Join us Saturday, April 1, 9:00am - 4:30pm EDT
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Dear friends,
We invite you to join us for our 2023 Annual Retreat (online via Zoom). We at OHMC are so grateful that Valerie Brown will be back for the fifth year to lead our retreat.
Scroll below for registration.
Daily we are asked to move in the direction of bravery, to stretch in the direction of goodness, kindness, forgiveness, patience, and vulnerability. Yet life’s tender fragility, fear, and anxiety, and our own practiced self-sabotage can derail us from growing and thriving, leaving us fractured and afraid.
In this virtual annual Spring retreat, we explore mindfulness practices that support individual and collection transformation and liberation. Centering practices to promote self-discovery, delight, spiritual discernment, compassionate inquiry, and renewal, you’ll leave the retreat with practices to support you in courageous and compassionate action to live with greater clarity and purpose.
Our retreat includes mindfulness practices in the Plum Village tradition, including mindful breathing, mindful eating, mindful walking, mindful dialogue, as well as generous periods of rest and reflection.
What to Bring to the Retreat:
A journal
Blanket for deep relaxation
An object that is a symbol of your intention for this retreat
Lunch or snack for mindful eating
We aim to create a space for sharing that holds awareness for the experience of others. Please review guidelines for sharing.
Other notable highlights of the retreat:
- Frequent breaks to minimize online fatigue
- Breakout sessions for personal sharing and insight
- Technical support available prior to and during retreat
Valerie Brown
Valerie transformed her high-pressure, twenty-year career as a lawyer-lobbyist, to human-scale, social equity focused work to foster trustworthy, compassionate, and authentic connections. She is an ordained Dharma teacher in the Plum Village tradition founded by Thich Nhat Hanh and a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). Valerie is an accredited leadership coach, international retreat leader, writer, and Chief Mindfulness Officer of Lead Smart Coaching, LLC, specializing in application and integration of mindfulness and leadership, and is a Co-Director of Georgetown’s Institute for Transformational Leadership. As certified Kundalini yoga teacher, she helps people rediscover the wisdom of their body. She leads an annual transformational pilgrimage to El Camino de Santiago, Spain, to celebrate the power of sacred places.
Below is the tentative schedule. Actual schedule will be shared with registered participants closer to the retreat.
9:00am Introductions and Welcome, Setting the Container for the Day (Valerie)
10:00am Meditation and Dharma Talk (Valerie)
11:30am Break for outdoor or indoor walking meditation on your own (optional)
12:00pm Lunch offline (we encourage you to make ahead)
12:50pm Prepare a nest for your deep relaxation
1:00pm Guided deep relaxation
1:30pm Stretch break
1:50pm Dharma Sharing in small groups - each group will have a skilled facilitator
3:00pm Second Dharma Talk (Valerie)
3:45pm Sitting meditation
4:00pm Closing circle
4:30pm Final bell
We are intentionally making space for a diverse group of practitioners by prioritizing BIPOC attendance, offering subtitles for Valerie’s dharma talks, captioning for at least one dharma sharing group, and affinity dharma sharing break-out groups for BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, Persons with Disabilities, and White practitioners.
Retreat Registration and Fees
The Opening Heart Mindfulness Community seeks to foster understanding and compassion by providing vibrant and generous opportunities to practice mindfulness within a diverse community in the Plum Village tradition, founded by Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh. We recognize that in supporting racial and social justice equity within our sangha and throughout the mahasangha, we support the work of transformation individually and collectively.
Because we aim for a more diverse retreat we will be inviting folks to join on a rolling basis based on identity. The earlier you apply the easier the process will be and the more likely you will be to get a spot.
Our goal is to create an environment that supports everyone by proving a space with 1/3 or more self-identified BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color), BAME (Black Asian or Minority Ethnic), and/or Global Majority folks. This is why we ask you to share your race/ethnicity in your application.
We know that the energy of a space is affected by the balance of people who attend. Overwhelmingly white spaces risk duplicating the culture’s default of white privilege, whether we realize it or not. We hope you understand and support our intentional process to maintain diversity in order to help us co-create a mindful, safe space for all.
We are offering the retreat on a sliding scale from $0 - $85.
REGISTRATION and APPLICATION are CLOSED
REFUND POLICY: Because this is an online format, we are unable to offer refunds. If you have a special circumstance regarding needing a refund please email us at info@openingheartmindfulness.org