Spirit Rock News

Transcription

Spirit Rock News

Spirit Rock News
& Schedule of Events
October - December 2010
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
An Interview with
Ajahn Amaro
PAGE 3
Paths for Awakening
PAGE 6
Revisioning Spirit Rock
PAGE 9
Schedule of Events:
October - December 2010
PAGE 11
Volume 23 Number 2
spiritrock.org
2
SPIRIT ROCK NEWS & SCHEDULE OF EVENTS A Year of Important Changes and a Time to Reflect
BY LOUISE FRANKLIN, INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
IN THIS ISSUE
3 Having No Agenda Is the Best
Agenda: An Interview with
Ajahn Amaro
6 Paths for Awakening
9 Revisioning Spirit Rock:
An Important Update
11 Schedule of Events
30 Residential Retreats
31 Spirit Rock Teachers Council
This has been an important year at Spirit Rock—a year of assessment, revisioning,
and making important changes. Our process is described in more detail in the
article by Sally Armstrong, our Board Chair, on page 9. As the Interim Executive
Director, it has been a great honor for me to provide support and leadership
during this time of change. I continually witness the deep commitment shared by
members of the board of directors, staff, and all who give their time, energy and
financial support in order to nurture and grow the vision that is Spirit Rock. With the season of
harvest and gratitude upon us, we are now beginning to see the fruits of our work together, and
we are readying ourselves to step into a new cycle of transition and growth in the coming year.
During this time of year when we formally give thanks, I am mindful that Spirit Rock is a
community grounded in giving and practicing gratitude in every moment. We are surrounded
here, not only by those practicing and teaching gratitude and the path of heart, but by the
manifestation of all who have given. Our land, the care of our land, the buildings, the meals—all
of this and more are made possible by the people who come here to participate, work and give
in order to provide a safe and compassionate container for both individuals and families as they
explore and experience the teachings of the Buddha.
I hope you will take a moment to reflect on what you have given to Spirit Rock. Even if that gift
has just been your presence here, you are an integral part of our community. For those of you
who have contributed financially to Spirit Rock, I hope you know how important your gift is to all
we are able to do.
This season of giving and celebration is also a perfect time for inner reflection. I hope you will be
able to join us for one of our events or retreats. There is such a variety to choose from, including
programs for teens, families, those in recovery, people of color, elders, women, LGBTQI-SGL, and
for senior practitioners wishing to deepen their practice. We’re also opening our fourth two-year
Dedicated Practitioners’ Program.
The diversity of our programs reflects our commitment to not only respecting and welcoming
all people regardless of differences, but also to providing programs that address some of the
challenges and interests of our increasingly diverse community of participants.
In gratitude and with best wishes for the rest of the year!
Louise Franklin, Interim Executive Director
SPIRIT ROCK NEWS
© 2010 Spirit Rock Meditation Center
Fall 2010 Vol 23, No. 2
Published four times a year by Spirit Rock
Meditation Center, a non-profit organization
P.O. Box 169, Woodacre, CA 94973
Communications Editor: Walt Opie
Design and Layout: Paula Doubleday Design
Contributing Writers: Walt Opie, Louise
Franklin, Sharda Rogell, Tony Daniel, Sally
Clough Armstrong
Proofreading: Mary Ann Clark, Sara Sparling,
Byron Kawaichi
Special Thanks: All the staff and teachers at
Spirit Rock
Photos by Walt Opie, Claudine Gossett
Cover photo by Walt Opie
spiritrock.org
Facing a New Challenge, Looking to Resources Within
By Tony Daniel, Director of Development
Spirit Rock operates on a fiscal year that begins October 1 and ends September
30. This means the end of our current fiscal year is right around the corner!
This also means it’s a very busy time for my department as we try to reach our
annual fundraising needs. As I write this in early August, we still have a little
over $100,000 we hope to raise in order to meet this year’s goal. This will be a
challenge, and I’m reaching out to the entire Spirit Rock community to ask for your
help getting us across the finish line.
Most of you will have received our summer direct mail appeal by now, and if you’ve responded
with a gift to Sprit Rock, I want to thank you so much! Your contribution will go directly to
supporting this wonderful place on several critical levels including the following: insuring the
continuation of our scholarship program so that those in need can benefit from Spirit Rock’s lifechanging programs; maintaining the land and buildings on this amazing 400-acre sanctuary; and
supporting the staff and infrastructure that make our year-round schedule of events and retreats
possible.
[Continued on page 6]
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OCTOBER – DECEMBER 2010
Having No Agenda Is the Best Agenda:
An Interview with Ajahn Amaro
“The more that I’ve met with a sense of expectation, the more it
encourages me to make sure that I have no agenda, to go with absolutely
nothing in my hands. ”
– AJAHN AMARO
Walt Opie conducted the following
interview at Abhayagiri Monastery on
Saturday, July 17, 2010—a mere two days
before Ajahn Amaro flew to England
with no plans to return to the U.S. in the
near future. Jack Kornfield suggested a
number of the interview questions.
Spirit Rock: More people than ever are
finding the practices of Buddhism in the
West these days, perhaps because there
is more access to the teachings than
ever. What advice would you give these
hopeful newcomers?
Ajahn Amaro: (Laughs) Well, my own
experience is that the less you have in
the way of expectations, then the more
effectively your efforts will bring fruits
and beneficial results. Often in the West
we are very idealistic, so we create a
fixed image—usually unconsciously—of
what we want to be or how we want to
change. Then through having that fixed
idea, we miss the actual changes that
we need to make. While our attention
is riveted to the horizon, we miss where
we are putting our feet. The more we can
put aside any particular expectations or
agendas, and the more we can engage
wholeheartedly in the particular work or
practices we are doing, then the better
off we tend to be in the long run.
SR: The Buddha started off by teaching
about suffering and the way we all suffer.
And you said yesterday that one way
of judging the value of something is:
“Does it increase suffering or decrease
suffering?” Do you think that a lot of
people still come to Buddhism due to
their suffering?
AA: I think they all do (laughs). It’s
important that the Buddha didn’t just
teach the truth of suffering—he taught
the truth of the end of suffering. If you
only get part one, it’s pretty grim. The
whole point is the end of suffering.
So teaching the experience of dukkha
(“suffering” in Pali) is one thing
because that’s pointing to the fact of
our experience, but the reason we pay
attention to it is not because we want to
be more miserable or because that’s the
only thing we want to focus on. It’s more
like, “Okay, this is the symptom, what
is the ailment? What do we do about
this? How can we arrive at a cure or get
beyond that?”
It is important to recognize that it’s a
two-part piece, and if we only focus on
the first part, we are missing the purpose
of the whole thing. In that respect, I’d
say people today are exactly the same
as they were during the time of the
Buddha and all the way in between. We
experience the painfulness of being
separated from what we like, of being
stuck with what we dislike, of not getting
what we want. And that’s the ailment,
Photo by Walt Opie
Ajahn Amaro, who is originally from
England, was first ordained as a
Theravada monk in Thailand under Ajahn
Chah in 1979. He has served as co-abbot
(with Ajahn Pasanno) of Abhayagiri
Buddhist Monastery in Redwood Valley,
California for 14 years. In July he left
Abhayagiri to succeed the retiring
Ven. Ajahn Sumedho as head abbot
of Amaravati Monastery in England.
Ajahn Amaro, who first visited the U.S.
and made contact with the early Spirit
Rock community in 1990, has served
on the Spirit Rock Teachers Council for
many years and has made incalculable
contributions to our community at every
step of the way.
that’s the fundamental spiritual malaise
that his teaching is designed to address.
That’s the ailment that the medicine is
for.
SR: Relief from suffering—and ultimately
nibbana (“nirvana” in Pali)?
AA: Yes. In a way, that’s the state of
spiritual health—the mind that’s free
of any kind of confusion or limitation,
in terms of the circumstances that we
experience, whether it’s pleasant or
painful . . .
SR: Then would you say that nibbana is
simply being healthy and well-adjusted?
AA: Well, on one level, yes—it’s the
supreme state of mental health. Your
body might be sick and wretched and
full of pain, but you can still experience
nibbana if you can be completely at
peace with the fact that your body is sick
and wretched. So the quality of wellbeing in terms of nibbana is completely
attitudinal. It’s not related to the physical
condition of the body. We do what we
can to look after the body in a skillful way
and to help it along to be a comfortable
and well-functioning vehicle. But the
body is only heading in one direction…
SR: Back to the earth…
AA: Back to the earth and to the air…
and the merging with the rest of the
elements.
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SPIRIT ROCK NEWS & SCHEDULE OF EVENTS [Having No Agenda is the Best Agenda: continued from page 3]
SR: At Spirit Rock, we have many senior students who have
been practicing very diligently for awhile now. What would you
say to them?
AA: One of the things that we get fooled by is the acceleration
effects of when we first start to meditate, or first start looking
at the mind, and see how it works and then begin making efforts
to train it. It’s rather like when the car goes from zero to 60
miles an hour—there’s an acceleration effect where you are
pushed back in the seat and you really feel like you are going
places, because that sudden rate of change of movement is very
tangible, very discernible.
“
It’s important that the Buddha didn’t just
teach the truth of suffering—he taught the
truth of the end of suffering. If you only get
part one, it’s pretty grim.”
- Ajahn AMARO
But once you are rolling along at 60 or 70 miles an hour on one
of America’s fine lengthy freeways, there can be the feeling of
subjectively not doing very much, not really getting anywhere,
because you are not being pushed back into your seat by the
rate of change of motion. Then we can have the feeling, “I’m not
really making any progress, or I had all these powerful insights
and these big changes happened early on, and now nothing
much seems to be happening.”
It’s very common to be fooled by thinking that you are not
getting anywhere. All you need to do is look outside the
window, and you can see you are actually moving along pretty
speedily, but because there’s not that visceral effect of change,
it’s not so startling. Yet every time you go on a retreat or every
class you go to, there’s some sort of big shift that happens. I
would encourage that quality of not being too quick to judge
about how things are going.
Also, oftentimes when you are working away on understanding
your mind, there are attachments and identifications that were
not apparent before. Changing the metaphor, when you first put
a cooking pot into the washing-up water, you haven’t started
scrubbing, so it doesn’t necessarily color the water very much.
Then you start to scrub and the burnt-on gunk starts to float
up. You think, “This is really murky, this is really bad stuff.” But
in terms of cleaning the pot, it’s natural for that stuff to start to
float to the surface.
As you start to scrub off the burnt-on, deep-rooted gunk, it
changes the nature of the water. What that means is that
after you have been practicing for five or ten years, then
suddenly you start to notice these deep layers of attachment or
insecurities or desires that you weren’t aware were there at all,
and you think, “Gee, all these years have gone by. I should have
gotten beyond this by now.” This can be deceptive because it
was so deeply rooted that it felt normal. It was baked on so hard
you didn’t even realize it wasn’t the pot (laughs).
It can seem as though we are falling apart or things are
degenerating, when actually progress is being made. What’s
arising is the result of getting acquainted with and digging
into some deep-rooted identifications and attachments. It’s
rather like when you get these signs on the highway that a
lane is closed—that you have to go south in order to go north,
or you need to turn left in order to go right… the way ahead is
backwards.
You can think, “I started to meditate in order to become
peaceful, and my mind is full of all this anguish, torment and
rage. I’m not meditating to experience this. I was a nice person
before I started trying to be peaceful.” It can be deceptive in
that respect.
I would say nil desperandum, don’t despair. Just be patient and
carry on steadily with the practice. Master Hsuan Hua, who was
the founder of City of Ten Thousand Buddhas and donated half
of the land for the monastery here, used to say, “Buddhadharma
arises from difficulty. The more difficult, the better.” One of the
ways I read this is: the very fact that a lot of difficult mind states
or obstructions are coming up can be one of the signs that you
are on the right track, because you are getting into the stuff
that has really been creating limitation, burden and stress in
your own heart. So this is good—that is a good scrubber, really
getting some gunk off the pot.
SR: You have been in robes as a monk for 32 years now and in
California for 14 of those years. How do you see the dharma
evolving in the West and what changes have you observed?
AA: When I first came here in 1990, there was a very sketchy
understanding. People used to think that Theravada Buddhism
equaled Vipassana meditation retreat, and practicing Buddhism
meant being on retreat, watching the rising and falling of the
abdomen and doing slow walking meditation. People would say
to me, if they had a young child, “It’s so unfortunate that there
is no way of teaching Buddhism to children… because you can’t
really teach mindfulness of breathing to a two-year-old.”
And I’d say, “Well, Buddhism has more aspects to it than being
on retreat.”
And people would quite sincerely say, “How do you mean?”
Today the landscape has radically changed. I can’t really speak
for the Zen or Tibetan traditions, or the Chinese or Vietnamese
or Korean Buddhist worlds, because I am not so closely
connected with them, but I get a general sense that Buddhism
and Buddhist principles are sinking more and more deeply into
the culture. When I first came here, people would see you on
5
[Having No Agenda is the Best Agenda: continued from page 4]
the street (in monk’s robes) and not be sure whether you were
from the Hare Krishnas or a Hindu swami or a Buddhist. And
now people will say, “Are you from Thailand or were you a
monk in Thailand?” They recognize even by how you wear the
robe that you’re a Theravada monastic.
SR: At Spirit Rock, you participated in the Family Program, and
I know that they really enjoyed having you. Do you have any
words of wisdom for them?
AA: I think the most important thing in the Family Program is
the families. I’m not a parent myself, so I don’t have the direct
experience of bringing up kids. But I’ve certainly been around
families and have reflected a lot on how to teach and what
ways that Buddhist influences can be of benefit.
There are two things that really spring to mind. One is to
remember that children are not a different species, that the
mind doesn’t have an age. We often reflect on that as we’re
getting older—that my body might be 68, but my mind is
still 28 or it doesn’t really have an age. That’s something that
we reflect on as adults, but we often forget that it’s also true
for people who have small bodies and unformed intellectual
faculties, speech faculties and so on.
“
I think it’s important to respect the full reality,
the full humanness of children, to remember
that they are not a different group. We were all
there, at a certain point in our life.”
- Ajahn AMARO
But the mind of the two-year-old is as real and as mature in
its own way as the mind of an adult. Mature not in terms of
familiarity with worldly conventions or language or abstract
thinking, but mature in terms of being sensitive to the
environment, responding to pleasure and pain, like and dislike—
the mind is fully sensitive in that way. I think it’s important
to respect the full reality, the full humanness of children, to
remember that they are not a different group. We were all
there, at a certain point in our life.
And relating as parents with children or as teachers with
children, the more you can really embody the human to
human communication, that we are just two humans here—I
have an older body than yours, but we are just two humans
communicating here—sharing this time, that is a tremendously
helpful thing for the children and for the parents, too.
The other thing that is very important to bear in mind is that
children learn mostly from example. So it’s not explaining
Buddhism; it’s not a matter of spelling things out or even telling
stories. What you embody is the thing that gets across. If you
are trying to teach them about the qualities of patience or
Jack Kornfield presents Ajahn Amaro with a gift from Spirit Rock staff and teachers
in June.
kindness, and what they see is you being impatient, they’ll tell
you, “You told me not to do that, Dad.”
If we want our children to embody what we see as wholesome
qualities, we’ve got to step up to be them ourselves, because all
the words in the world will not speak as clearly or as loudly as
our manner, as our action, or as our attitude.
In terms of the Family Program, I would not worry so much
about the details of the program, or the themes for the
particular classes. I’d say the most important thing to bring
to the program is your own goodness. And the rest—it’s not
exactly gravy, but the rest follows from that.
SR: It seems that the monastic community is in a way also sort
of an example to the lay community to follow the Buddhist
principles.
AA: It should be, in an ideal world.
