Retreats

Registration
Please scroll to bottom of page for logistical information about retreats, registration requirements, cancellation policies, and lunch options.

Schedule and Suggested Contributions

Unless otherwise noted, one-day retreats start at 9:30 am and end at 4:30 pm.  The suggested registration contribution for one-day retreats is $20 – 35. There is also an opportunity to practice dana for the teachers. There is a mid-day break for lunch. It is recommended that you bring lunch to minimize disruption to your retreat. If you are not able to bring a lunch with, there is a list of local eateries below.

Please see below for more information on registration procedure, lunch and more.

Half-Day Introduction to Meditation
with Peggy Gillespie and Manny Mansbach
Saturday, February 25, 9:30 am - 1:30 pm
Suggested contribution: $10 - 15
plus Teacher Dana

“Live in joy, in peace, even among the troubled.” -- The Buddha

This half-day class will be a gentle and welcoming introduction to Insight Meditation for beginners or those who would like a refresher. We will combine talks, short periods of meditation, walking,  movement, and small group exercises, and provide assistance with the basics of posture, how to meditate, not getting trapped in expecting perfection, and practicing meditation in daily life. Just bring your curiosity, along with a combination of energy and receptivity, and discover the simple and powerful benefits of meditation.

Building Community Across Race
with Arinna Weisman

This retreat is now full. You may email registration@insightpv.org to join the waiting list if you like.

Saturday, March 24
Suggested contribution: $20 - 35  
plus Teacher Dana  

As practitioners we are all moved to love and wisdom.  This calls us to see where our thoughts and actions are unskillful and bring negative consequences. This inquiry is part of the deconstruction of the ego and creates the conditions for the ending of suffering.  One of the ways we have unintentionally built walls around ourselves is how we have inhabited whiteness with all its associated ideas and behaviors of racism. It would be impossible not to and be alive. No blame. The good news is that we have the opportunity to uncover these layers of beliefs and patterns and to free our hearts of these constrictions.
 
This retreat is a rare opportunity to explore in a loving and non-blaming environment the ways we feel isolated and separate as white people and to learn how to uncover these places and open our hearts to our selves and to build authentic relationships across race in our sanghas and in other parts of our lives.
Limited to 18 - 20 participants.

Transforming Our Daily Lives
with Arinna Weisman
Sunday, March 25
Suggested contribution: $20 - 35
plus Teacher Dana  

The Buddha speaks of the great power of general comprehension, an aspect of mindfulness, in understanding the purpose of our actions. When we bring this quality to whatever we are doing the field in which the action takes place opens to include connection, openheartedness and intimacy. During this day we will cultivate this mental capacity and then inquire into some of the places that feel problematic in our lives to support an opening into what we can name as the sacred.

Non-Residential
Weekend Retreat

This retreat is now full. You may join the waiting list below if you like.

with Rebecca Bradshaw
and Jean Esther
Fri, March 2 - Sun, March 4
Friday 7 - 9 pm
Saturday 9 am - 8 pm,
Sunday 9 am - 1 pm
Pioneer Valley Co-Housing Community, Amherst
Suggested contribution: $50 - 100 plus Teacher Dana

Share time with the community in this annual retreat which provides a chance to dedicate ourselves to developing mindfulness, wisdom and lovingkindness in our hearts and minds. We will practice with sitting and walking meditation, dharma talks, discussion periods, and small-group interviews. Saturday dinner and Sunday lunch provided.

If you would like to join the waiting list:

1. Fill out the online registration form here.
2. Pay your $20 deposit online here. (Unused deposits can be refunded or donated to Teacher Dana.)

We will confirm the receipt of your registration, and contact you as soon as possible if there is a space for you.

Retreat for the LGBTQ Community
with Jean Esther and Nick Boutros
Sunday, April 1, 10 am - 5 pm
Suggested contribution: $20 – 35
plus Teacher Dana
 
In the challenges of our current political and economic climate, we can feel like a withered flower left out in the sun. In contrast, the Buddha taught of the infinite capacity of the heart to love and bear witness. Join us for a day of meditation and contemplation in our LGBTQ community as we open to the heart's capacity to experience freedom no matter what the circumstance. How does the Buddha's message help us become the best family members, lovers, activists, and, ultimately as human beings, that we can be? How can we enjoy the freedom of the heart even in situations of great suffering or injustice? We will explore these questions through a day of mindful sitting and walking meditation, teachings of the Buddha and group discussion.  Beginners and experienced students welcome.

