Led by Diana Shimkus, Founding Teacher of EMC, with the Encinitas Mindfulness Community co-teachers including: Greg McBain, Pete Kirchmer, Jim Sinclair, Lisa Talamini, Cary Joel and Teri Lang. We will be opening early-bird 15% discount registration for residential and commuter retreat options begin on Friday, August 16 - October 1, 2019. Participation in the retreat does not require attendance in the Fall Tuesday study series beginning on Tuesday, September 10, 2019. If you are not on our current email list, please send a request for an invitation.

Please visit the EMC website using the button below to get more information and registration for the FALL Mindfulness Retreat - held from Wednesday, October 16 through Saturday, October 19, 2019.  During the retreat, we will be expanding our shamatha meditation practice during the first three days inviting deeper inquiry into aspects of clear concentration and compassionate presence that are cultivated throughout our practice life and made stronger during retreat. Mindfulness practice is an essential foundation for the cultivation of unconditional presence in the face of all of life’s conditions, including the truth of impermanence and continuous change through aging, illness, loss and death.  Practice with the bardos of living and dying invites a naturally arising and deepening compassion in each moment in which we are willing to turn towards the natural essence of life, including death.

There will be NO FOOD SERVICE provided until Wednesday, October 16 dinner meal. Retreatants are asked to provide their own simple meals for the first 2.5 days of this retreat, which will be offered as a silent retreat with little guidance. Daily interviews with teacher will be offered to direct your practice. You may choose to practice with Diana in sitting meditation throughout the day, though no guidance during sittings will be offered.

The Tuesday Study Group begins on Tuesday, September 10th at 7:00 AM .  We will be using texts:
Living in the Light of Death, by Larry Rosenberg and Mind Beyond Death, by Dzogchen Donlop.
The 16-week curriculum will be offered from Tuesday, Sept. 10 - Dec. 31, 2019 at 7:05 AM at The Soul of Yoga, 627 N. Encinitas Blvd, Encinitas, CA or by live Zoom Meeting or archived meetings available on this site at EMBRACING CHANGE menu tab.

RETREATS are held at: Questhaven Retreat Center San Marcos, California. Questhaven is nestled among chaparral-covered hills in north-east San Diego County. The grounds encompass one square mile of coastal wilderness traversed by several miles of nature trails offering hilltop vistas, shaded oak sanctuaries, wayside shrines, seasonal streams, and a variety of wildflowers, birds and wildlife. From time in nature, we find release from the stress of our daily lives and come to the pristine stillness and silence of pure awareness. 

Have you been wondering how best to take the next step and deepen your mindfulness practice?

If you have not attended a retreat or extended practice period until now, this FALL is the best time.

EMC has gone through exceptional measures to make these opportunities as affordable and accessible as possible.

Having the collective energies of mindful awareness focused during our time together facilitates the greater absorption, insight and clarity of the truths of impermanence, unsatisfactoriness and unreliability that is the mark of all existence and seen most clearly in retreat practice. This is an important experiential discovery that retreat practice inspires and then provides refuge within. 

It is our aspiration that we continue practice together through retreat opportunities such as these.  

We look forward to sharing this experience with you.

Learn more about EMC's upcoming 3-day and 6-day retreats in the link below:

RSVP/REGISTRATION HERE

All retreats are held at Questhaven Retreat Center. Questhaven is nestled among chaparral-covered hills in northern San Diego County. The grounds encompass one square mile of coastal wilderness traversed by several miles of nature trails offering hilltop vistas, shaded oak sanctuaries, wayside shrines, seasonal streams, and a variety of wildflowers, birds and wildlife. Wandering these trails, we find release from the stress of outer lives, and come to the stillness and quiet necessary to awaken our inner lives.  

*We are grateful for this space. There is no affiliation with Questhaven Spiritual Retreat Center.