SR: Also, there’s this wonderful symbiotic relationship between
the lay community and the monastic community. We need your
wisdom, perhaps, and you need our support, food and other
donations to get by.
AA: Yes, I think that symbiosis seems to be working very well,
at least in our end of the tide pool. People recognize that it is
a mutually beneficial set-up. It’s also something that people
are seeing more and more as an intrinsic part of Buddhist
practice—that quality of generosity. And on the monastic side,
that quality of being dependent, not being afraid of relying on
others, because part of our life is to have to receive. This goes
counter to the ruggedly independent American dream.
It’s what I like to think of as rugged interdependency. You’re
not afraid of saying, “Yes, I need your help, thank you very
much, or I’ll go hungry.” And that opens up a door by which
there’s a mutual support and appreciation. I am not putting
independence down; it has its own value. But we shouldn’t
be afraid of being interdependent, of needing each other and
benefiting from one another’s support.
6
SPIRIT ROCK NEWS & SCHEDULE OF EVENTS Paths for Awakening – On Teaching the Four
Foundations of Mindfulness Course
If you have not yet
responded to our appeal,
I would encourage you to
pause for a moment and
consider whether making
an offering to Spirit Rock
right now is possible. Recall
that Spirit Rock is a missiondriven, spiritual non-profit
and our existence depends
upon the generous support
of our community. Settle a
bit deeper and explore how
the dharma and the fruits
of practice have manifested
in your life and the lives of
others. Find the stillness
within, and from this place
consider an expression of
generosity at a level that
is most meaningful to you,
then allow that expression
to be part of your practice.
If you are moved to take
action, you have several
easy options… respond
using the envelope in this
newsletter, respond to the
appeal that was mailed to
you, or visit our website at
www.spiritrock.org and click
on “Giving.”
Your kindness is deeply
appreciated. I thank you
for your generosity and
for being part of what I
call the “sangha within the
sangha”—those for whom
the ongoing preservation
of these precious teachings
and this precious place is a
matter of vital importance.
Tony Daniel, Director of
Development
By Sharda Rogell
Oftentimes we believe that the teacher delivers the wisdom and the student
receives it. However, I don’t think it really works like this.
I just finished teaching a four-week class
at Spirit Rock on the Four Foundations of
Mindfulness (Satipatthana)—the Buddha’s
discourse on which our mindfulness practice
is based. This class fits into our Paths for
Awakening curriculum program at the 1st level
(Beginning Insight Meditation). After teaching
this course, I understand more than ever that
the teachings continue to deliver significant
reflections at every level of our practice. When I
was visiting Ajahn Sucitto, a beloved monk who
offered a retreat at Spirit Rock in June, I told him
that while I was teaching the course, my own
understanding of what the Buddha taught about
mindfulness had deepened profoundly and that
often it feels like I’m teaching myself as much
as anyone.
Photo by Claudine Gossett
Facing a New Challenge,
Looking to Resources Within
[continued from page 2]
When taking a class where
the teachings are progressive
over the month, a student
can understand the Buddha’s
teaching in a whole new way.
In this class, we started with
the question, “What is mindfulness?” and we
ended with the same question to discern the
changes in our understanding. It is too easy to
assume that we already know. Over the years
of my practice, I often thought I knew what
mindfulness was. Then there was a period of
time when I was sure I didn’t know, and now I
think I do have some idea of what the Buddha
was pointing to. My sense is that it will likely
change again.
as mind. I am not being invited to evaluate
whether I like or don’t like what I notice but
to simply know it for what it is—body, feeling
tone and mind. As I pay attention, I am also
asked to see that the sensations and patterns
that make up these experiences are arising
and passing away moment-to-moment and
have no real substance or solidity to them.
This direct observation and the knowing of the
phenomenon is the foundation of our practice.
In the first three foundations, the invitation
is simple. I am being asked to direct bare
attention to my body, to the feeling tone
of my experience (pleasant, unpleasant or
somewhere in between) and to my mind,
or mental formations. Then I am asked to
know the body as a body, the feeling tone of
the experience as feeling tone, and the mind
When I begin to investigate my mind, I can see
all the many layers of reaction to what I find.
“My knee hurts and I don’t want to sit here any
longer. I can’t sit with this busy mind. I don’t
know what the point is of sitting here with my
body in pain and my mind so restless.” If I follow
the instructions in this discourse, I’m asked to
see if I can feel the sensations in my knee first
7
[Paths for Awakening continued from page 6]
Paths for Awakening
as unpleasant sensation (the feeling tone) and then notice any
resistance in my mind. I can then be mindful of the pattern of
resistance to a painful sensation. I can begin to understand that
the pain isn’t only in my knee but if I resist, the pain is also in
my mind. This begins an active investigation into the mind and
body using this precious tool of mindfulness. We are asked to
simply know our experience as it is without trying to change it
or run away from it.
The Practice and Study of Insight Meditation
at Spirit Rock
In the 4th foundation, we gain the instruction for how to work
with our experience in a skillful way to deepen our wisdom
and insight. We investigate more fully into the causes and
conditions that bring about suffering (dukkha) and those that
bring an end to it. We explore the nature of our difficult mind
states and learn what gives support to overcoming them. For
example, either in my formal meditation or sometime in the
day, I might become aware of restlessness in my belly and
an agitated mind state. First, I would simply know that this
mind state is present, and feel and sense its quality without
any judgment or expectation. Then I would see if I could bring
kindness to my experience and observe what happens to the
mind state when I do. As I notice with interest and curiosity,
I would pay attention to whether it changes, gets stronger,
goes away or stays the same. By continuing to encourage
focused attention along with qualities of kindness, diligence
and patience, it’s more likely some understanding or insight
will arise into the nature of my experience. At the same time, I
am cultivating these beautiful qualities of heart and mind that
continue to support the unfolding of my practice and carry
me towards liberation. As I learn what qualities to develop
and which ones to abandon, I am actively engaging in my own
transformation.
The Buddha encourages us to turn, or incline our attention
towards that which is uplifting and leads to contentment and
ease, and turn away or let go of that which leads to more
pain and dis-ease. By honing the tool of mindfulness, we can
investigate directly into the conditions of our mind and body,
and actively engage in this turning—a turning towards freedom
from our habitual tendencies that reinforce the sense of being
bound in a small sense of self.
Going to a class or a retreat enhances this opportunity. Some
of the retreats, such as the Essential Dharma retreat in January
2011, are more focused on the Buddha’s Eightfold Path. This
way, we may understand more directly what the Buddha taught
and how to practice these profound teachings. Whenever we
immerse ourselves in the teachings, we are turning our mind
and heart towards the possibility of living with more ease and
contentment. As you read this, I invite you to reflect on what it
means to bring your life into greater alignment with the dharma.
You can begin your investigation right now.
At Spirit Rock, our mission is to offer a direct experience of the
Buddha’s path of liberation through a variety of retreats, practices,
teachings and trainings. We have divided suggested areas of
practice into four levels, which are listed below, in order, from
beginning stages to more advanced stages. See our website under
Programs/Paths for Awakening for more information.
In the schedule section from pages 11-30, the following events are
color-coded as follows (see color indications below).
Beginning Insight Meditation
10/3 Fall Teen Meditation Class Series with Forest
Fein & Rebekah Laros
10/7 6- Week Introduction to Insight Meditation
Class Series with Tempel Smith
11/6
Insight Meditation Daylong with Jack Kornfield
11/20 The Power of Mindfulness with Mark Coleman
12/12
Embodied Awakening through Meditation and
Sacred Dance with Donald Rothberg & Heather
Munro Pierce (dance)
Introduction to Buddhism
1/4 - 1/9 Essential Dharma Meditation Retreat with
Howard Cohn, Sharda Rogell & Adrianne Ross
4/7 - 4/10
Insight Meditation for the Curious with Mark
Coleman, Diana Winston, Tempel Smith &
Maura Singer (yoga)
Exploring the Buddhist Path
11/7 Clarifying Our Understanding of the Dharma
with Bhikkhu Bodhi
11/28 Half Day for Experienced Students: A Gathering
of Spiritual Warriors with Robert Hall
1/10 Metta Retreat with Sylvia Boorstein, Donald
Rothberg, Heather Martin, Heather Sundberg,
Larry Yang & Konda Mason (yoga)
Deepening Practices and Wisdom
11/11 Emptiness: A Meditation and Study Retreat
with Guy Armstrong, Gil Fronsdal, Sally Clough
Armstrong
2/5 - 4/2 Insight Meditation One & Two Month Retreats
(2011)
5/14 - 5/21 Dedicated Practitioners’ Program Retreat I
(2011)
8
SPIRIT ROCK NEWS & SCHEDULE OF EVENTS GRATITUDE CORNER
[Editor’s note: We recently received this thoughtful
letter from one of our Stewardship Circle members.]
Dear Good Folks,
I used to be so happy contributing $100/month
on an automatic payment to Spirit Rock, then
the downturn in the economy impacted my own
income in private practice as a psychotherapist,
so last summer I reluctantly reduced my
contribution to $25/month. The staff was so
gracious about that; no shame-no blame.
My income recovered enough in the last year
that I want to return my contribution to $100/
month beginning in July 2010. Please let me
know if I need to do anything more than write
this letter to do that.
I’m also enclosing a check for $900 to make
up for the $75/month “missing” for the last
12 months. It does my heart so much good to
do this.
Much metta to you all,
L.
The Stewardship Circle is a monthly giving program
that allows generous donors to offer a monthly gift. If
you would like to become a steward, visit
www.spiritrock.org and click on GIVING.
Strengthening Sangha: Dharma Friends/
Kalyana Mitta Groups
“Having admirable people as friends, companions
and colleagues is actually the whole of the holy life.”
—The Buddha
Dharma Friends/Kalyana Mitta groups are
small sanghas of 2-10 people that are peer led or
facilitated by senior students. Through getting to
know those who delight in the Buddha’s teaching,
we create community. We take practice beyond the
cushion and learn to embody it in our daily lives.
Spirit Rock is increasing its efforts to connect people
to Dharma Friends/Kalyana Mitta groups, and we
want you to join us! People are always looking for
groups to join. If you are already in a group, please
consider welcoming new members.
Facilitating a group is a lovely way to practice
generosity. If you currently help facilitate your
group or want to start a new group, please contact
the Spirit Rock Dharma Friends/KM Volunteers at
[email protected] or (415) 488-0164
x 325. For more info and a list of active groups,
visit spiritrock.org, go to “Community” and click on
“Dharma Friends/Kalyana Mitta.”
[Having No Agenda is the Best Agenda: continued from page 5]
We need to see that as part of Buddhist practice rather than Buddhism as a
commodity that you pay for. It’s supporting an attitude of living in that realm
of open giving and open receiving. There’s a risk involved in that—you don’t
know what’s going to be there. But that risk or that quality of uncertainty, of
being open to uncertainty, is an important thing.
Years and years ago, Ajahn Chah asked Ajahn Sumedho when he was a young
monk, “Sumedho, do you think you’ll ever go back to the West?”
And he said, “Well, no. How could you live as a monk? You couldn’t go out on
alms round in the morning. How would you live?”
Then Ajahn Chah said, “You mean there are no kind people in America?” And
Ajahn Sumedho realized at that moment that he would be going back to the West.
SR: Speaking of Ajahn Sumedho, has he given you any advice for becoming the
new abbot of Amaravati?
AA: No, you figure it out as you go along . . . or not (laughs). There’s no manual.
Also, if you’ve been following this kind of practice for 30 years (as I have), you
know your subject by now. So then regardless of what the task is, whether it’s
cutting a piece of rebar or leading a monastery, it’s all pretty much the same.
SR: Does it bring up any fear or anxiety, in terms of taking on such a high
profile role?
AA: Not so much fear, but I have been meeting with a lot of people’s
expectations. There is a lot of hope built up around me going there. One
of the things that cropped up in my mind was that the first thing I should
talk about when I get there is the audacity of hope and the inevitability of
disappointment. The more that I’ve met with a sense of expectation, the more
it encourages me to make sure that I have no agenda, to go with absolutely
nothing in my hands. It will be important to be responsive to the situation
rather than coming with my plans or my hesitancy or my druthers. I need to be
open to the situation as I meet it.
In that way, you have an actual chance of being fresh and attentive to what’s
there. If you have a big agenda, just meeting the projects of the monks, the
nuns or the laypeople, you have this whole set of pre-formed creations. Then
you are just meeting your own mental creations rather than the actual people.
So I don’t feel anxious—I feel curious as to how it will “all turn out.” But also,
one of the things I have recognized over time is that things always create
their opposites. Even if things are painful and difficult, then out of that pain
and difficulty, you can find an extraordinary opportunity. In the past, I used
to be very anxious about outcomes, wanting this outcome and fearing that
outcome. Then, over the years, you see over and over again that even if the
outcome you want arrives, it just changes into something else or it brings
other things with it. Then you realize, “All right, that came, too.” So that whole
dynamic doesn’t fly anymore.
I’ve been surprised. Here we are a couple of days away, and soon I will be setting
off on a plane to take that on. On paper, it should be a daunting task, but what I am
feeling is a sense of curiosity, so it’s just interesting. This will be an adventure.
Monks from Abhayagiri Monastery and nuns from the Saranaloka Foundation’s Aloka
Vihara in San Francisco will continue to offer regular monastic daylongs at Spirit Rock.
Join Ajahn Karunadhammo and Ajahn Yatiko on Sunday, December 19 for a monastic
day on Simplicity and Transcendence.
9
Revisioning Spirit Rock: An Important Update
by Sally CLOUGH Armstrong, Spirit Rock Board President & Teacher
A healthy organization periodically reviews its mission and
vision statements, and its governance structure, to ensure that
these are in line with its values and intention. To this end, a
Spirit Rock Revisioning Committee was formed six months ago
to review all aspects of the center to determine what changes
might be made to enable us to more fully meet the needs and
interests of our community of practitioners, teachers, staff,
volunteers, and board and committee members.
The committee members are: teachers Sally Armstrong and Phillip
Moffitt; Louise Franklin, our Interim Executive Director; Christine
Owens and Kevin Kelly, staff members; Delia Brinton, board
member; and sangha members Daniel Bowling and Wendy Sui,
who bring organizational development skills to the group. Cofounder Jack Kornfield also attended a number of our meetings.
We were given a broad mandate to assess and revision the way
Spirit Rock operates, including its culture, communication, staff
structure, community, governance and decision-making processes.
becomes a form of dharma practice. We recognize that our nonteacher board members have an important role in the governance
and decision-making process at Spirit Rock, bringing valuable
skills, experience, perspectives, practices, and connections to both
governance and fundraising. The committee recommends placing a
strong emphasis on training board members, staff and teachers in
organizational governance, communication, conflict resolution, and
other skills crucial to managing a unique non-profit organization
such as Spirit Rock.
We have been meeting regularly, and have also formed various
subcommittees who are addressing specific revisioning issues for
the staff, teachers and board of directors. Revisioning at this level
of breadth and depth is challenging, but it has been enormously
invigorating as we consider together what would best serve our
community now and for the long-term. The committee is preparing
a revisioning document which will be presented to the Spirit Rock
Board of Directors in September for approval. After that time, these
changes will begin to be implemented, although we have found
that just going through the revisioning process has brought greater
clarity to much of what we do here, and some changes have
already been initiated.
In addition, the Revisioning Committee is proposing that two
teachers from the Spirit Rock Teachers Council be appointed to
act as Guiding Teachers, both to ensure that we are successful in
our Dharma-centric model and to bring other teachers into the
leadership role that Jack Kornfield has long held. As one of our
founding teachers, Jack will continue to play a central role and
remain an important voice at Spirit Rock, but we hope to afford
him the opportunity to step back a little from being involved in
daily governance issues after so many years. The Guiding Teacher
will lead the Executive Committee and work closely with the new
Managing Director to ensure that the management of Spirit Rock
reflects our guiding vision and dharmic values.
