Come join us in the beautiful San Bernardino Mountains of Big Bear, CA and explore whatever internal or external life changes you might be considering, restoring balance to your life. We’ll be together in community for meditations, teachings and interactive exercises, healthy meals and plenty of downtime to enjoy the beauty of nature. More information below…

How well we navigate changes and transitions in our lives has a direct impact on the degree of well-being, purpose, and satisfaction we experience on a day-to-day basis. If you’re considering a big change, are in the midst of one now, or are still feeling the effects of past changes, this unique retreat offers you the personal understanding and tools to open to the next phase of your life with clarity, confidence, and deeper Insight.

Together in a supportive environment, we’ll be learning principles about the nature of change, adult stages of development, as well as time-tested mindfulness practices that can help you move through times of change with more balance and clear intention. Throughout the retreat, you will be offered a series of highly effective self-assessments and tools from the Life Balance Institute that are designed to give you clarity about your specific situation and support you in moving towards your next steps. These tools have helped countless individuals step into greater alignment with what they truly care about in life- to connect with what is truly meaningful. In addition, each day we’ll practice meditations together specifically designed to support you in meeting change more effectively and in coming home to yourself in daily life.

We are looking forward to practicing an in-person retreat in the beautiful San Bernardino mountains. With the support of nature and a friendly, peaceful quiet we will care for the heart and mind with compassionate mindfulness.

Guidance will be given for gathering awareness, relaxing the body, opening the heart, and calming the mind.

The structure of our meditation retreat will include time for sitting and walking or movement meditation, rest, mindful eating, and Dharma talks along with instruction and guidance, time for questions and reflections, short practice discussion meetings with the teachers to support you within the container of a silent retreat.

Retreat practice helps us to deepen our appreciation and gratitude for the mystery of being alive and for the benefits of generosity and kindness to ourselves and others.

Spring is a wonderful time to turn inward and renew ourselves. Come spend the week at Big Bear Retreat center in the serene San Bernardino mountains deepening your Insight meditation practice with others. By bringing mindful attention to our moment to moment experience, we can learn to cultivate resilience amidst change and grow in awareness and love. We will focus on practices that quiet the mind and open the heart, supporting continuity of mindfulness and the unfolding of insight.

The structure of a silent Insight meditation retreat includes time for sitting meditation, walking meditation, rest, mindful eating, and Dharma talks along with some instruction and guidance, and short practice discussion meetings with the teachers to support you within the container of a silent retreat. This helps us to deepen our connection to our direct moment to moment experience, cultivate continuity of mindfulness, and awaken the heart and mind for greater ease, balance, and clarity in daily life.

We will 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 in this beautiful setting.

On this 7-day retreat, we will explore Insight meditation as a way of living naturally in the present moment with awareness and wisdom. The retreat will be offered in the style of Sayadaw U Tejaniya, a renowned Burmese monk and meditation teacher. He is known for his radically simple approach to meditation that invites us to bring a relaxed awareness into any moment and any posture – hence the title of his book “Dhamma Everywhere.”

LC and Alexis Santos, two of Sayadaw U Tejaniya’s long-time  students, have a love and a passion for this natural and easeful approach to cultivating awareness and wisdom. They will offer guidance through instructions, group meetings and teachings through a conversational format and plenty of time for Q&A. There will be periods of structured practice as well as more open periods that will allow retreatants to find their own rhythm of practice. The retreat will be in Noble Silence.

At Sayadaw U Tejaniya’s monastery in Burma, meditation is not about achieving special experiences under structured retreat conditions – instead, a sense of joy and interest in learning infuses the relaxed environment. Taking this fresh approach to retreat practice, we will have an opportunity to explore and cultivate a practical wisdom, and to experience a real and lasting change in the place where it truly matters: our everyday life.

Be loved + accepted for who you are

Mindfulness retreats provide young people with the rare opportunity to experience uninterrupted and genuine insight into their own life experience while connecting with their peers and mindfulness teachers in a welcoming and safe community. Come for the fun & friends. Stay for the calm & community.

Our world-class teachers share their diverse lived experiences and mindfulness practices with every teen on retreat. They honor humanity in its many forms, allowing each attendee to be authentic and show up exactly as they are.

Be loved + accepted for who you are

Mindfulness retreats provide young people with the rare opportunity to experience uninterrupted and genuine insight into their own life experience while connecting with their peers and mindfulness teachers in a welcoming and safe community. Come for the fun & friends. Stay for the calm & community.

Our world-class teachers share their diverse lived experiences and mindfulness practices with every teen on retreat. They honor humanity in its many forms, allowing each attendee to be authentic and show up exactly as they are.

