[ONLINE] Awakening Mindfulness and Compassion
With Diana Winston, Leslie Booker and Vadan Ritter
October 1 - 6, 2024
A Silent Insight Meditation Retreat
In collaboration with UCLA Mindful
Tuesday, October 1st – Sunday, October 6th
Registration closes September 30th at 11:59pm Pacific Time
This retreat is available hybrid (online and in-person). To visit the in-person program page, click here.
Join us for a five-night silent retreat in the beautiful natural setting of the Big Bear Retreat Center, only two hours from Los Angeles. We will spend our days deepening our meditation practice in the service of cultivating wisdom and compassion needed to transfer out to our lives. As we settle our minds, supported by nature, we can see ourselves and the world with deeper clarity and allow our inner wisdom to emerge.
The retreat will include sitting and walking meditation with ongoing guidance, lecture and instruction from the teachers. We will also have an opportunity to practice cultivating positive emotions, mindful speaking and listening, mindful eating, as well as experience the depth of stillness that can come through an extended period of practice. Daily movement practice will be led during this retreat.
This silent retreat is suitable for beginning or experienced students.
Here’s what last year’s participants have to say:
“This retreat availed me the opportunity to quiet my mind and my voice for several days with 40+ other people in this amazing community. It was fabulous beyond words and measure! Being with just myself in my head was illuminating. I am grateful for the experience and the guided work we did – physically and mentally.” – Jodi
“I appreciated the way they held space for people in small groups and encouraged authentic sharing within the container of noble silence. I felt that they all skillfully met everyone where they were at, including myself.” – Joe
Cost
*retreat fee includes teacher compensation*
Accessible Rate: $250
Sustainer Rate: $450
Benefactor Rate: $650 or more
Please consider paying at the highest tier in order to support accessibility for the greatest number of people. Your Generosity is appreciated.
Are finances a barrier to attend? We strive to make retreats as accessible as possible to anyone. Contact us if finances are a burden in any way, we have several options to make these retreats financially accessible to you. We ask that these be prioritized for those who self-identify as BIPOC, hold marginalized identities, or in financial need. Contact us at guestservices@bigbearretreatcenter.org for more information.
An Online Hybrid Interactive Retreat
This retreat will be an interactive online retreat with the in person participants and teachers, with camera views of the hall and projected for participants to see you. Please plan to present and actively attend for the entire retreat and all the sessions. This will be offered over Zoom. Please plan to have your video on during the sessions.
Schedule
*subject to change*
Below is a general schedule to support in planning ahead. All times PST.
Opening Day (Oct 1)
12:00p Zoom room opens (optional for testing connection)
7:00p Retreat Opening (all please attend)
Full Days of Retreat (Oct 2-5)
6:30a Wake Up
7:00a – 9:45p Full day of retreat, please plan attend (meals at 7:30a, 12:30p, 5:30p)
*throughout day expect periods of seated and walking meditations in addition to teacher guided sessions and talks
Closing Day (Oct 6)
6:30a Wake Up
7:00a Sitting
8:00a Breakfast
9:30a Closing Program
11:30a Retreat ends
For any questions please contact guestservices@bigbearretreatcenter.org or visit our website bigbearretreatcenter.org
Cancellation Policy: Please visit our website for more on the cancellation policy for this retreat- bigbearretreatcenter.org/cancellation-policy
Online Retreat Cancellation Fee Schedule:
- > 48 hours 20%
- <48 hours No Refunds
Teachers & Facilitators
Diana Winston is the Director of Mindfulness Education at UCLA Mindful, the author of The Little Book of Being: Practices and Guidance for Uncovering your Natural Awareness, and the co-author, with Susan Smalley PhD, of Fully Present, the Science, Art and Practice of Mindfulness. She has taught mindfulness for health and well-being since 1993 in a variety of settings including the medical and mental health field, and in universities, businesses, non-profits, and schools. At UCLA she has developed the evidence-based Mindful Awareness Practices (MAPs) curriculum and the Training in Mindfulness Facilitation (TMF), which trains mindfulness teachers worldwide. She is also a founder of the…
Learn more about Diana Winston
Booker brings her heart to the intersection of Dharma, Embodied Wisdom, and Liberation; using this framework to support folks in creating a culture of belonging. She shares her offerings as a university lecturer, public speaker, and Buddhist philosophy and meditation teacher. Booker began training at Spirit Rock through the Mindful Yoga and Meditation training (2012), and supported by her teacher Gina Sharpe, continued her formal Dharma teacher training in the Community Dharma Leaders Training (2017), and the 4 year Retreat Teacher training (2020). Throughout these years, she worked as the Director of Teacher Trainings for Lineage Project where she shared…
Learn more about Leslie Booker
Vadan teaches Yoga and Qi Gong through the San Francisco Public Health Department, and focuses on the healing power of Mindful Movement. She is also a UCLA trained Mindfulness facilitator and Licensed Acupuncturist. Her background includes over 30 years of teaching Tai Qi, Qi Gong and Yoga and 4 years Instructing Mindfulness and Awakening Joy classes. She also facilitates groups for the Integrative Pain Management Program. In my classes we will explore Mindful Movement as a sacred practice that invites integration and supports the body in finding more ease and comfort during sitting practice.
Learn more about Vadan Ritter