One thing that has become clear is that we want to strengthen
our commitment to being a Dharma-centric organization, where
values such as mindfulness, compassion, wisdom, patience and
wise speech are integral to all aspects of the organization. We want
everything we do at Spirit Rock to be a form of practice, whether
one is a staff member, a teacher or a volunteer. Our intention is
for Spirit Rock to make a strong commitment to being a “learning
organization,” where we take the opportunity to learn and grow
from the challenges that we face.
Spirit Rock has been working for many years to ensure that
our organization, retreats and administration are as accessible,
welcoming and diverse as possible. A Diversity Task Force
was convened in 2008 and presented a report to the board in
March 2009 called “Strategies for Making Spirit Rock More
Inclusive.” This report included preliminary goals which the board
unanimously approved. The Revisioning Committee included these
diversity goals in its recommendations to the board to encourage
the implementation of these strategies into the vision and day-today operations of Spirit Rock.
We also want to integrate the teachers more into the governance
of Spirit Rock. One key proposal by the Revisioning Committee
is to consolidate the Executive Committee and the Governing
Teachers Council into one body. This will streamline decisionmaking, and to ensure that there is ongoing teacher input into the
important discussions that happen at this level of the organization.
The committee is also recommending that there be a majority of
teachers on the board, and that each non–teacher board member
be paired with a teacher mentor, so that board membership also
As a result of this revisioning process, we hope Spirit Rock will
become a healthier and more vibrant dharma center, better able to
serve our community now and for generations to come.
Sally Clough Armstrong, on behalf of the Revisioning Committee
10
SPIRIT ROCK NEWS & SCHEDULE OF EVENTS Upcoming Highlights
Forgiveness and Assertiveness: Love in Action in
the Real World
Saturday, October 2, 9:30 am - 5 pm
Dr. Fred Luskin and Rick Hanson
This experiential workshop will get into the nitty-gritty
of how to bring the Buddha’s teachings on interrelatedness,
lovingkindness and virtue into the messy real world of
relationships with family members, lovers, friends,
bosses and co-workers. There will be some voluntary
paired activities and time for discussion. No background
in psychology or meditation is needed. Also please
know that this workshop is not psychotherapy or any substitute for
professional care.
(See page 14 for registration information.)
The Neuroscience of Family Life and Parenting
Sunday, October 3, 9:30 am - 5 pm
Dr. Dan Siegel
This event is a benefit for the Spirit Rock Family Program.
All of us are part of a family, whether we see them daily
or once a year. This seminar will explore the fascinating
synthesis of science and self-reflection in illuminating the practical
steps to creating a more fulfilling family life, and helping to create more
resilient children and interpersonal relationships. This day is open to
everyone, and may be of special interest to parents, educators and
therapists.
Mind Body Spirit: A Meditation and Yoga daylong for
People of Color Sunday, November 7, 9:30 am – 5 pm
Spring Washam and Konda Mason (yoga)
Yoga and meditation provide antidotes to daily stress and
offer lasting benefits for the body, mind and spirit. When
we cultivate the wisdom of our body and mind through
specific postures, breathing exercises and meditation,
we experience true inner peace. Whether you’ve been
practicing for years, or are just beginning to explore these
ancient practices, you are welcome to attend. This daylong
will include periods of yoga, meditation, talks and sacred music.
Seeing Through a Different Lens
Howard Cohn and Catherine Flaxman
Saturday, November 13, 9:30 am - 5 pm
An understanding of the core dharma principles of
impermanence and emptiness teaches us that everything
is changing and that each moment has unlimited
creative potential. Yet we continue to relate to others in
repetitive patterns, as if we were playing a prescribed
character. This workshop will provide a direct experience
of those limited points of view and help loosen the grip
of the past by seeing oneself and others through a different lens. Please
bring paper and pen. No background in meditation or
writing is necessary.
Meditation, Chanting and Winter Solstice Ritual - upper
Retreat Hall
Sunday, December 12, 6:30 - 9:30 pm
Jai Uttal, Debra Chamberlin-Taylor
The great love and sacred light that this season celebrates
are found within our own hearts. We will use the powerful
and sublime blend of chanting and meditation to carry
us from the frenzy of “holiday mind” to the ocean of the
awakened heart.
This evening will include chanting (call and response) and
meditation. We will conclude with a beautiful candlelight
ritual to honor the winter solstice.
The Gift of Recovery: A Day for Healing
Saturday, December 18, 9:30 am - 5 pm
Kevin Griffin
This time of year is especially challenging for people who
have struggled with addictions. Memories of holidays past
can trigger destructive behaviors and wasteful spending.
This day provides respite from the holidays, using Buddhist mindfulness
and lovingkindness practices as healing tools for people in recovery.
Combining 12-Step work with Buddhist teachings, we will practice
meditation and mindful dialogue, and we will explore ways to ‘practice
these principles in all our affairs.’
The Practice of Loving Presence
Saturday, October 9, 10 am - 4 pm
David Richo
Relationships of all kinds survive best when people
are committed to personal adult integrity and to a spiritual
practice. This workshop is about how that can happen with a more
spiritually conscious love. Love is presence with unconditional
attention, acceptance, appreciation, affection and allowing
others to be as they are. In other words, love happens best in
mindfulness.
Befriending Our Shadow: Liberating the Power
and Creativity of Your Dark Side
Saturday, December 4, 10 am - 4 pm
David Richo
Our shadow includes all that we abhor about ourselves and all
the wonderful attributes that we have disavowed or denied. We
project these negativities onto others as strong dislike. We project
our own positive potential onto others as awe and admiration. We
do not have to keep projecting our own powers onto others, but
we can reclaim them and use them mindfully and imaginatively.
11
Schedule of Events
October-November-December 2010
Please consult the Spirit Rock website at spiritrock.org for a full listing of
classes, retreats and events, as well as online registration for daylongs
and benefits.
Daylong, Class Series, Benefit and Special Event Registration
Giving Monthly
to Spirit Rock
The Stewardship Circle is made
up of generous, committed
individuals and families who
donate monthly to Spirit Rock.
Currently we have several hundred
members who help ensure that
our residential, daylong and
scholarship programs continue
to flourish. The consistency and
reliability of monthly donations
is a tremendous benefit to our
financial stability and budgeting.
Become a member of our
Stewardship Circle and feel
an ongoing sense of joy by
supporting all of our programs
and operating expenses. Monthly
donations can be automatically
received from your bank or credit
card, and you choose an amount
that is personally significant to
you. Your ongoing commitment
is deeply appreciated. To join
today, please call Tony Daniel at
(415) 488-0164 x231.
“
This is the point:
present-moment
awareness of the infinite
that embraces the finite.
To me the great gift of
being human is that we
can do this.”
- Ajahn Sumedho, from The Sound
of Silence
Online registration using a credit card is available at spiritrock.org; find the calendar listing
for the event you would like to attend. For registrations by mail, send your check to Spirit
Rock, PO Box 169, Woodacre, CA 94973. Include your daytime phone number, e-mail
address and write the event code on the outside of the envelope and on your check.
Register with a credit card by calling (415) 488-0164 x 234, Monday – Friday between
9 am – 5 pm. We will send you confirmation of your registration.
Cancellations for Daylongs, Class Series, Benefits and Special Events
Call (415) 488-0164 x234, e-mail [email protected] or send a fax to (415) 488-1025
to cancel, and request a credit by 5 pm, two business days before an event; we will credit
your registration fee towards another non-residential event. If you don’t contact us prior
to this deadline, no credit will be issued. All credits must be used within one year of their
date of issue. In order to use a credit, you must pre-register for the event. Credits are not
transferable to residential retreats.
Registration for Residential Retreats
Applications for most retreats are available beginning four months before the retreat;
check our website for the open date. Forms are available on our website; each retreat
is different, so download the form for the retreat you want to attend. Complete the
form and return it with payment to the registrar. If you cannot download the forms, call
the Registration Department at (415) 488-0164 x 247. Teachers and retreat staff are
supported by your dana donations at the end of the retreat.
Cancellations for Residential Retreats
There is a $25 cancellation fee if you cancel six weeks or more before the retreat. The fee
is $75 if you cancel 4-6 weeks before the retreat. The fee is $150 if you cancel 1-4 weeks
before the retreat. If you cancel one week before the retreat, the fee is $250. Specific
cancellation dates and cancellation fees are on the registration form.
Financial Assistance for Residential Retreats
Financial aid is available for residential retreats through our scholarship funds. Selected
retreats have a limited number of Young Adult (age 18-26) rate beds available, on a first
come, first-served basis. See page 29 for a list of eligible 2010 retreats. Work retreat
opportunities are also available in the kitchen or with housekeeping.
Carpooling to Spirit Rock
To offer or ask for a ride to any event or retreat at Spirit Rock, including Monday
nights, there is an online bulletin board. The ride-share bulletin board can be found at
spiritrock.org/forum.
12
SPIRIT ROCK NEWS & SCHEDULE OF EVENTS Calendar At a Glance
OCTOBER
Oct 2
Forgiveness & Assertiveness: Love in Action in the Real World Dr. Fred Luskin, Rick Hanson
Oct 3
The Neuroscience of Family Life & Parenting Dr. Dan Siegel
Oct 3 - Nov 13 Fall Teen Meditation Class Series Forest Fein, Rebekah Laros
Oct 4 - 10
Kind Awareness Retreat Noah Levine, Wes Nisker, Vinny Ferraro
Oct 5 - Nov 2
Fall Middle School Meditation Class Series Kathy Cheney, Daniella Salzman
Oct 7 - Nov 11
Introduction to Insight Meditation Class Series Tempel Smith
Oct 8
Dharma and Recovery Kevin Griffin
Oct 9
The Practice of Loving Presence David Richo
Oct 10
Birthing the Wise Elder—Invitation to a New Stage of Life Anna Douglas, Naomi Newman
Oct 12 - 19
Meditation & the Spirit of Creativity Anna Douglas, Wes Nisker, Barbara Kaufman (painting),
Susan Moon (writing), Anne Cushman (yoga)
Oct 12 - 19
Cultivating Clear Seeing, Opening the Heart Donald Rothberg, Sean Feit (yoga)
Oct 16
The Heart of Awakening Martina Schneider, Will Kabat-Zinn
Oct 17
Family Practice Day Howard Cohn, Rebekkah LaDyne, Betsy Rose
Oct 21 - 31
Insight Meditation Retreat (Lottery) Jack Kornfield, Phillip Moffitt, Mark Coleman, Spring Washam,
Lila Wheeler, Teja Bell (qigong)
Oct 23
The Hard Things That Open the Heart James Baraz, Rick Hanson, Richard Mendius
Oct 24
The Joy of Letting Go James Baraz, Jane Baraz
Oct 29
Singles Sangha Nina Wise
Oct 30
Stilling the Mind, Opening the Heart: A Day for the LGBTIQ-SGL Community Arinna Weisman,
Rev. Myo Denis Lahey
Oct 31
“In the Seeing” . . . The Art of Buddha/dharma Past and Present Joan DePaoli
NOVEMBER
Fees at Spirit Rock
Spirit Rock’s intention is to make these
teachings accessible to everyone, thus fees
for daylongs, classes and special events are
kept as low as possible.
No one will be turned away from daylongs
and classes for lack of funds. Benefit events,
some special events, and residential retreats
are an exception to this policy.
For those who cannot afford a daylong or
class fee, a flexible work exchange program
is available. To learn more about this,
contact our Volunteer Coordinator at
(415) 488-0164 x 224.
Scholarships are available for residential
retreats and special programs. For retreat
scholarship information call (415) 488-0164
x 243. For people of color residential retreat
scholarships call (415) 488-0164 x 224.
Nov 1 - 7
Standing Firm in That Which You Are: Mindfulness of the Body Mary Grace Orr, Bob Stahl,
Marcy Reynolds (qigong)
“At the Door” Price Increase
Nov 1 - 7
The Art of Embodied Presence Sharda Rogell, Marcy Reynolds (qigong)
Nov 3
108 Blessings Dinner Jack Kornfield Sylvia Boorstein, James Baraz & others
Nov 6
Insight Meditation Daylong Jack Kornfield
Nov 7
Clarifying Our Understanding of the Dharma Bhikkhu Bodhi
Nov 7
Mind Body Spirit: A Meditation & Yoga daylong for People of Color Spring Washam, Konda Mason (yoga)
Nov 11 - 18
Emptiness: A Meditation & Study Retreat Guy Armstrong, Gil Fronsdal, Sally Clough Armstrong
Nov 12
Nov 13
Seeing Through a Different Lens Howard Cohn, Catherine Flaxman
The “At the Door” sliding scale base fee is
an additional $5 to the preregistration price
for all daylongs, special events and benefits.
It does not apply to class series or drop-in
classes such as the Monday Night class,
the weekly morning classes, Dharma and
Recovery or the Singles Sangha.
Nov 14
Relaxed & Awake: Insight Meditation and The Feldenkrais Method® Wes Nisker, Dan Clurman (Feldenkrais)
Nov 19 - 28
Thanksgiving Insight Meditation Retreat Robert Hall, Wes Nisker, Trudy Goodman, Spring Washam,
Teja Bell (qigong)
Nov 20
The Power of Mindfulness Mark Coleman
Nov 21
The Dharma & Story Sylvia Boorstein, Naomi Newman
Nov 26
Singles Sangha Wes Nisker
Nov 27
Relationship as Spiritual Practice Debra Chamberlin-Taylor, George Taylor
Nov 28
Half Day for Experienced Students: A Gathering of Spiritual Warriors Robert Hall
Nov 30 - Dec 5 Discovering Presence in Each Moment Eugene Cash, Pamela Weiss, Anushka Fernandopulle, Martina Schneider
DECEMBER
Dec 4
Befriending Our Shadow: Liberating the Power & Creativity of Your Dark Side David Richo
Dec 5
Grounded & Spacious: Meditation & Yoga for Women (Two Half-Day Sessions) Julie Wester,
Anne Cushman (yoga)
Dec 7 - 12
Insight Meditation Retreat Howard Cohn, Mary Grace Orr
Dec 10
Dec 11
No-Self in the Brain: Insights from Neuroscience about Not Taking Life Personally Rick Hanson, Richard Mendius
Dec 12
Embodied Awakening through Meditation & Sacred Dance Donald Rothberg, Heather Munro Pierce (dance)
Dec 12
Meditation, Chanting & Winter Solstice Ritual Jai Uttal, Debra Chamberlin-Taylor
Dec 13 - 19
Forgiveness: the Wisdom of Our Hearts (A Retreat for the LGBTIQ-SGL Communities) Arinna Weisman,
Larry Yang, Pascal Auclair
Dec 17
Singles Sangha Donald Rothberg
Dec 18
The Gift of Recovery: A Day for Healing Kevin Griffin
Dec 19 - 23
Insight Meditation at the Solstice: Embracing the Dark, Inviting the Light Donald Rothberg, John Travis,
Heather Sundberg
Dec 19
Monastic Daylong: Simplicity & Transcendence Ajahn Karunadhammo, Ajahn Yatiko
Preregistration closes at noon each Friday
for weekend events. For class series and
other non-weekend events, preregistration
closes at 1 pm one business day before the
event. In order to receive the preregistration
fee, you must pay in full at the time you
preregister.
You can preregister in three ways: register
online at spiritrock.org; send a check to
Spirit Rock Meditation Center; or call
(415) 488-0164 ext 234.
All classes and daylongs are held in the Community Hall, unless otherwise noted.