Nick Boutros: Nick has been a meditator in both the Vipassana and Tibetan Buddhist traditions for 14 years. He has studied with teachers such as Matthew Flickstein and Bhante Henepola Gunaratana, and received his Master's from Naropa University in Contemplative Psychotherapy in 2006. Nick is currently a psychotherapist in Northampton, who works with the LGBTQ community and specializes in mindfulness-based approaches to mental health.

Mindfulness in Human Relationships
with Chas DiCapua
Sunday, April 15
Suggested contribution: $20 – $35
plus Teacher Dana

Almost every meditator will agree that one of the most difficult areas in life to remain mindful is when we are interacting with others. And yet, we spend much of our time engaging with people, so it would behoove us to cultivate the ability to be mindful while being in relationship with others. If there is a final frontier for us humans, this is it!  In this day long retreat we will use both silent sitting and walking meditation, as well as exercises in dyads and in small groups designed to cultivate mindfulness and explore our immediate experience while interacting with others.
 
Metta and Karuna - Treating Ourselves and Others with Kindness and Compassion
with Kim Weeber
Saturday, May 19
Suggested contribution: $20 - 35  
plus Teacher Dana  

We will practice meditations that cultivate our natural capacity for an open and loving heart.  People will be given an opportunity to get in touch their own deepest wishes for well being for themselves and others.  These practices lead to the development of concentration, happiness, and a greater ability to accept ourselves and others. This retreat is suitable for both beginners and experienced meditators.

Seeing How It Is
with Chas DiCapua
Sunday, June 10
Suggested contribution: $20 – 35
plus Teacher Dana

Although each moment of our experience is manifesting the nature of change, impermanence and interconnectedness, there’s nothing like being out in nature for connecting with these three truths. In nature, it’s not theoretical, it’s just how it is. We’ll spend the day hiking, sitting and doing exercises to tune us in to the wisdom that nature embodies. We’ll hike up Roaring Mountain and Mt. Toby in Leverett, Ma.  The hiking will be fairly easy, so just an overall good fitness level should be fine.  We’ll meet in the parking lot of Guru Ram Dass Ashram off Rt. 63 in Leverett. Please contact Rachel at rarahn@comcast.net or at (413) 328-8372 to register.

Cultivating Wise Intention
with Claire Stanley
Sunday, June 24, 10 am - 4 pm
Suggested contribution: $20 – 35
plus Teacher Dana

The Eightfold Path is an exquisite hologram of teachings that leads us toward awakening in every aspect of this human life.  During this daylong study retreat, we unpack what is meant by Wise Intention, exploring both the unconscious and conscious levels of intention and how intention impacts the quality of our thoughts.  Through our inquiry process, we uncover the experiential and theoretical truth in both meditation and in daily life of the power of wise intention.

The Practice of Presence
with Jesse Maceo Vega-Frey
Saturday, July 21
Suggested contribution: $20 - 35
plus Teacher Dana

Mindfulness practice encourages a deep vulnerability to an ever-changing present. Committing to this sensitivity without descending into overwhelm requires care, patience, and strength of heart. Join Jesse for a day of meditation where we will try our best to find security amidst the unstable, beauty in the unknown and unexpected, and peace within the undependable.

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Registration Procedure
Please register IN PERSON for classes and day retreats by arriving 15 minutes before the class or retreat. There is NO pre-registration by telephone or mail. 

Registration Contributions
All registration contributions for classes, one-day retreats and weekend retreats are applied to the administrative costs of running the Center. We also ask participants to support the teachings by making a donation to the teacher at each event.  This is an opportunity to practice generosity (dana). In case of financial difficulty, scholarships are available.

Lunch
For one-day retreats, it is recommended that you bring a bag lunch so that your retreat is not disrupted.  If you cannot bring your lunch, listed below are some restaurants in Easthampton:

Riff's Joint – counter service, eat-in high quality casual food (not a bar, in spite of the name) located right below the Center on the first floor of Eastworks
The Silver Spoon restaurant – traditional American food
Easthampton Diner - traditional diner food
Big E's Supermarket - ready-made and made-to-order sandwiches, hot soups and deli items

Cancellations for Retreats
If there is a question about snow or other weather-related cancellations, please call Insight PV at 413-527-0388 after 6:30 am and select the cancellation mailbox.