True North Insight

Insight meditation offers us a way towards freedom from habits of confusion, clinging and resistance, the drivers of human suffering. As drivenness diminishes, we come home to who we truly are and can be open and intimately present in the unfolding of life. The warm quality of presence is love; our deepening practice reveals the boundlessness of an awakened heart. This retreat will explore within our own experience how insight and wisdom free us to love wholeheartedly, and how love liberates us from the painful delusion that we are isolated and separate. This retreat is recommended for people with a foundation of meditation practice, and a previous insight retreat. There will be optional Feldenkrais (Awareness Through Movement) sessions offered by Janet Maxwell.   Registration Information ARRIVAL TIME: 3:30-5:30 pm, Wednesday, July 18. The retreat will conclude by lunch on Sunday, July 22. Everyone is welcome to stay for lunch. COST: TNI is dedicated to offering affordable rates to all. TNI retreat fees are on a sliding scale basis that allows participants to pay according to individual means. Fees do not include compensation for the teachings, and teachers rely on the generosity of retreatants for a sustainable income. There is an opportunity to offer dana (donations) to the teachers at the end of each retreat. The deposit is included in all of our fees. Sliding Scale:              $505– $575 - $640 Deposit:                      $255

Co-Teacher: Jean Esther  When we go on retreat and dive into silence and inner awareness we have the opportunity to recognize and release the habits of mind that limit our freedom and peace. Possibly the most challenging and important arena into which we bring our practice of mindfulness is relationships. While we may want to respond to our intimate relations, colleagues, friends and neighbors with authenticity and an open heart, relationships are often the context in which old reactive patterns are triggered. In this retreat Daryl Lynn Ross and Jean Esther will explore how to be intimate with ourselves, and authentic and compassionate in how we relate with others. The retreat schedule will include sessions of mindful speaking and interaction as well as times of silence, all engaged in with a spirit of kindness. Sitting and walking meditation, teachings, mindful movement and discussions about practice will round out the retreat schedule. This retreat is open to all, and is not specifically designed for couples. Couples and individuals of all sexual and gender orientations are welcome.  Please note: we ask that couples not share a room together.   Registration Information ARRIVAL TIME: 3:30-5:30 pm, Thursday, August 9. The retreat will conclude by lunch on Sunday, August 12. Everyone is welcome to stay for lunch. COST: TNI is dedicated to offering affordable rates to all. TNI retreat fees are on a sliding scale basis that allows participants to pay according to individual means. Fees do not include compensation for the teachings, and teachers rely on the generosity of retreatants for a sustainable income. There is an opportunity to offer dana (donations) to the teachers at the end of each retreat. The deposit is included in all of our fees. Sliding Scale:              $390 – $440 - $490 Deposit:                      $195  

The Buddha said, "There is one thing that, when cultivated and regularly practiced, leads to deep spiritual intention, to peace, to mindfulness and clear comprehension, to vision and knowledge, to a happy life here and now, and to the culmination of wisdom and awakening. And what is that one thing? It is mindfulness centered on the body."  The first mindfulness practices that the Buddha taught were attending to the body— coming to our senses. Mindfulness of the body is an invitation to open to...

We are all intricately connected with all human and non-human beings, our planet Earth and the cosmos. Generosity and other ethical practices bring us into alignment with this truth. Love is the warmth of deeply caring in these relationships. Wisdom sees the empty nature of it all with the heart wide open. Please join us in meditation, reflection and other supportive practices as we explore these perspectives on the Dharma.    

With David Schouela (yoga) — The Buddha said, "There is one thing that, when cultivated and regularly practiced, leads to deep spiritual intention, to peace, to mindfulness and clear comprehension, to vision and knowledge, to a happy life here and now, and to the culmination of wisdom and awakening. And what is that one thing? It is mindfulness centered on the body." The first mindfulness practices that the Buddha taught were attending to the body— coming to our senses. Mindfulness of the body is an invitation to open to the awareness which is already present in the body. The retreat practices and teachings will support continuity of mindfulness in the body throughout all activities. A wholesome sense of being calm, grounded, embodied and present will be nourished.