Gathering In: A Fall Retreat for Mindfulness and Connection [Online]
With Devon Sangster Rath and Anthony "T" Maes
October 24 - 26, 2025
This online retreat is open to both beginning and experienced practitioners.
Registration for this program closes on October 23, 2025 at 11:59pm Pacific Time.
An Online Weekend of Community, Presence, and Practice
As the leaves let go and drift gently earthward, we too are invited to release—into stillness, into presence, into connection.
We’ll gather in shared silence and intentional practice. Through solo meditation, guided relational mindfulness, and off-screen time for walking and movement, we’ll root into the wisdom of the season: slowing down, turning inward, and opening to the beauty of shared presence
Join us as we pause together, breathe together, and remember that connection—like the fall wind—is both grounding and free.
An Online Retreat
This retreat will be an interactive online retreat. Online retreats offer the unique opportunity to deepen your practice in a “real world” setting, where meditation practice and regular life intersect more than in a typical residential retreat. This can be supportive for integrating the practice into daily life.
Please plan to be present for the entire retreat and all the sessions.Presence is important for your personal practice and continuity, as well as the community container of retreat. The online retreat will be offered over Zoom. Please plan to have your video on during the sessions.
At registration you will receive a link with a landing page for the online community that includes the Zoom and schedule information for the online component of this program, along with any other helpful tips before, during, and after your retreat. This link will be emailed to you again 24 hours before your retreat. The retreat recording will be available within 48 hours of the retreat.
See more of our online offerings on our SoundCloud, Dharmaseed & YouTube channel.
Schedule
Below is a sample schedule to support in planning ahead. All times PST and subject to change. A final schedule will shared a month before the retreat begins.
Friday
7 – 9 pm Retreat Opening
Saturday
7 am – 9 pm Full day of Retreat
* Expect periods of seated and walking meditations in addition to teacher guided sessions and talks. There will be breaks for meals & short bio breaks throughout the day.
Sunday
7 am – 4 pm 3/4 day of Retreat
4 pm – 5 pm Retreat Closing
GENEROSITY
Retreat Cost & Fees:
Our sliding scale option for this online retreat includes financial support for teachers. Please consider paying at the highest rate that you can afford: your generosity supports the teachers as well as Big Bear Retreat Center and your fellow practitioners who need to pay less. 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.
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.
What retreat participants have to say about our online programs
“Big Bear created an online retreat experience that was inclusive, supportive, and responsive. I felt held and cared about throughout the retreat.” – Bernadine
“This was a spectacular experience and one that could be appreciated by novice and experienced mediators and everyone in between. Doing it at home has helped me envision how to live more mindfully throughout my day.” – Deb
I felt very connected to the teachers, the teachings and the other participants, even while being on Zoom. As a more experienced practitioner, this felt like such a good fit for where I am at and it met a need to bring mindfulness into my day-to-day home life. I felt Big Bear did an amazing job with the technical aspects of making sure we felt our questions were being heard and answered, and it just ran very smoothly. I’m so impressed. I feel so fortunate for the experience of getting such a well-curated online/home retreat. – S.B.
Teachers & Facilitators
Devon is a queer woman who cares deeply about the power of mindfulness practice as a tool to heal and liberate. She has practiced meditation since 1997 and has been formally teaching mindfulness since 2010. Devon is committed to making mindfulness accessible to all, specifically people who have a experienced trauma, are recovering from addiction, and historically marginalized populations, including people of color, LGBQT+ folks, people of size and different body abilities. She offers classes with the homie T Maes. Devon is also passionate about using mindfulness to support white people in waking up to whiteness, power and privilege. She…
Learn more about Devon Sangster Rath
“T” Maes is a Chicano and white man, born and raised in the East Bay. He has practiced Buddhist meditation since 2003, including long retreats and practicing in a forest monastery in Thailand. He is a teacher at Spirit Rock, East Bay Meditation Center, Freedom-Together, IMS, and Inward Bound Mindfulness Education, where he leads Mindfulness Teacher Training programs, mindful movement, and trauma-informed mindfulness. www.anthonymaes.com
Learn more about Anthony “T” Maes