East-West Intensive Contemplative Year-End Retreat

We invite you to take the final weekend of this year to refresh, reinvigorate, and renew your spiritual practice – your own spiritual journey. Come and share with us the sacred silence of the beautiful Rose Room at Mercy Center, Burlingame. During this Friday evening through Monday morning retreat, you will have the opportunity to sit in silent contemplation within your own interior space and with like-minded others.

In this silent contemplative practice, you will be free to hear the voice that speaks deep within you and that connects you with all that is. The energy that abounds and flows in this shared silence can awaken within you the untold joys of forgetting the self and realizing that which is really true.

“What are these joys?” you may ask. The 17^th century Christian mystic Angelus Silesius put it this way, in one of his many short poems:

The clearer I perceive
that which is True,
the less reasoning, judging, arguing
I can do.

The mystic’s poem reminds us that developing clarity and inner quiet can set us at peace in our daily lives, our perceptions, and our relationships. This year-end intensive contemplative retreat supports that endeavor, by inviting us to a direct experience of reality, moment-by-moment.

During the retreat, we will sit in silence for several hours each day, with time out for meals, solitary rest, and communion with nature on the beautiful grounds of Mercy Center. You are free to bring your current practice – be it Zen meditation, Christian contemplation, Centering Prayer, or whatever – to our silent sitting sessions. We will enjoy communal readings from both Western and Eastern wisdom literature, as well as spiritual talks and one-on-one meetings with the retreat leader.

Please note that beginners are welcome. If you haven’t embraced a particular form or style of spiritual practice, no matter. You will find that the silence welcomes all.

In his book Everything Is Practice, Insight Meditation teacher Gil Fronsdal says the following about the kinds of meditation gatherings presented at Mercy Center, Burlingame:

Group meditation retreats are profound times to discover a non-separated, unattached sense of community. Meditating together in silence cuts through many of the usual projections, fears, and reactions we might easily have with others. Meditating together, we sense people’s sincere dedication to being mindful of their life challenges and their spiritual wholeness.

So, take this opportunity to enrich your year-end celebrations – and your life – by joining us in December for this intensive contemplative retreat. And get ready to welcome in the New Year with peace, harmony, and joy!

RETREAT SCHEDULE

FIRST DAY
Afternoon
3:00 Check in until 5:30 PM
Evening
5:30 Supper
7:00 Welcome, Orientation, and Contemplation
8:55 Night Reading
9:00 Retire

INTERVENING DAYS
Morning
6:00 Rising
6:30 Contemplation and interviews
7:30 Breakfast
10:00 Contemplation
10:30 Teaching
11:00 Contemplation and interviews
Afternoon
12:00 Lunch
12:30 Rest
2:30 Contemplation and interviews
4:00 Mindful work / walk
4:30 Contemplation
5:30 Supper
Evening
6:00 Rest
7:30 Contemplation and interviews
8:55 Night reading
9:00 Retire

LAST DAY
Morning
6:00 Rising
6:30 Contemplation and interviews
7:30 Breakfast
10:00 Contemplation and interviews
11:00 Retreat closing
Afternoon
12:00 Lunch
12:30 Departure

TERMINOLOGY
Contemplation: 25 minutes of sitting meditation, followed by 5 minutes of meditative walking together
Interview: Private individual consultation with the teacher
Teaching: Dharma talk by the teacher
Mindful Work / Walk: Individual meditation while working or walking