is a co-guiding teacher and director of faculty at Spirit Rock.

GUY ARMSTRONG has been practicing insight meditation

ANNA DOUGLAS has a background in psychology and art,

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.

in addition to more than 25 years of vipassana practice.

She has also studied with teachers in the Zen, Advaita, and Dzogchen traditions.

SALLY ARMSTRONG is a Spirit Rock co-guiding teacher. She

BONNIE DURAN met the dharma in 1982. She teaches long

has served Spirit Rock in a number of roles, including on the Spirit Rock Teachers Council and Board of Directors, and as co-founder and co-teacher of the Dedicated Practitioners Program. She has taught since 1996.

and short retreats and is a core teacher for advanced programs at IMS and SRMC. She is a professor of social work and public health at the Indigenous Wellness Research Institute at the University of Washington.

JAMES BARAZ is a founding teacher of Spirit Rock and serves

ANDREA FELLA has practiced insight meditation since 1996

on the Spirit Rock Teachers Council. He started the Community Dharma Leaders program and the Kalyana Mitta Network. James has taught the Awakening Joy online course since 2003 and is an advisor to One Earth Sangha, which focuses on Buddhist responses to climate change.

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

ANUSHKA FERNANDOPULLE has trained for over 25 years

both vipassana and metta meditation. Her many books include That’s Funny, You Don’t Look Buddhist and Happiness Is an Inside Job.

in Buddhist meditation in the US, India, and Sri Lanka, and is a member of the Spirit Rock Teachers Council. Anushka also works as a leadership coach and management consultant, and lives in San Francisco, where she leads Monday Night Dharma.

MATTHEW BRENSILVER, PhD, began in the Tibetan tradition

GIL FRONSDAL has practiced Zen and vipassana since 1975 and

and has studied with Shinzen Young since 2003. An SRMC/IMS/ IRC Teacher Training Program graduate, he serves on the Spirit Rock Teachers Council. He teaches about the intersection of mindfulness and mental health at UCLA’s MARC and with Mindful Schools.

holds a PhD in Buddhist Studies from Stanford. He is the founding teacher of the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, CA, and author of a translation of The Dhammapada.

EUGENE CASH is a founding teacher of San Francisco Insight.

JOANNA HARDY has been exploring and practicing multiple

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.

traditions since 1999. In 2005, her focus landed on vipassana.

Teaching in communities that don’t typically have access to the traditional dharma settings and building inclusive community are top on her list of priorities.

DEBRA CHAMBERLIN-TAYLOR has been leading retreats

SUSIE HARRINGTON teaches meditation nationwide and

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.

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.

HOWARD COHN, MA, serves on the Spirit Rock Teachers

WILL KABAT-ZINN has practiced insight meditation for more

Council and has taught vipassana retreats since 1985. He has studied with teachers of several traditions, including Theravada, Zen, and Dzogchen, and has been strongly influenced by H.W.L. Poonja. Howard has led the Mission Dharma sangha for 30 years and is the author of Invitation to Meditation.

MARK COLEMAN, MA, 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.

ANNE CUSHMAN is a graduate of the SRMC/IMS/IRC Teacher Training Program. She’s the author of Moving into Meditation and the novel Enlightenment for Idiots.

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SPIRIT ROCK | JAN–MAY 2020

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.

RUTH KING serves on the Spirit Rock Teachers Council and teaches nationwide. She is an emotional wisdom author and life coach, and is the author of several publications, including Healing Rage: Women Making Inner Peace Possible and Mindful of Race: Transforming Racism from the Inside Out.

KITTISARO, a Rhodes Scholar, trained in the Forest School

of Ajahn Chah and Ajahn Sumedho, and has practiced Chan and Kuan Yin Dharmas for 35 years. He helped found Buddhist monasteries and meditation centers in the UK, South Africa, and Caliofornia. He co-authored Listening to the Heart: A Contemplative Journey to Engaged Buddhism.

