With Fred Eppsteiner

Dates
May 31 - June 7
Registration Deadline:  May 2
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 2), Fred will review applications and make final decisions as to acceptance. Notifications will be made by May 5.  

Description

From the time of the Buddha, awakened teachers have pointed out that our thinking mind is merely a functional capacity of our innate, original natural mind. Mistakenly identifying with and attaching to our small and conceptually constructed mind – or ‘self’ – we are never able to experience the utter simplicity and spontaneous wisdom that is our true birthright. Instead, we live in a self-created reality that constantly prevents us from experiencing clarity and deep contentment in our life.

Drawing his over 50 years of meditative practice in the Chan/Zen and Great Perfection (Dzogchen) traditions and 30 years of leading retreats, Fred will cull his history to offer retreatants those direct (pith) practices/teachings from these varied 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 the totally open and spacious mind nature. This is the basis of true transformation.

Retreat Leader
Fred Eppsteiner has been a student of the psychology 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 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 9th. The $50 registration fee will be fully refunded to those not admitted to the 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 31 and ends after lunch on Saturday at 1:00 pm, June 7. 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 2. 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 5 as to whether or not they have been accepted into the retreat. 
• For those accepted, the fee will then be due by May 9, otherwise the spot will be given to another applicant.
• Please click here to read FCM's Retreat Cancellation Policy.

Retreat Scholarships are available; 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.

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 will go towards supporting the retreat teachers.

The retreat registrar will be sending additional information to accepted registrants once registration is closed. 

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

With Angie Parrish, Bryan Hindert and Sharen Lock

Dates
July 11 - 13
Registration Deadline:  June 5
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

Beneath our often distracted and restless minds lies a natural, peaceful presence — steady and always available. While it’s easy to blame phones or external circumstances for our lack of focus, the deeper truth is that it is our own wandering minds that pull us away from clarity, contentment, and ease.

During this weekend retreat, we will explore teachings, guided meditations, and gentle yoga to help quiet the body and mind, recognize the inner causes of distraction, and reconnect with the stillness that is always here — even in the midst of life’s challenges.

This will be a silent retreat, offering a rare opportunity to settle deeply. In the stillness, we allow our meditative experience to deepen, and the wisdom of the teachings to reveal themselves not just intellectually, but directly and experientially.

Retreat Leaders

Angie Parrish has been a student of Buddhism since attending a 1999 retreat with Thich Nhat Hanh. She is the Dharma Programs Leader for FCM and 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, Intensives and retreats at FCM.

Bryan Hindert has been following the Buddhist path since 2008, when a strong desire to make changes in his life and to develop a better relationship with his mind drew him to the Florida Community of Mindfulness. This path has helped Bryan to transform his life in profound ways and continues to be a source of guidance, support, and joy in all of his endeavors. In addition to helping to develop and lead Wake Up Tampa Bay, a mindfulness and meditation group for people in their 20s and 30s, Bryan has served by teaching classes and presenting on mindfulness and on Buddhism, and leading intensive practice periods. 

Sharen Lock has been working in the mind-body medicine field since 1998. She is a certified yoga therapist and trained in mindfulness-based applications for healthcare. Beginning with Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Sharen went on to study Buddhism in the Insight Meditation tradition. She happily rejoined FCM in 2024 and enjoys offering yoga and mindful movement to the FCM community.

Fees

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

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, July 11 and ends Sunday, July 13 at 4:00 pm. Participation is open to both FCM members and non-members.

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

Please note: 

• The deadline for registration for this retreat is June 5. 
• We will send a retreat acceptance letter by June 8 with additional information to help you prepare for retreat.
• The full fee will then be due by June 15, otherwise the spot will be given to another applicant.
• Please click here to read FCM's Retreat Cancellation Policy.

Retreat Scholarships are available; 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.

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

Save the Date

with Fred Eppsteiner (Save the date)

Description

Join Fred for this four day exploration of how to become free from this "self" that seems to hold so much sway over our lives.

This retreat is appropriate for practitioners who have a regular meditation practice and have cultivated a stable mind through participation in FCM's Mindful Living Path programs or equivalent courses.

with Bill MacMillen and John McHarris (Save the date)

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.”