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.
Emptiness: Experienced students retreat
June 13 -21 Insight Meditation Society
Barre, Massachusetts
Teachers: Guy Armstrong, Sally Armstrong, Susie Harrington, Brian Lesage
Meditation and Poetry Retreat
September 21–23 Old La Sal, Utah
Teachers: Susie Harrington and Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
Cost: $170 - $220 for room and 3 nourishing meals a day. Suggested donation to the teachers: $100 - $400.
Info & Registration
We live in a culture that wants to know—we chart and graph and test and outline. We codify and classify and name. But what do we really know? What is all this messiness and mystery that breeds underneath our longing for orderliness and certainty? What would happen if we could really rest in uncertainty? How deep might that relaxation go? How much more open might our lives be if we made friends with letting go?
We’ll read poems that don’t bring answers, poems that lead us deeper into paradox. We’ll sit in the midst of the not-knowing, sit with our joys, our challenges, the what is here of each moment. We’ll write our own explorations of what if and what else and see what even a small bit of wonder might do … if you’re willing to risk a little, meditation and writing can open doors where before you didn’t even realize a door existed. Spiritual doors. Healing doors. Doors where there used to be walls.
No previous writing experience required. No previous meditation experience required. This poetry and meditation weekend is for anyone who is curious about weaving spiritual awakening and the creative poetic impulse.
Weekend Retreat
Sept. 29 – Oct. 1 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Teacher: Susie Harrington
Sponsered by Saskatoon Insight Meditation Community
Settling, Seeing, Spacious Awareness
October 2 – 9 Spirit Rock, Woodacre, CA
Teachers: Susie Harrington, Donald Rothberg
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.
March Monthlong
February 24 – March 24 Spirit Rock, Woodacre, CA
Teachers: Andrea Fella, Greg Scharf, Brian LeSage, Susie Harrington
Waitlist open
Awakening Love and Wisdom Through Insight Meditation
May 5 9:30 am - 4:00 pm
Park City Community Church, UT
Teacher: Susie Harrington
Cost: suggested donation $20-50 plus teacher support
Registration: check the retreats list at slcinsight.org/. Registration expected to open by March 28th.
In this daylong we will practice ease, relaxation, and connection, cultivating an open and joyful response to each moment of our lives. Our response in each moment ultimately creates our individual experience, as well as well as allowing for skillful participation in the challenges of our lives. In our meditation practice we can closely examine and wisely adjust our relationship to our experience. Through this practice, we move toward ease, joy, and responsiveness.
Settling, Seeing, and Spacious Awareness
May 13 – 20 Spirit Rock, Woodacre, CATeachers: Susie Harrington, Donald Rothberg
Prerequisite: Completion of at least two 5-night or longer silent Insight Meditation retreats or permission of the teachers.
Cost: $800 – $1,760 Special rate available ($35/night) on a first come basis for young adults 18-25
Registration at spiritrock.org
We will begin by settling our minds and bodies with sitting and moving forms of meditation. As we settle, we will begin to examine the different dimensions of experience in our bodies, thoughts, and emotions. As we continue, we can also tune in more to an increasingly unconfined and luminous awareness beyond reactivity, that is a source of freedom, wisdom, and compassion, both in retreat practice and daily life.
Experienced Student Programs Open Registration
BUDDHIST ECO-CHAPLAINCY
Summer 2019 – Summer 2020
Applications accepted up to June 20. Applications will be processed starting March 1st.
A one year training with Gil Fronsdal, Susie Harrington, Kristen Rudestam and visiting teachers. There will be five residential retreat - 4 nights each in nature based centers near Santa Cruz, California
The program will offer training in the wisdom and skill needed to be a Buddhist Environmental Chaplain, i.e., those who work to establish people in a healthy, compassionate, and mutually supportive relationship with the natural world. It will offer experience-based activities and contemplative practices that deepen individuals’ own relationships with the natural world, as well as provide them with skills to be spiritual caregivers, helping others (re)connect with nature and face contemporary environmental crises with wisdom and compassion.
More info and application
Loving the Self to Death
A program for advanced practitionersDecember 2018 – May 2019
Application period open through Sept. 10
Old La Sal, UT
Teacher: Susie Harrington
This 6-month program is intended specifically for graduates of the Dharma in Daily Life program. Others who have previously practiced with Susie are welcome to apply. Spaces are limited due to the retreat center and individual sessions provided between retreats. Program includes 3 retreats, 2 group calls between retreats, and individual sessions between retreats. Partial participation is not possible.
More info and application
2018
Lost Coast Wilderness Retreat
June 3 – 16, Northern California
2 week, and limited 1 week spots, will be available
Teachers: Susie Harrington and Ayya Anandabhodi
This retreat has passed. See this link for more information.
Touching the Earth
July 27 – Aug. 1 Paradise, Utah
Teacher: Susie Harrington & Jaya Rudgard
Cost: 3-day option (7/27-7/29) $100-$140
6-day option (7/27-8/1) $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.
Concentration Retreat
August 19 - 28 Spirit Rock, Woodacre, CA
Teachers: Phillip Moffitt, Sally Armstrong, Susie Harrington,and Donald Rothberg
Prerequisite: Two 7-night or three 5-night insight retreats.
