It’s late winter but spring is on its way

Early signs of spring are in the air as we begin to look forward to warm weather activities and events. A major endeavor will be to continue building a garage. We’re grateful to all who have contributed to this building project and we’ll be sending a fresh appeal for funds to complete it, but if you’d like to contribute now, please use the “Donate” button below, and choose the “Development” option. A busy season is shaping up as building will take place alongside the events described below, plus the daily work that keeps the Center operating, and outdoor work on the grounds, trails and gardens. Volunteer help is often welcome and needed. Please contact the receptionist if you are interested in volunteering.

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Les Schaffer

March 7-14 Retreat with Les Schaffer

Les is now in residence at the Center, sharing his curiosity about people, and their inquiries, ideals, and expectations. He writes:

I am finding meditation more and more a physical engagement. To identify time to pause, or to notice one has already paused. To take up a body position that supports pausing … sitting (walking, lying down); in the midst of troubling emotions and thoughts this can feel like effort. To notice how the body responds initially to the pause, to recognize the thoughts and feelings that take the stage as the pause deepens. Breathing in and watching the breath pour downwards towards the belly. Whether feeling quiet and open, or deeply troubled by ancient reactivity, sinking further into the body. Feeling into tightness, resistance, open flow, nothing at all … whether strong, subtle, or imperceptible. Self-centered effort — I have to do something — as expressed in our muscles and tissues, chest, —abdomen, and mind, comes into focus. Breathing out … leaning in. Falling in. Body experience itself generates inquiry: a body/mind that suddenly becomes interested in body/mind — in novel and perceptive ways. Habitual thinking meets an alert, quietly amused body and mind. “What ails me?”, “What makes me feel/act this way or that way?”, “What is me?”, are but crude expressions of heightened sensitivity. Time itself passes away. The breath pours in and down again.

Space is available for full and part-time participants in the retreat with Les. Some single rooms are still available. Please use the button below to register.

Quiet Weeks February 23-28 and March 2-6

Guests who come to the Center during Quiet Weeks will find more sittings scheduled than usual and there are opportunities to meet with teachers and dialogue with other participants. Please contact the receptionist to arrange a stay. Note that the Center is closed for a staff retreat from February 28 to March 1 when Quiet Week stays will not be possible. More information about Quiet Weeks.

Sunday, March 22 – Hike with the Springwater Trails Hiking Group

The Center will again host the Springwater Trails Hicking Group on Sunday, March 22nd, for hikes on the Center’s land, followed by the group’s pot-luck and Annual Meeting/information session. Anyone visiting the Center may join with the Springwater Trails folks for the events. The hikes begin at 2 p.m. We usually meet at about 1:45 p.m. in the parking lot. If you would like more information, contact Wayne Coger at the Center.

March 28 and April 18 – Saturday All-Day Sittings

Please contact the receptionist early to sign up for either or both of these All-Day Sittings to ensure a place. These are popular events and tend to fill to capacity. More information about All-Days.

April 9-12 Four-day retreat with Wayne Coger in Virginia

Wayne will lead this four-day silent meditation retreat at Mandala Kaya Retreat Center in central Virginia. The retreat will consist of sitting meditation, walking meditation, talks by Wayne, group dialogue, open bodywork periods, and the opportunity for private meetings with Wayne. Meals are provided and are vegetarian and mostly organic. Housing is provided in simple but comfortable shared rooms. A limited number of single rooms are available for a small surcharge.

Mandala Kaya is located in Fluvanna County, Virginia on 256 acres of mature forest with diverse and abundant flora and fauna and five healthy streams traversing the property. The retreat cost is $225. Registration deadline is March 25. For more information or to register, please contact Mark Bryant at mark.bryant108@gmail.com or 434-392-7916.

In addition to Wayne’s April retreat, other retreats are scheduled at Mandala Kaya later in the year with Springwater teachers Sandra Gonzalez and Richard Witteman.

Stew Glick

April 24-28 Retreat with Stew Glick

Stew spent many years on staff, and was asked by Toni Packer to help carry on the meditative work of the Center. Together with his wife Lisa Schwartz, he holds a weekly meditation/inquiry group at his home in Rochester.

In his article “Looking into Questions Arising During Retreat” Stew writes:

Can there be a watching without the watcher, which means no expectations of results, nor judgment about how I should be or how you should be, how I would like to be…but an awareness of how we actually are in this moment. It’s in this awaring that something new may emerge. If you want to put a word on it … compassion, understanding, love. That’s what we want from each other, isn’t it? To be loved? Can that be found right here, in oneself? Even saying those words sounds dualistic, so one tries to go easy with words. Because it is when the self is in abeyance, with its wants and needs and demands, that this love, this open being, this listening, is possible.

Read the full article.

This four-day retreat is a popular event. If you would like to attend, it would be wise to register soon while space is still available.

There’s more . . .

See the calendar for more retreats and events scheduled this year.

A reminder that assistance is available to attend retreat

Thanks to generous donors, the Center is able to maintain the Retreat Assistance Fund for those who cannot afford the full retreat fee. Information on how to apply can be found under Register for Retreat on the website.

Coming soon – sprouting skunk cabbages in the wetlands

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March/April News and Events