Coming Home to Our Senses [On Land]
With Trudy Goodman, Gullu Singh and Gabrielle Hammond (Qi Gong)
May 15 - 20, 2025
This in-person retreat is open to both beginners and experienced practitioners.
Along the path of dharma practice we make it a habit to connect to the truth of each moment as experienced in the body and through all the senses. By doing so, we can effectively reduce anxiety and confusion, making room for peace and joy. Meditation can also help balance our nervous system, moving us from fight, flight or freeze to rest and digest. This is profoundly healing. Not only do we learn to notice the habit of getting lost in troubled thinking, we practice creating a whole new relationship to your thoughts.
On retreat, we experience the support of the community, teachers and teachings. Each of these aspects of retreat help us to face the challenges of our lives with a greater courage, peace and equanimity.
Come home to your senses this May with Trudy Goodman, Gullu Singh and Gabrielle Hammond.
Time in retreat allows us to step away from the demands of everyday life and listen deeply to our body, heart and mind. The purpose of this practice is to turn our attention to what brings true peace and happiness in life while cultivating more resilience, compassion and wisdom, both in responding to suffering in the world and in our own hearts.
Most of the retreat is held in silence, with periods of sitting and walking meditation. Expect guided meditations, teaching talks, qigong practices and a teacher-led practice discussion meeting for each participant.
Retreatants are given guidance to encourage the practice of mindfulness in all the retreat activities, staying with their own present experience as it unfolds, moment to moment.
Registration for this retreat closes on May 1st, 2025 at 11:59pm Pacific Time.
WHAT IS A SILENT MEDITATION RETREAT?
Also known as Vipassana, or Insight, this is a retreat held for several days in the practice of “noble silence” with alternating periods of sitting and walking meditation throughout the day. There are teacher-guided sessions and talks, as well as self-guided periods. There also will be interview opportunities with the teachers to talk about your experience. Silence usually begins after dinner on arrival day and ends after breakfast on departure day. All are asked to hold the practice and silence throughout the entire time and to not leave the retreat early, so as to support the fullness of practice. Read more here on what to expect and sample schedule.
GENEROSITY
Retreat Cost & Fees:
Registration fees for this retreat support the cost of developing and offering BBRC programs, which include lodging, meals, and staff compensation.Teacher compensation is not included in your registration fees, as is the tradition of these retreats (see below). We price fees to make programs as financially accessible as possible.
Is cost a barrier? Nobody is turned away at Big Bear Retreat Center due to finances. We ask that financial assistance be prioritized for those who self-identify as BIPOC, hold marginalized identities, or are in financial need. For more information, please contact us at guestservices@bigbearretreatcenter.org.
Dana (Generosity) for Teachers (not included in registration fees):
The spirit of generosity is a foundational component to the Buddhist path. It supports the development of lovingkindness and compassion, deepens awareness of our interconnectedness and encourages non-attachment. Learn more about the practice of generosity.
As part of this tradition, many meditation teachers (including the teachers of this retreat) offer their teachings without set fees or compensation. BBRC reimburses teachers’ travel costs and provides teachers with meals and accommodations while teaching, but teachers receive no direct compensation from the retreat center. As a practice of generosity from the heart, participants are invited to offer “teacher dana” (donations-generosity) to the teachers at the end of the retreat. When we all take part in the offering and receiving of dana, we join a large circle of generosity. Learn more about this offering and tradition from IMS.
FEEL WELCOME AND INCLUDED: A PLACE TO BELONG
Our intention is to be as accessible as we can, even in ways that we may not be aware of yet. We hope this is a space of inclusivity where people feel welcome and held. For us, it is a practice of consistent attunement, presence and care to our community. However you identify – race, gender, sexuality, disability, mental health, and so on – it is our wish to meet your needs for belonging.
Please consider this about our environment:
- The center is on a hill with outdoor walkways between dining, gathering, and residential spaces.
- We are located at an elevation of 6,500 feet altitude in a ski town in the mountains of Southern California.
- We experience weather of all four seasons.
- We are located about 2 hours from Los Angeles and near 3 major airports. Learn more about getting here.
- We have a commitment to everyone’s mobility needs. Please contact us about ADA accessibility.
See our FAQs for more detailed information on accessibility to our campus and programs.
SIMPLE YET COMFORTABLE, NESTLED IN NATURE
Simple and elegant lodgings to support rest and renewal. Our rooms are uniquely designed to offer comfort, convenience, and simplicity. All of our cabins are surrounded by nature with forest sights and sounds. Lodgings are a short walk from spaces for dining and gathering. See a video tour of a cabin.
Our Meditation Hall is spaciously designed to provide an atmosphere that feels deeply integrated with nature and the surrounding forest. The versatile space is conducive for meditation, movement, workshops, training, and other community gatherings.
Food that nourishes to support healing, restoration, and community. Our organic and seasonally inspired menus feature creative and nourishing vegetarian meals, tailored to support meditative practices. We use fresh and locally-sourced ingredients when possible. Lunch is the most substantial meal of the day and dinner is lighter. Our indoor and outdoor dining hall is open 24/7 with self-service coffee, tea and healthy snack options.
HEAR MORE ABOUT BIG BEAR RETREAT CENTER
Big Bear Retreat Center is exceptional in every way. The accommodations are outstanding, food exceptional, staff very responsive and helpful and the teachers are always so loving and knowledgeable. Just a top notch retreat experience!! – Sheila
I love Big Bear Retreat Center. It’s my dharma home away from home. Everything about it – staff, teachers, food, accommodations, setting – is exceptional. A true gift to the community!!
Big Bear Retreat Center is indeed a refuge. A safe space to open your heart. – Laura
Teachers & Facilitators
Trudy Goodman, PH.D., is the founding teacher of InsightLA and cofounder of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy. She has taught at universities and retreat centers worldwide for over 40 years. Trudy has trained in mindfulness and Zen since 1973, holds a graduate degree in developmental psychology from Harvard, and is one of the senior Buddhist teachers in the U.S. She is widely known for her role as the voice of Trudy the Love Barbarian in the Netflix series “Midnight Gospel”. Trudy is a contributing author: Clinical Handbook of Mindfulness (Springer, 2008); Compassion and Wisdom in Psychotherapy, (Guilford Press, 2011);…
Learn more about Trudy Goodman
Gulwinder “Gullu” Singh is a mindfulness and Dharma teacher who also practices corporate real estate law. Although he was exposed to meditation as a child, he found his own practice when, after law school, he found himself working at high-powered law firms where the job was extremely stressful. Gullu completed the four-year Spirit Rock Meditation Center Teacher Training Program and qualified to teach Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction. Gullu is core faculty in the Mindfulness in Law Teacher Training, the Spirit Rock Dedicated Practitioner Program, and a mentor for the Sounds True Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program. He is also a core…
Learn more about Gullu Singh
Gabrielle Hammond (Movement Teacher | Qigong) has been practicing as an acupuncturist and doctor of Taoist and Traditional Chinese Medicine for past 28 years, under the tutelage of a 64th generation Taoist Master Chang Yi Hsiang, who initiated her journey into contemplative arts, meditation, and qigong practice at a young age. Gabrielle continues to teach and practice qigong over 35 years later as the bedrock of her healing practice. She loves working with plants, both as an herbalist in healing and in the more subtle and energetic way we are connected with plants as allies. This love of plants has…
Learn more about Gabrielle Hammond (Qi Gong)