Registration Deadline:
September 10, 2008
11:00 pm EDT
The PayPal buttons will be removed from the site at
this time, and because these retreats are scheduled back-to-back, we will
be unable to process late registrations.
Confirmation: Specific call-in numbers are usually emailed AFTER the deadline.
SEPTEMBER
12 (Friday PM) -
Focus Out
7:00 pm to 9:00 pm PDT / 10:00 pm to 12:00 am EDT
Emphasis:
Getting the foundations of the technique
Leader:
Shinzen Young
Prerequisites: The Introduction to Basic Mindfulness Class or its equivalent in the form of an Onsite Retreat or private work with Shinzen/facilitator.
Comments: The main goal of this program is to master the formal apparatus of Focus Out. You will learn how to anchor yourself in the present moment by focusing on external vision (“Sight”), external hearing (“Sound”) and physical-type body sensations (“Touch”).
Suggested Reading: Focus Out Summary
Fee: $10 per person (This fee does not include charges, if any, by your long distance phone service.)
SEPTEMBER 13 (Saturday AM)
-
Introduction to Basic Mindfulness
8:00 am to
12:00 pm PDT / 11:00 am to 3:00 pm EDT
Emphasis:
Getting Started
Leader:
Shinzen Young
Prerequisites: None
Comments: The main purpose of this class is to introduce you to the terminology and concepts needed to begin participating in monthly Home Practice Programs.
After completing this class you will...
Have a clear concept of what Mindfulness practice is and why it's useful.
Know what is meant by the Art of Noting.
Learn how to do Easy Rest, which is a simplified version of one of the 5 Ways of Basic Mindfulness.
Learn how to apply Easy Rest to specific issues in your life such as reducing stress, dealing with emotions, changing behavior, improving concentration, managing physical discomfort.
Also, once you've completed this class, you can begin to learn the 5 Ways at your own pace by participating in Foundational retreats every month or so. After you've learned the foundations of a particular Way, you can participate in the Deepening, Sharpening and Application programs that involve that technique.
Suggested Reading: It is recommended that you try to read the following 5 articles before participating in the Introduction to Basic Mindfulness Class. This may seem like a lot of work, but participation in the class will be greatly enhanced if you have at least some familiarity with what is in these readings.
What is Mindfulness?
About Posture
How to Note and Label
Easy Rest:
Reference Manual
5 Ways to Know Yourself as a Spiritual Being
Fee: $20 per person (Please note that this fee does not include charges, if any, by your long distance phone service.)
SEPTEMBER 13 (Saturday PM)
- Exploring Absolute & Relative
Rest
1:00 pm to
5:00 pm PDT / 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm EDT
Emphasis:
Sharpening the techniques
Leader:
Shinzen Young
Prerequisites: Previous experience in practicing Focus on Rest: Standard Version and Focus on Rest: Do Nothing.
Comments: People often associate the word meditation with achieving a calm deep pleasant restful experience. Actually, this is only part of the process but certainly an important part. One could say that there are two types of meditative rest: relative and absolute. In this retreat you’ll explore both. Relative rest is a soothing, pleasant sensory experience involving up to six "flavors" (Relaxation, light, Silence, Peace, Blank, Quiet). Absolute rest is, strictly speaking, not a sensory event because it’s outside of time and space.
In the Basic Mindfulness system, relative rest is first taught through the Easy (2-flavor) Version and the Standard (6-flavor) version of Focus on Rest. The experience of Absolute Rest is explored either through the "only note vanishings" option of Focus on Change or the Do Nothing option of Focus on Rest. In this program you’ll use the Standard version and Do Nothing option of Focus on Rest to complement each other, auguring deeper and deeper into the experience of "calm abiding."
Suggested Reading: The Significance of Restful States, Return to the Source, Focus on Rest Summary
Fee: $20 per person (This fee does not include charges, if any, by your long distance phone service.)
SEPTEMBER 14 (Sunday AM)
-
Focus on Something
Positive
5:00 am to
9:00 am PDT / 8:00 am to 12:00 pm EDT
Emphasis:
Getting the foundations of the technique
Leader:
Shinzen Young
Prerequisites: The Introduction to Basic Mindfulness Class or its equivalent in the form of an Onsite Retreat or private work with Shinzen/facilitator.
Comments: Focus on Positive is the only one of the 5 Ways that is not based on noting whatever comes up. Rather, it involves intentionally generating and sustaining “positive subjective states” and perhaps radiating an influence from those states into the future, past or out in the six directions of space.
There is a vast range of subjective content that you can choose to generate: from radiating Loving Kindness, to merging with archetypes, through cognitive behavioral reframing, all the way to “the law of attraction”—whatever you find useful, interesting and fun. The main purpose of this technique is to become intimate with the components of your subjective experience by actively playing with them. Secondary effects may include putting “good energy” into your environment, positive changes in your behavior, a more rational and appropriate thought process and so forth.
Suggested Reading: Focus on Positive Summary
Fee: $20 per person (This fee does not include charges, if any, by your long distance phone service.)
SEPTEMBER 14 (Sunday PM)
-
Exercise & Yoga
Retreat
10:00 am
to 2:00 pm PDT / 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm EDT
Emphasis:
Applying the techniques
Leader:
Shinzen Young
Prerequisites: Previous experience in practicing Focus Out and Focus on Change: Standard Version.
Comments: One of Shinzen’s best-selling CDs is called Meditation in the Zone. Being “in the zone” is a phrase used by athletes for the state of intense mindfulness that sometimes spontaneously arises in sports and athletics. In this program you will be guided in applying Focus Out and Focus on Change and Easy Rest to the experience of doing exercise or yoga of your choice.
The program will be organized into alternating periods of guided practice, practice on your own while exercising, and group Q&A. Before beginning the program, you should set up your environment and wear appropriate clothing so that you can do several periods of exercise/yoga. After completing this program you will be equipped to make your workout/exercise/yoga do double duty as a quality Mindfulness practice session!Suggested Reading: Focus Out Summary, Focus on Change Summary
Fee: $20 per person (This fee does not include charges, if any, by your long distance phone service.)