BCIMS Residential Retreat with Rachel Lewis and Tuere Sala [2024apr30beth]

We are gladdened to offer this 6-night, Residential Silent Meditation Retreat with Rachel Lewis and Tuere Sala at the Bethlehem Retreat Centre, April 30 - May 6, 2024.

Retreat Description

Cultivating the Joy of Insight

The Buddha taught the four noble truths as a way of freeing ourselves from the suffering of ordinary life. In this residential retreat, we will explore how joy and presence support the heart and mind in deepening into concentration and insight. Concentration strengthens the stability of our attention and our sense of ease in the simplicity of the present moment. This stability of attention is what enables us to open to the joy of insight and understanding.

There will be practice instructions at the beginning of each day and alternating sitting and walking periods. There will be practice discussion groups and time for questions and answers.

The retreat will be held in noble silence from the first evening until the last day, including a requirement to turn off and put away all electronic devices. We welcome all people from widely diverse communities and backgrounds, and our center supports those with ability access requirements.

This retreat is suitable for both experienced meditators and those who are newer to practice. See this video for Tuere and Rachel's thoughts on what this retreat will be like. If you have never been on a residential retreat, we suggest that before you sign up for this retreat you try one of the daylongs that Rachel offers.

Retreat Information

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY BEFORE REGISTERING.

Registration: This retreat will go on sale January 16, 2024 at 10am PST. We anticipate tickets will sell quickly. We recommend you register as soon as possible once the tickets go on sale. Pease note that the deadline for for financial assistance is January 2 - see Financial Assistance/DEI Financial Assistance section below for details

COVID-19: It is anticipated that small gatherings will be allowed by the BC Provincial Health Authority at this time. All health guidelines in place at the time of the retreat for small gatherings will be followed and communicated to attendees.

Attendees are strongly encouraged to be fully vaccinated, including the boosters, though we will not be requiring proof during check in. Masks are optional and encouraged in shared indoor spaces.

Room Rates/Fees:

Benefactor Rate - Private Room - $1,750

Base Rate - Private Room - $1,375

Shared Room - $1,160

Commuter - $950 (includes meals)

Folks who select the Benefactor Rate will receive a tax receipt for the $375 tax-deductible donation above the base rate. Both the Base Rate and Benefactor Rate tickets are for single-occupancy rooms.

If you select the Shared Room option, please indicate your room-sharing preferences in the order form (ie: wish to share with a partner or friend also registered for this retreat, gender preference, etc.)

We have a number of Commuter Spots available to folks who live locally or who are able to arrange local accommodation. Please email jess@bcims.org if you are interested in a Commuter Spot.

Fees do NOT include a financial offering (dana) to the teachers. There will be an opportunity to offer dana to the teachers once you are at the retreat.

Financial Assistance: Financial assistance is available for this retreat. Please apply by emailing jess@bcims.org, and let us know what amount you are joyfully able to contribute. DEI Financial Assistance: We are also offering financial assistance from our DEI fund (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion). This is intended to offer support to folks from underrepresented and systemically marginalized communities to attend residential retreats. We encourage folks who identify as BIPOC (black, Indigenous, and/or people of colour) and people of the global majority, 2SLGBTQIA+, have a visible or invisible disability, or are from other underrepresented and systemically marginalized communities, to apply by emailing jess@bcims.org. Please specify in your email that you are interested in applying for the DEI fund, and share what amount you are joyfully able to contribute.

The deadline for financial assistance applications is January 2, 2024.

BCIMS Cancellation Policy:

Up to March 25 - refund offered, less a $100 cancellation fee.

From March 26 to April 22, 2024 - 50% refund offered.

On and after April 23, 2024 - no refund guaranteed.

Please note, our BCIMS Cancellation Policy applies to all ticket holders, including those with discounted tickets.

Accessibility Needs: There will be an opportunity on the Registration Order Form to specify any special needs or accommodations, including any needs or requests on washrooms, dietary, and access needs.

We may not be able to meet everyone’s preferences but we will do our best to accommodate needs and make the retreat as safe and accessible as possible. We encourage you to please reflect on the difference between needs and preferences for your stay as you fill out the Form, as this allows us to more easefully accommodate all retreatants.

Ridesharing: The information collected during registration regarding ridesharing will be distributed by email to all interested retreatants about four weeks prior to the retreat. Each individual is then responsible for directly making any ridesharing arrangement.

Dana: Registration fees cover retreat organizing costs, accommodations, and meals only. Voluntary donations (dana) for the teachings may be offered to the teachers at the retreat. More information will be shared with registrants.

About the Teachers

Rachel Lewis began practicing insight meditation in 2003, while completing her physics PhD at Yale. Since 2011, she has taught dharma and meditation classes and retreats in British Columbia and beyond. She completed the IMS/IRC 4-year teacher training in 2021, and is a guiding teacher of the British Columbia Insight Meditation Society. Her dharma teaching interests include the power of music, humour, and creativity to increase our capacity for learning, as well as the way that practice supports and is supported by social justice work. See her other events at http://rachelmeditates.ca/

Tuere Sala is a Guiding Teacher at Seattle Insight Meditation Society and Spirit Rock Retreat Center. She is a retired prosecuting attorney who has practiced Vipassana meditation for over 30 years. Tuere is committed to lay practice and inspired by bringing the Dharma to nontraditional places. She is a strong advocate for practitioners living with high stress, past trauma and difficulties sitting still. Tuere has been teaching since 2010 and has a long history of assisting others in establishing and maintaining a daily practice. See her upcoming events at https://www.tueresala.org/.

With heartfelt gratitude, BCIMS acknowledges we are based in what is now known as Vancouver, BC, the beautiful, traditional, and unceded lands of the Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples, who live on and have stewarded this land for thousands of years.