Off-Grid Retreats: DHARMA OF NATURE RETREAT at the Shelterwood Collective

TO REGISTER AND/OR TO LEARN MORE PLEASE VISIT HERE.

–Pricing Information–
Insight Meditation Center, in partnership with Off Grid Retreats, is offering this retreat at no cost! But there will be an opportunity to offer donations at the end of the retreat.

—Overview & Site Location—
Off-Grid Retreats is honored to collaborate with Dawn Neal & Marjolein Janssen, the coteachers of this retreat!

The retreat will take place at Shelterwood Collective, a Black, Indigenous, and LGBTQ-led community forest and retreat center, healing people and ecosystems through active stewardship and community engagement. This 900-acre forest and former church camp resides above the Russian River in Sonoma County, California, on Unceded Kashaya and Southern Pomo territory. There are miles of hiking trails and a couple of streams that run through.

We welcome you to stay in our Large Glamping Bell Tent, Medium Glamping Tent or to Bring Your Own Tent / Van!

Each day there will be deepening meditation sessions supported by sensory immersion in nature. We will be cultivating mindfulness and presence through connecting with the ancient Buddhist elemental qualities of nature: earth, water, fire, air and space.

There will be optional movement and / or walking meditation every day. This is an opportunity to connect with the earth beneath your feet and the rhythmic pace of your breath as you traverse the surrounding landscape.

—The Participant’s Experience—
Practitioners from any and all backgrounds are welcome. No meditation experience is required.

Please note that the retreat is held in “noble silence” in the tradition of Insight (Vipassana) meditation.

Participants will also enjoy:

-Sitting, walking, and exploring in a beautiful, wild and intentional community forest
-Dharma talks
-Delicious and mindful vegetarian meals, tea and coffee – 3 simple and healthy meals each day from dinner Thursday night through breakfast on Monday.
-Time to relax / reflect and unplug from cell service and wifi
-Sharing in meal preparation and cleanup and other incorporations of yogi jobs
-Sliding scale and dana (donation based) pricing
-Various lodging options

–About the Teachers–

### Dawn Neal

is the Guiding Teacher of Insight Santa Cruz, and serves as a faculty member for the Sati Center Buddhist Chaplaincy Training Program. She has an MA from the Institute of Buddhist Studies in Theravada Buddhist studies and spiritual care. She is a published scholar and has worked as a professional interfaith chaplain for Stanford Medicine. She has also devoted several years to silent meditation retreats. Her intensive practice in Asia includes temporarily ordaining in Burma in 2009. For her full teaching schedule, please reach out.

### Marjolein Janssen

(pronunciation “Mar-yo-line”) began practicing insight meditation intensively in 2011, in Europe, the US, as well as Myanmar, where she was ordained as a Buddhist nun. Marjolein brings both formal practice and practice in daily life to her teachings. Her deep love for the natural world and the Dhamma form the foundations for her teachings.

Her teachers are Sayadaw U Tejaniya, Andrea Fella and Susie Harrington. Currently she is training as a Retreat Dharma Teacher with Gil Fronsdal and Andrea Fella. And as a Nature Dharma Retreat Teacher with Susie Harrington, Mark Coleman, and Gil Fronsdal. Marjolein is the Guiding Teacher at the Insight Meditation Community of Richmond, VA. She also guides online meditation at the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, CA. And offers (outdoor nature) retreats in the US and Europe. 
For more information about Marjolein visit her website .