Registration is closed for this event. Please, call Reservations to inquire about last minute sign ups. 931-598-5342

Spaciousness and Warmth: the Essence of Meditation

Mindfulness on the Mountain

St. Mary’s Sewanee

May 3-5, 2024

taught by Gordon Peerman, Ryan Black, and Kenneth Robinson  

Come join us for a weekend of Mindfulness on the Mountain. This will be a Silent Retreat. There will be both guided and silent meditations, with morning, afternoon and evening teaching by Gordon Peerman. Ryan Black of Nashville Tai Chi and Wellness will lead the mindful movement of Qigong, integrated throughout the retreat. Kenneth Robinson will lead us in the devotional chanting of Kirtan. Meals will be silent (except for the opening Friday dinner). Both beginners and those with experience in mindfulness practice are most welcome.

What has come to be known as “mindfulness” in the West most typically comes in two “flavors.” The first flavor is Focused Attention, which is a concentration practice (or samadhi in Buddhist teaching). The object of attention may be breathing, or sounds, or the world of bodily sensations, or a mantra, or a visual image.

The second flavor of mindfulness as it has come to the West is Open Monitoring, or choiceless awareness (known as vipassana in foundational Buddhist teaching). Choiceless awareness is less focused and more “open” than Focused Attention. Choiceless awareness can be likened to someone sitting on the bank of the stream of consciousness, witnessing whatever contents are passing by, without focusing on any particular content.

Focused Attention and Choiceless Awareness are two flavors of what is known as “Deliberate Mindfulness."

There is a third, and less commonly known flavor of mindfulness, known as Effortless Mindfulness (or rigpa in Tibetan Buddhism), which is the awareness of Awareness itself, or Non-Dual Awareness. Here the focus of attention is not on contents in consciousness, but on consciousness itself. In this case, the practitioner turns and shifts awareness back on itself. Because awareness is not striving, not trying to get anywhere, not trying to make anything happen, not resisting anything, awareness “recognizes" itself as “effortless.” Effortless Mindfulness is a recognition of what is already here, a “flashing on of the awakened heart-mind."

This retreat we will be combining the Spaciousness of Effortless Mindfulness, aka “the View,” with the Warmth of Compassionate Holding of all the contents of consciousness: sensations, thoughts, and emotions. Bringing Warmth into the View is “the all sufficient remedy” for those moments we find ourselves contracted and reactive.

In the course of the weekend, we’ll make use of both Deliberate Mindfulness and Effortless Mindfulness. The sitting meditation of calm abiding in Breath Awareness, the mindful moving meditation of Qigong, and the devotional chanting of Kirtan set the stage for the heart to open into the Spaciousness and Warmth of the Open Heart

After 72 hours of registration, a $100 cancellation fee applies. There are no refunds within 7 days of the program arrival date.

Scholarships are available. Contact Reservations@stmaryssewnee.org for application.

Roommate discounts are available. Contact Reservations for more information. St. Mary’s Sewanee does not assign roommates.