Dec 26 - Jan 2 New Year’s Insight Meditation Retreat (LOTTERY) Gil Fronsdal, John Travis, Sharda Rogell, Adrianne Ross,
Janice Clarfield (yoga)
Dec 28 - Jan 2 New Year’s Teen Retreat (for teens ages 15-19) Heather Sundberg, Spring Washam, Marvin Belzer
Dec 31 New Year’s Eve Celebration Wes Nisker, Nina Wise & others
For complete teacher biographies, please visit spiritrock.org
To carpool visit our online e-ride-sharing bulletin board at spiritrock.org/forum
13
Weekly Classes at Spirit Rock
Monday Night Class 7:15 - 9:15 pm
jack kornfield, Mark Coleman or others
For more details and a schedule of teachers visit our website. Monday
night only; no charge for carpools of 3 or more; for cars with less than
3 people there is a $10 parking fee.
Cost of class $8-$10, sliding scale, plus donation for the teacher. A vegetarian
dinner is usually served from 6 - 6:45 pm. Cost for dinner is $10-$15, sliding scale,
children $4-$5.
No dinners: 10/4, 11/1, 11/29, 12/13, 12/20
Wednesday Morning Meditation Class 9 - 11 am
sylvia boorstein, donald rothberg or others
Sitting and practice-oriented discussion, suitable for beginners, as well
as engaged practitioners. Second Wednesday of the month: 8-9 am
sitting and precept renewal.
Cost $8-$10, sliding scale, plus donation for the teacher.
Thursday Morning Women’s Class 10 am - 12 noon
julie wester or others
Meditation group for women to honor the feminine, using silent and
guided meditation, movement, seasonal rituals, and group exploration
in a safe and nurturing environment.
Cost $8-$10, sliding scale, plus donation for the teacher.
Friday Morning Meditation and Yoga 10 am - 12:15 pm
dana depalma with yoga teacher janice gates and Others
Each class begins with an hour of mindful yoga (suitable for all levels)
followed by a guided meditation, and concludes with a dharma talk,
inquiry and discussion. Based on core Buddhist teachings, all classes
are an invitation to find greater ease, well-being and joy in life.
Cost $8-$10, sliding scale, plus donation for the teachers.
Monthly Classes
dharma and recovery Group (2 nd Friday) 7:30 - 9:30 pm
kevin griffin
(See page 16 for full description.)
Singles Sangha: last Friday of each month* 7:30 - 10 pm
An evening of meditation and discussion explored in small groups.
Requested donation $15 at the door unless otherwise noted.
* Please check website for most up-to-date schedule of teachers and class dates.
S U P P O R T I N G S P I R I T R O C K O N L I N E I S E A S Y
Making a gift to Spirit Rock is easy!
Visit spiritrock.org and click on Giving.
Ongoing Classes with Spirit Rock Teachers
Berkeley – James Baraz
Thursdays 7:30-9:30 pm.
Berkeley Buddhist Monastery, 2304 McKinley Ave
near Bancroft and Berkeley High School
www.insightberkeley.org
Berkeley – Ajahn Pasanno
1st Tuesday of month, 7:30 pm.
Berkeley Buddhist Monastery, 2304 McKinley Ave
near Bancroft and Berkeley High School
www.abhayagiri.org or (707) 485-1630
Marin Sunday Sangha – Phillip Moffitt
Sundays, 6-8 pm. St. Luke Presbyterian Church
10 Bayview Dr., San Rafael
www.dharmawisdom.org
e-mail [email protected] or (415) 435-3141
Redwood City - Gil Fronsdal
Insight Meditation Center of the Midpeninsula,
108 Birch (at Hopkins), Redwood City
www.insightmeditationcenter.org
e-mail [email protected] or
(650) 599-3456
San Francisco – Howard Cohn
Tuesdays 7:30-9 pm. St. John’s Episcopal Church,
1661 15th St, at Julien (between Valencia and Mission)
Entrance on Julien
(415) 447-7761
San Francisco – Eugene Cash
Sundays 7-9 pm. First Unitarian Church,
1187 Franklin St (at Geary).
www.sfinsight.org or (415) 994-5951
Santa Cruz – Mary Grace Orr
1010 Fair Ave.
www.vipassanasc.org or (831) 425-3431
Sierra Foothills – John Travis
www.mtstream.org
Todos Santos, Baja, Mexico – Robert Hall
www.eldharma.com
In consideration of others, please do not wear any scented products to Spirit Rock, including natural or essential oils.
14
SPIRIT ROCK NEWS & SCHEDULE OF EVENTS October
BENEFIT EVENT
SPECIAL EVENT
Sunday, October 3, 9:30 am – 5 pm
Forgiveness and Assertiveness:
Love in Action in the Real World
Dr. Dan Siegel
Saturday, October 2, 9:30 am – 5 pm
All of us are part of a family, whether we see them daily or once a
year, and whether it is our immediate or extended family. Knowing
our inner world helps us to integrate both our brain and our
relationships with others. This seminar will explore the fascinating
synthesis of science and self-reflection in illuminating the practical
steps to creating a more fulfilling family life and helping to create
more resilient children and interpersonal relationships.
Dr. Fred Luskin, Rick Hanson
To enter deeply into relationship, it is necessary to be able
both to forgive and to assert yourself skillfully. Forgiveness and
assertiveness support each other. Forgiveness clears out ill will so
you can assert yourself with compassion and Wise Speech. Selfassertion takes care of your own needs so forgiveness can emerge
without the sense that you are a doormat.
This experiential workshop will bring the Buddha’s profound teachings
on interrelatedness, lovingkindness and virtue (sila) into the messy
real world of relationships with family members, lovers, friends and
co-workers. This workshop—led by a world renowned expert on
forgiveness and an experienced therapist/meditation teacher—will
offer user-friendly information with lots of practical methods.
We’ll cover:
• The Buddha’s teachings on non-harming, wise speech,
compassion and kindness, and releasing ill will;
• The primacy of relationships in evolution, and the deep capacities
for both loving altruism and fearful aggression;
• The neural machinery of emotional reactivity and developing
grievances with others;
• Why forgiveness and assertiveness are both important;
• The foundation of basic mindfulness, precepts, Wise Speech,
compassion for oneself and others, and emotional self-care;
• Forgiveness practices;
• Assertiveness practices.
We will explore this theme through short talks, meditations and
dialogue. This day is open to everyone, and may be of special
interest to parents, educators and therapists.
Cost $90 - $150, sliding scale. Code FA1B10. Please bring your lunch. 6 CE
credits available for MFTs, LCSWs, psychologists and nurses from SRMC-SCRC
for $30.
Daniel J. Siegel, MD received his medical degree from Harvard University and
completed his postgraduate medical education at UCLA with training in pediatrics
and child, adolescent and adult psychiatry. He served as a National Institute
of Mental Health Research Fellow at UCLA, studying family interactions with
an emphasis on how attachment experiences influence emotions, behavior,
autobiographical memory and narrative. He is the author of The Mindful Brain;
Mindsight; and The Mindful Therapist.
CLASS SERIES
Fall Teen Meditation Class Series
5 Sundays, Oct. 3-24, (skip Oct. 31), Nov. 7, 6:30 - 9 pm,
plus an evening gathering from 6 - 11 pm on Saturday,
Nov. 13
Rebekah Laros, Forest Fein
There will be some voluntary paired activities as well as time for
questions and discussion. While the teachings are appropriate for
use in health care professions, no background with psychology or
meditation is needed. Also please know that this workshop is not
psychotherapy or any substitute for professional care.
Cost $65 - $108, sliding scale plus a donation to the teachers. Code RF1S10.
Please bring your lunch. 6 CE credits available for MFTs, LCSWs, psychologists
and nurses from SRMC-SCRC for $30.
Fred Luskin, PhD is the Director of the Stanford Forgiveness Projects and the
author of the bestselling Forgive for Good and the recent Forgive for Love. His
forgiveness methods have been used with people who have suffered from violence
in New York City after 9/11, in Northern Ireland and elsewhere. He presents
trainings on the importance of forgiveness, stress management and emotional
competence throughout the U.S.
Rick Hanson, PhD began meditating in 1974 and has practiced in several traditions.
A neuropsychologist, writer, and teacher, he co-founded the Wellspring Institute for
Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom. He is the author of Buddha’s Brain: The
Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love and Wisdom (with Rick Mendius,
MD). He started sitting at Spirit Rock in 1993. He leads a weekly meditation group
in San Rafael.
To carpool visit our online e-ride-sharing bulletin board at spiritrock.org/forum.
15
RESIDENTIAL RETREAT
Kind Awareness Retreat
Monday, October 4 - Sunday, October 10 (6 nights)
Noah Levine, Wes Nisker, Vinny Ferraro
In this Insight Meditation (Vipassana) retreat, we will bring mindful
attention to the breath, body, heart and mind. The practice will
include complete vipassana instructions, silent sitting and walking,
as well as a daily period of lovingkindness meditation, with dharma
talks and interviews.
This retreat is appropriate for both beginning and experienced dharma
students. Instruction will follow the traditional four foundations
of mindfulness, combined with training in lovingkindness and
compassion, through a daily schedule of silent sitting, walking, dharma
talks and interviews. Together we will learn that freedom is possible
through meeting ourselves, our relationships and our world with
deepened wisdom, compassion and acceptance.
Cost $825 - $525, sliding scale plus a donation to the teachers and retreat staff.
Noah Levine is a Buddhist teacher, author and counselor. He was trained to teach
by Jack Kornfield, and leads meditation classes, workshops and retreats all over the
U.S. He is the author of Dharma Punx; A Memoir and Against the Stream: A
Buddhist Manual for Spiritual Revolutionaries. He lives in Los Angeles.
Vinny Ferraro has been practicing meditation since 1993. He has taught meditation
to incarcerated youth and adults and is currently the head trainer for MBA, The
Mind Body Awareness Project. Vinny also leads workshops for youth in schools
internationally for a non-profit organization called Challenge Day. He teaches the
insight meditation group Urban Dharma in San Francisco.
CLASS SERIES
Fall Middle School Meditation Class Series
5 Tuesdays, October 5 - November 2, 7 - 9 pm
Kathy Cheney, Daniella Salzman
Continuing Education (CE) Credits
These events meet the qualifications for continuing
education for MFTs and LCSWs as required by the CA Board
of Behavioral Sciences, provider #PCE1851. These events
also meet the qualifications for continuing education for
psychologists and nurses through the Spiritual Competency
Resource Center (SCRC). SCRC is approved by the American
Psychological Association to offer continuing education
for psychologists and SCRC maintains responsibility for
approving the program as being suitable for psychologist
CE credits. SCRC is a California Board of Registered Nursing
Provider (CEP11909). In order to qualify for CE credit, you
must arrive and sign in within 15 minutes of the start of the
event, and stay until the end of the event.
Forgiveness and Assertiveness
Saturday, October 2
Sunday, October 3
Saturday, October 9
The Hard Things That Open the Heart
Saturday, October 23
Saturday, November 13
The Power of Mindfulness
The Dharma and Story
Sunday, November 21
Relationship as Spiritual Practice
CLASS SERIES
Befriending Our Shadow
Saturday, December 4
6-Week Introduction to Insight Meditation
Class Series
6 Thursdays, October 7 - November 11, 7:15 – 9:15 pm
No-Self in the Brain
Saturday, December 11
Tempel Smith
This series of six Thursday evening classes will focus on the
practice of Insight Meditation (Vipassana). It will include guided
and silent meditation, as well as generous opportunities for sharing,
questions and discoveries about the actual practice of meditation.
Instructions are gradually expanded each week and practiced during the
week at home.
D O N AT E T O S P I R I T R O C K
Make a gift in the name
of a loved one.
Visit www.spiritrock.org
and click on Giving.
Young Adults (18-26) are invited to attend this class series for $30.
Cost $60 plus donation to the teacher. No one turned away for lack of funds.
Code TS1C10.
Tempel Smith has been practicing meditation since 1989, including a year as a fully
ordained monk in Burma. He recently completed teacher training with Jack Kornfield
and has been leading retreats for adults and youth for over ten years.
16
SPIRIT ROCK NEWS & SCHEDULE OF EVENTS Birthing the Wise Elder:
Invitation to a New Stage of Life
Dharma & Recovery Group
Friday, October 8, 7:30 – 9:30 pm
Kevin Griffin
This group explores the intersection of recovery with Buddhist
teachings and practices. Held on an ongoing basis, we welcome
people who identify with any of the full range of addictions, from
substances, to behaviors, to habitual thought and emotional patterns.
Although this is not a 12-Step group, we look for ways that members of
the community can support each other on the path of recovery. Each
gathering begins with a period of guided meditation and new meditators
are welcome. There will be time for discussion about meditation
practice and each month a recovery/dharma theme will be discussed.
Anna Douglas, Naomi Newman
A day to recognize and celebrate the important contributions
of elders in our world. Dharma teachings, sitting and walking,
interpersonal inquiry, and ritual will aid us in entering our own
unique Elder stage of life. With Anna Douglas, now 70; Naomi
Newman, almost 80, and special guest Edie Hartshorne, award
winning author, activist and musician.
Cost $50 - $108, sliding scale plus a donation to the teachers. Code AD3D10.
Please bring your lunch.
(See page 25 for Kevin Griffin bio.)
Naomi Newman, MFCC, Graduate of Gestalt Institute, co-founder of A Traveling
Jewish Theatre, has been a Vipassana practitioner for 24 years. Ms. Newman has
traveled throughout the U.S. performing “Crossing The Broken Bridge,” created in
collaboration with John O’Neal, African American playwright, artistic director of
SPECIAL EVENT
Junebug Productions and political activist.
Cost $10 - $8, sliding scale at the door plus a donation to the teacher.
RESIDENTIAL RETREAT
Saturday, October 9, 10 am – 4 pm
Meditation and the Spirit of Creativity
David Richo
Relationships of all kinds survive best when people are committed
to personal adult integrity and to a spiritual practice. This workshop
is about how that can happen with a more spiritually conscious
love. Love is not so much a feeling as a way of being present. Love
is presence with unconditional attention, acceptance, appreciation,
affection and allowing others to be as they are.
Cost $65 - $108, sliding scale plus a donation to the teachers. Code DR2S10.
5 CE credits available for MFTs, LCSWs, psychologists and nurses from SRMCSCRC for $30
David Richo, PhD, MFT, teacher, workshop leader and writer, works as a
psychotherapist in Santa Barbara and San Francisco, CA. He combines Jungian,
transpersonal and mythic perspectives in his work. He is the author of How to Be An
Adult in Relationships; The Power of Coincidence; and Everyday Commitments.
2010 Donor Appreciation Event
Tuesday, October 12 - Tuesday, October 19 (7 nights)
Anna Douglas, Wes Nisker, Barbara Kaufman (painting), Susan Moon (writing), Anne Cushman (yoga)
This is a silent retreat for writers, painters and anyone wanting to
deepen their contact with the creative spirit. Alternating between
stillness and creative activity provides fertile ground for the
flowering of one’s unique expression.
In addition to the usual schedule of sitting and walking meditation,
we will offer two tracks of creative pursuit—one for painters with
master teacher Barbara Kaufman, and one for writers with Susan
Moon, a writer and former editor of Turning Wheel. There will
be two hours of ‘studio time’ in the morning and two hours in the
afternoon. Meditation instructions, sessions of yoga, interviews and
dharma talks will be offered as well.
upper Retreat Hall
Sunday, October 10, 2 – 5 pm
Rick Hanson
This special free event honors all those who support Spirit Rock
financially and/or through volunteering. If you are a donor or
volunteer, please be our guest for this afternoon session led by
Rick Hanson, author of Buddha’s Brain (with Rick Mendius, MD).
It will consist of sitting meditation, followed by a talk exploring
the dimensions and benefits of both gratitude and generosity.
Afterwards we will gather for refreshments and social time on the
terrace. We are honored to offer this event in celebration of you, our
supporters and volunteers. Not yet a donor and would like to attend?
