Retreats & Daylongs
Non-residential Retreats
Retreat is especially useful in strengthening practice capacity. The combination of a dedicated practice period, increased meditation and continuity of mindfulness provide the idea conditions for greater understanding and wisdom.
The container provides a safe environment in which to reflect upon the greater implications of having a regular meditation practice in our lives and the possibility of developing a natural inquiring mind. Unfortunately, having the time and resources to go on retreat can be a challenge for many practitioners. SIMS offers a variety of opportunities for extended practice while remaining home.
Upcoming Non-Residential Retreats and Daylongs at SIMS
Residential Retreats
Retreats offer sustained practice that deepens our understanding of the dharma. They usually include meditation instructions, sitting and walking meditation practice, dharma talks and dialogues with the teacher.
Residential retreats offer a full immersion into meditation practice from early morning to evening. They range from 2 days to 6 weeks. SIMS teachers, Tuere Sala, Tim Geil, and Keri Pederson and many others offer residential retreats.
Weekend Retreats
These retreats typically start at 9:00 AM and end at 4:30 PM on Saturday and Sunday, allowing participants to sleep in their own homes. They follow the same format of a residential retreat. They provide an opportunity for a weekend of extended practice. They also provide a great opportunity to sit with different guest teachers.
Guiding teachers Tim Geil and Tuere Sala offer non-residential retreats, and SIMS is also fortunate to have regular guest teachers who come to hold evening talks and non-residential retreats. Some of regular guest teachers at SIMS have included Sharon Salzberg, Ajahn Sumedho, Norman Fischer, Christina Feldman, Phillip Moffitt, Steve Armstrong, and numerous others who visit and freely offer their wisdom and deep practice to our sangha. Visit the guest teacher page to read more bios.
Sandwich Retreats
A sandwich retreat is designed to offer the dedicated time of a retreat within the context of our normal lives, allowing retreatants to work and sleep at home. The format of this seven-day retreat invites each of us to intentionally integrate formal meditation and daily life as Dharma practice. The retreat begins and ends with a weekend daylong – this can be thought of as the two slices of bread.
The nature of a sandwich is all about what is in the middle. During the middle week days, we will meet in the evenings only. Coming together again at the end of the day we will sit, walk and share our experiences of working with the exercises. Just like a residential retreat, retreatants are asked to commit to the entire retreat. This builds continuity and momentum of practice.
Days of Mindfulness and Daylongs
A day of mindfulness is included with registration for the Intro to Meditation class. They are geared towards beginners but many experienced practitioners enjoy spending the day in practice as well. Usually they start at 9:00 AM and end at 4:30 PM.
Both SIMS teachers and visiting teachers offer these accessible ways for a day of sustained practice. Guided meditations, sitting and walking meditations, talks and dialogue with the teacher.
Guiding teachers, Local Dharma Leaders and visiting teachers offer a variety of workshops or daylong retreats around specific topics. Visit the guest teacher page to read more bios.
