MEDITATION RETREAT: Freedom From Fear & Worry

It’s very natural for us to experience fear and worry. And yet, when fear begins to feel overwhelming, we can become increasingly shut down, defensive, or out of control as we try even harder to tie fear down, hide from it, or defend against the things that scare us the most.

Paradoxically, instead of fleeing or fighting, the way out of this scary place and into a calmer state of grace and ease is to begin to use our mindfulness meditation practice to courageously investigate, get-to-know, and even be-friend our fear so that it no longer takes us hostage, or capsizes us.

During our time together, we’ll explore ways that our meditation practice can begin to help us take a closer look at our fear, at some of the reasons fear can overwhelm us, and how we can slowly begin to face it with curiosity, courage, and a tremendous amount of kindness and compassion – and ultimately, discover more freedom from it.

We’ll be gathering for our retreat on Saturday from 10 a.m. – 5:00 p.m in the beautiful, peaceful sanctuary of Grace Episcopal Church in The Plains, VA. Best known for its lush, rolling landscape and equestrian traditions, The Plains is located about one hour west of Washington, DC, and about a half an hour from the Shenandoah Mountains.

The sanctuary includes big padded pews, and the quiet church grounds include a large, sunny Parish Hall, and several different natural places to sit and walk.

The format will include both guided and silent meditation, a dharma talk, and walking meditation both inside and on the lovely, spacious church grounds. Lunch will be in silence, and participants are asked to bring their own.

THE TEACHER: Shell Fischer, founder and guiding teacher of Mindful Shenandoah (www.mindfulvalley.com) offers more than 30 years of extensive mindfulness training, study, and teaching. She is a Buddhist teacher, trained in the Tibetan Vajrayana tradition at Naropa University – the nation’s leading contemplative university – and in the Theravadan Vipassana (Insight) tradition by Dr. Tara Brach – one of the world’s foremost Insight teachers. She is a graduate of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction teacher-training program led by Jon Kabat-Zinn, founder of MBSR and the Stress Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. Prior to teaching, Shell wrote about mindfulness and yoga for national magazines.

While offering the teachings of Insight Meditation, Shell places great emphasis on the metta (loving-kindness) practices. Her hope is to guide you in nurturing even more kindness and compassion for yourself, others, and for all the situations you find yourself in throughout your life, through the heart-teachings and practices of mindfulness meditation.

Shell warmly welcomes the inclusion and participation of people of diverse identities, including those of all races, ethnicities, cultures, sexual orientations, gender identities, classes, religions, abilities, and ages … with the aspiration that all feel welcome, safe, and respected as we practice together in community.

When: Sat., June 7, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. (also available online)

Where: Grace Episcopal Church, The Plains, VA
Fee: $85/$40

LEARN MORE AND REGISTER HERE: https://www.mindfulvalley.com/retreats/june-7-meditation-retreat-freedom-from-fear-and-worry/