Ongoing Practice Support
Resources for your practice
If you’re new to Seattle Insight, take a look at our Weekly Practice page to get you on your way. If you already have a dharma practice, check out our Study Materials, Books by Rodney Smith and Links to external Dharma sites.
If you’re interested you can take a look at our Newsletter Archive of special articles by our teachers and others.
Introductory meditation classes are offered quarterly. See the upcoming schedule here.
Having an ongoing group to sit with can give strength and energy to our personal meditation practice – and help cultivate community!
Seattle Insight offers a variety of drop-in sits, which include a guided meditation and an opportunity for questions and comments. The Sunday morning and Monday evening sits also include a dharma talk. These drop-in sits are facilitated by Seattle Insight teachers and leaders. Check the calendar for upcoming weekly practice sessions.
Kalyana mitta (KM) groups, shared interest groups, and neighborhood sitting groups provide the opportunity for SIMS members to develop sangha by practicing and socializing with other like-minded individuals.
Affinity Groups – includes BIPOC and LGBTQIA2S+
KM groups form around a specific practice topic and are facilitated by practitioners with at least two years of experience.
Shared interest groups are a more informal way to practice or make friends while joining together in a social, educational, or recreational activity.
Neighborhood sitting groups are open-ended, drop-in groups that meet weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly and give individuals an opportunity to practice together in a smaller group with other SIMS members who live in their neighborhood.
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.
These retreats typically start at 9:00 AM and end at 4:30 PM on Saturday and Sunday for a weekend retreat, or on Saturday for a daylong. These retreats are generally hybrid – both in person and online. They provide an opportunity for a day or a weekend of extended practice. They also provide a great opportunity to sit with a variety of teachers.
See the Retreats & Daylongs page for more information about non-residential retreats at Seattle Insight with links to residential retreat centers you can view.
SIMS does not have the facilities to sponsor residential retreats, but you may find information for a variety of Insight Meditation retreat centers in the “Residential Retreats” section on the Retreats and Daylongs page.
Residential retreats allow participants to deepen their mindfulness practice within a continuous environment that includes periods of sitting, walking and dharma talks
Check our Retreats & Daylongs page for recommended residential retreat centers.
Residential Retreat Scholarships
For SIMS members with limited financial resources, SIMS offers scholarships of up to fifty percent of the retreat center registration fee for retreats led by Rodney Smith or our Guiding Teachers. For more information and to apply, please see the Scholarship Program and Application Form.
Seattle Insight’s guiding teachers and Assistant Teachers offer the opportunity for personal practice interviews to SIMS sangha members. Even though there is usually ample time for questions in the classes and sits offered by SIMS, some people have difficulty asking a question, or even framing it, in a large group. Others feel that something may be too personal to bring up in a group setting. A one-to-one connection with an experienced practitioner is a way to nourish one’s practice.
For more information, and to request a practice interview, please review the Interview Practice Meetings page.
