Winter Solstice Retreat: Embracing the Dark, Inviting the Light (220R22) - On Land
Oren Jay Sofer, SEP, Carol Cano, MA, devon hase, nico hase, Matthew Brensilver, PhD and Cara Lai, MA
December 17 - 23, 2022
Please only register for one of the two formats: On-Land or Online.
Registration open until 11:59pm (Pacific Time) on Friday, December 16, 2022. A waiting list will be created if the retreat fills early.
Insight Meditation Winter Solstice Retreat: Embracing the Dark, Inviting the Light
Open to: Everyone
Hybrid Retreat: To create greater accessibility and inclusivity, we’re offering this retreat in two formats over the same dates.
The Two Formats are:
1. On-land Residential Retreat
2. Online Retreat – limited to only 48 participants
On-land Residential Retreat Details:
This retreat will support centering ourselves at the time of the holidays and the New Year, through quieting our minds, grounding in our bodies, opening up our hearts, and using inquiry to help give clarity to our practice. There will be a special emphasis on opening to the darkness, including to our difficulties and challenges, as well as to the coming light—to our beauty, joy, wisdom, and love. The retreat will include full meditation instructions, sitting and walking meditation, daily lovingkindness practice, Qigong practice, evening talks, practice check ins, and a Winter Solstice ceremony.
Arrival Time: 2:30-4:30 p.m.
Departure Time: 11:00 a.m.
Sliding Scale: $300-$2640*
Supporter Rate w/single room guarantee-$2640
Benefactor – $2280
Sustainer – $1740
BASE – $1140
Reduced – $720 (limited)
Scholarship Rates (BIPOC; M/K; YA) – $300 (limited)
*PLUS a donation to the teacher(s)
Online Retreat Details:
The online retreat will be offered via Zoom and will include: meditation instructions, Dharma talks, and opportunities to ask questions during Q&A with on-land teachers, broadcasted live from Spirit Rock’s Upper Meditation Hall. There will also be practice meetings on Zoom with a dedicated online Spirit Rock teacher, as well as online affinity groups. Please note: the on-land teachers will not offer practice meetings to online practitioners.
The online retreat will be taught by Matthew Brensilver and Cara Lai.
Opening Day Start Time: TBD ~5:00-6:00pm; includes a technology open house/orientation
Closing Day End Time: TBD ~11:00am
Online retreat includes:
-Zoom hall for all teaching sessions
-Practice meetings with the online teachers
-Opportunity to ask questions during Q&A with the on-land teachers
-Online affinity groups (optional)
Sliding Scale: $150-$1800*
Benefactor – $1800
Sustainer – $1150
ONLINE BASE – $650
Online Reduced – $300 (limited)
Scholarship Rates (BIPOC; M/K) – $150 (limited)
*PLUS a donation to the teacher(s)
Scholarship offerings for On-Land Retreats: 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). Scholarships are limited to TWO per calendar year for on-land retreats.
Hemera Fellowships for On-Land Retreats – are you eligible? Learn more…
Room Occupancy Update*: Starting with our “Living with Awareness” retreat on March 27, 2022, we will return to double occupancy rooms. Many of our rooms are single occupancy (only 16 of 80 rooms are double occupancy). We will also return to offering a “guaranteed single room” rate and these will be limited (16). This rate guarantees a single room while helping to support scholarships and all we do here at Spirit Rock. The remaining single rooms are not exclusive to the top end of the sliding scale; however, they are initially prioritized for those with serious medical needs.
*Subject to change depending upon COVID-19 situation.
IMPORTANT – Details on our current COVID Safety Protocols for In-person Retreats.
Cancellation Policy for Residential Retreats as of April 2022*:
Standard Cancellation Fee Schedule:
- $100 On or before 8 weeks
- $175 4-8 weeks before
- $300 2-4 weeks before
- No refunds as of 2 weeks before
Scholarship Rate Cancellation Fees:
- $75 On or before 8 weeks
- $100 4-8 weeks before
- $200 2-4 weeks before
- No refunds as of 2 weeks before
*Fees reduced for serious illness or death in family
About the Teachers
Oren Jay Sofer, SEP
Oren Jay Sofer teaches meditation and communication internationally. He holds a degree in comparative religion from Columbia University, is a Certified Trainer of Nonviolent Communication, and a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner for the healing of trauma. Oren is also the author of several books, including the best-seller "Say What You Mean: A Mindful Approach to Nonviolent […]
Learn more about Oren Jay Sofer, SEP
Carol Cano, MA
Carol Cano, MA, has a master’s in Psychology and began her practice over 30 years ago at Wat Kow Tahm in Thailand and has actively engaged in building communities and teaching Dharma internationally. She is a graduate of the 2017-2020 Spirit Rock Meditation Center's Teacher Training program and a teacher at Spirit Rock often. She is […]
Learn more about Carol Cano, MA
devon hase
devon hase loves long retreats. Cumulatively, she’s spent four years in silent practice in the Insight and Vajrayana traditions. Since discovering meditation in 2000, she has put dharma and community at the center of her life: she spent a decade bringing mindfulness to high school and college classrooms and now teaches at the Insight Meditation […]
Learn more about devon hase
nico hase
nico hase lived in a monastery for six years before earning a PhD in counseling psychology and becoming an Insight Meditation teacher full time. He currently mentors mindfulness teachers, teaches online and in-person retreats, and speaks with students in one-on-one sessions. He and his beloved life partner devon are the authors of How Not to […]
Learn more about nico hase
Matthew Brensilver, PhD
Matthew Brensilver teaches at the Insight Retreat Center, Spirit Rock and Insight Meditation Society. He was previously program director for Mindful Schools and for more than a decade, was a core teacher at Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Society. Matthew worked as a clinical social worker, serving severely and persistently mentally ill adults. He subsequently […]
Learn more about Matthew Brensilver, PhD
Cara Lai, MA
Cara has spent most of her life in pursuit of meaning and happiness, which landed her in the meditative arts for most of her adult life. Throughout many mind-body adventures, she has explored the concentrated mind, chronic illness, the value of pleasure, the power of maternal energy, and connection to the earth. In the past, […]
Learn more about Cara Lai, MACategories : Hybrid, Multi-day, On-land, Residential, Retreat