We invite you to touch your true heart in the The Heart of Winter Online Retreat, an immersive online retreat experience led by Tim Burnett & Carolyn McCarthy. Pause deeply, nourish your heart, reconnect to your compassionate self, and refresh your practice from the comfort of your own home!
The Heart of Winter is an online guided silent retreat in the style of Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) — all in the comfort of your own home. The retreat will be a deep exploration of the roots of mindfulness and compassion practices, both experientially, and through a talk on Buddhist teachings and connected ideas from philosophy, poetry, and the sciences.
WINTER RETREAT THEME
We’ll explore the powerful Buddhist teaching of the Five Remembrances. These teachings ask the question: how can we deeply live through the truth of how things truly are for us as humans and mortals as we operate in this beautiful and suffering world? You can read more about this teaching here.
SCHEDULE detail
Friday, February 10: 7pm – 9pm
Saturday, February 11: 7am – 8:30pm
Sunday, February 12: 7am – Noon
SCHEDULE
Friday, February 10, 7pm – Sunday, February 12, 12pm
TEACHERS
Tim Burnett & Carolyn McCarthy
LOCATION
COST
Choose what’s right for you on our sliding scale: $160 – $310
- Scholarships – Limited scholarships available. No need to apply; just choose scholarship tuition during registration.
- Payment Plans – No interest, 4 month payment plan option is available during registration.
ABOUT OUR ONLINE RETREATS
“I was surprised and delighted by how easily a sense of community developed in the online format.”
“I learned that a retreat isn’t really about going away. It’s about giving permission and time and space to just practice.”
“This format pushed me to establish a space for daily practice that works!”
“I never expected an online retreat to compare with live, but I got so much deep practice and insights.”
“I felt deep relaxation which is important during these trying times.”
Preparing for an Online Silent Retreat
We’ve been happy to discover that doing a full day or multi-day meditation retreat online works well. It’s a different experience than a residential retreat at a retreat center, but very valuable. With an online retreat done at home there are powerful opportunities to integrate your mindfulness practice experience into daily life within familiar surroundings.
Below are a few suggestions to help you create an optimal retreat experience, realizing each of you has a unique home situation.
PREPARING FOR YOUR RETREAT AT HOME
- A quiet space – As much as possible, create a separate, quiet space away from family and distraction, even pets if they might distract you or other participants.
- Unplug – Plan to “unplug” from your phone, clocks, or any other electronic device unless using it to connect to our virtual retreat room. Turn off any notifications that might pop up on the device you’re using to connect to the retreat.
- Free yourself up – Minimize or eliminate as many tasks and activities as you can. Normally we would be in a retreat setting to allow for an immersive experience. Retreating at home offers the benefit of being able to practice mindfulness skills in your regular environment while it offers the potential challenge of home distractions.
- Have a conversation ahead – We suggest that you prepare your household members ahead, letting them know you’ll be practicing silence during this time. If you’re able to, maintaining silence or minimizing talk between practice periods (like we do at our in-person retreats) is a valuable contribution to the retreat experience.
- Explore integration and accept what happens – See an online retreat as an opportunity to integrate mindfulness practice and your daily life instead of as a way to “get away” – it helps to see this as a different type of experience from an in-person retreat at a retreat center.
- It won’t be perfect – Resistance and wanting things to be other than they are can be a part of all contemplative practices. Please accept that the day will unfold in the way that it does and much is beyond your control. If things are busier or in some way not to your liking in the environment as you do the series of practices offered, please accept things as they are and know that there is benefit.
WE ASK THAT YOU:
- Sign in a little early to make sure you can connect.
- Turn cameras on once the retreat starts. This is not a requirement, but we’ve found that having cameras on best supports a rich and connected experience for all participants.
- Stay muted unless we are having a discussion.
- Maintain silence and focus as possible during practice times: refraining from speaking, reading, writing, or using other devices.
Following the guidelines supports a deep dive into practice for you and the entire community. Thank you.
TEACHERS
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 philosophy that form one of the deep roots of this work. You can explore an example of Tim’s teachings at a prior retreat.
Carolyn McCarthy
Carolyn is a lifelong writer and performer who cultivates attentiveness and joy. With a degree in Latin American Studies and Women’s Studies, she uses mindfulness to support the work of social justice, turning toward the difficult within and without. Zest, warmth, and wit enliven her teaching. Carolyn is a certified Mindful Self-Compassion teacher through the UCSD Center for Mindfulness. Her core practices: sitting meditation, time outside, solo living room dance parties. Visit her online at www.carolynmcc.com.
Register for this program
Registration is closed for this program.