This silent retreat is for those already teaching or interested in teaching mindfulness-based programs (MBP) such as Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention Therapy and Mindful Self-Compassion. It fulfills the silent retreat prerequisite for all Mindfulness-Based Interventions. In addition, it is open to individuals who would like to further develop their mindfulness meditation practice. Some experience with mindfulness meditation is expected. The importance of Silent Retreats for teachers of Mindfulness-Based Interventions is articulated beautifully in this article by Jon Kabat-Zinn.

An important aspect of teaching MBP is the requirement to have a personal mindfulness practice, our intention for this retreat is to support your personal practice. This 5-night silent retreat will consist of sustained periods of silence, alternating sitting and walking meditation, with periods of Mindful Movement; (All vital for deepening a personal practice and fundamental to teaching and living a rich full life). There will be afternoon sessions exploring the attitudinal foundations of mindfulness with additional meditation practices to foster and strengthen kindness and compassion, and evening talks. Throughout the week there will be scheduled group and individual meetings with the teachers. The container of Silence, which includes refraining from speaking (except with the teachers as scheduled and as needed) reading, writing, and technology, with the exception of emergencies of course. It is a rare opportunity to slow down and give our hearts and minds some space to access our inner wisdom and compassion.

The Retreat meets the requirements for teacher training and certification at the Mindfulness-Based Professional Training Institute, University of California at San Diego.

Join us to nourish and sustain your practice, in a safe, beautiful environment, wonderful healthy food, with experienced teachers Beth Mulligan and Hugh O’Neill. Learn more about the 5-day retreat.

• First Day Registration: 4:00 to 5:30 pm
• Last Day Session Ends: Noon

Learn more about the UCSD Center for Mindfulness Mindfulness-Based Professional Training Institute.

Over the course of 7 days, we will slowely and carefully develop the stages of insight within the context of kindness, care, and awareness.

The retreat will follow a common structure of noble silence with scheduled sitting and walking practices

• Daily morning and afternoon mindfulness and metta instructions and evening dharma talks
• Group teacher meetings for people to check in on their practice
• Guided relational mindfulness practices within the context of insight dialog
• Ample time for students to speak with and connect with each other as well as other events and activities

About this Retreat: Metta-Vipassana and the Progress of Insight
Vipassana meditation unites the stillness of concentration with the immediacy of moment to moment experience. As we learn to calm the body and mind, intuitive wisdom arises. This allows us to open to the truth of each moment’s experience within and around us. In this way, we increase our ability to meet life’s ups and downs with ease and presence.

Metta meditation practice calls forth the beautiful spiritual emotions within our heart: lovingkindness, compassion, empathetic joy and equanimity. Mindfulness of these qualities strengthens and brings them into fruition. This process guides our thoughts, attitudes and behaviors into the direction of awakening to our full potential.

Learn more here about Dave Smith and his offerings.

Vipassana retreats are set up so that people can have few duties but to be aware of their experience moment to moment.  When removing distractions we become more familiar with the working of our minds and of the particular negative habits that create needless stress for us (worry, annoyance, dissatisfaction, unhappiness, jealousy, the inner critic, etc.)  When shining the light of awareness on these habits, they naturally recede and weaken and in their place the positive habits of mind grow (love, kindness, compassion, gratitude, happiness, self-respect and appreciation).

On this 6-night retreat you will be guided in mindfulness of the mind and body and encouraged to practice being aware of all you do throughout the day.

“The whole path of mindfulness is this: whatever you are doing, be aware of it.”
-Dipa Ma

We often long for love, both giving and receiving, but the busyness of life and the agitation of our minds do not create the conditions for love to arise. In dharma practice, we find love naturally arises when we rest deeply. When we let go of the dissatisfaction of endless grasping, we experience loving awareness itself. As we do this, we discover what’s been waiting there all along, a softening of the heart, a truly satisfying love.

The daily rhythm of a retreat usually involves alternating periods of stationary and movement meditation, nature walks, meals and tea, as well as practice meetings, dharma talks and rest periods. The first session usually begins before breakfast. Each morning the teachers offer continuing meditation instructions for the day. The whole retreat is a succession of mindfulness training, breathing practices, deep awareness of the body and environment, meditations on the nature of feelings, and awareness of mind are from the Buddhist Insight Meditation tradition.

Join us for this immersive workshop experience led by Amrita of Groundwork.

It is increasingly difficult to get things done. The world is filled with distractions that drain our energy and prevent us from doing what matters most. Many of us are looking for a way out of the vicious cycles that perpetuate our stress, overwhelm and worry – but even tools that are supposed to help us are adding to the problem.

We need a new approach to get things done. A way that is connected and conscious.

