A 5-Night Retreat with Sally Kempton

Sunday, May 24 to Friday, May 29, 2020
Mount Madonna Retreat Center, Watsonville, CA

Our spring 2020 Meditation and Practice Retreat has become a beloved tradition…our chance to re-set our practice, spend profound time with ourselves, and enjoy conversations unlike any other.

This year’s retreat is happening in 2020—a year that has long been considered a potential turning point. We are already in the midst of powerful changes. There is every reason to believe they will accelerate in 2020.

That’s just one reason why retreat practice is so important. First, because we need ways to metabolize the impact of the shifts happening in culture and politics. But also because we ourselves can powerfully impact the environment and the culture—sometimes without leaving our room! In times of radical change, two things above all are important: our internal practice and our willingness to look deeply at our own light and shadow.

The Mount Madonna Retreat will focus intensely on deepening our approach to sadhana—our active practice of living an awakened life.  We’ll meditate a lot. We’ll also do goddess practice, philosophical inquiry, yoga, and breathwork.  And along with all that, we’ll be examining three of the core qualities of the enlightened heart. We’ll deeply explore the practice and process of surrender. We’ll unpack what it means to each one of us to hold purity of outlook. And we’ll look into the significance of accepting and working with the shadow in ourselves—and others.  All this is part of making our sadhana not just what we do on the mat, but what we create through our words and actions.

Sadhana is something we do with every part of us. Our minds, our hearts, our bodies, and above all the powers within our own energy field. To live an awakened life, we need regular opportunities to reset our intentions and our awareness. Meditation, inquiry, invoking higher powers, spiritual conversation—all these are part of it. And all these are the gifts we give ourselves in retreat.

The retreat is open to long time students as well as less experienced practitioners who want to immerse themselves in retreat practice. It will include periods of silence, on-going self-inquiry, personal and group discussion on what it means to deepen meditation, mutual meditation practices with a partner, active and meditation-focused asana practice, and several short and long (45 minutes to one hour) sessions of meditation each day.

Sally will present a wealth of material, including her most recent work on meditation as a practice and as a way of life, based on the teachings of both Kashmir Shaivism and the non-dual Shakta tradition. Together you will:

• explore with complete openness what a long-term meditation practice entails, and create processes for self-assessment that can help us realize the impact of our practice;
• discover how to do self-inquiry into your practice, and determine which forms of meditation to be practicing at particular times;
• hold space for genuine recognition of our own temperament, and therefore the work that needs to happen emotionally and ethically for our full wholeness to emerge.

In addition, we’ll challenge some of the myths around meditation. We will practice intensely and deeply, exploring and examining several powerful approaches to meditation, including Eastern and Western heart-based practice, Vedantic and Tantric Awareness practices, body-based meditations, visual and subtle body practice (including deity practice and devotional practices), active meditation, and of course, mantra practice.

Along with a lot of deep practice of different types of meditation (including active, moving meditation, and meditation for insight and creativity), we will emphasize three things.

First, deeply exploring the stages and processes of meditation-based sadhana, through experiential practices as well as lectures and discussions.

Second, exploring how meditation and non-dual philosophy combine with intelligent and careful shadow work to allow us to keep going deeper into the self.

Third, satsang—that is, communicating your own experiences and issues in meditation in small groups, and opening past blocks into a truly sustainable and creative practice.

Sally is excited about this retreat. She believes that it will create a foundation for each of you to go deeper in your personal practice.

Cost & Accommodations

The cost of the retreat*, which also includes three meals a day, is based on the level of accommodations you choose. Early registration is recommended for your choice of accommodations, especially if you prefer a private room and bath. All accommodations are on a first come/first serve basis. We do try to allocate by gender and other needs, so please email us if you special considerations and we will try to accommodate.

Please note that the campgrounds/cabins are a 5-10 minute walk from the central area. If you do not have a vehicle, and cannot hand-carry your equipment, we ask that you request indoor housing. The Oaks Cabins can each house two people and have electricity and heat, but no plumbing. A separate bathhouse with private flush toilets and shower rooms is nearby.

• $2300 per person for a single-occupancy room with private bath
• $2100 per person for a single-occupancy room/cabin with shared bath
• $2100 per person for a double-occupancy room with private bath
• $1900 per person for a double-occupancy room/cabin with shared bath
• $1800 per person for a triple-occupancy room with shared bath**
• $1600 per person for tent camping/RV Van***
• $1500 per person for commuters

*Prices are per person and do not include airfare or transportation.

**Triple-occupancy rate is available, but if we do not have enough requests you may be charged double-occupancy rate.

***RV maximum length is 24 feet and there are no hookups.

Payment Policy: A $300 deposit per person is required to reserve your space. The remaining payment balance is due April 24, 2020.

If you cancel before April 24 we will refund all but $150 of your deposit or balance paid in full. If you cancel after April 24 AND after paying the balance in full, and we can fill your place, we will refund everything minus $150. If we cannot fill your spot, we cannot refund any monies due to our obligations to Mount Madonna Center. Cancellation must be received in writing.

Registration/Check-in begins at 4pm on Sunday, May 24. Check-out by 1:00pm on Friday, May 29.

About Mount Madonna Conference Center

Mount Madonna is a beautiful, well-supported, and spiritually powerful center in the coastal mountains near Santa Cruz, California, overlooking Monterey Bay.  Offering vegetarian meals, walking trails, spa treatments, an Ayurvedic center, and several types of accommodations, it is a perfect backdrop for a  deep retreat experience. You can check out their site at http://www.mountmadonna.org.

All meals are strictly vegetarian, with non-dairy and non-gluten alternatives. Their kitchen staff provides the highest quality, delicious, fresh, lovingly prepared and presented foods.

Mount Madonna is about two hours drive time south of San Francisco, in the Santa Cruz Mountains of Central California coast overlooking Monterey Bay. The closest commercial airport is San Jose International and San Fransisco International the next closest. You can find info on getting to Mount Madonna here. We will set up a discussion list for the group to connect and share rides.