by Tim Burnett, June 2025 In June 2025, Mindfulness Northwest teachers Tim Burnett and RJ Rongcal led a weekend retreat at the Samish Island Retreat Center with focussed on the practicing deeply as if our lives truly depend on it. We offer three weekend residential...
Rainforest Retreat 2025 In May 2025, Mindfulness Northwest Senior Teacher Tim Burnett led a 5-day retreat on the Buddhist and scientific teachings on the five elements of earth, fire, water, air, and space. Unfortunately due to a mix of weather and nature walk...
For much of my life, I have sought well-being through external validation and stimulus. Winning the big game, getting good grades, finding the right job, and so on. I was chasing a fleeting experience while ignoring the heart that’s longing for it. It has been its own...
You are so excited to prepare dinner for three of your friends. You’ve planned a menu, gone grocery shopping, and spent several hours slicing and chopping, sauteing and mixing to bring forth a delightful meal. Your guests arrive to share your culinary efforts. They...
by Tim Burnett, March 2025 In March 2025, Mindfulness Northwest teachers Tim Burnett and Carolyn McCarthy led a weekend retreat at the Samish Island Retreat Center with focussed on the power of awareness for healing We offer three weekend residential retreats each...
Dear Friends of Mindfulness Northwest, A group of 25 people is gathering for a day of mindfulness at Semiahmoo County Park, north of Bellingham. The park is situated on a mile-long sandspit extending into the Salish Sea, with water on both sides. It’s just...
Dear Friends of Mindfulness Northwest, As the year turns, I find myself reflecting on the journey and adventure Mindfulness Northwest has been and thought I’d share a bit this month. Sometime in 2009 a dream started to take shape in my life. I was starting to...
by Carolyn McCarthy Photo by Judy Beth Morris On a recent morning in early November, my stomach was in knots. My head was spinning, a thought storm tumbling through. I’d managed to get myself out the door and was walking to yoga class, mat tucked under my arm. But my...
The simple answer sounds shocking: yes, it can be.The fuller answer is more nuanced. We all know that, much as we all need safety and protection, there is nothing that’s completely safe. Even our mindfulness practice can be harmful. It can trigger difficult internal...
What happens when you take stock of your day, your life, your purpose? What is the nature of the language you use with yourself? Most of us tend to be harsh and critical of how we are conducting our life. We easily spiral into self-talk of “shoulds:” I should be more...
Something that occurs to me regularly at our mindfulness retreats is: “I never would have thought of this!”It never would have occurred to me that being quiet and sitting still with a group of people for days at a time would bring so much benefit. That it would lead...
THE ROOTS OF MINDFULNESS 2024: Practicing in a Body In August 2024, Mindfulness Northwest teachers Tim Burnett and Carolyn McCarthy co-led a 5-day retreat on the the essentially embodied nature of our mindfulness practice. Tim and Carolyn wove in Buddhist teachings,...
