MEDITATION RETREAT: Letting Go & Beginning Again

Meditation practice itself has often been defined as a process of learning how we can more calmly observe the constant flow of old and new, birth and death, in each moment, and more fully and compassionately experience both the ache of letting go, and the joy of beginning again.

During this silent daylong meditation retreat, we’ll be exploring how we can offer ourselves the kindness and care we need to let go of the way things were, and to welcome with joy all that is new in our lives – including our view of ourselves as new, too.

The format will include both guided and silent meditation, a dharma talk, and walking meditation both inside and on the lovely, spacious church grounds. Lunch will be in silence, and participants are asked to bring their own.

We’ll be gathering for our retreat on Saturday from 10 a.m. – 5:00 p.m in the beautiful, peaceful, light-filled sanctuary of Grace Episcopal Church, 110 N. Church Street in Berryville, VA. The spacious pews are padded, and the quiet church grounds include a large Parish Hall building, and several different lovely natural places to sit and walk.

THE TEACHER: Shell Fischer, founder and guiding teacher of Mindful Shenandoah(www.mindfulvalley.com) offers 35 years of extensive mindfulness training, study, and teaching. She is a Buddhist teacher, trained in the Tibetan Vajrayana tradition at Naropa University – the nation’s leading contemplative university – and in the Theravadan Vipassana (Insight) tradition by Dr. Tara Brach – one of the world’s foremost Insight teachers. She is a graduate of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction teacher-training program led by Jon Kabat-Zinn, founder of MBSR and the Stress Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. Prior to teaching, Shell wrote about mindfulness and yoga for national magazines.

While offering the teachings of Insight Meditation, Shell places great emphasis on the metta (loving-kindness) practices. Her hope is to guide you in nurturing even more kindness and compassion for yourself, others, and for all the situations you find yourself in throughout your life, through the heart-teachings and practices of mindfulness meditation.

Shell warmly welcomes the inclusion and participation of people of diverse identities, including those of all races, ethnicities, cultures, sexual orientations, gender identities, classes, religions, abilities, and ages … with the aspiration that all feel welcome, safe, and respected as we practice together in community.

FEE: $85 In-Person Registration; $40 Private online streaming. Late registration is unavailable the day of retreat. Once you’ve registered, you’ll receive detailed instructions, suggestions, and directions.

LEARN MORE & REGISTER HERE