Introductory One–Day and Weekend Retreats for Newcomers

Introductory Retreat Theme:
Finding Strength in Life’s Stormy Seas

Note: We recommend this retreat for everyone coming to their first BMCM retreat, even for those who have experience in other types of meditation. This retreat will help you see the benefits of the eight-point program of passage meditation and give you full instruction, and yet it remains a deep and inspiring program.

We can’t control what life sends us, Easwaran says, but we can choose how we respond. If we calm the mind, we can access the strength, compassion, and wisdom within us.

Explore Easwaran’s passage meditation at a one-day or weekend retreat, where the combination of a relaxed, welcoming atmosphere and rich discussions draws together people of a wide range of ages and backgrounds.

During the course of the day or weekend, you will discover the practicality and power of passage meditation in theory and practice. You will learn the underlying principles of the whole eight-point program of passage meditation: why the eight points are beneficial and how they work together, and how you can apply them to your own challenges and aspirations.

You will receive full instruction in the first two points: meditation on a passage and repetition of a mantram. You will also learn how the other six points will carry the benefits of meditation directly into your work day and home life.

By the end of your retreat, you will have memorized a short inspirational passage to use in the meditation sessions, chosen a mantram and found ways to use it in your daily life, learned different memorization techniques, and also experienced how relaxing and rejuvenating a mantram walk can be.

The balanced schedule allows time for inner reflection, discussion, learning, and application in a comfortable and well-paced schedule. There is time to have your questions answered, meet other people in your area who are practicing passage meditation, and find local BMCM fellowship groups which meet on a regular basis for ongoing support.

This curriculum reaches great depths, and gives you all the information and inspiration you need to start a passage meditation practice.

You can participate in the discussions as much or as little as you are comfortable with.

The retreat presenters are life-long students of Eknath Easwaran, and have decades of experience presenting Easwaran's program to a world-wide audience.

What people have said about this retreat:

“Whatever else might happen or not, for me, personally, last year will be etched in my memory as the beginning of an awakening within me that will probably dictate how I live the rest of my life.”

“The format of the retreat was relaxed and informative. The experience of this retreat will help me develop into the person I want to become.”

“My expectations were much more than met. I had a very fulfilling and inspiring experience. Life-changing, I would say . . .”

• See a video clip of the talk by Easwaran that we will be watching at this retreat
  

Retreats in Tomales are kept to an intimate group size of 15–20 people. There are no prerequisites.

We regret that weekend retreats in Tomales do not have a one-day option. One-Day retreats are listed separately in the calendar on the right side column.

One-Day (Saturday) Retreats begin at 9 a.m. and end at 5:30 p.m.

One-Day Retreat Fee:

Standard $100 (Includes the program and a vegetarian lunch.)

Sliding Scale $60–$145 (For an explanation of our sliding scale, click here.)

Weekend Retreats begin on Friday at 4 p.m. and end on Sunday at 2 p.m.

Weekend Retreat Fee:

Standard $300 (Includes the program, vegetarian meals, and accommodations.)

Sliding Scale $225–$375 (For an explanation of our sliding scale, click here.)

Commuter $200 (Includes the program and meals, but no accommodation.)

A sliding scale fee structure, as well as financial aid, is available to help everyone attend our retreats. For information on applying for payment plans and/or the availability of scholarships please call us at 800.475.2369 or email us.

Inspiration One-Day and Weekend Retreats for Returning Meditators

Inspiration One-Day Retreat Theme:
Living in Wisdom

Tell me of those who live in wisdom, ever aware of the Self;
How do they talk, how sit, how move about?
    (The Bhagavad Gita, 2:54)

Our new regional retreat curriculum focuses on one of the most glorious passages for meditation, Living in Wisdom. How can it help us now, in 2010, with all the challenges, big and small, of our daily lives? Join us to study the passage in depth and to explore how these verses, together with our passage meditation practice, can help us reach into and transform those areas of our lives where we may feel off-balance and need more strength and stability.

Inspired by Easwaran’s teachings and by his enthusiasm for the spiritual life, and encouraged by the spiritual fellowship that is such an important part of our retreats, make a practical plan for discovering your own inner wisdom, day-by-day, minute-by-minute. Whatever challenges lie ahead, deepening your practice will give you the courage, creativity, and strength that you need to face them.

“I found some practical reciting methods to turn difficult challenges into spiritual growth opportunities. I have been meditating steadily for about 5 years, but I deepened the power of my meditation by attending the retreat. Now I am seeing significant results, and I am seeing changes in myself that are positive.”

“I am always so glad to attend the regional retreat – it is always such a good break and a good reminder of the important things in life.”

“. . . what an amazing retreat! I would never have imagined getting so much from one weekend – this retreat touched on profound issues I didn’t even realize I greatly need to work on as I grow spiritually. It gently helped me focus with candor at the places I am most resistant to changing in my behavior to grow more loving and kind, and helped me move in that direction.”

“I benefited so deeply (from the one-day retreat). I am getting up earlier and am not missing any more days ‘here and there.’ Meditation and the other seven points are a great comfort and strength for me. I literally feel the energy being generated by them.”

Prerequisite: Attendance at a previous BMCM retreat.

One-Day (Saturday) Retreats begin at 9 a.m. and end at 5:30 p.m.

Retreat Fee:

Standard $100 (Includes the program, vegetarian meals, and accommodations.)

Sliding Scale $60–$140 (For an explanation of our sliding scale, click here.)

A sliding scale fee structure, as well as financial aid, is available to help everyone attend our retreats. For information on applying for payment plans and/or the availability of scholarships please call us at 800.475.2369 or email us.

Inspiration Weekend Retreat Theme:
Untying Wings&

This retreat is aimed at learning how to free ourselves from attachment – which can be a challenging and daunting concept. You will begin to see what detachment means through Easwaran’s eyes: as a positive and loving skill to nourish relationships and move closer to our own highest Self. By releasing ourselves from day-to-day restrictions, we can free ourselves to “soar” – “giving our time and love freely to everyone around us.”

The practical application of this is both striking and useful. We will connect the concept of releasing energy invested in petty attachments into enriching our relationships.

“We are meant to soar – to give our time and love freely to everyone around us. That is the essence of spiritual growth, and the whole purpose of meditation and the other skills of spiritual living is to free our wings and allow us to fly high.” – Eknath Easwaran

Prerequisite: Attendance at a previous BMCM retreat.

Weekend Retreats begin on Friday at 4:00 p.m. end on Sunday at 2:00 p.m.

“I returned home on Sunday evening feeling completely refreshed, relaxed, focused, and so much more alive.”

“. . . what an amazing retreat! I would never have imagined getting so much from one weekend – this retreat touched on profound issues I didn’t even realize I greatly need to work on as I grow spiritually. It gently helped me focus with candor at the places I am most resistant to changing in my behavior to grow more loving and kind, and helped me move in that direction.”

(Please note: We offer two different weekend programs for returning meditators. If you attend a regional weekend outside Tomales, you will experience the theme Living in Wisdom; if you attend a Tomales weekend, Untying Our Wings. All our one-day retreats for returning meditators, whether they are regional or in Tomales, follow the Living in Wisdom theme.)