This Groundwork Masterclass will get you out of survival mode and help you renew your focus. Break away from living in a constant state of overwhelm so that you can shift your attention to the experience and wonder of being alive again.

Outcomes

1. A permanent way out of the cycles that perpetuate overwhelm.
2. A new set of practices for cultivating peace of mind in your work and life.
3. A complete shift into living with clarity and getting things done with ease.

Come enjoy the stillness, simplicity and charm of the mountains. Leave transformed, relieved and joyous.

What is Groundwork?

Groundwork is a standardized system of tools and behaviors that are easy to adopt and promise to reduce the noise, chaos and overwhelm felt by people with limited time, juggling competing priorities. People who implement groundwork report greater clarity and ease in their daily lives.

View the Program Schedule for this Retreat

For more information, meet 1-1 with Amrita or learn more at groundwork.xyz.

Your Retreat, Your Pace at Big Bear Retreat Center

Join us during these dates for an option to retreat on your own or in a small group or team. 

We are thrilled to re-introduce independent solo retreats. Book time for yourself or your small group at the retreat center with light programming. This is a great option if you want to experience some time in nature and your version of retreat at the center. Take time for quiet alone time, to write, work on art, or be on retreat with loved ones or friends. This time is minimally structured, allowing for self-paced retreats at the center.

This is also a great time to gather as a team with your organization.

For these retreats, we require that you arrive on September 14th or 15th (Thursday or Friday), with flexible departure days/times.

Join us in a journey from overwhelm and anxiety into an alliance as collaborators navigating the poly-crises of these times. By opening to the heart’s intuitive knowing and our embodied belonging within Nature’s sacred web of life, we will be guided by the living Dharma as depth wisdom and revolutionary love. As humanity faces its utmost challenge, we will also explore holding faith in the spirit of collective transformation, knowing that the greatest trials also hold the seed of opportunity. The Buddha called Mindfulness “the flood stopper,” enabling a shift from reactivity into clarity and authentic presence, to manifest quantum shifts needed for a sustainable future.

As a Bodhisattva training for our times, we will engage with these themes within the foundations of Mindfulness and Insight Meditation, we will also draw from devotional and ceremonial practices, the Kuan Yin Dharmas, Qigong and gentle somatic-based movement, psycho-spiritual inquiry, depth breath practice with sacred music, somatic-based movement, chanting, mantras, and Dharma reflections focused on meeting the initiation of these times.

The retreat will be in noble silence with interactive inquiry and sharing sessions in small and larger groups. This retreat will offer a plant-based diet only in alliance with care for the Earth and its myriad beings.

Big Bear Retreat Center is a 3-hour drive from Los Angeles Airport (1.5 hours from Ontario Airport), nestled in the ancient Juniper forests of the San Bernardino Mountains at a 7,000-foot elevation near Big Bear Lake in Southern California.  The Center is immersed in nature amidst about 100 acres of forested land with direct access to several hiking trails connected to our property.  Various lodgings are available, from three per room to single rooms.  The retreat fee includes lodging and three daily plant-based (vegan) meals. In reverence to the ancient Buddhist tradition, which holds that the teachings are priceless, the teachers will receive no set remuneration. Retreatants will be invited to offer Dana in support of the teachers.

As we focus on practices that quiet the mind and open the heart, we support a continuity of mindfulness and a deepening of our meditation practice, which provides us with a true refuge amidst uncertainty.

The structure of an Insight meditation retreat includes time for sitting meditation, walking meditation, rest, mindful eating, and Dharma talks along with some instruction and guidance, and short individual practice discussion meetings to support you within the container of a silent retreat. This helps us to deepen our connection to our direct moment to moment experience, cultivate continuity of mindfulness, and awaken the heart and mind for greater ease, balance, and clarity in daily life.

We will 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.

Practicing together at the turn of the New Year will provide an ideal time for reflection and taking refuge in dharma and community. By taking time to pause and look into our hearts, we can better care for ourselves and those around us with loving attention and wise action. Through deep inquiry we can also clarify our direction for the New Year and live from the truest part of ourselves. With the support of a flexible practice schedule, guidance from the teachers and a warm community of participants, let’s awaken to the New Year together.

The daily rhythm of a retreat usually involves alternating periods of stationary and movement meditation, nature walks, meals and tea, as well as practice meetings, dharma talks and rest periods. The first session usually begins before breakfast. Each morning the teachers offer continuing meditation instructions for the day. The whole retreat is a succession of mindfulness training, breathing practices, deep awareness of the body and environment, meditations on the nature of feelings, and awareness of mind are from the Buddhist Insight Meditation tradition.