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 Fred Eppsteiner

Dates: May 30 - June 6
Registration Deadline: May 1
Suitability

This is a Wisdom Path Retreat and is appropriate for those FCM members who have previously participated in a Wisdom Path Intensive or retreat, or for those who are walking the Dharma Path and feel ready for a deeper exploration of their mind through meditation and guided reflection. If you have any questions about whether this retreat would be suitable for you, please contact Fred directly (Teacher@floridamindfulness.org).

Please note that registration does not confirm acceptance into the retreat. Shortly after the registration deadline (May 1), Fred will review applications and make final decisions as to acceptance. Notifications will be made by May 4. 

Description

Since the Buddha’s own enlightenment, awakened teachers have pointed out that our thinking mind is merely one aspect or one capacity of our innate and original natural mind. Mistakenly identifying with and attaching to this small and conceptually constructed mind – or ‘self’ –  we live in a self-created reality that constantly prevents us from experiencing real clarity and deep contentment in our life.  Thus, we are unable to experience the utter simplicity, natural ease and spontaneous wisdom that is our true birthright.

Drawing from his over 50 years of meditative practice in the Chan/Zen and Great Perfection (Dzogchen) traditions and 30 years of leading retreats, Fred will offer retreatants those direct (pith) practices/teachings from these varied Buddhist wisdom traditions that he has found most inspiring and effective over the years.

This retreat will focus on facilitating participants’ meditative experience of their original and natural mind and show how to integrate this understanding into the circumstances of daily life. Directly experiencing the mind as it is and all the things that appear in it (especially the self!) as empty of any substance or solidity allows one to break through into one’s open and spacious mind nature. This experience becomes the basis for true transformation.

Retreat Leader

Fred Eppsteiner has been a student and practitioner of Buddhist meditation for over 50 years and was a psychotherapist for more than 30 years. He has trained extensively in the Buddhist meditative traditions of the U.S. and Asia. He received permission to teach from Thich Nhat Hanh in 1994 and is the editor of two books: The Path of Compassion and Interbeing. He is the founding teacher of the Florida Community of Mindfulness.

Fees

The fee for in-person participation is $630 for overnighters and $490 for commuters. A $50 fee is required to register, with the balance due for those accepted by May 8th. The $50 registration fee will be fully refunded to those not admitted to the retreat. 

Retreat Scholarships are available.  FCM's policy is that a lack of financial resources should never prevent a sincere practitioner or student of the Dharma from participating in a retreat. Please click here 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 Saturday, May 30 and ends after lunch on Saturday at 1:00 pm, June 6. Participation is open to FCM members.

If you are not familiar with our campus, you may enjoy this short video tour.

Please note: 

• The deadline for application for this retreat is May 1. Please understand that this application DOES NOT guarantee you a spot in the retreat; all acceptances are subject to approval.
• We will notify all applicants by May 4 as to whether or not they have been accepted into the retreat.
• For those accepted, the fee will then be due by May 8, otherwise the spot will be given to another applicant.
• Please click here to read FCM's Retreat Cancellation Policy.
• 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.

Questions?
Please contact Rita at ritaanna727@gmail.com for any logistical questions.