Chris Larson & Dave McKay
Accept, Embrace, Let Go
April 26-29
3 nights $180 ($90 deposit) Dana
OR
April 24-29
5 nights $300 ($150 deposit) Dana
This retreat has two possible entry points. For those new to practice or looking for a shorter retreat, please join us on Thursday evening April 26.
To Accept, Embrace, and Let Go of life is to live in freedom. It is to feel the joy and excitement of a fully experienced life. Too much we survive in an imagined world that is small, uneasy, and unkind. Within that world we reject ourselves for who we are; cling to illusions that produce anxiety and dread where there could be ease and well-being; trade freedom for safety and peace for fear; and miss the life that is ours to live. We live "small," managing our emotions, manipulating our bodies, and attempting to control the life within us.
As we learn to Accept, Embrace, and Let Go of our habit of suffering, we awaken to a life in which we are free to be who we are and to live without constraint. We discover that we can trust life to support us in our transformation into the dynamic, happy, compassionate, and peaceful beings that we have always been.
The retreat from Tuesday to Thursday will be more oriented toward meditation and will include sitting, walking, and working meditation. The retreat from Thursday to Sunday will include workshop sessions along with sitting and walking meditation. Both options will include group discussions and opportunities for individual guidance.
And, as always, there will be time to explore the serenity and beauty of Southern Dharma’s mountain setting.
Dave McKay has trained monastically for the past ten years and currently serves as Head Monk at the Zen Monastery Peace Center in Murphys CA. He is a full-time student and teacher of awareness practice, facilitating workshops and retreats at the Monastery and around the country.
Chris Larson has been a lay practitioner with the Zen Monastery Peace Center in Murphys CA since 1988 and has facilitated workshops and retreats for nine years. He lives with his wife and daughter in Asheville, where he serves as guide for Mountain Zen Practice Center.
Chris and Dave have studied extensively with Cheri Huber and practice a unique style of Zen Buddhism that is easily accessible and readily applicable to daily life in western culture.
Retreat schedules vary from year to year. However, a typical day from last year's retreat included three or four 30-minute periods of sitting meditation at various times throughout the day, alternating with workshop sessions, guidance, and meals.