Become one today or bring a gift of any amount to the event!
No Fee - There is no fee for this event. Carpooling is recommended. To attend
you must RSVP by contacting Tony Daniel at [email protected] or (415)
488-0164 x 231.
Barbara Kaufman is co-founder and Executive Director of CCE Painting Studio. She has
been a teacher of the creative process for over 23 years. She taught at The Painting
Experience Studio for 13 years and helped develop and run the teacher training program
in San Francisco. She has taught workshops at Esalen and Omega Institutes.
Susan Moon is a writer and teacher as well as the former editor of Turning Wheel
magazine. She is the author of The Life and Letters of Tofu Roshi, and editor of
Not Turning Away: The Practice of Engaged Buddhism. She has been a Zen
student since 1976, practicing in the lineage of Suzuki Roshi, and she received
entrustment as a lay teacher from Norman Fischer in 2005. Her latest book is This
is Getting Old: Zen Thoughts on Aging with Humor and Dignity.
Anne Cushman has been practicing Buddhist meditation since 1983 and yoga since
1985, and has been teaching yoga on Spirit Rock retreats since 1999. She is the
author of the award-winning novel Enlightenment for Idiots and the co-author of
From Here to Nirvana, a travel guide to spiritual India.
17
The Heart of Awakening
Will Kabat-Zinn, Martina Schneider
The Buddha taught that true happiness cannot be found though the
acquiring of objects or experiences, but is already here as the everpresent ground of our own ordinary experience. When we stop seeking
peace and satisfaction where it cannot be found, in accumulating and
becoming, we naturally begin to recognize and relax into what we truly
are, the ever-present beingness in which and out of which all experience
arises. This beingness is itself the heart of awakening.
In this daylong we will alternate periods of sitting and walking
meditation, offer guided instructions, and structured teachings that
point back again and again to this natural wakefulness.
Young Adults (18-26) are invited to attend this day for $25.
Cost $50 - $108, sliding scale plus a donation to the teachers. Code MS2D10.
Martina Schneider has been a student of the Dharma since 1996. She has studied
and practiced Vipassana meditation in the U.S., India and Burma, where she was
ordained as a nun. She has combined her practice with social engagement and has
worked extensively with homeless and underrepresented populations, counseled
people who are incarcerated, and volunteered with the Zen Hospice Project. She is in
teacher training with Jack Kornfield.
Photo by Walt Opie
Will Kabat-Zinn has practiced Vipassana meditation intensively in the U.S. and
in Burma. He teaches regularly at SF Insight, Spirit Rock and California Institute
for Integral Studies (CIIS). For the past eight years Will has taught meditation
and awareness practices to incarcerated youth. He is in teacher training with Jack
Kornfield.
RESIDENTIAL RETREAT
Cultivating Clear Seeing, Opening the Heart
Upper Walking Hall
Tuesday, October 12 - Tuesday, October 19 (7 nights)
Donald Rothberg, Sean Feit (yoga)
In this retreat we will emphasize the development of wisdom and
compassion through practices that help us to quiet our minds,
strengthen mindfulness and lead to insight, as well as open our
hearts and ground us in our bodies. There will be a special emphasis
on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness and the Divine Abodes—
lovingkindness, compassion, joy and equanimity.
There will be complete meditation instructions, sitting and walking
meditation, evening talks and personal interviews, all in the context of
a small, supportive practice community. Yoga and chanting with Sean
Feit. The retreat is open to new as well as experienced practitioners.
Sean Feit has practiced meditation and yoga since 1993, primarily in the Theravada
Buddhist and Hatha/Vinyasa streams. He teaches at Yoga Mandala and SF Insight,
leads kirtan, and is recording a CD of Buddhist devotional chants.
FAMILY DAY
Family Practice Day
Howard Cohn, Betsy Rose, Rebekkah LaDyne
RESIDENTIAL RETREAT
Insight Meditation Retreat – FULL with Wait List
Thursday, October 21 - Sunday, October 31 (10 nights)
Jack Kornfield, Phillip Moffitt, Mark Coleman, Spring Washam,
Lila Wheeler, Teja Bell (Qigong)
This retreat will emphasize quieting the mind, opening the heart,
and developing clarity and depth of practice. Traditional meditation
instruction will be combined with a spirit of lovingkindness and silent
sitting, walking, dharma talks and interviews.
Cost $1,350 - $850, sliding scale plus a donation to the teachers and retreat
staff.
Lila (Kate) Wheeler started practicing Dharma 30 years ago and has been teaching for
10 years. She is a celebrated fiction writer and journalist, and lives in the Boston area.
18
SPIRIT ROCK NEWS & SCHEDULE OF EVENTS The Hard Things That Open the Heart
The Joy of Letting Go
James Baraz, Rick Hanson, Richard Mendius
James Baraz, Jane Baraz
This day is for people grappling with difficult conditions—both
internal and external—and for caregivers and friends who support
those individuals. Some examples include:
Just what does the phrase ‘let go’ mean? In the Buddha’s teachings
this term is called renunciation (nekkhama in Pali), one of the ten
perfections, and is often understood as sacrifice—something we
should do because it’s ‘good for us.’ However, the Buddha spoke of
this quality as leading to true contentment and happiness.
• Bodily—aging, injury, illness, disability;
• Mental—depression, anxiety, ADHD;
• Environmental—poverty, discrimination, divorce, unemployment,
caring for people with major needs, challenges with children or
other intimates.
On their own, conditions like these throw what the Buddha called
“the first dart” of pain and stress. Making matters worse, the
mind’s typical response to conditions and to their “first darts”
is to start throwing “second darts” of worry, strain, discontent,
contentiousness, frustration and other forms of added suffering.
In Buddhist practice, difficult conditions remind us of the Divine
Messengers of disease, old age, and death—and they call us
to cultivate the wisdom of the fourth Messenger: the spiritual
practitioner radiant with inner peace. This experiential workshop
will offer user-friendly information with lots of practical methods
including practices for difficult conditions; Lovingkindness practices;
and methods from the dharma and neuroscience for lifting mood
and cultivating joy.
This workshop is not therapy or any substitute for professional care,
or for engaged action. There will be time for questions and discussion,
and no background with meditation or neuroscience is needed.
Cost $50 - $108, sliding scale plus a donation to the teachers. Code JB4D10.
(See page 14 for Rick Hanson bio.)
Rick Mendius, MD is a neurologist in private practice in Marin County. He trained at
UCLA as an epileptologist and as a neurobehaviorist. He has been on the teaching
faculty of UCLA and Stanford University. His meditation practice began in the
1980s. He teaches a weekly meditation class at San Quentin.
During this day, which includes periods of silent sitting and walking
meditation, we will explore the theme of how renunciation, or letting
go, is related to joy.
We will discuss:
• Letting go as simplicity and balance;
• Letting go of our stories;
• Learning to let go of the control we never had;
• Generosity as the full flowering of letting go.
Practices will be offered to work with letting go in our daily life.
Suitable for new and experienced students.
Cost $50 - $108, sliding scale plus a donation to the teachers. Code JB2D10.
Jane Baraz has been practicing vipassana since 1976. She leads groups supporting
Awakening Joy course participants as well as co-leading a Dharma Friends
(Kalyana Mitta) group. She teaches ESL at Berkeley Adult School and is a mother.
Singles Sangha
Friday, October 29, 7:30 – 10 pm
Nina Wise
Join us for an evening of meditation, conscious communication and
connection. Bring a snack or beverage to share if you wish.
Requested donation $15 at the door.
Stilling the Mind, Opening the Heart:
A Day for the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual,
Trangendered, Inter, Same Gender Loving
Community
Arinna Weisman, Rev. Myo Denis Lahey
SUPPORTING SPIRIT ROCK ONLINE IS EASY
Making a gift to Spirit Rock is easy!
Visit spiritrock.org and click on Giving.
19
November
RESIDENTIAL RETREAT
Standing Firm in That Which You Are:
Mindfulness of the Body
Monday, November 1 - Sunday, November 7 (6 nights)
Mary Grace Orr, Bob Stahl, Marcy Reynolds (qigong)
This retreat, suitable for both beginning and experienced meditators,
will work primarily with the first of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness,
that of the body. We will spend the beginning of the retreat exploring
mindfulness of breathing, then expand into an exploration of the body
with the 32 Parts of the Body Meditation and the 4 Elements meditation.
Various methods will be taught to strengthen mindfulness of the body,
and to explore the mind/body connection. We will follow the usual
format of an Insight Meditation (Vipassana) retreat, with periods of
sitting and walking practice, as well as qigong sessions for further
exploration of mindfulness of the body.
Bob Stahl, a long-time practitioner of insight meditation, lived in a Buddhist
monastery for over eight years. He has a PhD in Philosophy and Religion with a
specialization in Buddhist Studies, and now directs Mindfulness-Based Stress
Reduction programs in a number of medical centers. Bob studied with the renowned
Burmese masters Taungpulu Kaba-Aye Sayadaw, Hlaing Tet Sayadaw, Dr. Rina
Sircar and Pokokhu Sayadaw, and has experience with 32 parts of the body, 4
elements and charnel ground meditations.
HALF-DAY PROGRAM
“In the Seeing”… The Art of Buddha/dharma
Past & Present
Marcy Reynolds, BA is a longtime practitioner of Qigong and Vipassana meditation.
She currently teaches Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction at El Camino Hospital,
and Qigong Movement at Vipassana Santa Cruz and other places in the Monterey
and San Francisco bay areas.
Sunday, October 31, 12 noon – 4 pm
Joan DePaoli
After a brief look at early sculpture, architecture and painting from
the origins of Buddha/dharma art, we will focus on the Zen arts
and their influence on the art of the 20th and 21st century. The Zen
flung ink painting practice, the architecture of the tea house and
the ceramics of the tea ceremony carry the dharma as it comes to
western art.
As an artist said in an interview, “When you take this dharma into
your consciousness it changes the way you tie your shoes, so, it is
likely to change your art.” Some artists to be considered include
Jackson Pollock, Robert Motherwell, Jasper Johns, John Cage,
William T. Wiley, Robert Arneson, John Baldessari and others. It
reveals itself to be art as koan by the use of meditation and humor.
“
The whole direction of monastic life is one
where everything is directed at the present.
You’re always learning to challenge and to see
through your assumptions about yourself.”
- Ajahn Sumedho, from The Island (Introduction)
There will be periods of sitting, walking and a ‘practice’ of dharma art.
Young Adults (18-26) are invited to attend this half day for $25.
Cost $35 - $55, sliding scale plus a donation to the teacher. Code JD1H10.
Joan DePaoli is an artist/art historian, as well as a teacher, curator, and writer in
Asian art and the manifestation of the dharma in modern art. Her first studies in
studio art were at U.C. Davis, and her art historical studies began at the National
Museum in Bangkok, Thailand, with graduate studies at the University of Maryland.
She taught in Maryland and at Princeton, then became Executive Director of
EducArt Projects. Joan is the author and curator of the book and exhibition The
Trans Parent Thread: Asian Philosophy in Recent American Art.
20
SPIRIT ROCK NEWS & SCHEDULE OF EVENTS Insight Meditation Daylong
RESIDENTIAL RETREAT
The Art of Embodied Presence
Saturday, November 6, 9 am – 5 pm
Monday, November 1 - Sunday, November 7 (6 nights)
Jack Kornfield
Sharda Rogell, Marcy Reynolds (qigong)
Embodied Presence is a way of being that embraces the path of
wisdom and compassion. It is centered in dynamic present aliveness
and grounded awareness in our bodies and minds. This is not a state
of transcendence, but an authentic engagement and acceptance in
this life. The practice of embodied presence connects us directly
with a living field of awakening through our mind and our five senses.
This allows for a spontaneous, skillful and open-hearted relationship
with the changing flow of life’s experience.
In this retreat, we will create a sacred container founded in
mindfulness in sitting, walking, standing and lying down, weaving
together meditative arts in stillness and movement. Simple qigong
practices will be introduced that are designed to liberate a free flow
of energy through the body. This nourishes the body and mind in
ways that enliven and support our mindfulness.
Through these meditative practices, along with dharma talks,
discussions and interviews, we will explore the depth of the Buddha’s
teaching on living a wise and compassionate life. This retreat is open
to women and men who are both new and experienced students.
(See page 19 for Marcy Reynolds bio.)
BENEFIT EVENT
108 Blessings Dinner:
Buddha-dharma—A Path to Joy
Private Home, Pacific Heights, San Francisco
Wednesday, November 3, 6 – 10 pm
Jack Kornfield, Sylvia Boorstein, James Baraz, and others
Angelica Thieriot will host the 16th Annual 108 Blessings Dinner in
her beautiful Pacific Heights home. This is our annual benefit for the
Spirit Rock Scholarship Program. This intimate evening will feature
a cocktail hour with gourmet appetizers, a catered dinner with
dessert, and salon-style discussions led by Jack Kornfield and others.
Additional guest presenters and the theme for the evening will be
added to our website listing at www.spiritrock.org/calendar soon, so
please check back periodically.
Space is limited so reserve early. Directions will be sent with your
confirmation, and valet parking will be provided. Casual attire is
suggested. Individual tickets are $250. We need sponsors for this
event. Please let us know if you would like to help underwrite this
wonderful evening. All sponsors receive special recognition and
other benefits. If you are unable to attend the event but would like
to support the Scholarship Program, gifts of all amounts are always
appreciated. To sponsor, offer support or purchase tickets, please
contact Tony Daniel at (415) 488-0164 x 231 or email tonyd[at]
spiritrock.org.
This is a traditional Insight Meditation (Vipassana) daylong that
includes systematic instructions, silent sitting and walking meditation,
and a dharma talk. It is suitable for both beginning and experienced
meditators. We ask that you please carpool to this popular event.
Cost $55 - $108, sliding scale plus a donation to the teacher. Code JK3D10.
HALF-DAY PROGRAM
Clarifying Our Understanding of the Dhamma
Upper Retreat Hall
Sunday, November 7, 2 – 6 pm
Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi
In this presentation I intend to discuss the ways in which my own
understanding of the Dhamma has been unfolding over the past several
years. I have come to see that, in any historical era, perspectives
on Buddhism are inevitably influenced by the broader cultural and
intellectual horizons of the period in which the teaching takes root.
At present, I see an important convergence taking place between
the understanding of Buddhism that is emerging in the West and
the wider evolution of human consciousness. To promote this
convergence, we have to make it fully conscious, to bring the
emergent understanding of the Dhamma out into the clear light
of awareness and thereby extract its implications for the future
development of Buddhism in this new environment. Only in this way,
I believe, will the expression of the Dhamma be able to adequately
address the overarching challenges of our time.
Young Adults (18-26) are invited to attend this half day for $25.
Cost $55 - $35, sliding scale plus donation to the teacher. Code BB1H10.
Bhikkhu Bodhi is an American Buddhist monk originally from New York City. He
lived as a monk in Sri Lanka for 24 years. He now lives at Chuang Yen Monastery
in upstate New York. Ven. Bodhi has many important publications to his credit,
either as author, translator or editor, including The Middle Length Discourses of the
Buddha and The Connected Discourses of the Buddha. In 2008 he founded Buddhist
Global Relief, a Buddhist organization dedicated to providing relief from poverty and
hunger among impoverished communities worldwide.
Mind Body Spirit:
A Meditation & Yoga Daylong for People of Color
Sunday, November 7, 9:30 am – 5 pm
Spring Washam, Konda Mason (yoga)
$250 per person. Benefits Scholarship Fund. Code 108B10.
21
RESIDENTIAL RETREAT
Emptiness: A Meditation and Study Retreat
Thursday, November 11 - Thursday, November 18 (7 nights)
Guy Armstrong, Gil Fronsdal, Sally Clough Armstrong
The teachings, practices and realizations of ‘emptiness’ have been
important themes in Buddhism from the early days of Theravada on
through the development of the Mahayana and Vajrayana schools.
