Retreat into the warmth of your heart
a silent weekend mindfulness retreat
In the depths of the cold and dark months, join us as we retreat into the warmth of our hearts. In this silent meditation retreat, we will explore our heart’s inherent capacity for giving and receiving goodness, through meditation practices that cultivate care, compassion and connection.
This residential retreat will be held mostly in silence at the beautiful Archbishop Brunett Retreat Center at the Palisades in Federal Way, and will include a series of gently guided mindfulness practices including sitting meditation, walking meditation, gentle yoga, and the body scan.
Whether you have a long-standing practice, have taken a mindfulness class and are ready to take it to the “next level”, or want to deepen your personal mindfulness practice, our weekend retreats are a short but potent way to enrich the mindfulness of your daily life. Our lives as mindfulness practitioners deepen when we enter into the sustained practice of retreat.
Informative talks on the process of being on retreat, mindfulness, stress reactivity, and other topics will be presented by the instructors. Small and large group discussion at the beginning and end of the weekend will center around our experience together walking, sitting, and breathing in the quiet of the beautiful retreat site.
WHO THIS RETREAT IS FOR
- Couples who wish to celebrate their love with a weekend of silent heart-oriented meditation.
- Individuals who wish to celebrate the beauty of their own heart and its limitless capacities.
- Students of mindfulness interested in deepening and maintaining their practice.
- Those who have taken a course in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Mindful Self-Compassion, or Mindfulness for Healthcare Professionals.
- Adults age 18 and over.
What past participants say:
“An excellent way to rejuvenate, connect with myself, get clarity, and feel supported by like-minded people. The instructors were wonderful.”
“Life-Changing. I was able to accept myself and forgive myself for the first time, and feel compassion for myself.”
“The retreat was a calming, introspective, healing time. I was needing to disconnect with my outside pressures and reconnect with myself, and this was accomplished.”
SCHEDULE Details
• Starts Friday with check in from 4 to 5pm, followed by dinner and an orientation.
• Saturday is a full day of practice (6:30am to 8:30pm with breaks after the meals).
• Sunday is a short morning practice period, followed by breakfast and closing activities.
• The retreat concludes at about 1pm on Sunday after lunch.
SCHEDULE
February 14 – 16, 2025
Friday, 4pm – Sunday, 1pm
TEACHERS
LOCATION
COST
$540 – $965 (or $135 – $241/month)
- Sliding scale: Choose what’s right for you.
- Payment plan option: 4-months, no-interest.
- Limited scholarships available: No need to apply; just choose a scholarship tuition during registration.
- Commuter tuition ($410) for those who don’t wish to sleep at the retreat center.
NEW TO RETREAT?
This is a silent retreat with supportive guidance from our teachers including significant periods of silence and few distractions or amusements. While a weekend retreat can be a good way to get started with extended practice, some find it helpful to take a more gradual approach through our daylong retreats (offered online and in-person).
If your practice has been primarily at home (guided by apps or recordings, etc.) we do recommend trying longer meditations of 30-40 minutes before signing up for retreat.
COVID POLICY
Help us keep the group healthy. Our policy requires a COVID home test before you leave home to attend an overnight retreat. Please review our current COVID policy before registering.
TEACHERS
Karen Schwisow
Karen has been a teacher of yoga and meditation since 2005. She continues to deepen her understanding of these ancient wisdom traditions and how they are relevant to our lives today. Through compassionate listening, authenticity and humor she empowers you to experience your own innate ability to heal and thrive. She is a Certified MBSR teacher through UMass Medical Center, and Founder of Three Trees Yoga & Healing Arts Center in Federal Way. Karen co-created and serves as Director for the MBSR Teacher Training Program. For over a decade she has delighted in mentoring teachers as they develop their ability to support others in this profound work.
Tim Burnett
Executive Director and Guiding Instructor at Mindfulness Northwest, Tim has been leading multi-day retreats in both the mindfulness and Zen Buddhist styles for many years. For these retreats Tim loves offering a universal (“secular”) mindfulness retreat experience while also plumbing the depth of Buddhist texts and philosphy that form one of the deep roots of this work. You can explore an example of Tim’s teachings at a prior retreat.
ABOUT Archbishop Brunett Retreat Center at the Palisades
The Palisades is a beautiful, peaceful and secluded place for retreat, offering stunning views of Puget Sound, deep quiet, and warm, private accommodations. Located just 20 minutes south of Sea-Tac Airport, the center features stunning views of Puget Sound, nature trails, and private beach access. Stewarded for over 50 years by the ministry of the Archbishop of Seattle, the Palisades warmly welcomes us to retreat into our contemplative practice in serenity.
FOOD & ACCOMMODATIONS
Simple accommodations and tasty, nutritious meals are included in your registration. The wonderful cooks at The Palisades can always accommodate gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, nut-free and vegetarian diets.
Rooms are single-occupancy with private bath and individual heat control. All bedding, linens, and towels are provided. Four ADA rooms with ADA showers are available – please note if you need one of these rooms when you register.
A ‘Commuter’ option is available – this covers all meals and practice periods, but no overnight stay in a room. Commuters should attend all meals and practice periods – more details about the schedule will be included in the confirmation email when you register.
Catholic Imagery
Note that the Palisades features prominent Catholic imagery throughout the grounds, including crosses, statues of religious figures, and crucifixes, including inside the guest rooms. Those who are sensitive to religious imagery should keep this in mind when considering joining this retreat.
