Retreat at Lake Tahoe with Heather Sundberg: Suchness – 5 Night Retreat in Person at Lake Tahoe or Zoom

The Dharma Zephyr Insight Meditation Community presents
“Suchness: Understanding Conditions, Responding with Compassion”
Taught by Heather Sundberg
Sunday August 8 – Friday August 13 (5 nights)

The essence of meditation includes settling and stabilizing attention, encouraging
embodied presence, developing mindfulness-wisdom of the patterns within
thoughts and emotions, and bringing a warm, caring attention to all we experience.
In relationship with each other, these elements of meditation practice offer us the
freedom to respond with wisdom and compassion to the challenges we experience in
ourselves and in the world, rather than reacting out of habitual conditioning. As we
release reactivity, we uncover our inherent capacities for joy, wellbeing and
connection.

This silent retreat will offer guided meditations and instructions in sitting and walking meditation, Dharma Talks, evening chanting, and short periods of optional Qi Gong practice. Heather will offer teachings on the following areas of practice:

• Embodiment: Informed by the First Foundation of Mindfulness and Somatic Experiencing.
• Concentration: Basic techniques to support the settling of mind-body and stabilizing of attention.
• Heart Practices: The spirit of the Divine Abodes will support awakened heart-full attitudes of mind during our retreat.
• Wisdom Teaching of Suchness: We access Suchness when we come to deeply understand conditions as they are. “It’s like this” as Ajahn Sumedho says.

Through opening to a wise acceptance with ourselves and life circumstances, we can more readily respond to difficulty with compassion. To support deepening practice, participants will check in with the teacher in a small group during retreat and with a few one-on-one sessions, available as conditions allow. Embodied heart-full awareness of kayaking is another wonderful optional practice offered for the in person retreat at Lake Tahoe (weather permitting). This retreat is suitable for beginning and experienced students of meditation. For beginners, the retreat is a great way to learn the basics of insight meditation and see its effects clearly.  For advanced meditators, the retreat offers an excellent opportunity to deepen and clarify one’s practice with the guidance of an experienced teacher.

Retreat Choices: In Person or Online
For this retreat you have the choice to attend in person at beautiful Camp Galilee, located on the lovely east shore of Lake Tahoe, or an Online Zoom Retreat from your home. Please note, Heather will be on Zoom for this retreat.  Participation at Camp Galilee is limited and participants will be divided into four pods with a maximum number of seven people per pod  to limit potential COVID 19 exposure.  Dharma Zephyr asks for full vaccination in order to attend the retreat in-person.

COST: IN PERSON – $465 camping or two person room (participant must find roommate ahead of time), there may be limited single rooms with shared bathroom available depending on participation with a cost of $515 per room.

Refunds: full refund if participant has to cancel due to COVID infection or cancellation received by 07-25-2021.
ON ZOOM – $100 to register. This fee is non-refundable and goes directly to the teacher.

The Teacher is supported in her work by Dana (donation) for this retreat, and her livelihood is completely sustained by the generosity of the communities she serves. Dana (donation) for these priceless teachings will be gratefully accepted by the teacher and staff, giving participants the opportunity to freely engage in the practice of generosity, the first step toward freedom.

TO REGISTER:

We encourage online payment for this retreat, however, if sending a check, please make it out to DZIMC and note “Heather’s Retreat”. Send it to:
DZIMC – Retreat Registrar
PO Box 4401
Carson City, NV 89702

Information about the Teacher

Heather Sundberg has taught insight meditation since 1999. She completed the Spirit Rock/IMS Teacher Training program under Jack Kornfield & Joseph Goldstein. She is currently a member of the Spirit Rock Teacher’s Council.

Beginning her own meditation practice in her late teens, for the last three decades, Heather has studied with senior teachers in the Insight Meditation (Vipassana) and Tibetan (Vajrayana) traditions. She has completed 3 accumulated years of retreat, and has sat 1-3 months of retreat a year for the last  25 years. Between 2010- 2015 she spent a cumulative one-year in study, practice, and pilgrimage in Asia.

In addition, Heather has training in both Somatic Experiencing and Hakomi Mindfulness Somatic Therapy and offers ‘individual meditation support sessions to students world-wide.

Since 2011, Heather has been a Teacher at Mountain Stream Meditation Center and sister communities in the Sierra Foothills. She teaches retreats nationally and internationally, and her teaching emphasizes Awakening through the Body (the first foundation mindfulness), the Heart Practices (Divine Abodes), and Wisdom Awareness Practices (MahaSati) out of the Thai forest tradition.
For more information about Heather visit heathersundberg.com