In this retreat, we will introduce and explore the many meanings and
implications of emptiness in Buddhist thought and practice through
talks, readings, reflections, guided meditations and group discussions.
To support the study aspect of the retreat, there will be two talks
a day, in the morning and evening, as well as group discussions. To
support the meditation, the retreat will include regular sitting and
walking periods and will be held in silence apart from the talks,
discussions and interviews.
Relaxed and Awake: Insight Meditation and
The Feldenkrais Method®
Dharma & Recovery Group
Wes Nisker, Dan Clurman (Feldenkrais® teacher)
Enjoy a day revitalizing both your mind and body, using the practices of
Insight Meditation and the Feldenkrais Method®, the brilliant sensorymotor approach to reeducating the nervous system and developing selfawareness. Throughout the day we will alternate periods of meditation
with guided Feldenkrais® movement sequences, so that the techniques
support each other to promote presence and ease. Ample time will
be allotted for discussion, as well as attention to individual difficulties.
Poetry and good humor will be interspersed through the day.
Friday, November 12, 7:30 – 9:30 pm
Kevin Griffin
Saturday, November 13, 9:30 am – 5 pm
Howard Cohn, Catherine Flaxman
An understanding of impermanence and emptiness teaches us that
everything is changing and that each moment has unlimited creative
potential. Yet we continue to relate to others in repetitive patterns, as
if we were playing a prescribed character reading from an old script.
Preconditioned responses, past imprints and habitual roles influence and
limit our perception and shape our experience. This workshop will provide
direct experience of those limited points of view, create opportunities for
responsive rather than reactive interactions, and help loosen the grip of
the past by seeing oneself and others through a different lens.
Short writing exercises will alternate with intervals of discussion,
dharma teachings and periods of sitting in silence. Open to
individuals attending alone, and to pairs who wish to attend
together—spouses, significant others, siblings, etc. Also suitable for
health care professionals seeking to re-energize their practice and
address counter transference issues. Please bring paper and pen. No
background in meditation or writing necessary.
Young Adults (18 - 26) are invited to attend this day for $25.
Cost $50 - $108, sliding scale plus a donation to the teachers. Code HC7D10.
Catherine Flaxman, MA, MFT is a co-founder of the Lomi School, one of the first
teaching collectives to pioneer a holistic approach to eastern spirituality and
western psychology and to create mind-body therapies commonly practiced today.
She is a psychotherapist, workshop leader, writer and screenwriter. She has a private
Some of the work will be done on the floor, so please bring a yoga
mat and blanket to use if you wish. The workshop is appropriate for
both experienced and beginning students of either meditation or The
Feldenkrais Method®.
NOTE: This workshop may not be suitable for people with acute
physical injuries or conditions. If you have any questions about
whether to participate in the workshop, please consult your physician
or the Spirit Rock teachers prior to attending.
Cost $50 - $108, sliding scale plus a donation to the teachers. Code WN3D10.
Dan Clurman is a certified Feldenkrais® Practitioner and personal coach. He
integrates somatic awareness into his work as a coach and organizational trainer
in communication skills. He has led Feldenkrais® Awareness Through Movement®
classes for over 10 years.
“
With our meditation, we are starting from
where we are now and looking at that; we are
accepting the way it is now.”
- Ajahn Sumedho, from The Mind and the Way
practice in Mill Valley, CA.
22
SPIRIT ROCK NEWS & SCHEDULE OF EVENTS RESIDENTIAL RETREAT
The Dharma and Story
Thanksgiving Insight Meditation Retreat
Friday, November 19 - Sunday, November 28 (9 nights)
Sylvia Boorstein, Naomi Newman
Robert Hall, Wes Nisker, Trudy Goodman, Spring Washam, There are wholesome and unwholesome stories. It takes
mindfulness and discernment to distinguish between the negative
tapes that endlessly repeat in our minds and the deeper stories
waiting to be recognized and understood. Sometimes the stories we
cling to become traps that keep us from discovering the ones that
would guide and expand our lives.
Teja Bell (qigong)
Spend the holiday in the good company of like-minded community.
Enjoy the silence of the land and the sitting and walking practice of
Insight Meditation (Vipassana). As we slow down and look within, our
natural capacity for wisdom and compassion awakens. Even in difficult
times we discover love, joy and peace are accessible. Vipassana is an
ancient and proven method of discovering and nurturing our natural
capacities for understanding and love. There will be meditation
instructions for sitting and walking meditation, periods of movement,
dharma talks and interviews with the teachers.
Cost $1,215 - $765, sliding scale plus a donation to the teachers and retreat staff.
(See page 29 for Spring Washam bio.)
Trudy Goodman is Executive Director and Founder of InsightLA, a non-profit
organization for Vipassana meditation training and secular mindfulness
education. She teaches extensively in the field of meditation and psychotherapy.
She has studied Buddhist meditation for 35 years, and is a contributing author of
Mindfulness and Psychotherapy and Clinical Handbook of Mindfulness.
Teja Bell has more than 30 years of experience training and teaching energy arts,
healing practices and dharma. He is an accomplished martial artist and teacher
in Aikido and the Chinese Internal Arts, and a fully ordained Rinzai Zen priest. He
teaches the essence of Qigong and its connection with Dharma and Meditation.
Our day together will include meditation, dharma talks, writing
exercises and storytelling in intimate and larger circles. Our
explorations will be guided by the following questions: What authentic
story is my life telling? What important stories have I neglected to
claim? What stories from my life would be helpful to others?
This workshop is suitable for people with or without meditation
experience. There will be specific discussions and teachings for
those earning continuing education credit hours.
Cost $50 - $108, sliding scale plus a donation to the teachers. Code SB8D10.
(See page 16 for Naomi Newman bio.)
Singles Sangha
Friday, November 26, 7:30 – 10 pm
The Power of Mindfulness
Wes Nisker
Mark Coleman
The Buddha taught that mindfulness was a complete path to
awakening. Mindful awareness allows us to be present with anything
that arises within our experience with the quality of acceptance,
spaciousness and equanimity. It is the foundation for living with
wisdom, compassion and freedom.
In this daylong workshop, we will explore this innate quality of
awareness—and specifically how to cultivate mindfulness of breath,
body, feelings and thoughts, and how to apply this to all waking
moments. We will also inquire into what interferes with establishing
this mindful presence. There will be periods of guided sitting and
walking meditation, dharma talks, and opportunity for questions and
discussion. Suitable for new and experienced students.
Cost $50 - $108, sliding scale plus a donation to the teachers. Code MC7D10.
and nurses from SRMC-SCRC for $30
23
Relationship as Spiritual Practice
RESIDENTIAL RETREAT
Discovering Presence in Each Moment
Debra Chamberlin-Taylor, George Taylor
Tuesday, November 30 - Sunday, December 5 (5 nights)
Appropriate for those with or without partners.
Eugene Cash, Pamela Weiss, Anushka Fernandopulle, Relationships can be a source of great joy and awakening in which
the most difficult challenges are used for growth and opening the
heart. Experience in our own marriage, as well as experience with
hundreds of couples we’ve worked with, shows us that conscious,
loving relations are possible. These relationships are a profound
opportunity to take the genuine spiritual journey of letting go of the
conditioned self and opening to the vast heart of compassion.
However, partnerships of this quality do not occur by accident.
A few essential principles and skills can transform relationships
into spiritual practice. In this workshop, we’ll share these essential
tools through group discussion, experiential exercises and guided
meditations. These tools are valuable for partnerships, for family
relationships and for friendships; workable on your own or for use in
therapeutic settings.
Cost $50 - $108, sliding scale. Code DG3D10. Please bring your lunch. 6 CE
credits available for MFTs, LCSWs, psychologists and nurses from SRMC-SCRC
for $30.
Debra Chamberlin-Taylor and George Taylor have been together for 25 years,
they are licensed marriage and family counselors and long-time meditators. They
co-facilitate the Courage to Love relationship groups and retreats. Debra has 26
years of experience as a retreat and group facilitator, and teaches meditation
nationally. George is a national leader in the Men’s community movement and
author of Talking with Our Brothers. His spiritual practice combines meditation,
creativity, activism in deep ecology and humor.
Martina Schneider
A Vipassana (Insight Meditation) retreat as we approach the
winter season. Our time together will be spent cultivating presence,
compassion and freedom. We will share the joy and power of silent
meditation in community to support our awakening through the
practices of mindfulness (in sitting, walking, eating and all the in
between times) and openheartedness. Each day will include dharma
talks related to our practice and awakening, meditation instruction,
meetings with teachers and guided meditations. We look forward to
sharing the holiday season with you.
Pamela Weiss is a meditation teacher and professional coach. She has practiced
Buddhism for over 20 years, including several years of Zen monastic training and
teacher training with Jack Kornfield. Pamela is the founder of An Appropriate
Response, a leadership and coaching company dedicated to bringing the principles
and practices of mindfulness into the workplace.
Anushka Fernandopulle has trained in the Theravada tradition for over 20 years in
the U.S., India and Sri Lanka. Her teaching is informed by her love of creative arts,
nature, service work and progressive social justice movements. She also works as an
executive coach, life coach and organizational development consultant. She leads
retreats and workshops around the country.
(See page 17 for Martina Schneider bio.)
December
SPECIAL EVENT
HALF-DAY PROGRAM
Befriending Our Shadow: Liberating the Power and
Creativity of Your Dark Side
Half Day for Experienced Students:
A Gathering of Spiritual Warriors
Saturday, December 4, 10 am – 4 pm
Sunday, November 28, 1 – 5 pm
David Richo
Robert Hall
This is a practice and discussion afternoon for those with at least ten
years of practice experience (in any tradition), and for whom a passion
for awakening has become the dominant theme of their lives. Let us
gather to sit together, have frank discussions about the effects of many
years of spiritual work, and share our stories from “the path.”
“
Cost $35 - $55, sliding scale plus a donation to the teachers. Code RH1H10.
What is nibbana? It is when you recognize and
realize nonattachment. You have to recognize
what attachment is before you can realize
nonattachment.”
- Ajahn Sumedho, from The Sound of Silence
We all contain creative qualities and powers that we have kept hidden
out of fear and self-doubt. Our shadow includes all that we abhor about
ourselves and all the wonderful attributes that we have disavowed or
denied. We project these negativities onto others as strong dislike. We
project our own positive potential onto others as awe and admiration.
We do not have to keep projecting our own powers onto others, but
we can reclaim them and use them mindfully and imaginatively. Then
foes become allies; dark angles become archways of light. We learn
to hold ourselves with lovingkindness and act lovingly toward others
whose dark sides may disturb us. Our intimate relationships become
more tender when we appreciate the nature of our own and our
partner’s fears and projections.
Cost $65 - $108, sliding scale plus a donation to the teachers. Code DR3S10.
(See page 16 for David Richo bio.)
24
SPIRIT ROCK NEWS & SCHEDULE OF EVENTS Dharma & Recovery Group
HALF-DAY PROGRAMS
Grounded and Spacious: Meditation and Yoga
for Women (Two Half-Day Sessions)
Friday, December 10, 7:30 – 9:30 pm
Kevin Griffin
Sunday, December 5, 9:30 am – 5 pm
Julie Wester, Anne Cushman (yoga)
We offer this expanded day of Meditation and Yoga for
Women in a flexible format to fit your busy life. You are
invited to join us for the morning or the afternoon, or for
both sessions for a full day of practice. New and experienced
practitioners are welcome!
Finding Our Ground
9:30 am – 12:30 pm morning session
Through yoga, meditation, and guided inquiry, we’ll open
into intimate connection with our embodied lives as women.
We’ll cultivate the art of resting in our bodies in relaxed
presence, finding our grounded center in the midst of the
ever-changing flow of life.
Cost $35 - $55, sliding scale plus a donation to the teachers. Code
JW2H10.
No-Self in the Brain: Insights from Neuroscience
about Not Taking Life Personally
Saturday, December 11, 9:30 am – 5 pm
Rick Hanson, Richard Mendius
We all experience having a particular identity which helps us
navigate in the world—but that very sense of self is also a great
source of suffering. The Buddha taught that not-self was one of
the three fundamental characteristics of existence, alongside
impermanence and suffering—but what he actually meant by that
has been the subject of much discussion ever since.
In this workshop, we will examine ‘self’—and its release—in light of
Buddhism, evolution and modern brain science; these perspectives
inform each other, and together they offer powerful and practical
tools for deconstructing the apparent self.
In this workshop, we will cover:
Creating Space
2 - 5 pm afternoon session
How do we cultivate spaciousness and ease in the midst of
our often busy and overextended lives? Flowing between
movement and stillness, we’ll open into the vast inner and
outer space that’s always available to us, exploring our natural
capacity to find peace in the midst of activity and to flow
harmoniously with the rhythms and energies of our days.
Cost $35 - $55, sliding scale plus a donation to the teachers. Code
JW3H10.
BOTH SESSIONS: Cost $50 - $108, sliding scale plus a donation to the
teachers. Code JW1H10. Please bring your lunch if you plan to attend
both sessions.
(See page 16 for Anne Cushman bio.)
• Buddhist perspectives on the interconnectedness of all things,
and thus the ‘emptiness’ of any apparent thing, including the
personal self;
• How awareness and self evolved in animals, including humans;
• The costs and benefits of ‘me, myself and I’;
• The distributed, variable, conditioned—thus ‘empty’—nature of
self-ing in the brain;
• Non-dual perspectives on the oneness of self and world;
• Brain-savvy ways to relax the sense of self and rest in the
spacious awareness in which self activates and then disperses.
There will be plenty of opportunities for questions and discussion.
No background in meditation or brain science is necessary.
RESIDENTIAL RETREAT
Cost $50 - $108, sliding scale plus a donation to the teachers. Code RR4D10.
Insight Meditation Retreat
(See page 14 for Rick Hanson bio.)
Tuesday, December 7 - Sunday, December 12 (5 nights)
(See page 18 for Richard Mendius bio.)
Howard Cohn, Mary Grace Orr
In this retreat of Insight Meditation (Vipassana), we will bring
mindful attention to the breath, body, heart and mind. The practice
will include complete vipassana instructions, silent sitting and
walking, as well as a daily period of lovingkindness meditation, with
dharma talks and interviews. This retreat is appropriate for both
beginning and experienced dharma students.
“
When you realize non-grasping, you
experience true ease, peacefulness, and bliss.
But this state of happiness is not the usual one
for human beings. We must train the mind
and heart to realize it.”
25
Embodied Awakening through Meditation
and Sacred Dance
Sunday, December 12, 9:30 am – 5 pm
Donald Rothberg, Heather Munro Pierce (dance)
Awakening in and through the body is foundational in the teachings of
the Buddha, expressed through the discourse on the four foundations
of mindfulness and other teachings, and developed further in
later Buddhist traditions. Embodied awakening is also crucial for
contemporary Western practitioners, living in a culture that is often
disembodied, virtual, and disconnected from the earth body.
In this daylong, we will combine several types of body-oriented
meditative practices in sitting and walking meditation that help to
awaken and stabilize body awareness in daily life, with spaciously
guided free-form sacred dance (with a musical background) led by
Heather Munro Pierce, an acclaimed teacher of sacred dance. Both
beginning and experienced movers are welcome, including those
with limited movement capacities.
RESIDENTIAL RETREAT
Forgiveness: The Wisdom of Our Hearts
(A Retreat for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,
Transgender, Queer, Questioning,
Intersex & Same-Gender Loving Communities)
Monday, December 13 - Sunday, December 19 (6 nights)
Arinna Weisman, Larry Yang, Pascal Auclair
Singles Sangha
Friday, December 17, 7:30 – 10 pm
Donald Rothberg
The Gift of Recovery: A Day for Healing
Saturday, December 18, 9:30 am – 5 pm
Cost $50 - $108, sliding scale plus a donation to the teachers. Code DR3D10.
