As we prepare for this year’s Garrison Institute LGBTQIA+ meditation retreat, we are inspired by these reflections of those who attended past retreats!
Year after year, the presence of LGBTQIA+ practitioners at this retreat opens our hearts to what it means to practice together, to connect, and to heal in the face of trying times. Meditating, walking, and eating in silence can be an antidote to busy-ness, the nonstop news cycles, and other daily life stressors. At this retreat, we have the possibility of connecting with our strength, courage, and resilience, and, yes, our fabulousness!
The retreat is deliberately led by a diverse group of teachers, assistants, and managers in order to welcome as vast a group of LGBTQIA+ folks as possible, knowing that our practice, the ancient teachings, and our relationships with one another ultimately holds a container for practice, healing and inner transformation.
By Stephen Kent November 12 -13 the Institute is holding its sixth People Who Care for People weekend workshop (this one is virtual due to the pandemic), which provides needed respite and teaches yoga, meditation, and other self-care skills for helping professionals, caregivers, and anyone coping with the stresses and potential burnout of extending themselves to serve others. In the…
We welcome for the first time Oren Jay Sofer, who will be teaching a virtual retreat at the Garrison Institute August 28 – 30, 2020 based on his recently published book, Say What You Mean: A Mindful Approach to Nonviolent Communication (Shambhala, 2018). The interview below is based on details from his book. To learn more about the upcoming retreat and…
Joan Borysenko, author of Pocketful of Miracles, writes of December: [It is]. . ‘the month in which all the forces of nature are aligned to help us give birth to the light within. Midwinter has cast a spell over the land and all of nature sleeps. Members of the human tribe gather by the fire to hear the old stories…
This past weekend I was at a wedding in Vermont. The groom has been a friend for over two decades. And like all the rest of his friends, I was so happy that he had found love, especially after the pain and loss of his first wife’s illness and passing. It was bittersweet; the ache and grief were still there,…
On Being, Becoming Like the rings on a tree, once again, Holy Week came upon us, marking another cycle of remembrance and entering into the Life that culminated in the mysterious events that shook the world 2000 years ago in a small, out-of-way province of the Roman empire. The reverberations continue to be felt down to and, doubtless, way beyond…
A workplace flourishes when its leaders prioritize the health and well-being of their most valuable asset: people. Organizations are powered by the teams behind them: the employees who keep the operation moving, growing and evolving. An investment in their health and well-being is an investment in the health of the business. Many organizations are taking strides toward ensuring their teams…
When I was a small child, I inhabited, as most children do, a vivid imaginal world. But the products of my imagination weren’t created from inside my head: my imagination took flight as a result of my interactions with the physical and sensory world around me. The pitchfork-shaped, steam-spewing industrial structures which I could see across the river from where…
