Meditation Retreat Schedule
March 3 – 8 Crestone, CO
Awakening Wisdom & Love Through Insight MeditationTeachers: Susie Harrington, Brian Lesage
Registration: opens in September
This retreat offers the unique opportunity to practice Insight Meditation at Blazing Mountain Retreat Center. Blazing Mountain is situated on the sacred land of Crestone, Colorado. The surrounding environment and beautifully designed meditation hall provide a spacious setting for practice. The comfortable accommodations and healthy vegetarian meals will nurture your well-being. Sponsored by, and more information available from the Salida Sangha.
New Year's Retreat
Dec. 27, 2017 – Jan 1, 2018 Salt Spring Island, BC
Teacher: Susie Harrington
Cost: varies based on choice of lodging from $630 - $347, plus dana (donation) for the teacher
Location: Stowell Lake Farm, Salt Spring Island, British Columbia
Info & Registration
We will retreat into the deepness of winter to appreciate and release the Old Year and welcome and anticipate the vision and renewal of the New Year. We will sink into the deep quiet of these darkest days of the year and celebrate turning once more towards the increasing light and warmth. On New Year’s Eve, you are invited to stay up until Midnight with a slow, gentle evening of sharing blessings, chants, words and quiet, treats, and candles. It is a lovely way to celebrate together.
Loving the Self to Death
Retreat 3A program for advanced practitioners
May 24 – 27
Old La Sal, UT
Teacher: Susie Harrington
Registration for full program required; application period open through Sept. 10.
More info and application
Lost Coast Women's Retreat
May 31 – June 8, Northern California
Teachers: Susie Harrington and Erin Selover
Info and Registration
The Lost Coast is the longest, wildest stretch of the northern California Coast. Carrying daypacks and lunch, we hike nine miles along the rocky shore, dropping into silence along the way, and arrive at a place that feels sacred and magical. Nestled between the ocean and the mountains, we will practice with the surf, the birds and the sea breezes as our supports. Camping and indoor sleeping arrangements are available.
Touching the Earth
July 26 – 30 Paradise, Utah
Teacher: Susie Harrington
Cost: 3-day option (7/26-7/28) $100-$140
5-day option (7/26-7/30) $140-$260
Info & Registration: Cache Valley Sangha
This residential retreat will be an opportunity to sit and walk in silent meditation practice in a lush pastoral setting. Looking deeply into the heart of our experience, we will examine the habits of mind that cause us to suffer. When we bring our compassionate attention to moment to moment experience, our hearts and minds relax and we can access freedom, contentment and well -being.
This retreat will take place primarily outside, with camping or bunk house accommodations available. In addition to sitting and walking meditation, there will be dharma talks, meetings with the teachers, chanting and mindful movement. Those new to meditation and those with experience are welcome.
Awakening in Love and Insight
A residential retreatAugust 18 – 25
Location: Pecos Monastery, Our Lady of Guadalupe Abbey, Pecos, New Mexico
Teacher: Susie Harrington
Cost: $750 – $550
Info & Registration at the Albuquerque Sangha website.
Insight Meditation is a simple and direct practice based on moment-to-moment awareness, a technique that opens the heart and clears the mind. In practicing mindfulness in silence throughout the day—in sitting and walking meditation–we learn to be aware of our experience from a place of stillness and equanimity. As we come to see more clearly, insight deepens, and compassion and wisdom can arise.
This retreat, designed for beginners and experienced practitioners alike, will include meditation instruction, dharma talks, individual practice discussions with the teacher and group discussion time. There is a beautiful meditation space at the Center, and we will also sit outside as conditions allow.
Gratitude & Generosity: Realizing the Abundant Heart
A weekend non-residential retreat
December 7 – 8 Spirit Rock, Woodacre, CA
Teacher: Susie Harrington
Info (and registration when open)
In this weekend retreat, we will practice and inquire, exploring the natural flow of giving and receiving that is the source of all connection, all life, and an expression of the fundamental truth of interconnection.
Journey to Bhutan
A Cultural & Walking Retreat
Nov. 23 – Dec. 6 Bhutan
Teacher: Susie Harrington
Info & Registration
This trip is a rare opportunity to travel behind the scenes in the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan, a country steeped in centuries of Buddhist life and practice. Monastic life is active and strong in Bhutan, and we will practice in many monasteries, listen to the chanting monks and nuns, and meet with local Rinpoches who guide monastic life. On most days we will walk – visiting remote temples, exploring villages, or hiking from town to town. We will support our journey and enrich our experience through meditation practice and personal reflection.
February Monthlong
February 1 – 29 Spirit Rock, Woodacre, CA
Co-Teachers: James Baraz, Kamala Masters, Tempel Smith, John Martin, Beth Sternlieb
Info (and lottery when open) at spiritrock.org.
Applications for the lottery will be accepted Tuesday, July 16, 2019, to midnight Saturday, August 31, 2019. You do not need to apply on the first day it opens.
