LOCATION
The beautiful Samish Island Campground and Retreat Center, maintained by the Community of Christ at the east end of Samish Island, (the “island” is accessible by road) offers stunning views, deep quiet, and simple accommodations. Mindfulness Northwest has been offering retreats at Samish for many years. More details about the venue can be found here.
SCHEDULE DETAILS
This silent retreat starts with check in from 4 to 5pm on the opening Friday, and closes at 12pm on Wednesday. We’ll rise early, beginning each day of practice at 6:30am, and go steadily through each day in silence and contemplation, closing at 8:30pm. There will be breaks after meals for rest, exercise, and other self-care. A more detailed schedule can be viewed here.
“Calming and centering.”
“Affordable and high quality.”
“Excellent teachers, beautiful location, deepening of personal practice.”
TEACHERS
SCHEDULE
August 22 - 27, 2025
Friday, 4:00 pm - Wednesday, 12:00 pm PT
COST
$715 – $1285 (or $179 – $321/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.
- Lodging - Rustic cabin is included in reservation. Optional upgrade to E-cabin at registration. Tent camping and RVs spots are available (use code TENT to get $50 off).
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.
Tim Burnett on what he loves about Roots of Mindfulness.
WHO THIS RETREAT IS FOR
- Students of mindfulness interested in deepening and maintaining their practice
- Mindfulness teachers who’d like to strengthen their understanding of the Buddhist roots of contemporary mindfulness
- Those who have taken a course in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Mindful Self-Compassion, or Mindfulness for Healthcare Professionals.
- Adults age 18 and over
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.
TEACHERs
Rev. Tim Burnett
(he/him) Executive Director, Founder, Guiding Teacher
Tim founded MIndfulness Northwest in 2011 with the hope of offering the transformational practices he’d learned as a student of Zen Buddhism much more widely to the community. He is a certified teacher of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC), and Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT). A meditator since his teenage years, Tim’s background in traditional Dharma practice informs his mindfulness work. Ordained as a Soto Zen priest in 2000, he apprenticed with Zen teacher Zoketsu Norman Fischer and is the Guiding Teacher of Red Cedar Zen Community in Bellingham. Former jobs include educator, carpenter, software developer, and scientist. When not in the classroom, you might find him hiking, paddling, or birding.
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.
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.
FOOD & ACCOMMODATIONS
Simple accommodations and tasty, nutritious meals are included in your registration. The wonderful cooks at Samish can always accommodate gluten free, dairy-free, nut-free and vegetarian diets. If your dietary needs require bringing your own food, fridge space is available, as is a microwave.
Most rooms are comfortable single-occupancy rustic cabins sharing the campground bathhouses. There are Male & Female bathhouses, as well as an All-Gender bathroom with showers, and All-Gender single-occupancy toilets in the dining hall. There is an option for motel-style rooms with a shared en-suite bath for a surcharge. RV spots are also available (water and electrical hookup provided). More information about accommodations here.
Tent camping is a great summer option at Samish! If you choose to camp feel free to use the coupon code TENT during checkout for a $50 discount.
photo by Pam McRae
CAMP CHORES
Note that Samish is very lightly staffed allowing it to be more affordable than most venues. This helps us to hold registration fees at an affordable level. Every participant helps out with camp chores such as washing dishes and cleaning the buildings at the end of the retreat.
TEACHER TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
This retreat meets prerequisite requirements of a 5-day silent, guided retreat for the following teacher training programs:
- Mindfulness Northwest – Mindfulness Teacher Training Program & MBSR Teacher Training Program
- Center for Mindful Self-Compassion – Mindful Self-Compassion Teacher Training
- UCSD Mindfulness Based Professional Training Institute (MBPTI) – MBSR 6-Day Teacher Training Intensive
- Brown Center for Mindfulness – MBSR Teacher Training Pathway
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.
Cancellation Policy
For retreats at Samish Island Camp:
- Cancel up to 15 days before the event begins: Receive a full refund less the $40 non-refundable processing fee.
- Cancel between 14 days and the event start time: Receive a refund of 50% of the tuition paid.
- Cancel after the event begins: No refunds.
*Note: If the tuition is paid on a payment plan, payments will continue to withdraw until the amount due is paid.
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