SPIRITROCK.ORG

JACK KORNFIELD trained as a Buddhist monk in Thailand, India,

OREN JAY SOFER holds a degree in comparative religion

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.

from Columbia University, is trained in Somatic Experiencing™, and Nonviolent Communication, and is a member of the Spirit Rock Teachers Council. He is the founder of Next Step Dharma and author of Say What You Mean: A Mindful Approach to Nonviolent Communication.

BRIAN LESAGE has taught meditation since 2000. He has

TEMPEL SMITH has been practicing metta and insight

studied in the Zen, Theravada, and Tibetan schools of Buddhism.

He was ordained in the Rinzai Zen tradition in 1996.

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, is a core teacher in the Dedicated Practitioners Program, and has been leading retreats for more than 10 years.

JOHN MARTIN teaches Vipassana, metta, and LGBTQI-

HEATHER SUNDBERG has taught insight meditation since

themed meditation retreats. He leads an ongoing Monday evening meditation group in San Francisco. John has had a dedicated practice while being engaged in the working world and emphasizes practice for daily life. He serves on the Spirit Rock Teachers Council.

NIKKI MIRGHAFORI, PhD, studied jhānas and vipassana

with Ven. Pa Auk Sayadaw, who instructed her to teach. She is a Stanford-trained compassion cultivation instructor, and a UCLA-trained mindfulness facilitator, and serves on the Spirit Rock Teachers Council and Board of Directors. She was previously incarnated as an artificial intelligence scientist.

PHILLIP MOFFITT has practiced vipassana since 1983. He

1999, has completed Senior Teacher Training, and is a member of the SRMC Teachers Council. She is a teacher for Mountain Stream Meditation Center in Nevada City, CA. Her teaching emphasizes Embodiment, Heart Practices, and Awareness Practices inspired by the Thai Forest Tradition.

THANISSARA, MA, trained as a Buddhist monastic in the Forest School of Ajahn Chah for 12 years. She is co-founder, with Kittisaro, of Dharmagiri Retreat in South Africa, Chattanooga Insight TN, and Sacred Mountain Sangha CA. Her latest book is Time to Stand Up: An Engaged Buddhist Manifesto for Our Earth.

ERIN TREAT has practiced Buddhist meditation for 20 years

is founder and president of the Life Balance Institute. He is the author of Dancing with Life, Emotional Chaos to Clarity, and Awakening Through the Nine Bodies.

and completed the SRMC/IMS/IRC Teacher Training Program.

She is the Guiding Teacher of Vallecitos Mountain Retreat Center and teaches at the Durango Dharma Center. Erin is influenced by her love of wild nature, Diamond Approach® training, and decades of somatics and bodyworker experience.

KATE MUNDING serves on the Spirit Rock Teachers Council

SPRING WASHAM has practiced meditation since 1997.

and is a guiding teacher for the Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley. She has practiced meditation since 2004 and is the founder of Heart-Mind Education, providing mindfulness-based education programs and trainings to students and the adults in their lives.

She is a founding teacher of the East Bay Meditation Center in Oakland, CA, and author of A Fierce Heart: Finding Strength, Courage, and Wisdom in Any Moment. She is a pioneer in bringing mindfulness-based healing practices into diverse communities.

WES “SCOOP” NISKER serves on the Spirit Rock Teachers Council and is a meditation teacher, author, radio commentator, and performer. His books include Essential Crazy Wisdom and Crazy Wisdom Saves the World Again!

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, PhD, has practiced meditation since 1976 and is the guiding teacher for the Path of Engagement program. Donald co-teaches the Wednesday morning class at Spirit Rock and is the author of The Engaged Spiritual Life.

PAMELA WEISS has practiced in the Zen and Theravada

traditions since 1987. She is an executive coach and the founder of Appropriate Response, bringing Buddhist principles and practices to leadership and organizations. Pamela leads a weekly meditation group at San Francisco Insight and co-leads the Spirit Rock Community Dharma Leader program.

