The Buddha taught that you can search the entire universe for someone more deserving of your love and affection than yourself, and you will not find that person anywhere.

And yet, for many of us, it seems much easier for us to offer our care, compassion, and even forgiveness to others than to ourselves.

We tend to beat ourselves up, or give ourselves an unnecessarily hard time for our “perfectly human” imperfections.

During this 5-day meditation retreat, we’ll be deeply exploring and nurturing the heart practices of kindness, compassion, joy, and a sense of profound ease (or equanimity) – for the person we spend the most time with – ourselves.

In the Buddhist tradition, these four essential qualities of heart are called the Divine Abodes, or the Bhrama Viharas, which translates as the “dwelling places of the gods.” And the idea is that, through our practice, we can not only nurture these qualities, but eventually, we can become these qualities … and “dwell there,” in the home of our body, mind, and heart.

Our silent retreat together will include dharma talks, periods of both guided and silent meditation, walking meditation, and Q&A sessions about these essential practices. Check-in will be from 4-6 p.m. Thursday, and the retreat will end at 12:45 p.m. Monday, followed by lunch.

LEARN MORE HERE