Shambhala Training Levels 1 – 5

Mindfulness-Awareness Meditation When we allow ourselves the time and space to fully engage in meditation practice, we discover our ability to experience and settle into the present moment. It is through extended practice sessions that we are able to open and relax with who we are, where we are. This meditation intensive will cover the first five levels of Shambhala Training. A key factor of this retreat is that we will form a community. We will practice, walk, talk, eat, and sing together throughout the week and support each other with inquisitive and gentle care. Discovering Who We Are Through Meditation To begin this retreat, we will share the simple practice of mindfulness and awareness—mindfulness of what happens moment to moment and awareness of the total situation. We will use a simple technique to tune into a mindful awareness of our body, breath, states of mind, and the world around us. The basic view of this path is that our heart awareness is fundamentally gentle and awake. Therefore, the path of meditation is realizing personally and directly that we are complete and capable as we are. At the same time, we recognize that we need training and support to bring these qualities fully to light. Seeing The Patterns That Hold Us Immediately, we discover all kinds of disrupting states of mind and emotions and how hard it is to simply stay present. We go deeper in recognizing our habitual discursiveness and emotional fixations. We become more adept in coming back to the present moment where we already are. Opening Our Heart and Engaging the World Directly This simple awareness of what is actually taking place in our mind and world is our ground, which we extend to all our activities as we move throughout our day. Meditation is not just for sitting still, but applies to our whole life. Our heart awakens to a vast sense of space and being alive. Discovering the Sun in the Open Space Finally, we glimpse that awareness exists in the space of our world as a natural radiance of our being. We are by nature open hearted and radiant beings. This doesn’t mean it’s always a blue sky day, but we can appreciate storms and clouds for their energy and richness. Arrival & Departure: The program will officially begin at 7:30pm. Please arrive between 3:00 - 6:00pm for registration. Dinner will be served at 6:30pm. The program will finish by 1:30pm with lunch on the last day. Recommended Readings Chögyam Trungpa, Shambhala: Sacred Path of the Warrior Chögyam Trungpa, Great Eastern Sun