Registration : waitlist
Concentration (samadhi), the collection and unification of the mind, was emphasized by the Buddha as one of the aspects of the Eightfold Path. It can bring joy to your practice and lead to the skillful use of pleasure in the meditative process. Whatever your level of practice, you can improve your Insight Meditation (Vipassana) by strengthening your concentration skills.
Green River Canoe Retreat
September 9 – 16 SE Utah
Teacher: Susie Harrington
More info and waitlist application
A silent trip though the spectacular redrock of Canyonlands National Park on the calm waters of the Green River. Easy partial days on the river with layover days of mediation practice and exploring. All canoe equipment provided. No experience necessary.
The Grand Embrace: The Heart Series
An exploration of the expressions of the heart through poetry and meditationSept. 21 – 23 Old La Sal, Utah
Teachers: Susie Harrington and Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
Cost: $170 - $220 for room and 3 nourishing meals a day. Suggested donation to the teachers: $100 - $400.
More information and registration
This Meditation and Poetry Retreat will be held in the container of a silent meditation retreat. There will be practice instructions, guided meditations, silent sitting and walking meditation. Poetry practice will be woven into our days, with periods of instruction, time to write, and time to share what we have written and discovered. This combination of silence and discovery can be a magical process that leads us deep into ourselves and into the world. No previous experience in meditation or poetry is required to participate.
2019
Winter Non-residential Retreat
January 4 – 6 Logan, UtahTeacher: Susie Harrington
Information and registration from the host, the Cache Valley Sangha.
Loving the Self to Death
Retreat 1A program for advanced practitioners
Jan. 18 – 20
Old La Sal, UT
Teacher: Susie Harrington
Registration for full program required; application period open through Sept. 10.
More info and application
Meditation and Poetry Retreat
March 15 –17 Old La Sal, Utah
Teachers: Susie Harrington and Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
More info and registration
The Meditation and Poetry Retreat will be held in the container of a silent meditation retreat. There will be practice instructions, guided meditations, silent sitting, and walking meditation. Poetry practice will be woven into our days, with periods of instruction, time to write, and time to share what we have written and discovered. This combination of silence and discovery can be a magical process that leads us deep into ourselves and into the world. No previous experience in meditation or poetry is required to participate.
Loving the Self to Death
Retreat 2A program for advanced practitioners
March 22 – 24
Old La Sal, UT
Teacher: Susie Harrington
Registration for full program required; application period open through Sept. 10.
More info and application
Escalante Wilderness Backpacking Retreat
Dates: April 6 – 12Teacher: Susie Harrington
Info and 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.
At this point, we have moved to a waitlist for this retreat. Please complete the Online Registration Form to reserve your space on the waitlist. People drop out every year and at least some of the people on the waitlist are able to go. A deposit is required but fully refundable for those on the waitlist who do not get a space on the retreat.
Advanced Practitioner Program Retreat
April 15 – 23 Spirit Rock, Woodacre, CA
Registration for program required; closes August 1, 2018. More info and application.
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.
Summer Residential Retreat
June 20 – 24 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Teacher: Susie Harrington
Hosted by the Saskatoon Insight Meditation Community.
Lost Coast Retreat
June 29 – July 12 Northern California
2-week and limited 1-week spots available
Teachers: Susie Harrington and Jaya Rudgard
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.
Buddhist Eco - Chaplaincy
July 13 - 17 Santa Cruz Mtns., CA
Retreat 1 of one-year Chaplaincy Training
Registration for program required; closes March 1, 2019.
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: To accommodate expected high demand, this retreat will use a lottery for registration. Lottery is open through April 30th. Please find more info and a link to register here: http://abqinsight.org/awakening-love-and-insight/.
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.
Green River Canoe Retreat
September 7 – 14 SE Utah
Teacher: Susie Harrington
Registration: coming soon
A silent trip though the spectacular redrock of Canyonlands National Park on the calm waters of the Green River. Easy partial days on the river with layover days of mediation practice and exploring. All canoe equipment provided. No experience necessary.
Buddhist Eco - Chaplaincy
Oct. 30 – Nov. 3 Santa Cruz Mtns., CA
Retreat 2 of one-year Chaplaincy Training
Registration for program required; closes March 1, 2019.
Baja Sea Kayaking Retreat
Nov. 4 – 10 Sea of Cortez, Baja, Mexico
A seven day, six night wilderness retreat in Baja California
Teacher: Susie Harrington
Cost: $1,595, plus dana (donation) for the teacher
Location: Trip begins and ends in Loreto, Baja California, Mexico. Direct flights available from L.A. 4-5 days a week.
Info & 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.
Advanced Practitioner Program Retreat
Nov. 12 – 20 Spirit Rock, Woodacre, CA
Registration for program required; closes August 1, 2018. More info and application.
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.
2020
Baja Sea Kayaking Retreat
Jan. 25 – 31 Sea of Cortez, Baja, Mexico
A seven day, six night wilderness retreat in Baja California
Teacher: Susie Harrington
Cost: appx $1,600, plus dana (donation) for the teacher
Location: Trip begins and ends in Loreto, Baja California, Mexico. Direct flights available from L.A. 4-5 days a week.
Info & Registration coming later in 2019
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.
Buddhist Eco - Chaplaincy
March 2 – 6 Santa Cruz Mtns., CA
Retreat 3 of one-year Chaplaincy Training
Registration for program required; closes March 1, 2019.
