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Winter Solstice Retreat: Embracing the Dark, Inviting the Light (290Z25) - Online

Dawn Scott, devon hase, Oren Jay Sofer, SEP and Heather Sundberg

December 18 - 23, 2025

Date and Time Details:
Thursday to Tuesday
December 18-23, 2025 (5 nights)
Opening day/Start Time: 4:00pm US Pacific Time
Closing day/End Time: 11:00am US Pacific Time
(Times are approximate and subject to change)

Online via Zoom

Contact: Spirit Rock Registration
registration@spiritrock.org

  • Benefactor. – $1,500.00
  • Sustainer. – $1,008.00
  • Basic. – $550.00
  • Mudita/Karuna Scholarship Rate. – $125.00
  • BIPOC Scholarship Rate. – $125.00

Cancellation Policy - Online: Drop-ins, Daylongs, Multiday Programs (1-3 days), Family Programs/Series, CEC fees:

  • NO REFUNDS
  • Open Credit, or Donation to Spirit Rock = if cancel by midnight, the day prior to program start (Pacific Time)
  • No Open Credit = if cancel day of the program, or beyond

Registration opens: Aug 20, 2025
Registration opens: Aug 20, 2025

Please only register for one of the two formats: Online Retreat or Audit Option.

Registration closes at 3:00pm (Pacific Time) on December 18, 2025. A waiting list will be created if the program fills early. A recording* will be available following the program.


Description

Throughout this residential retreat, we will focus on centering ourselves at the time of the holidays and the New Year. Together we will quiet our minds, ground our bodies, open our hearts, and use inquiry to help energize our practice. Special emphasis will be placed on opening to the darkness, including to our difficulties and challenges, and opening to the coming light, which includes the beauty, joy, wisdom, and love within and around us. This retreat will include complete meditation instructions, sitting and walking meditation, daily lovingkindness practice, daily Qigong practice, evening talks, practice discussions, and a Winter Solstice ceremony.

This retreat is silent except for teacher-led Q&A, small groups, or other practice meetings.

On-Land Teachers: Dawn Scott, devon hase, and Oren Jay Sofer
Online Teacher: Heather Sundberg

Interested in joining the residential retreat instead? Learn more here.

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. This retreat has a limited number of spaces for online participants.

Details for Auditing the Retreat:
The audit option for this retreat is available online/live broadcast only. The audit option offers online access to the teacher-led meditation instructions and Dharma talks broadcasted live from Spirit Rock’s Upper Meditation Hall. Recordings of each teacher-led session will be posted within 24 hours after a session ends. All recordings will be available for you to play and replay for 90 days after the retreat ends.

Important note regarding the audit option, it is held only online and does not offer interactions with the teachers (i.e., no practice meetings, no ability to ask questions during Q&A sessions, etc.), nor does it offer online small groups or affinity groups.

What’s the difference between online retreat and audit option?

Both online retreat and audit option will include:

  • Broadcast of all Dharma talks, meditations, and other instructions
  • Retreat homepage – includes retreat schedule, access to recordings, other resources
  • Recordings of all Dharma talks and meditations

Online Retreat:

  • Zoom hall for all teaching sessions
  • Recordings of all teaching sessions
  • Practice meetings with the online teacher
  • Opportunity to ask questions during Q&A with the on-land teachers
  • Online affinity groups (optional)

Audit Option (online/live broadcast only):

  • Zoom hall for all teaching sessions
  • Recordings of all teaching sessions

Financial Details

Please consider paying at the highest rate that you can afford: your generosity supports Spirit Rock and your fellow practitioners who need to pay less. Registration fees DO NOT include teacher dana. At the end of the retreat, there will be an opportunity to offer dana to the teachers and to Spirit Rock.

Sliding Scale for Online Retreat:
Benefactor – $1500
Sustainer – $1008
Basic – $550
Scholarship Rate (BIPOC, M/K) – $125

Sliding Scale for Audit Option:
Benefactor – $900
Sustainer – $500
Basic – $385
Scholarship Rate (BIPOC, M/K) – $95

*Recording Note: You will have ~90 days from the original program date to view the program. If you would like access to the recording, you must register by the deadline above. The recording will be available in ~10 days after the program.

Cancellation Policy – Online: Drop-ins, Daylongs, Multiday Programs (1-3 days), Family Programs/Series, CEC fees:

  • NO REFUNDS
  • Open Credit, or Donation to Spirit Rock = if cancel by midnight, the day prior to program start (Pacific Time)
  • No Open Credit = if cancel day of the program, or beyond

All prices above are subject to change.


About the Teachers

Dawn Scott

Dawn Scott has been practicing Insight Meditation since 2008. She is a graduate of the Insight Meditation Society’s teacher training program and is a core teacher of Spirit Rock’s Liberation, Emptiness, and Awareness Practices (LEAP) Program. Dawn has a deep love of long retreat practice and the Buddha's liberative teachings.

Learn more about Dawn Scott

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

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

Heather Sundberg

Heather Sundberg has taught Insight Meditation since 1999 and has taught residential retreats regularly at Spirit Rock since 2001. She completed the Spirit Rock/IMS Teacher Training program under Jack Kornfield and Joseph Goldstein. Beginning her own meditation practice in her late teens, for the last three decades, Heather has studied with senior teachers in the […]

Learn more about Heather Sundberg

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