Retreats

Being Resourced for the Times Ahead: Consciously Setting Intentions for the New Year

January 11th, 2025 | 9 am - 4:30 pm

Zoom and In-Person at Seattle Insight Meditation (University Friends)

4001 9th Ave. NE Seattle, WA 98105

Join us for a daylong retreat to awaken to the heart of who you are.

Step into the New Year with all its complexity, resourced by clarity, intention, and the gifts of practice at our day of contemplation and meditation. This immersive, daylong experience invites you to pause, reflect, and set the tone for 2025 with conscious, compassionate, awareness. Even in the darkest times, one light can make a magnificent difference. Those in beloved community, remembering what is real and true, returning our true nature, creates a collective light that is much brighter than any one person can ignite. Our world needs this light now. 

Through guided meditations, teachings, and mindful inquiry, we’ll explore the essence of our true nature–uncovering the peace and happiness that resides within. In turn, we’ll set intentions on behalf of this true nature, the heart of who we are. This will support us as we act in the world in the unfolding times we are facing.

What you can expect:

Our time together will focus on how we can align with the heart of who we are-- we'll explore recognizing how conditioned thoughts can create suffering, and we'll cultivate ways to move beyond these patterns. The powerful, conscious intentions you create for the year ahead will support you in living in accordance with your true nature in your everyday life. Journaling, partner reflections, and other engaging practices and contemplative technologies will help you reflect on the lessons of the past year while envisioning the possibilities for the future.

All are welcome.

Whether you're an experienced meditator or new to the practice, this daylong retreat will offer a space to reconnect with your deepest values, let go of limiting beliefs, and create a foundation for a year guided by mindfulness and purpose. All are welcome. Join us to awaken to the heart of who you are–your true nature–and welcome the New Year with clarity and purpose.

Writing from Presence

AN extended Winter weekend Retreat

with Caverly Morgan and Ashley Dahl

February 14 - 17, 2025

Whidbey Institute (WA)

Winter, with its serene stillness and enveloping darkness, invites us into a deep space of introspection and creativity. Join us for a weekend where meditation meets the practice of writing, guided by author and spiritual teacher Caverly Morgan.

Imagine gentle rains, the hush of a forest, and muted skies as the backdrop for delving into contemplative writing practices that transcend conventional boundaries.  Experience the profound support of channeling what lies beyond the ego, inviting it gently onto the page. Together, we'll drop into deep listening and explore the boundless landscape of creative expression.

This retreat isn't about producing a finished piece; it's about journeying beneath the conditioned mind and attuning to the voice that emerges from the depths of your being and presence. Whether you're a seasoned writer or simply curious about putting pen to paper, you'll find an evocative invitation to explore this open and mysterious landscape. Through meditation and periods of silence, you'll be supported in allowing creativity to flow freely and authentically.

This retreat will also feature Yoga Nidra (guided relaxation) with Ashley Dahl, MSW, CMT-P, to further support you in tapping into your innate and boundless creativity, without effort.

Non-Duality in Nature

The Direct Path to Love and Beauty

A retreat with Johann Robbins and Caverly Morgan

July 19-25, 2025

Rocky Mountain Ecodharma Retreat Center

Save the date! Registration opens in January 2025.

On this retreat, the meditation approach is simply resting in awareness, without effort or striving. Surrounded by beauty in the peace of nature, letting everything be just as it is, our experience becomes simpler and more enjoyable. 

You will have ample time to connect and be with the natural world and the beauty that surrounds you - inside and out. Summers are gentle in the mountains - with the green meadows, alive forests, wildflowers, high peaks, the running creek, and all the birds, moose, deer, elk, rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, and other critters. It is an ideal setting for returning to our true nature, in nature. In all of this, you will rediscover the love, gratitude, and connection that is already inside of you - that is your being.

As we meditate, walk, converse, and share retreat space together, a natural sense of ease and belonging emerges. Our minds begin to quiet down from the ping-ponging of wanting and aversion - seeking and resisting. Without effort or struggle, separation dissolves and we are free to drop into love and connection. This is the Direct Path – not an effort, but a natural and easeful connection to our being - to who we truly are.

This retreat is informal and relaxed, with ample time for teaching, guiding, support, and discussion. There will be free time to enjoy the land in whatever way is right for you. The schedule will have periods of silence as well as optional times to be relational, allowing the love that naturally arises to flow as conversation among participants.

The Direct Path is not based on effort or technique, but is instead a relaxed falling back into our true nature - our being. If you have been practicing any form of Buddhism, Zen, or Mindfulness, have heard about the Direct Path or Non-Duality, or just feel drawn to a natural and deep approach to being in nature, this retreat will be a unique opportunity to explore, experience, love, and enjoy. In nature, at peace, we discover that we already are the happiness we seek.

This Retreat Includes:

• Guidance and instruction in the Direct Path open awareness meditation, both sitting and walking.

• Individual attention and breakout groups. Beginners and first-timers are fully supported, while those more experienced will find plenty to deepen their experience, so all are welcome.

• Plenty of free time for hiking, meditation, rest, or just being in a beautiful space.

• Evening campfire dharma talks and discussion.

• One-on-one meetings with the teachers.

• Camping or a variety of indoor rooms to choose from. Scholarships are available as needed.

• If you want to do this retreat and the four-night Solo/Sangha retreat after it, please register for both. The interim nights are included and free.

Save the date! Registration opens in January 2025.

Save the Dates!

• Annual Whidbey Summer Retreat July 28-August 2, 2025 (WA)

• Caverly and Dr. Kristin Neff at Whidbey Institute December 8-13, 2025 (WA)