The Freedom of Seeing Clearly: An Insight Meditation Retreat

Practical Information 
Dates: February 26 to March 1, 2027  
Location: Seven Oaks Retreat Center, 403 Pathwork Way, Madison, VA 22727
Teachers: Marjolein Janssen and Deborah Helzer

Description
This precious life is a continuous flow of experiences and situations that invite us to speak, act and make choices. How we respond is deeply influenced by the state of our mind. We respond differently from fear, desire or irritation than we do from clarity, kindness and compassion.

We all carry patterns and conditioning that shape the way we think, feel and act. The Buddha emphasised the importance of understanding how body and mind work. Through mindfulness, we can learn to see the processes of our humanness more clearly.

Vipassanā, or insight meditation, is the practice of seeing directly and without judgment. We learn to observe bodily sensations, feelings, thoughts and other experiences as they arise, without clinging to them or pushing them away. With a kind and non-judgmental attitude, we begin to see how desire, aversion and habitual patterns arise and pass away. As insight deepens, their hold on us gradually weakens.

During this retreat, we will cultivate mindfulness of body and mind through sitting and walking meditation, as well as through everyday activities such as eating and our yogi duties. By stepping temporarily away from the busyness of daily life, we create space to deepen our practice and become more intimate with our own inner experience.

The invitation is simple: to be present and to look carefully at whatever arises, with as much openness and kindness as possible. From this mindful presence, greater clarity, freedom and inner peace can gradually unfold.

More information and registration will follow this fall at the Insight Meditation Community of Washington.