Mindfulness Meditation
A Retreat in Self Love, Compassion and Acceptance
with Robert Beatty
3 days (May 21-24, 2010) or 6 days (May 21-27, 2010)
The Buddha taught that our essential nature is wise, loving, and joyful. The key lies in self-awareness. Buddhist psychology and meditation practices, proven over 2500 years,
provide skills to set you free from anxiety, depression, self-doubt, fear, and loneliness. Learn mindfulness meditation, which can be applied in every activity of your life. A
revolutionary way of being no longer tied to moods, the racing mind, compulsions, or scripts from the past allows you to face and overcome your deepest fears, forgive others,
and love yourself. Suffering diminishes over time as you learn to quiet your mind, observe and release difficult states.
This retreat will focus on the practices of Metta (Lovingkindness) and Karuna (Compassion) with oneself as the beloved. We can be loving and compassionate in the world only to the degree that we manifest these qualities toward ourselves. Many of us experienced potent childhood conditioning that only by "loving" others and attending to their needs first will we ever experience love and caring in return. Service to others is of great importance, but our giving needs to come from a foundation of real self love and acceptance. Open-hearted acceptance is the doorway to healing and change.
Whether you are new to meditation or have been practicing for years, this retreat will provide a rare opportunity to go deep into yourself and the nature of life. Bring your fears, the craziness of your mind and the concerns of your heart and discover that peace is really possible. There is a well worn path to reduce suffering and fill your life with love, compassion and joy.
In sitting and walking meditation, talks and discussions, music and movement, and sacred silence, a loving community helps us open to accepting all aspects of ourselves. Return to your life and relationships rested, renewed, and inspired. (Have highlights and enlarged new word to original 3rd paragraph)
There is no instructor fee for this retreat. Donations may be made to the teacher.
Robert Beatty, LCSW, is a Buddhist Dharma teacher and therapist in Portland, Oregon. A Vipassana practitioner since 1972, he has studied with renowned meditation teachers in
Burma, India, and North America. Robert integrates Western psychotherapy with the systematic training of the mind and heart offered by Buddhism. His teaching emphasizes relationship,
family and work as vehicles for spiritual development. Robert is also the founder and guiding teacher of the Portland Insight Meditation Society. For more information about Robert,
check RobertBeatty.com. You can also downlaod some of Robert´s dharma talks from Portlandinsight.org. These will give you a good idea of Robert´s style as a meditation teacher.
Location
The retreat this year will be held at the Hotsprings Valley Retreat, situated just beyond the hot pools at Takhini Hotsprings, half an hour drive north of Whitehorse. The
retreat is located on an expansive forested and hilly property, which affords gorgeous views over the Takhini Valley The centre has a comfortable main building with a
spacious dining/sitting space, a loft (in which we will hold the meditations), and a sheltered sunny outdoor deck for dining and sitting. It has a hot thermal pool
close by, and there will be an opportunity most mornings (between breakfast and the morning meditation session) to enjoy a dip, before the springs are open to the public.
There are also good walking trails right out the door, and a fire pit for evening campfires.
For information about the retreat centre visit www.yukonretreat.ca.
Accommodation
There are nine 2-person tent cabins available, two 4-person bunkhouses, and limited room for tents or RVs. The cabins are very comfortable. They are all accessed from a
semi-circular board walk situated near the main building.
What to Bring
In addition to the obvious (ie. clothes, toiletries, towel, etc) bring:
1. Meditation mat, cushions or stool, blanket
2. Bathing suit for hotsprings dips
3. Sturdy footwear if you intend to hike
4. Warm and water proof clothes (come prepared for cool windy weather as well as warm spring sunshine) . We will be holding walking meditations outside.
Costs:
The costs include Roberts travel, food and accommodation expenses, facility rental (kitchen, dining, and meditation space), 3 or 6 nights accommodation, meals (breakfast
Saturday through lunch Monday or Thursday), and administration. Robert's time is paid by donation.
Rather than setting a defined FEE Robert prefers to leave it up to individuals to pay what they feel they can afford. This practice is followed by many Buddhist
teachers. However, it IS important that Robert be renumerated for his time. He is taking a week off his work in Portland Oregon to come here and offer the
teachings, and his livelihood is dependent on the generosity of retreat participants.
People on these retreats often ask me to guide them in what they should give. I am not comfortable doing so as it is a personal decision. The way I make my own
decision about what to give is in part what the teachings are worth to me, and what might I expect or hope for, if I was the teacher. The size of the group
factors into it as well (ie. knowing how many are sharing in supporting the teacher).
In order to ensure that this retreat is as affordable as possible I would like to reserve the right to fine tune the costs once I see how registrations are rolling in,
but I can commit to the cost not being more than $400 for the 3 day retreat and not more than $700 for the 6 day retreat. This is based on shared cabin (ie 2 per cabin)
accommodation (you can work out the difference if you want a bed in the bunk house or a single cabin, or if you prefer to camp). Please keep in mind that there is very
limited tenting space and it may not be available depending on everyone's preferences.
Cabins: $36 per person per night based on shared accommodation; $72 per night for single use.
Bunkhouse: $20 per person (if all four bunks are used), and
Tenting/RV site: $10 per night.
Participants will be expected to pitch in on meal clean up (in the interest of keeping retreat costs as low as possible). A roster sheet will be available for sign up
during the retreat.
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