LILA KATE WHEELER is a writer and teaches and practices in the vipassana and Tibetan Nyingma Buddhist lineages. She is a co-leader of the Spirit Rock Teacher Training Program.

DARA WILLIAMS has practiced vipassana meditation for 25 years. She serves as an IMS Guiding Teacher and is a core teacher in the 2017/2021 IMS Teacher Training Program. She is a coordinating trainer for Indigenous Focusing Oriented Trauma Therapy (IFOT) and has a private psychotherapy practice in NY. DIANA WINSTON is the director of Mindfulness Education at

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 SRMC/IMS/IRC Teacher Training Program.

UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center and serves on the Spirit Rock Teachers Council. 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.

LARRY YANG is a longtime meditator trained as a 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.

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.

SPIRIT ROCK | JAN–MAY 2020

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SPIRIT ROCK TE ACHER S COUNCIL (CONT.)

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.

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 ApproachÂŽ.

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.

JULIE WESTER has been a teacher of insight meditation since 1985 and is a senior meditation teacher at Spirit Rock and 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.

In Loving Memory...

Robert K. Hall February 8, 1934 – September 20, 2019

Robert Hall, M.D., was a Spirit Rock Teacher, a physician of the body/mind, a psychiatrist, poet and meditation teacher.

Once a student of Fritz Perls and Ida Rolf, he was a pioneer in the integration of bodywork, psychotherapy and spiritual practice for many years. Dr. Hall was co-founder of the Lomi School and Lomi Community Clinic in Santa Rosa.

"Spirit Rock teacher and dear friend, Robert Hall, died peacefully on September 20, 2019, in Todos Santos after a long illness. More than ten years ago, Robert founded the Dharma Community in Todos Santos, in Baja Mexico. Robert is remembered for his great laugh, his straight-forward and courageous honesty, his humanity, big heart and wisdom. He was an Inspiration to colleagues, staff and meditators across our community and the world. May he rest in an ocean of love and the clear light of his own nature."

—Jack Kornfield

“ Gradually, we learn to let go of all the habitual ways Spirit Rock News © 2020 Spirit Rock Meditation Center | Jan–May 2020 Published three times a year by Spirit Rock Meditation Center

P.O. Box 169, Woodacre, CA 94973 | (415) 488-0164 Design & Photography | Stacy Evett-Miller Photography | TwoIrises.com, TroyZiel.com, SuzanneChristine.com

we have of contracting against life.

When we give up the search, surrender our battle positions, the great mystery of wholeness reveals itself. What bliss, to discover how interconnected our world is."

—Robert K. Hall

Spirit Rock

An Insight Meditation Center

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

spiritrock.org

Learn more about our training programs at spiritrock.org/deepening-practice.

Self-Paced Online Course

FOUNDATIONAL BUDDHIST TEACHINGS: FOUR FOUNDATIONS OF MINDFULNESS, FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS, BRAHMA VIHARAS, AND THE EIGHTFOLD PATH

MARK COLEMAN Registration open November 15, 2019–February 1, 2020 Explore and cultivate core practices for building a baseline understanding of the Buddhist path.

This course emphasizes mindful awareness and insight meditation practices, and how to apply these wisdom and heart teachings in our daily lives. Each session will include guided meditations, lectures, discussion, and inquiry. Code: MC1N20.

COURSE OVERVIEW:

COURSE INCLUDES:

Session 1: The Four Foundations of Mindfulness—Developing Awareness

• 5 video sessions for self-paced participation

Session 2: Four Noble Truths—Freedom from Suffering

• Each video contains dharma talks, reflections,and guided meditations

Session 3: The Boundless Heart—Love, Compassion, Joy, and Equanimity

• Teacher support: two video conferences with Mark Coleman (will be recorded and accessible if you are unable to participate)

Sessions 4 and 5: The Eightfold Path—the Buddhist Path to Freedom (Parts 1 and 2)

• Downloadable audio recordings of class