With Bill MacMillen

Dates: May 15 - 17
Registration Deadline: April 17

Suitability

This retreat will be beneficial for both newcomers to meditation and more experienced mindfulness practitioners with an interest in living with more ease in the present moment. 

Description

In our modern world, we have countless ways to stay busy, informed, entertained, and otherwise distracted from the moment we wake up until we go to bed at night. We can easily spend our entire day completely disconnected from our actual experience and unaware of what thoughts and mind-states we are cultivating throughout our busy days. If we do have a moment to stop, we may find that we feel uneasy, agitated, bored, anxious, stressed, in despair, or otherwise uncomfortable in our bodies and our minds. 

Fortunately, as so many people throughout the world are discovering, there is another way. Through what the beloved Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh called, “The Miracle of Mindfulness,” we can learn how to be at ease in the present moment. We can learn to use our minds in a way that nourishes our well-being and helps us to feel whole again. Through cultivating mindfulness of the body, breath, and mind, we can learn to develop peace within ourselves and to enjoy the simple experience of being alive.  

In this two-day Introductory Retreat, participants will learn mindfulness and meditation practices that calm and nourish the body and mind. There will be both formal instruction as well as “off-the-cushion” practice in areas such as walking, eating, mindful movements and work meditation. There will be periods of Q&A and deep sharing within a setting that is mostly silent, offering participants the opportunity to retreat from digital devices and other distractions that so often clutter our minds and cover the natural spaciousness that lies beneath the “noise.”

This will be a silent retreat. The silence affords us the opportunity to deepen our meditative experience while absorbing the experiential meaning of the teachings and practices presented.

Retreat Leaders

Bill Mac Millen has been a Dharma practitioner with the Florida Community of Mindfulness and a student of FCM's teacher Fred Eppsteiner since 2013; in 2018 he completed the three year Dharma Transmission training taught by Fred. Bill was ordained as a member of the Order of Interbeing at Thich Nhat Hahn’s Magnolia Grove monastery in 2019. Aspiring to be of service to the community, he is on the Leadership Council overseeing the area of Center Care and also teaches and facilitates various classes and Intensive study programs offered by FCM.

Fees

The fee for in-person participation is $180 for overnighters and $140 for commuters. 

Retreat Scholarships are available; please click to see FCM’s Retreat Scholarship Policy and for an Application, which needs to be submitted prior to the registration deadline for this retreat.

Retreat Logistics

This retreat is in-person only (either staying overnight or as a commuter) participation at FCM’s Tampa Center. The retreat will begin with orientation at 5:00 pm on Friday, May 15 and ends after lunch on Sunday at 4:00 pm, May 17. Participation is open to both FCM members and non-members.

Please note: 

• The deadline for registration for this retreat is April 17. 
• We will send a retreat acceptance letter by April 20 with additional information to help you prepare for retreat.
• The full fee will then be due by April 27, otherwise the spot will be given to another applicant.
• Please click here to read FCM's Retreat Cancellation Policy.
• If you are not familiar with our campus, you may enjoy this short video tour.
  
• New to retreating with FCM? Please visit our FAQs page.

The teachings are offered in the Buddhist tradition of Dana, wherein the teachers freely give of themselves to the students out of gratitude for what they’ve received from their teachers and a desire to be of service. The student’s response is also based on Dana, i.e. generosity that naturally flows from a sense of appreciation of the value of Dharma and gratitude to the living lineage. All retreat dana for this retreat will go towards supporting future programs at the FCM center. 

Questions?
For more information, please contact Bill at bmacm21@gmail.com. Please contact Rita at ritaanna727@gmail.com for any logistical questions.

With Angie Parrish and David Braasch

Dates: August 28 - 30
Registration Deadline: July 31

Suitability

This retreat will be beneficial for both newcomers to meditation and more experienced mindfulness practitioners with an interest in living with more equanimity, open-heartedness and compassion. 

Description

The Brahmaviharas, also known as the Four Immeasurables, are four natural, beautiful qualities of heart that - when touched more deeply - open us to experiencing our interconnection with all of life: ourselves, others, and the world around us. These qualities, which include loving kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity, are naturally present in our minds but are often covered over by fear and other emotions that cause us to wall off our hearts. 

Our weekend retreat will focus on practices that will help us to rediscover these beautiful qualities, weaving together teachings on loving kindness with qigong, aligning body, breath, and movement with a loving and open heart. Using guided practices to bring mindfulness of body, heart and mind to both movement and stillness, we will explore how to meet life with equanimity, open-heartedness and compassion, and to work skillfully with obstacles that get in our way.

This will be a silent retreat. The silence affords us the opportunity to deepen our meditative experience while absorbing the experiential meaning of the teachings and practices presented.

Retreat Leaders

Angie Parrish has been a student of Buddhism and mindfulness for over 20 years. She is a Dharma Instructor with FCM, having been given permission by FCM’s teacher Fred Eppsteiner to share the Buddha’s teachings with the sangha. She is also a Qualified Teacher of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and is a frequent teacher of classes and retreats at FCM.

David Braasch has been a student of mindfulness and meditation at the Florida Community of Mindfulness since 2015, where he has taught Introduction to Mindfulness and Meditation, Buddhism: The Basics, and Mindfulness for Educators. He has been a student of Tai Chi, Aikido, and is a certified Qigong teacher under Holden Qigong of Santa Cruz, CA.

Fees

The fee for in-person participation is $180 for overnighters and $140 for commuters. 

Retreat Scholarships are available; please click to see FCM’s Retreat Scholarship Policy and for an Application, which needs to be submitted prior to the registration deadline for this retreat.

Retreat Logistics

This retreat is in-person only (either staying overnight or as a commuter) participation at FCM’s Tampa Center. The retreat will begin with orientation at 5:00 pm on Friday, August 28 and ends after lunch on Sunday at 4:00 pm, August 30. Participation is open to both FCM members and non-members.

Please note: 

• The deadline for registration for this retreat is July 31. 
• We will send a retreat acceptance letter by August 4 with additional information to help you prepare for retreat.
• The full fee will then be due by August 10, otherwise the spot will be given to another applicant.
• Please click here to read FCM's Retreat Cancellation Policy.
• If you are not familiar with our campus, you may enjoy this short video tour.
  
• New to retreating with FCM? Please visit our FAQs page.

The teachings are offered in the Buddhist tradition of Dana, wherein the teachers freely give of themselves to the students out of gratitude for what they’ve received from their teachers and a desire to be of service. The student’s response is also based on Dana, i.e. generosity that naturally flows from a sense of appreciation of the value of Dharma and gratitude to the living lineage. All retreat dana for this retreat will go towards supporting future programs at the FCM center. 

Questions?
For more information, please contact Angie at parrish26@gmail.com. Please contact Rita at ritaanna727@gmail.com for any logistical questions.