Half Day Retreat
***For directions or to check on space availability if you are on the waiting list, please call Veletta at 770-606-2531 or email at kramtrebeg@aol.com.**

Prerequisite – This retreat is for experienced meditators. You must have previously attended a Half Day retreat or RIMC meeting. The retreat is limited to 20 participants who meet the above criteria, and you must RSVP.

A period of intensive insight meditation practice has a long history of helping individuals foster wisdom, compassion, equanimity, loving kindness and joy. A retreat with others may also energize and deepen mindfulness, as well as help to strengthen a sense of sangha (community of spiritual friends).

With these things in mind, we would like to, whenever possible, provide a free monthly half day meditation retreat for those wishing to deepen their mindfulness practice. The location is a private residence in an ideal setting for meditation and a great place to enjoy the beauty of the North Georgia mountains. All you need to bring is the willingness to unplug from your hectic life for a few hours (and your favorite vegetarian dish). Meditation cushions and chairs are provided. There is no cost for this retreat. **For directions to the retreat site and information on availability see below.**

Bio: Mark is an authorized Guiding Insight Meditation teacher who began his meditation practice more than 50 years ago with insight meditation teachers Joseph Goldstein, Sharon Salzberg, and Jack Kornfield. His primary teacher has been Joseph Goldstein, and he has trained more recently with guiding senior insight teachers Rodney Smith and Narayan Liebenson. J. Krishnamurti also has had a lasting and profound influence on his teaching. He has studied with numerous other teachers primarily in the Theravada tradition, but also in the Tibetan and Zen traditions. Mark has attended 3 three-month silent retreats and dozens of other retreats mostly at the Insight Meditation Society, the Forest Refuge, and the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies. He has taught the Half Day retreats for more than 20 years and leads silent retreats in Georgia. Mark is a co-founder and the Guiding teacher for the Roswell Insight Meditation Community, which was founded in 2016, with an emphasis on inclusivity with affection, and transformation of all aspects of one’s life which he calls the Marvels of Mindfulness. He has recently (2023) written a book intitled SMILE Into Your Precious Life with the Marvels of Mindfulness, which is an in-depth collection of his life’s teachings. Mark is a retired doctoral level psychologist and 25-year crisis intervention coordinator/team leader, as well as an ordained Christian deacon. His website is marvelsofmindfulness.org.

NOTE: WAITING LIST – If you are on the waiting list, please continue to check for cancellations (which happen frequently) so that you can attend this event. PLEASE only plan to attend if you are on the attendee list. If your plans change and you are unable to attend, please cancel your RSVP ASAP so that others may attend.*

Schedule:

09:30-10:00 – Meet and Greet

10:00 – 10:10 – Welcome/Instructions

10:10 – 10:40 – Sitting

10:40 – 11:00 – Walking

11:00 – 11:30 – Sitting

11:30 – 11:50 – Walking

11:50 – 12:20 – Sitting

12:20 – 12:40 – Walking

12:40 – 1:10 – Sitting

1:10 – 1:30 – Walking

1:30 – 2:00 – Sitting

2:00 – 3:00 – Vegetarian Lunch

***For directions or to check on space availability if you are on the waiting list, please call Veletta at 770-606-2531 or email at kramtrebeg@aol.com.**