Creating Refuge in Community
With JD Doyle, Lev Michael Moses and René Rivera
August 5 - 9, 2026
A Retreat for Trans, Gender Nonconforming, Genderqueer, Non-binary and All Gender Expansive Communities
Registration closes on July 22, 2026. If joining after this date, please contact us.
This 4-night retreat will be a space grounded in self-care and compassion, and held in community, to support our healing and resilience at this time in this world.
We will offer meditation, mindful movement, and heart-centered practices based on Buddhist principles. Silence will be gently balanced with small and large group discussions. We will cultivate and deepen connections that support our resilience and joy.
This retreat, grounded in the Dharma, is open to all practitioners, and is available for all levels of meditation experience. It is a wonderful opportunity to practice in a space led and held by Trans and gender expansive individuals.
We are aiming to create an intentionally multiracial community with a goal of 50% Black, Indigenous, Mixed-Race, and all People of Color (BIPOC). With this intention, the retreat will have an application process to prioritize registration from BIPOC folks through May 15th. We also encourage other under-represented groups, such as trans femme, rural folks, and people with disabilities, to apply to create a diverse group reflective of our vibrant community. You will receive an email after you register with more information and confirmation when you are offered a space.
HEAR MORE ABOUT THIS PROGRAM AND TEACHERS
This was hands down the best retreat I’ve ever been on. I would tell anyone in the trans community to come heal, explore, and sit in the communal energy of this retreat if and when they get the chance.
Their care for our gender queer community is grounded in Buddhist teachings. They are committed to care. They promote strength, resilience, and love.
GENEROSITY: Retreat Costs and Fees
This retreat is offered on a sliding-scale basis, to make it as financially accessible as possible. Please consider paying at the highest rate that you can afford: your generosity supports your fellow practitioners who need to pay less.
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. We price fees to make programs as financially accessible as possible.
As part of this tradition, many meditation teachers (including the teachers of this retreat) offer their teachings without set fees or compensation. There will be an opportunity to offer “teacher dana” (donations-generosity) to the teachers at the end of the retreat. It is encouraged but not required. Learn more about dana here.
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.
SIMPLE YET COMFORTABLE, NESTLED IN NATURE
Accommodations
We offer several lodging choices nestled in nature for each retreat.
Meals
Our meals are freshly prepared to support your retreat experience.
Preparing for your retreat
We offer several resources and information to best help you plan your time on retreat with us.
Getting to BBRC
We have several resources to support your travel. Visit Getting to BBRC & Rideshares and Shuttles for more.
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.
Visit our Planning Your Retreat page to learn more about accessibility and other resources. Contact us if we can support ahead of time.
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
JD Doyle (they/them) served as Core Teacher at the East Bay Meditation Center, where they co-founded the Alphabet(LGBTQIA+) Sangha, and as Guiding Teacher at Insight Santa Cruz. They graduated from Spirit Rock Meditation Center’s Retreat Teacher Training in 2020. They teach at sanghas across the US and in Canada. JD began studying and practicing Buddhism in 1995, at Insight Meditation Society and at Spirit Rock and continued with extensive retreat practice in Thailand and Burma in the Theravadan lineage. For over twenty-three years, they worked as a public-school teacher. JD holds a BS in Environmental Studies from Cornell University, a…
Learn more about JD Doyle
Lev Michael Moses aka Fresh, is a love and compassion activist. He offers mindfulness, mediation, and diversity trainings as tools for shifting towards more authentic, conscious, and passionate living. He teaches and writes about how unconditional love and self-compassion are the ultimate gateways to honoring and understanding others; thus, healing our communities and our planet. Lev is spiritually grounded in nature, the East Bay Meditation Center, Kehilla Synagogue, Spirit Rock Meditation Center and beyond. Lev is a former foster-adoptee. He credits his ability to reach and connect with diverse audiences to his years growing up in and around various communities…
Learn more about Lev Michael Moses
René Rivera is a meditation teacher and restorative justice facilitator working and learning in all the spaces in-between race, gender, and other perceived binaries, as a queer Latinx trans man. René teaches heart-centered, trauma-informed meditation, as a core teacher at the East Bay Meditation Center. He has co-led the first residential meditation retreats for transgender, nonbinary and gender expansive people, and offers classes and retreats for many Buddhist centers and groups. René is a restorative justice facilitator for the Ahimsa Collective, working to heal sexual and gender based violence.
Learn more about René Rivera