Eight-day on-line retreat with US dharma teacher Gil Fronsdal12-20 February Due to Covid, this retreat is NOW FULLY ON-LINE and there are just a couple of places available This eight-day on-line retreat offers a rare opportunity to connect with one of the most highly-respected insight teachers in the US, Gil Fronsdal. Option 1: Online retreat Held in silenceContinue reading “New online retreat opportunity!”
Category Archives: retreat
Insight Meditation Society 2020 Registration Now Open
Just letting you know that the Insight Meditation SOciety in Barre, Massachusetts, has just announced its 2020 retreat schedule and registration is now open. Based on previous years, most retreats tend to get fully booked within a few days, so if you’re interested in practising at IMS, best to register as soon as you canContinue reading “Insight Meditation Society 2020 Registration Now Open”
Retreat as rebellion
Resisting the tyranny of productivity Over the last few months, I’ve been having conversations with students – and with myself! – about what feels to be the increasingly relentless busyness of our lives. People often say to me that they don’t have time to meditate every day, and they certainly don’t have time to goContinue reading “Retreat as rebellion”
April 2018 full moon – Retreat and post-retreat practice
Before and after A couple of years ago, I wrote a post titled “Retreat and pre-retreat practice“, which explored ways to navigate some of the anxiety and other challenges that often come up before we go on retreat. This month, I’m writing about another aspect of retreat practice that doesn’t always get a lot ofContinue reading “April 2018 full moon – Retreat and post-retreat practice”
January 2018 full moon – re-set
Sydney Insight Meditators 2018 New Year’s retreat Making positive changes The New Year is traditionally a time to try to make positive changes for the year ahead. And yet most of us have had the experience of starting out with a rush of good intentions, only to find ourselves collapsing back into old habits veryContinue reading “January 2018 full moon – re-set”
December 2017 super moon – impermanence, vastness, and intimacy
Impermanence This month’s full moon post is a little late, because just this morning, I finished co-teaching the last six weeks of the three-month retreat at IMS in Barre, Massachusetts. The ending of any period of intensive meditation practice is poignant, but even more so when it’s been a longer retreat. As this retreat wasContinue reading “December 2017 super moon – impermanence, vastness, and intimacy”
July 2017 full moon – Gratitude
Just last week, I finished a one-month retreat at the Insight Meditation Society’s Forest Refuge in Barre, Massachusetts, led by Sayadaw U Vivekananda. What a relief it was, to temporarily put down some of the burdens I didn’t even know I was carrying, and to have such a powerful opportunity to “disentangle the tangle” (asContinue reading “July 2017 full moon – Gratitude”
March 2016 full moon – Retreat and pre-retreat practice
Planning to go on retreat? I’ve had a few conversations recently with people who are planning to go on retreat soon, and at some stage in the discussion, there’s often an embarrassed acknowledgement of feeling some anxiety about it. Even for people who have been on retreat before and have some familiarity with the set-up,Continue reading “March 2016 full moon – Retreat and pre-retreat practice”
February 2016 full moon – Motivation, Respect, Resolve
The rewards and challenges of technology Earlier this evening, I gave my first dharma talk via video-link, from the YHA in Sydney to Auckland Insight in New Zealand. Nothing too remarkable about that these days; but still, it was a delight to be able to connect with the group in this way, and I feltContinue reading “February 2016 full moon – Motivation, Respect, Resolve”
February 2016 new moon – sea anemone heart
Sea anemone by Virginia Draper http://www.virginiadraper.com/p822038089 Opening, closing, opening, closing … Everything has its natural rhythm, including the human heart. I’m not sure why it took me so long to understand this, but a childhood memory – of exploring rock-pools with my father while on holiday in Scotland – helped. On family visits to chillyContinue reading “February 2016 new moon – sea anemone heart”
Jill Shepherd: insight meditation 