About Our Multi-Day Silent Retreats
The daily schedule at our multi-day silent retreats includes gently guided sitting and walking meditation, morning teachings, mindful movement, and the body scan, as well as compassion cultivation and loving-kindness meditations.
WHO COMES TO RETREATS?
All are welcome! We are honored to support each participant in their meditation practice regardless of their nationality, ethnicity, race, color, gender, gender identity, sexual identity, age, physical ability, political affiliation, or religion. Our retreats are suitable for beginning through experienced practitioners.
We are committed to offering support for any accessibility needs you have as we are able. Please contact us prior to registering for a course.
YOUR FIRST LONGER RETREAT?
Before sitting a multi-day retreat we recommend that you have teacher-led experience with mindfulness or related contemplative practices. Please contact us if you have questions about whether this retreat will be appropriate for you.
IS RETREAT RIGHT FOR YOU? Meditation retreats are not right for everyone. If you have a history of trauma or acute psychological issues, consider checking with a mental health professional to decide if intensive retreat practice would be supportive. If you have questions or concerns about whether a retreat is right for you, please contact us at office@mindfulnessnorthwest.com.
STRUCTURE AND PARTICIPATION
FOUR DAILY PRACTICE SESSIONS
- Mindfulness and compassion practices are offered in four blocks daily: early morning, morning, afternoon, and evening.
- Participants are expected to attend all sessions and follow the printed schedule you will receive on site as fully as possible.
However, we are flexible and always willing to work with you on what your body and mind can reasonably do. Speak with the retreat teachers if you have concerns about following the complete schedule.
PRACTICING IN SILENCE
- After the initial orientation and introductions on the first evening, our residential retreats are held in silence.
- Participants are expected to follow guidelines around silence and participation:
- not speaking to other participants including close friends or partners you are attending with
- not using technology of any form
- not reading books, magazines, flyers, or any reading materials
- reducing interpersonal contact through the eyes or other body language
- Necessary communication with the retreat teachers can be done via a notes station or by taking them aside.
The intention of silent retreat is to settle deeply into your own experience and to not interact with others, allowing everyone space to have the retreat they need to have -- including you!
PERSONAL AND INTERPERSONAL SAFETY
Participants are expected to be sensitive and responsive to these guidelines and the needs of fellow participants as fully as possible.
- Do not take photos or make recordings of other participants or the teachers.
- Do not use alcohol or mind altering drugs of any kind.
- Emergency contact information to share with loved ones will be sent to you. Venue staff and Mindfulness Northwest instructors will make sure you receive incoming messages promptly while your phone is off. If you are expecting an urgent message please let your instructor know.
- Instructors are available at all times to offer support, including conversation if needed.
OTHER GUIDELINES
ATTEND THE ENTIRE RETREAT
ATTEND THE ENTIRE RETREATPlease arrive at the retreat at the beginning and stay until the end, as:
- Arriving late will cause stress as you will miss the orientation.
- Leaving early means you are offloading your clean-up chores on other participants and missing an opportunity for closure.
- Please stay on campus unless invited to take an off-campus break by the instructors.
RETREAT CENTER CHORES
- Several of our venues keep costs down, reducing your registration fee, by asking that event participants wash dishes, sweep floors, clean bathrooms, and do other chores around the facility. Final clean up chores before leaving are also done.
- Participants are asked to do chores as fully as they are able. If you have physical limitations, we will help you find a suitable chore assignment.
- At these venues, we clean our own housing (cabin) before we leave. Should a personal emergency require you to leave the retreat early, clean your cabin and contact the retreat leaders before leaving.
WHAT TO BRING
- Face masks – please check our COVID policy for our current guidelines around masking. While masks may not be required at your training, it's always a good idea to bring some.
- Extra COVID tests, in case you develop symptoms during the retreat.
- Warm clothes in layers (sweater, jacket, raingear etc) Outdoor walking meditation will be a component of this retreat, rain or shine.
- Shoes that are (1) fine walking in damp grass and (2) slip-on if possible. We take shoes on and off frequently. Slippers for the practice room can also be nice to have.
- Toiletries and overnight things including a towel.
- Bringing your own bedding (pillows, sheets, blankets or sleeping bag) is required at most of our venues. Please check your registration confirmation email for this information.
- A flashlight can be helpful but venues are generally reasonably well lit. Sometimes there is walking between buildings in the early morning and evening.
- A yoga mat if you have a favorite. We are able to bring mats to share.
- Meditation cushions / supplies – if you have a meditation cushion(s), a bench or other sitting gear, feel free to bring it. We are able to bring a limited supply of cushions. Note that there are plenty of chairs available.
- An extra blanket or two for the meditation hall – nice for body scans and resting.
LODGING
Lodging assignments will be available on check-in at the course venue. You will have a room to yourself at most of our venues.
AFTER THE RETREAT
Silent mindfulness retreats can be psychologically powerful. It's not unusual to experience significant shifts in your mood and energy levels right after a retreat. We recommend that you closely monitor your "mental hygiene" by avoiding over stimulating environments or influences directly after the retreat (i.e. parties, loud events, violent content, harsh substances or emotionally straining company). You can support the integration of your retreat experience with activities like journaling/drawing, mindful movement, spending time in nature or even a shower/soak in a bath. If you feel "off" several days after your retreat we encourage you to seek out support. Don't hesitate to reach out to us at office@mindfulnessnorthwest.com to connect with one of our teachers.
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