Kevin Griffin
Heather Munro Pierce has facilitated inspirational, transformative and healing
movement for nearly 20 years. In addition to a wide range of dance exploration, she
studied Anthropology and Religion at UC Berkeley and completed a four-year program
in Spiritual and Consciousness Studies. She leads her own workshops and events for
many groups and organizations, including Esalen and the Omega Institute.
EVENING EVENT
Meditation, Chanting and Winter Solstice Ritual
Upper Retreat Hall
Sunday, December 12, 6:30 – 9:30 pm
This time of year is especially challenging for people who have
struggled with addictions to drugs, alcohol, food, and painful family
relationships. Memories of holidays past can trigger destructive
behaviors and wasteful spending. This day provides respite from the
holidays, using Buddhist mindfulness and lovingkindness practices
as healing tools for people in recovery. Combining 12-Step work with
Buddhist teachings, we will practice meditation, mindful dialogue and
explore ways to ‘practice these principles in all our affairs.’ Join us for a
supportive and nurturing day with others on the path of recovery.
Cost $50 - $108, sliding scale plus a donation to the teachers. Code KG2D10.
The great Love and sacred light that this season celebrates are found
within our own hearts. We will use the powerful and sublime blend of
chanting and meditation to carry us from the frenzy of “holiday mind”
to the ocean of the awakened heart. This evening will include chanting
(call and response or kirtan) and meditation. We will conclude with a
beautiful candlelight ritual to honor the winter solstice. Bring a cushion.
Kevin Griffin is the author of One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve
Steps and the recent A Burning Desire: Dharma God and the Path of Recovery.
He has been practicing Buddhist meditation for three decades and in recovery since
1985. He’s been a meditation teacher for almost 15 years. He teaches nationally and
specializes in helping people in recovery connect with meditation and a progressive
understanding of the 12 Steps.
Cost $25 prepaid; $30 at the door. Code JA4E10. Space is limited; please
preregister and bring a cushion. Code JA4E10.
Jai Uttal: In 30 years of commitment to the art and spiritual practice of kirtan, Jai
Uttal has cultivated a voice and musical style that carries the listener into the heart
of devotion, prayer and healing, and to an ecstatic remembrance of the divine.
D O N AT E T O S P I R I T R O C K
Make a gift in the name
of a loved one.
Visit www.spiritrock.org
and click on Giving.
26
SPIRIT ROCK NEWS & SCHEDULE OF EVENTS Monastic Daylong: Simplicity and Transcendence
Sunday, December 19, 9 am – 5 pm
Ajahn Yatiko, Ajahn Karunadhammo
On this daylong retreat, we will explore how letting go and
relinquishment can lead to real freedom of the heart, creating
a newfound sense of simplicity and transcendence in our lives.
This will be an opportunity to practice in the Thai Forest tradition
with two senior Theravada monks from Abhayagiri Monastery in
Redwood Valley, CA. There will be sitting and walking meditation,
and dharma talks, with opportunities for questions and answers
throughout the day.
Lunch: Bring lunch and, if you wish, food to offer the monks.
Food and other donations also gratefully accepted for Abhayagiri
Monastery, though are by no means required. You can request a
current list of needed items by contacting the monastery at (707)
485-1630.
Dana (no fee) - Offered on a dana (donation) basis. Code AA4D10. This is
a dana (donation) day. Our regular daylong fee of $50-$80 is waived for
this event. As Spirit Rock and Abhayagiri Monastery are supported by your
donation, please donate whatever you wish.
Ajahn Yatiko was born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta. He had a strong interest
in religion from childhood and after a few years at university decided he needed to
find a spiritual teacher. On his way to Tibet for ordination, the plane stopped off in
Bangkok and he met a few Thai laymen who strongly recommended he go to Wat
Pah Nanachat. There he met Ajahn Sumedho and joined the monastic community
in 1992. He arrived at Abhayagiri in January, 2008.
Ven. Ajahn Karunadhammo was born in North Carolina and trained as a nurse.
He moved to Seattle in his early 20s where he came in contact with the Theravada
tradition. In 1992 he helped out with a monastic visit to the Bay Area and spent
another two months helping on a winter retreat at Amaravati. He decided to “Go
Forth” while in Thailand in 1995 and was part of the original group arriving at
Abhayagiri on June 1, 1996. In 1998 he took full bhikkhu ordination and became the
first American-born bhikkhu at the first American branch monastery of the Thai
Young Adult Rate: It is our wish to support the practice needs of meditators in
early adulthood. To this end, Spirit Rock extends a special invitation to young
adults (age 18-26) who wish to attend this retreat at a special rate of $15 per
night, on a first come, first served basis. A limited number of special rates are
available, please apply early.
Cost $575 - $375, sliding scale plus a donation to the teachers.
Heather Sundberg began teaching meditation in 1999 primarily to youth and
families. She has completed the four year Spirit Rock/Insight Meditation Society
Teacher Training and continues to be mentored by Jack Kornfield. For almost 20
years Heather has studied with senior teachers in the Insight Meditation (Vipassana)
and Tibetan (Vajrayana) traditions, and has sat 1-3 months of retreat a year for over
a decade. She held the position of Spirit Rock Family Program Teacher & Manager
from 2001-2010. Currently she teaches classes, daylongs and retreats throughout
California, especially at Spirit Rock, and through the Mountain Stream Meditation
Center community.
RESIDENTIAL RETREAT
New Year’s Insight Meditation Retreat (LOTTERY)
Sunday, December 26 - Sunday, January 2 (7 nights)
Gil Fronsdal, John Travis, Sharda Rogell, Adrianne Ross,
This is a traditional Insight Meditation (Vipassana) retreat format
with sitting and walking in silence, and time for individual interviews.
Teachers give daily dharma talks and systematic meditation
instructions. We will celebrate New Year’s Eve with a late evening
sitting and simple ceremony. NOTE: This is a lottery retreat. To
enter the lottery, download the forms from our website or call (415)
488-0164 x 243 to request a form, after the open date.
lineage of Ajahn Chah.
Adrianne Ross, MD, has been involved with meditation and healing since 1978.
Her teaching is influenced by Burmese and Thai streams of Theravada as well as
Dzogchen. She teaches Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction to those with chronic
pain and illness. She recently retired from working as a family physician and teaches
retreats in Canada and the U.S.
RESIDENTIAL RETREAT
Janice Clarfield has been student of yoga and meditation for more than 25
years. She has studied related body/mind practices including dance, somatic
Insight Meditation at the Solstice:
Embracing the Dark, Inviting the Light
Sunday, December 19 - Thursday, December 23 (4 nights)
Donald Rothberg, John Travis, Heather Sundberg
In this retreat, we will emphasize centering ourselves at the time of
the holidays and the New Year, quieting our minds, grounding in our
bodies, opening up our hearts, and using inquiry to help give energy
to our practice. There will be a special emphasis on opening to the
darkness, including to our difficulties and challenges, as well as to
the coming light—such as beauty, joy and love. We will have a winter
solstice ceremony.
The retreat will include complete sitting and walking meditation
instructions, lovingkindness practice, evening talks, and interviews.
The retreat ends at 4 pm on December 23.
psychotherapy and energy medicine.
RESIDENTIAL RETREAT
New Year’s Teen Retreat (for teens ages 15-19)
Walden West Environmental Camp, Saratoga, CA
Tuesday, December 28 - Sunday, January 2 (5 nights)
Heather Sundberg, Marvin Belzer, Spring Washam
“
Enlightenment is nothing more than growing
up, being a mature human being.”
27
Family Program
NEW YEAR’S EVE CELEBRATION
Another Year? We Just Had One . . .
BENEFIT EVENT
Friday, December 31, 8 pm – 1 am
Wes Nisker, Nina Wise, and others
We cordially invite you to join us for a fabulous New Year’s Eve
Celebration at Spirit Rock that will be: hosted by Nina Wise and Wes
Nisker, with drumming led by master percussionist Barbara Borden,
chanting with Jennifer Berezan and friends, and dance music by
5Rhythms DJ diva Davida Taurek!! Let go of the old and bring in the
new with an evening of meditation, drumming, chanting, dancing and
ritual. Come in colorful costume, hats, glitter, boas—be creative! Bring
a shaker or a drum if you have one. (We’ll provide instruments to bang
on for those in need.) Light snacks and non-alcoholic beverages will
await you. We will usher in the New Year doing what makes us feel
good in a community of friends and sangha.
Cost $50 until Dec. 19; $65 after Dec. 19. Code NY1E10.
The morning program is for the whole family and will include music,
movement, theater and family activities followed by a community
lunch. The afternoon program will feature meditation and discussion
for parents, with activities for children ages 4-14 such as art projects,
games and time exploring the land, as well as a special group for
Middle School youth.
Nina Wise is a well-known performer who has devoted her career to investigating the
relationship between art and spirit. Artistic Director of Motion, she is the recipient
of multiple fellowships and awards. She is the author of A Big New Free Happy
Unusual Life: Self-Expression and Spiritual Practice for Those Who Have Time
for Neither.
Insight Meditation 2-Month Retreat
Saturday, February 5 - Saturday, April 2 (56 nights)
(See teachers listed below)
An extended period of retreat offers the rare opportunity for
sustained and dedicated practice. This retreat emphasizes
quieting the mind, opening the heart, and developing
profound clarity and depth of insight practice. Instruction
will follow the traditional four foundations of mindfulness,
combined with training in lovingkindness and compassion,
through a daily schedule of silent sitting, walking, dharma
talks and interviews.
Cost $7,055 - $4,255, sliding scale plus a donation to the teachers and
retreat staff.
Saturday, February 5 - Saturday, March 5 (28 nights)
James Baraz, Carol Wilson, Guy Armstrong, Adrianne Ross, Sally Clough Armstrong
retreat staff.
Sunday, March 6 - Saturday, April 2 (27 nights)
Jack Kornfield, John Travis, Trudy Goodman, Mark Coleman, Marie Mannschatz, Teja Bell (qigong)
retreat staff.
Dr. Dan Siegel
FAMILY DAY
Family Practice Day
Howard Cohn, Betsy Rose, Rebekkah LaDyne
Please bring your lunch and additional healthy snacks to share with
other families. Family Days are specifically designed for families with
children ages 4-14. Children under age 4 are warmly welcomed, but
will need to be supervised by their parents throughout the day. For
families with children ages 2-3: While your children play nearby for
a short time with volunteer childcare providers, parents will gather
for a short meditation, dharma talk, and time for discussion on how
dharma can help our parenting and is reflected in our experiences
caring for young children.
Pre-registration recommended. No one turned away for lack of
funds.
Cost $55 per family, plus a donation to the teachers. Code FA4D10. Bring lunch
to share.
Betsy Rose is a singer, writer, recording artist, and a mother. She is a renowned
children’s artist, teaching children the power of their own voices and creativity
through singing and song making workshops. She has performed widely throughout
the world at festivals, ecological conferences and spiritual gatherings.
Rebekkah Ladyne began practicing meditation and yoga in her late teens. These
tools helped her through the storms of growing up. She has studied and practiced
Vipassana meditation in the U.S., India and Thailand. Rebekkah has been teaching
yoga and mindfulness classes, workshops and retreats since 1998. She is currently
the Spirit Rock Family Program Manager and Teacher.
“
I’m more interested in an attitude than in a
technique of meditation . . .The attitude, then,
is of relaxed attentiveness, a sense of opening,
receptivity—a poised attention.”
- Ajahn Sumedho, from The Sound of Silence
28
SPIRIT ROCK NEWS & SCHEDULE OF EVENTS FALL TEEN MEDITATION CLASS SERIES
Learn meditation, relax deeply, speak your truth and develop your mind—all while hanging out with other great people your age.
Through the practices of mindfulness and insight meditation, we take the time to reconnect to ourselves in order to experience
more peace, wisdom and compassion, which we can learn to bring into our daily lives. Classes will include movement, community
building games, meditation instruction and council, a process of passing a talking stick and speaking in a sacred circle. The final class will
include a potluck dinner celebration. During the class, parents are welcome to read, meditate and connect with each other in the Spirit
Rock bookstore.
CLASS SERIES
CLASS SERIES
Fall Teen Meditation Class Series
Fall Middle School Meditation Class Series
5 Sundays, October 3 - 24, (skip Oct. 31), Nov. 7, 6:30 - 9
pm, plus an evening gathering from 6 - 11 pm on Saturday,
Nov. 13
Rebekah Laros, Forest Fein
Registration limit 25 students per class. Note: This class is for
high school students.
Cost $75-60, sliding scale, plus donations to teachers. No one turned away
for lack of funds. Code TE5C10.
Rebekah Laros has worked with youth since 1995, teaching children of all ages
art, yoga, and dharma. She has been meditating and practicing dharma for
over a decade, with an emphasis on metta practice.
Forest Fein, MA in counseling psychology, has worked as an intern seeing
individuals and couples, and as a group leader, facilitating ritual and rites-ofpassage programs for youth and families. He has been practicing meditation
since 1999.
Teen Program
RESIDENTIAL RETREAT
New Year’s Teen Retreat (for teens ages 15-19)
Walden West Environmental Camp, Saratoga, CA
Tuesday, December 28 - Sunday, January 2 (5 nights)
Heather Sundberg, Marvin Belzer, Spring Washam
Get your head straight, chill out, learn to focus and appreciate life to
its fullest!
Explore your mind, emotions, thoughts, senses and body.
Connect with other cool teens in a positive, meaningful way.
The Spirit Rock Teen Retreat offers a profound opportunity for teen
meditation practice and the exploration of how to live our lives with
kindness and wisdom. It is a “don’t miss!” for any teen interested
in experiencing meditation and mindfulness practices, truthful/
heartfelt communication, wonderful mentors, safe community, great
food, and a time to relax and reflect on the mysteries and truths of
our lives.
5 Tuesdays, October 5 - November 2, 7 - 9 pm
Kathy Cheney, Daniella Salzman
Registration limit 15 students, pre-registration strongly
recommended.
Cost $60-45, sliding scale, plus donations to the teachers. No one turned
away for lack of funds. Code TE6C10.
Kathy Cheney has taught children in diverse settings for the last 20 years,
including working with the Middle School group at Spirit Rock’s annual Family
Retreat. She has been practicing dharma since 2000.
Daniella Salzman has worked with diverse groups of youth for more than a
decade. She taught at the UC Berkeley Extension in the English Language
Program for seven years and is now studying dance expressive arts therapy.
She has practiced meditation for a decade.
This retreat will be an opportunity for teenagers to explore
mindfulness practice through guided periods of silent sitting and
walking meditation, small group discussions, creative activities,
and unstructured free time. Besides learning the formal meditation
practices, there will also be time to go for walks, play music,
tell stories and enjoy each others’ company. Since meditation
practice may be new to some teens, each period of sitting and
walking meditation will be limited to a half hour. Facilitators will be
available to give extra support to teens whenever needed. Meals
are vegetarian and are prepared with the tastes and preferences of
young people in mind.
Registration for this retreat closes at 12 noon on December 23.
Retreat location: Walden West (Sanborn Site) 15555 Sanborn Road
Saratoga, CA 95070
(See page 26 for Heather Sundberg bio.)
Marvin Belzer has practiced vipassana and dzogchen for many years. He is a
professor at Bowling Green St. University, and teaches a vipassana meditation
course as part of the philosophy program. He helped develop the youth retreats at
the Insight Meditation Society.
(See page 29 for Spring Washam bio.)
