Big Sky Mind Retreat

September 10-16 (with a weekend option)
Camp Child Elliston, MT

The practice of mindfulness, in which we observe our experience with acceptance, kindness, and curiosity, can lead not only to stillness of mind but also to a profound change in the way we see ourselves and our relationship to the world. We can come to realize that our normal sense of ourselves, in which we are in some sense separate from the outside world, is but an illusion, and can come to appreciate ourselves as part of a greater, interconnected whole. We can learn to sit like a mountain and to find a deep contentment in having a mind that is as expansive as the sky.

On this retreat, deep in the heart of Big Sky country, we'll be exploring mindfulness and the practice of dissolving the boundaries of the self so that we can expand it outwards until "self" and "other" have little or no meaning. We'll use a variety of forms of the mindfulness of breathing practice and walking meditation in order to stabilize the mind, and we'll use the six element practice in order to let go of our limited ways of seeing ourselves, and to enjoy seeing ourselves as part of an interconnected reality.

The retreat will be conducted mainly in silence, with talking only during meditation interviews and question and answer sessions. Both reading and communication with those who are not on retreat can have an unsettling effect on the mind, and in order to facilitate greater stillness of mind we ask you to leave all reading materials, cell phones, laptops, etc, at home or to check them in on arrival and not to use them until the retreat ends.