Cultivating Home in Our Hearts
With Vimalasara, Lev Michael Moses and MaryAnn Gallo
November 12 - 15, 2026
Open to experienced and new practitioners
Registration closes on October 29, 2026. If joining after this date, please contact us.
A Retreat and Gathering for those who have lived life on a different road. Whether adoptee, fostered or from the group home. You who were separated from lineage and land.
You who were raised disconnected from your birth family, and/or ancestry and culture.
Through mindfulness, meditation and compassionate relational practices, we’ll explore the wounds and potential gifts of our experiences. Together we will work to cultivate self-love, compassion and a sense of belonging to ourselves, one another and to the world.
This retreat is open to new and all levels of meditators, no prior practice necessary.
WHAT TO EXPECT ON THIS RETREAT
This is a partially silent & partially relational mindfulness retreat with alternating sitting and walking meditation, instruction, dharma talks, work meditation, and practice discussion with the teachers.
Learn more ABOUT RETREAT & SEE A SAMPLE SCHEDULE.
GENEROSITY: Retreat Costs and 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. 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. 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. 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
Dr Vimalasara M.A (hon.doc) has been hailed by Dr. Ken Hardy as “one of the premier social, cultural, and psychological healers of our time.” They are an award-winning author of 11 bDetox Your Heart, Meditations for Emotional Trauma, and Eight Step Recovery Using The Buddha’s Teachings to Overcome Addiction. They are a co-founder of the secular 8-week course Mindfulness-Based Addiction Recovery MBAR and is one of the new leading African Descent Voices in the field of Mindfulness Approaches for Addiction. They are one of the founders for Freedom Together, a mindfulness course by BIPOC for BIPOC. They live in BC.
Learn more about Vimalasara
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
MaryAnn Gallo aka Mag (she/they), is a Dharma practitioner, liberation activist and adoptee. Mag has trained in relational mindfulness facilitation with Deborah Eden Tull for over five years. Since 2020, Mag has been cofacilitating spaces for fellow white people to cultivate racial awareness and develop anti-racist practice. In addition to Buddhist practice, Earth awareness, dance and yoga, as well as time with family, friends and comrades are all essential parts of Mag’s journey.
Learn more about MaryAnn Gallo