29
Community &
Multicultural Program
Stilling the Mind, Opening the Heart: A Day for the
Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Trangendered, Inter, Same
Gender Loving Community
We are invited in this day to unload the weight of anxiety and stress that
accumulate in our lives by bringing our mind and heart into connection
and peace with the practice of mindfulness and loving kindness. It is also
a special blessing to come together to share and learn in our community.
There will be guided meditations, group sharing and dharma talks.
Open to all.
Cost $50 - $108, sliding scale plus a donation to the teachers. Code AW3D10.
Arinna Weisman has studied Vipassana Meditation since 1979 and has been
teaching since 1988. Her root teacher, Ruth Denison, was empowered by the great
Burmese master U Bha Khin. She is the founding teacher of Insight Meditation
Center of the Pioneer Valley, and is the co-author of A Beginner’s Guide to Insight
Meditation. She has been leading retreats for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgendered community since 1991.
Rev. Myo Denis Lahey began Zen practice in 1969. After 13 years of lay practice,
he undertook full-time residential training at the San Francisco Zen Center’s three
campuses, receiving clergy ordination in 1986. In 2002 he became resident clergyperson
at the Hartford Street Zen Center in San Francisco, where he is currently teaching.
Mind Body Spirit: A Meditation and Yoga Daylong
for People of Color
Throughout the world, yoga and meditation have been inseparable
pathways to enlightenment. Today, the powerful techniques of yoga
and meditation provide antidotes to daily stress and offer lasting
holistic benefits for the body, mind, and spirit. When we cultivate the
wisdom of our body and mind through specific postures, breathing
exercises, and meditation, we experience true inner peace.
Come join us in this special daylong where you can unwind, relax,
and come into right relationship with yourself and your world.
Whether you’ve been practicing for years, or are just beginning
to explore these ancient practices, you’ll feel right at home. This
daylong will include periods of yoga, meditation, talks on the theme
of the day and sacred music.
Cost $25 - $55, sliding scale plus a donation to the teachers. Code PC4D10.
Spring Washam has practiced meditation in various traditions since 1997. She is
a founding teacher of the East Bay Meditation Center. She is in teacher training
with Jack Kornfield. She is considered a pioneer in bringing mindfulness-based
meditation practices to inner city communities. She currently leads retreats and
workshops throughout the U.S.
Konda Mason has been a student of yoga for more than 30 years. She is a certified
Kripalu Yoga teacher. She taught with Jack Kornfield at the first People of Color
Vipassana Meditation retreat at Vallecitos Retreat Center in New Mexico and has
been a regular teacher at the annual Spirit Rock People of Color retreats.
RESIDENTIAL RETREAT
Forgiveness: the Wisdom of Our Hearts (A Retreat
for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer,
Questioning, Intersex & Same-Gender Loving
Communities)
Monday, December 13 - Sunday, December 19 (6 nights)
There is a communion of love which underlies all life which we can
call upon to open our hearts and release the defenses and patterns
that separate us from ourselves and each other. As this year ends,
we have a special opportunity as Rainbow Family to come together
to practice forgieness and wisdom as we enter a new year. There
will be instructions in mindfulness meditation in sitting, walking and
movement, guided loving kindness and forgiveness meditations,
dharma talks, and time for group and individual exploration in a safe
environment.
Young Adult Rate: It is our wish to support the practice needs of meditators in
early adulthood. To this end, Spirit Rock extends a special invitation to young
adults (age 18-26) who wish to attend this retreat at a special rate of $15 per
night, on a first come, first served basis. A limited number of special rates are
available, please apply early.
(See page 29 for Arinna Weisman bio.)
Larry Yang is a longtime meditator trained as a psychotherapist and is very
interested in creating access to the dharma for communities who have felt the
experience of exclusion or difference. Larry is a teacher at the East Bay Meditation
Center in Oakland, CA. He recently completed teacher-training with Jack Kornfield,
and has practiced extensively in Southeast Asia including a 6-month residency in
Thailand as a Theravadan Buddhist monk.
Pascal Auclair has been immersed in the Dharma since 1997, sitting several short and
long retreats in Thailand, India and America with revered Thai, Burmese and western
monastics and lay teachers. In the last few years, Pascal has spent half of his time
in silent contemplation and the other half serving the Dharma, mainly at the Insight
Meditation Society (IMS) in Barre, Massachusetts, helping teachers on teen, family
and long retreats. Pascal is in teacher training program with Jack Kornfield.
YOUNG ADULT RATE RETREATS
Insight Meditation at the Solstice: Embracing
the Dark, Inviting the Light
December 19 - 23
Forgiveness: the Wisdom of Our Hearts
(A Retreat for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,
Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Intersex &
Same-Gender Loving Communities)
December 13 - 19
30
Residential Retreats 2010 At-a-Glance
SPIRIT ROCK NEWS & SCHEDULE OF EVENTS Registration forms are available on the Spirit Rock website. Each retreat is different. Please download the forms for the specific retreat you plan
to attend. If you do not have access to the website, please call (415) 488-0164 x 243, or e-mail [email protected].
dates
retreat teachers open date
Oct 4–10
Kind Awareness Retreat
Noah Levine, Wes Nisker, Vinny Ferraro, & others
Open
Oct 12–19
Meditation & the Spirit of Creativity
Anna Douglas, Wes Nisker, Barbara Kaufman (painting),
Susan Moon (writing), Anne Cushman (yoga)
Open
Oct 12–19
Cultivating Clear Seeing, Opening the Heart
Donald Rothberg, Sean Feit (yoga)
Open
Oct 21–31
Insight Meditation Retreat (Lottery)
Jack Kornfield, Phillip Moffitt, Mark Coleman, Spring Washam,
Lila Kate Wheeler, Teja Bell (qigong)
Wait List
Nov 1–7
Standing Firm in That Which You Are:
Mindfulness of the Body
Mary Grace Orr, Bob Stahl, Marcy Reynolds (qigong)
Open
Nov 1–7
The Art of Embodied Presence
Sharda Rogell, Marcy Reynolds (qigong)
Open
Nov 11–18
Emptiness: A Meditation & Study Retreat
Guy Armstrong, Gil Fronsdal, Sally Clough Armstrong
Open
Nov 19–28
Thanksgiving Insight Meditation Retreat
Robert Hall, Wes Nisker, Trudy Goodman, Spring Washam,
Teja Bell (qigong)
Open
Nov 30–Dec 5
Discovering Presence in Each Moment
Eugene Cash, Pamela Weiss, Anushka Fernandopulle,
Martina Schneider
Open
Dec 7–12
Howard Cohn, Mary Grace Orr
Open
Dec 13–19
Forgiveness: the Wisdom of Our Hearts (A
Retreat for the LGBTIQ–SGL Communities)
Open
Dec 19–23
Insight Meditation at the Solstice: Embracing the
Dark, Inviting the Light
Donald Rothberg, John Travis, Heather Sundberg
Open
Dec 26–Jan 2
New Year’s Insight Meditation Retreat
(LOTTERY)
Gil Fronsdal, John Travis, Sharda Rogell, Adrianne Ross,
Open
Dec 28–Jan 2
New Year’s Teen Retreat (for ages 15-19)
Heather Sundberg, Spring Washam, Marvin Belzer
8/31
Jan 4–9
Essential Dharma
Howard Cohn, Sharda Rogell, Adrianne Ross
9/3
Jan 10–17
Metta Retreat
Sylvia Boorstein, Donald Rothberg, Heather Martin, Larry Yang,
Heather Sundberg, Konda Mason (yoga)
9/10
Jan 18–23
Embodying the Sacred Feminine
Debra Chamberlin-Taylor, Julie Wester, Anna Douglas, Dana DePalma,
Dori Langevin
9/17
Feb 5–Apr 2
(See teachers below)
8/1
Feb 5–Mar 5
James Baraz, Carol Wilson, Guy Armstrong, Adrianne Ross,
Sally Clough Armstrong
8/1
Mar 6–Apr 2
Jack Kornfield, John Travis, Trudy Goodman, Mark Coleman,
Marie Mannschatz, Teja Bell (qigong)
8/1
Apr 7-10
Insight Meditation for the Curious
Mark Coleman, Diana Winston, Tempel Smith, Maura Singer (yoga)
12/7
Apr 11-17
Meditation and Yoga Retreat
Mark Coleman, Anna Douglas, Howard Cohn, Anne Cushman (yoga),
Janice Gates (yoga)
12/10
Apr 19-24
World as Lover, World as Self
Joanna Macy, Wes Nisker
12/20
Apr 19-24
Transforming the Judgmental Mind
Donald Rothberg, Heather Sundberg
12/20
Apr 25-May 4
Concentration Retreat
Phillip Moffitt, Sally Armstrong, Eugene Cash, Andrea Fella
12/23
May 4-13
Spring Insight Meditation Retreat (Yucca Valley)
Jack Kornfield, Carol Wilson, Howard Cohn, Trudy Goodman,
Diana Winston, Noah Levine, Franz Moeckl (qigong)
1/4
May 6-13
Women in Meditation
Christina Feldman, Narayan Liebenson Grady
1/6
May 14-21
DPP4 Retreat #1 (Yucca Valley)
Sally Armstrong, Phillip Moffitt, Guy Armstrong, Jack Kornfield,
Anushka Fernandopulle, Andrea Fella, Tempel Smith
Prepaid
May 15-22
Mary Grace Orr, Gil Fronsdal, Sharda Rogell, John Travis
1/14
May 22-29
CDL4 Retreat #2 (Yucca Valley)
Eugene Cash, Gina Sharpe, Larry Yang, Thanissara
Prepaid
May 23-28
Monastic Retreat with the Saranaloka Nuns
Ajahn (Sister) Anandabodhi, Ajahn (Sister) Metta
1/24
To carpool visit our online e-ride-sharing bulletin board at spiritrock.org/forum
31
Spirit Rock Teachers Council
Guy Armstrong has been practicing Insight
Meditation for over 30 years and began teaching in
1984. He spent a year as a Buddhist monk in Thailand.
Guy is also a Guiding Teacher of IMS.
Sally Clough Armstrong began practicing Insight
Meditation in 1981 and began teaching in 1996.
She has served at Spirit Rock in a number of roles
and is co-founder and co-teacher of the Dedicated
Practitioners’ Program.
James Baraz has practiced Insight Meditation since
1974 and has been teaching since 1980. James leads
ongoing meditation and Awakening Joy classes in
Berkeley. He is the author of Awakening Joy with
Shoshana Alexander.
Sylvia Boorstein has been teaching since 1985, and
teaches both vipassana and metta meditation. Her
many books include That’s Funny, You Don’t Look
Buddhist and her latest, Happiness Is an Inside Job.
Eugene Cash is a founding teacher of San Francisco
Insight. He is also the co-founder and co-teacher of
the Dedicated Practitioners’ Program. In addition, he
teaches the Diamond Approach® in San Francisco
and Holland.
Debra Chamberlin-Taylor has been leading retreats
since 1978. In addition to practicing Vipassana, she
has been influenced by Dzogchen and Diamond
Heart®. She also leads workshops on embodiment of
awareness and conscious relationships.
Howard Cohn has led vipassana retreats since 1985
and leads a weekly sitting group in San Francisco.
He has studied with teachers of several traditions,
including Theravada, Zen and Dzogchen, and has
been strongly influenced by H.W.L. Poonja.
Mark Coleman has been teaching Insight Meditation
retreats since 1997. He also leads wilderness
meditation retreats, integrating mindfulness
meditation with nature, and is the author of Awake in
the Wild.
Anna Douglas, PhD, has a background in psychology
and the arts, in addition to 25 years of vipassana
practice. She has also studied with teachers in the
Zen, Advaita and Dzogchen traditions.
Gil Fronsdal has practiced Zen and vipassana since
1975 and holds a PhD in Buddhist Studies from
Stanford. He is founding teacher of the Insight
Meditation Center in Redwood City, and author of a
new translation of The Dhammapada.
Jack Kornfield trained as a Buddhist monk in
Thailand, India and Burma, and holds a PhD in clinical
psychology. He has taught meditation since 1974,
and is a founding teacher of IMS and Spirit Rock. His
books include A Path with Heart; Living Dharma; and
his most recent, The Wise Heart.
Phillip Moffitt has practiced vipassana since 1983.
He is founder and president of the Life Balance
Institute and holds a weekly Insight Meditation class
in Corte Madera, CA. He is the author of Dancing with
Life.
Wes “Scoop” Nisker is a meditation teacher, author,
radio commentator and performer. His books include
Essential Crazy Wisdom and his latest, Crazy Wisdom
Saves the World Again! He is the founder and co-editor
of the Buddhist Journal “Inquiring Mind.”
Mary Grace Orr is a Vipassana teacher and the
Guiding Teacher of Vipassana Santa Cruz. She has
practiced many spiritual disciplines for the past
25 years, and has trained with A.H. Almaas in the
Diamond Approach®.
Sharda Rogell began teaching Insight Meditation in
1985. She brings a strong emphasis to awakening
heartfulness, and has been influenced by the non-dual
teachings of Advaita, as well as Dzogchen and the
Diamond Approach®.
Donald Rothberg has practiced meditation since
1976. He is the guiding teacher for the Path of
Engagement program. He is the author of The Engaged
Spiritual Life.
John Travis has practiced vipassana since 1970. He
lived in Asia for eight years, where he studied with
senior vipassana and Tibetan teachers. John leads
regular classes and retreats in the Nevada City/
Sacramento/Auburn area.
Julie Wester has led meditation retreats since 1985.
Trained by Ruth Denison, Julie’s teaching incorporates
sensory exploration as well as guided movement
meditation.
Diana Winston is the Director of Mindfulness
Education at UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research
Center. She has practiced vipassana since 1989,
including a year as a Buddhist nun in Burma, and is
the author of Wide Awake: A Buddhist Guide for Teens.
Her latest book is Fully Present: The Science, Art, and
Practice of Mindfulness (with Susan L. Smalley, PhD).
Emeritus Members
Ajahn Amaro trained in Thailand with Ajahn Chah
and Ajahn Sumedho. He is the former co-abbot of
Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery in Mendocino. He is
now abbot of Amaravati Monastery in England.
Robert Hall, MD, is a physician of the body/
mind, a psychiatrist, poet and meditation teacher.
He is a pioneer in the integration of bodywork,
psychotherapy and spiritual practice. He lives and
teaches at El Dharma in Todos Santos, Mexico.
5000 Sir Francis Drake Boulevard
P.O. Box 169
Woodacre, CA 94973
spiritrock.org
Upcoming Benefits and Events
For more information on upcoming benefits and events visit spiritrock.org
Forgiveness and Assertiveness: Love in
Action in the Real World
Dr. Fred Luskin, Rick Hanson
The Neuroscience of Family Life and
Parenting
Sunday, October 3, 9:30 am - 5 pm
Dr. Dan Siegel
Saturday, October 9, 10 am - 4 pm
David Richo
The Hard Things That Open the Heart
James Baraz, Rick Hanson, Richard Mendius
Stilling the Mind, Opening the Heart:
A Day for the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual,
Trangendered, Inter, Same Gender Loving
Community Saturday, October 30, 9:30 am - 5 pm
Mind Body Spirit: A Meditation and Yoga
Daylong for People of Color
Sunday, November 7, 9:30 am - 5 pm
Befriending Our Shadow: Liberating the
Power and Creativity of Your Dark Side
Saturday, December 4, 10 am - 4 pm
David Richo
Meditation, Chanting and Winter Solstice
Ritual - upper Retreat Hall
Sunday, December 12, 6:30 - 9:30 pm
The Gift of Recovery:
A Day for Healing Saturday, December 18, 9:30 am - 5 pm
Kevin Griffin
NEW YEAR’S EVE CELEBRATION
Another Year? We Just Had One . . .
Friday, December 31, 8 pm – 1 am
Wes Nisker, Nina Wise and others

Spirit Rock News

Transcription

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