An extended period of retreat offers the rare opportunity for sustained and dedicated practice. This retreat emphasizes 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.
Escalante Wilderness Backpacking Retreat
Full with a waitlistDates: April 12 – 18
Teacher: Susie Harrington
Info & Registration
This retreat is an opportunity to "return home" to our true, wild nature to deepen our practice. Immersed the extraordinary wilderness of Escalante in Utah and in the quiet of our meditation practice, we will open ourselves to the interconnectedness, preciousness, and beauty of our true nature. Sitting in the beauty of canyon country gives us ready access to rapture, that quality of delighted interest and awe, and one of the seven factors of enlightenment.
From Compassion to Action
An online daylong retreat of meditation and wise response
June 28, 9:00 - 4:00 MDT
8 - 3:00 PDT, 10 - 5:00 CDT, 11 - 6:00 EDT. Zoom familiarization for those who desire half hour before start.
Teachers: Susie Harrington and Kirsten Rudestam
Cost: $40 - $100 ($10 fee for admin costs, the remainder is offered in support to the teachers. For this retreat, 50% of teacher fees will be donated to organizations in support of Black Lives Matter) No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
Compassion is the wholesome expression of the open heart when it meets the suffering of our world. To know compassion is to care – to feel our connection with other people and with the more-than-human world. In these times we are asked to come to terms with the devastating effects of our racial history, our environmentally disastrous greed, and the immediate difficulties of Covid-19. It is in facing these challenges that our hearts can know both our tenderness and our strength. There is the natural desire to feel both compassion and to relieve the suffering.
In this daylong retreat, we will explore through meditation, dharma talks, connection with others and engaged practice, how to know and allow the natural movement of our hearts. There will be periods of silent practice as well as invitations to take action, such as making a phone call, writing a letter, donating to a cause, and finding your own inspiration to act. Through mindfulness, we will explore the emotions, resistances, hindrances, and wholesome qualities that arise in considering and enacting compassionate response. What arises when we are moved to do something, to move off the cushion, out of silent meditation and take our practice into action?
Below are some race resources you can begin to look at. Prior to the retreat, we will send additional resources on other topics, and the zoom link. We ask that you spend 30 minutes prior to the retreat exploring responses in a topic that moves you.
75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice
Resources for Accountability and Actions for Black Lives
Anti-Racism Resources
All in-person retreats are currently held with current COVID protocols, including masking, social distancing and hygiene, and updated as requirements and recommendations evolve. More information is available for each retreat. With COVID, everything is in constant flux and change! If you would like to be informed when retreats are offered, we highly recommend you sign up for the newsletter (in the footer) which announces new retreats. We don’t always list all retreat on the website. Check back, we are still adding retreats as changing conditions continue to unfold.
2021
Concentration and Insight: Strengthening the Foundations of Practice
November 29 - December 5
Venue: Spirit Rock Meditation Center
Teachers: Susie Harrington, Dawn Scott, Jessica Morey, Oren Sofer, Marjolein Janssen
More info and registration
The foundational Buddhist meditation practices are the collecting and clarifying of the mind, and cultivating the conditions for Insight. On this retreat we will look carefully and practice creating the conditions that allow the meditation practice to flourish and wisdom to arise. Specific guidance will be given around the different aspects of practice will be offered with an emphasis on the practitioner knowing what and why they are doing the practice they are and what the results that may follow. Open to all interested meditators with a willingness to investigate and experiment with their practice approaches.
Connected and Embedded
Online Ecodharma ExplorationCountering Consumerism with Participation
Sponsored by One Earth Sangha
December 19, 9 a.m. – 11 a.m MST
Venue: Zoom
Teacher: Susie Harrington
Details and registration at One Earth Sangha
What is it to live a life that acknowledges our participation in the flow of resources and energy, recognizing that this can have wholesome and unwholesome results? How can we embrace our belonging to this world as we minimize harm and honor the true impact of our everyday living.
2022
New Year’s Retreat
An online retreat co-sponsored by Sky Mind Retreats and Cache Valley Sangha
December 31 - January 2
Teacher: Susie Harrington
We see the world through our stories. We carry views and understandings, mythologies and histories, that are both personal and cultural. It’s how we make sense of the world. Perception is not an unfiltered mirror of reality but a filter that leads to meaning. In the last few years, some of the familiar collective stories, stories of stability and knowing that may have given a sense of comfort and security, have been disrupted. The Buddha lived in a disrupted time. His teachings give us a portal to freedom through kindness, wisdom and practices that allow us to understand and see how our stories can lead to either suffering or freedom from suffering.
On this New Year’s Retreat, we will explore the stories we carry, the way perception and the thinking mind together form our views, and the possibility of being an active participant and not simply a passive recipient in the stories we choose. We will have teachings and ceremony to honor and release 2021, and offer an opportunity to welcome 2022.
