From New York to West Cork, Retreats that Change the World
Rachel Cowan and Norman Fischer
Contemplative practice has many personal benefits and cultivates qualities such as resilience, compassion and altruism that enable positive social change. We offer a wide range of retreats with a social change focus for everyone from first-time meditators to artists to professionals in specific fields.
Below are few examples. For a full list of upcoming retreats, visit our calendar.
June 27 – 29, Norman Fischer and Rachel Cowan lead “Training in Compassion – Cultivating a Tender Heart,” a retreat designed for first-time meditators that explores Tibetan compassion practices, connecting them to other traditions from Zen to Judaism, and emphasizing their “tangible benefits for personal and professional life, ranging from stress reduction to improved self-awareness, emotional connection and acceptance.”
June 23- 27 and August 29 – September 2, Singer/songwriter Dar Williams will lead “Writing a Song That Matters” workshops for anyone who wants to write a song that counts and find ways to say what needs saying. It covers songwriting tricks, courting inspiration, and discussions of why we write songs in the first place — all in a safe, inclusive environment.
August 1 – 3, Mirabai Bush and Gopi Kallayil lead a retreat on Google’s “Search Inside Yourself (SIY)” program. Bush and Kallayil developed the curriculum Google now uses for attention and mindfulness trainings that build the emotional intelligence skills for peak performance and effective leadership. SIY “helps professionals at all levels adapt, management teams evolve and leaders optimize their impact and influence.”
August 8 – 13, Educators are invited to attend our Seventh Annual CARE for Teachers Summer Retreat. CARE is a professional development program using mindfulness, yoga and other contemplative techniques to help teachers handle stress and improve learning environments. It has attracted international attention as powerful tool for changing the culture of education. In addition to the first-ever CARE for Teachers retreat we’re offering in Australia in June, educators from across the US and around the world attend the CARE for Teachers summer retreat held at the Garrison Institute in New York in August. CEU credits are available.