Simplicity and Stillness: Cultivating the 5 Spiritual Strengths [On Land]
With Celeste Young and Devon Hase
April 24 - 30, 2025
This in-person retreat is open to both beginners and experienced practitioners.
During this weeklong spring insight meditation retreat, we will learn to slow down and attune to the fresh simplicity of our present moment experience, rest in stillness, and connect with the heart’s inner capacity for healing and freedom.
We will be exploring the cultivation of the 5 spiritual strengths or the 5 spiritual faculties that the Buddha taught: cultivating mindfulness, confidence and trust, persistence, concentration, and wisdom to support the development of our meditation practice. We’ll tend to the heart and mind with compassionate mindfulness and strengthen our connection with ourselves and each other, with time for enjoying nature, deep rest, and practice surrounded by nature.
Together we will explore some of the supports for presence: letting go of distraction, the deliberate cultivation of simplicity and contentment, and a renewed sense of connection with our own bodies, hearts, and minds in community. By bringing mindful attention to our moment to moment experience, we can learn to cultivate resilience amidst change and grow in awareness, love, and wisdom.
The structure of this Vipassana retreat includes guided meditations with time for Q&A each day, silent sitting and walking meditation periods, rest, mindful eating instruction, Dharma talks, and small group practice discussion meetings with the teacher.
Registration for this retreat closes on April 10th, 2025 at 11:59pm Pacific Time.
What retreat participants have to say about programs at Big Bear Retreat Center
“The natural beauty of Big Bear Retreat Center offers the perfect space to feel interconnected to all life and to open to the beautiful teachings we experienced this week. The cabins, meditation hall, food, and staff all supported our opportunity to become still and stable, to open our hearts to all of life. Thank you for this beautiful experience. I’ll be back.” – Cheryl T
“Celeste provided an amazing experience for my first on-site silent retreat. It was a bit intense, but after settling in, I was grateful to be guided through their teachings. The retreat center was a wonderful experience all around and I would recommend anyone considering a stay to not hesitate to attend.” – Anonymous
SEE OUR CABINS AND CAMPUS
ACCESSIBILITY
We are committed to accessibility. Big Bear Retreat Center has faith in the power of belonging and generosity. Please review our FAQs for more detailed information on accessibility to our campus and programs.
Location – Big Bear Retreat Center sits at an elevation of 7,000ft in a small mountain community in Big Bear Lake, California which is about a two-hour drive from Los Angeles.
Physical – We recognize disability as a valued aspect of diversity. Please contact us to share your specific needs so we can make your retreat as comfortable as we can.
Financial – We recognize that economic opportunity is not currently equal for all, please contact us if finances are a challenge in any way, as we have several options to make these retreats financially accessible to you.
RETREAT FEES AND TEACHER DANA
Teacher compensation is dana-based, the registration fee does not include teacher compensation. Learn more about the practice of dana here.
Teachers & Facilitators
Celeste Young is a Theravadin Buddhist mindfulness and Dharma teacher. She has been practicing meditation and sitting retreats since 2002. She was one of the first teachers to be empowered at InsightLA, a nonprofit Buddhist and secular mindfulness organization based in Los Angeles. Since 2011, Celeste has worked with thousands of meditation and Dharma students teaching Buddhist Dharma and mindfulness classes, leading silent meditation retreats, and working with individual students. She teaches both in the US and internationally. Additionally, she has led corporate sessions and retreats for organizations such as Netflix and the University of Southern California. For the last…
Learn more about Celeste Young
I started meditating and studying dharma in the year 2000, when I was a sophomore in college. I’ve spent several years in meditation retreat in the Insight and Vajrayana traditions and have studied closely with Joseph Goldstein, Tara Brach, Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, and many others. Before teaching dharma full time, I was a classroom teacher for a decade, where I focused on social and cultural studies. I’m also a graduate of Spirit Rock Meditation Center’s Community Dharma Leaders program and the Insight Meditation Society teacher training program. As a dharma teacher, I support practitioners with personal dharma mentoring, serve on…
Learn more about Devon Hase