This retreat begins at 7:30 pm (MST) on Dec 31st and will end at 3:30 (MST) on Jan 2nd. There will be the opportunity to do an intensive retreat or to customize the retreat for your personal situation and availability.
Suggested Donation: $60 - $200. All are welcome, no donation required. $20 from each donation covers administrative costs of the retreat. The remainder provides support to allow Susie to continue offering these teachings (dana). Please give as feels appropriate and generous for you. Please delight in your generosity and know that the dharma continues to be offered to you and others through our collective acts of sharing.
Zoom Link and additional information will be sent 2 days before the retreat.
Waking Up in the Midst of It All – Residential Retreat
January 4 – 9, 2022
Venue: Spirit Rock Meditation Center
Teachers: Howard Cohen, Susie Harrington, Tara Mulay, Hakim Tafari (Movement)
More info and registration at the SRMC page
Many people are feeling weary from the effects of the pandemic, or they are dealing with countless other life challenges. The Buddha’s teachings and meditation practices remind us of the ever-present possibility of “waking up” to a sense of our well-being, presence, and true nature that does not depend on circumstances.
This silent insight meditation (vipassana) retreat is 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 lovingkindness meditation, meetings with teachers, and evening talks highlighting the central teachings of the Buddha and their practical application to our lives.
Baja Sea Kayaking Retreats
January 25 - 31, 2022
February 3 - 9, 2022
Sea of Cortez, Baja, Mexico
Two separate seven day, six night wilderness retreats in Baja California
Teacher: Susie Harrington
Cost: appx. $1,725, plus dana (donation) for the teacher
Location: Trip begins and ends in Loreto, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Direct flights available from L.A., Phoenix, and Dallas or Tijuana 4-5 days a week.
More info and registration
Paddling in the Sea of Cortez provides a unique opportunity to explore the power of a silent meditation retreat while immersed in the beauty and wildness of the Sea of Cortez. We will participate in an age-old tradition of going into the wilderness as a support for spiritual practice and inquiry. Immersed in this coastal wilderness, we will use meditation practices to increase our receptivity to the interconnectedness, preciousness and beauty that surround us. Through our enhanced openness and quiet, we have the opportunity to explore deeply the truth of our own nature. We will be in a supportive community as we explore this inner and outer journey. And our community will most likely be inter-species as we interact with the numerous other animals that live in and around the Sea of Cortez—fish, dolphins, whales, manta rays, birds, and the many other creatures of these remote islands.
Gratitude and Generosity: Realizing the Abundant Heart
February 12 – 13, 2022
Sponsor: Saskatoon Insight
Teachers: Susie Harrington and Jeanne Corrigal
Details and registration will be available at saskatooninsight.com
A weekend online retreat: Saturday 9 am - 8 pm and Sunday 9 am - 5 pm MST.
It is often said that if you feel short on time, do something for someone; if you feel scarcity, offer to share with others. We are often confused about what is enough and how to cultivate gratitude and appreciation for all that is present. We can get caught in thinking how things could be better, more, different, when in fact the precious jewels of connections, care, and a generous heart are already here.
In this retreat, we will practice and inquire, exploring the natural flow of giving and receiving that is the source of all connection, all life, and an expression of the fundamental truth of interconnection.
Meditation in the Desert
An outdoor retreat in the Dragoon Mtns.February 25 – March 3, 2022 (7 days) East of Tuscon, AZ
Teacher: Susie Harrington
Cook: Jennifer Knochel
Info & registration
Meditating outside, resting in the sacred container of contemplative silence and the natural world, we will explore the inner beauty of our own hearts. Supported by the nearby Dragoon mountains and surrounding wildness, this Insight Meditation retreat will emphasize relaxation of the body, opening to nature, and spaciousness of mind. Our exploration will include sitting and walking practice - primarily outside, dharma talks, meetings with the teacher, and individual time in nature. This retreat is suitable for those new to practice and those with experience.
Insight San Diego Retreat
March 4 – 6, 2022
Venue: Mission San Luis Rey Retreat Center in Oceanside, CA
Teacher: Susie Harrington
Registration opens soon
Concentration Retreat
May 15 – 21, 2022
Venue: Big Bear Retreat Center, Southern CA
Teachers: Beth Sternlieb and Susie Harrington
Big Bear Retreat Center is nestled in the ancient Juniper forests of the San Bernardino Mountains at a 7,000-foot elevation near the town of Big Bear Lake in Southern California. The Center is immersed in nature located amidst about 100 acres of forested land with direct access to several hiking trails connected to the property.
Information and registration at insightLA
Finding Refuge, Finding Home: A Retreat in Nature
May 22 – 26, 2022
Venue: Spirit Rock Meditation Center
Teachers: Susie Harrington, Mark Coleman, Dawn Scott, Yong Oh
In the storms of our lives we need refuge - a place to replenish our tired bodies and troubled hearts. When the Buddha taught meditation his first instruction was to sit under a tree. We will practice together in the ancient tradition of being outside in the company of the natural world.