The Practice of Choosing Forgiveness (316R21) - On Land
Noliwe Alexander, Amana Brembry Johnson, Tere Abdala-Romano, Vance Pryor and Jonathan Relucio
December 12 - 16, 2021
Registration open until 11:59 p.m. (Pacific Time) on December 11, 2021. A waiting list will be created if the program fills early.
RETREAT TO BE HELD ON THE LAND!
Open to Everyone
Description:
Life is complex as we all have come to experience over the last 2 years. One of the opportunities that has become evident is the benefits that can be gained from the awareness of Forgiveness.
Embracing that insight and engaging with Forgiveness practices; no matter the Trauma, Loss, Grief, or Anger, will move us forward in our journey towards liberation.
The practice of Forgiveness can offer freedom from the challenges and the ramifications of being held in “bondage” to a person (including ourselves), circumstance or condition created by not forgiving. Starting from where we are, we can cultivate the possibilities of living into our fullest potential.
We are invited to bring our courage to explore and cultivate the opening of our hearts and minds. The intention is to investigate – even in small ways – a practice that can be experienced as difficult. The aspiration is not to achieve perfection in Forgiveness, but rather, a life which is more and more free from suffering and full with the potential for joy.
We will explore the practices of Forgiveness and Letting Go, with the primary supports of Mindfulness, Kindness, Compassion, Equanimity and Gratitude.
Scholarship offerings: In returning to the land, we will also be returning to our pre-pandemic scholarship options and policies. All scholarship rates require a minimum fee ($50/night). While we are not able to offer “no one turned away”-type of scholarships for in-person retreats, they are still available for online offerings.
Cancellation Policy
To offer participants greater flexibility as we make our way out of the pandemic, we’re offering a more generous cancellation policy for Residential Retreats (Aug-Dec 2021) and Online Multi-day Retreats (4+ days):
- $100 fee* when you cancel two or more days before the retreat (*fees reduced to half for scholarship participants)
- No refunds when you cancel less than two days prior to the retreat (applies to all participants)
About the Teachers

Noliwe Alexander
Noliwe Alexander has been a student of Vipassana meditation for over 20 years. Throughout this time of deep devotion to the Dharma, Noliwe has become a dedicated practitioner, meditation teacher of various retreats and sitting groups, day-longs and class series programs. She dedicates her BuddhaDharma practice and teachings to the BIPOC, LGBTQIA, At Risk and […]
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Amana Brembry Johnson
Amana Brembry Johnson is a dedicated meditation teacher and community leader with over four decades of contemplative practice across multiple spiritual traditions. She serves as a Core Teacher at the East Bay Meditation Center (EBMC) in Oakland, California, and is a coordinating teacher for residential retreats at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. Amana is one of […]
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Tere Abdala-Romano
Tere a senior Teacher at InsightLA. From Lebanese grandparents, Tere was born and lived in Mexico City almost all her life. Being a very devoted catholic, she then became fascinated by Tibetan Buddhism. She moved to Los Angeles in 2002 with her now late husband and three then young daughters. She left behind her MBA […]
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Vance Pryor
Vance Pryor has practiced insight meditation since 1999 in both the United States and Myanmar. He has been influenced by the teachings of Sayadaw U Pandita and Sayadaw U Tejaniya. He is a graduate of The Insight Meditation Society's 2017-2021 Teacher Training Program.
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Jonathan Relucio
For a decade, Jonathan Relucio taught trauma-informed yoga, meditation, and mindfulness in urban schools, mental health clinics and juvenile detention centers as a Senior Trainer for Niroga Institute. He has completed Spirit Rock's Mindfulness, Yoga and Meditation Training program and currently teaches at the East Bay Meditation Center. Jonathan facilitates transformation in social justice movements with Rockwood […]
Learn more about Jonathan RelucioCategories : On-land, Residential