Late Spring and Summer WORKSHOPS & RETREATS

Deepening Meditative Awareness (MED489)

May 4th (Saturday), 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM, PT

Online and In Person at the Nyingma Institute

In this workshop, we will observe and explore obstacles in meditation that keep us on the surface level of mind, in order to dive deeper into mind’s capacity for calmness, clarity and contentment.  There is no need to try to accomplish some goal, since trying itself becomes an obstacle to relaxation. … when you exert too much effort, you can find yourself caught between getting something and not getting it, making internal reports to yourself while trying to be silent. (Tarthang Tulku, Gesture of Balance)  We will apply tools to cut through these distracting habit patterns of mind, so that we can relax body, open the senses, and cultivate clarity and calmness of mind. Some meditation experience is required. 

Instructor: Olivia Hurd. Cost: $50. Registration: https://go.asapconnected.com/?org=4698#EventID=2571925 

Befriending our Aging Being: Meditations on Impermanence (NPS582)

May 11th (Saturday), 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM, PT

Online and In Person at the Nyingma Institute

This Nyingma Psychology workshop will explore the rich potential and opportunities unique to aging, for any age, through the Buddha’s teachings of Impermanence, that can wake us up to appreciate this precious moment, life now.  It is possible to meet changing limitations of mind and body with more conscious awareness, with compassion and increasing acceptance, and perhaps find inspiration and deepening gratitude for what is. Includes meditation, readings and discussions. Some meditation experience required. 

Instructor: Olivia Hurd. Cost: $50. Registration: https://go.asapconnected.com/?org=4698#EventID=2571926 

Awakening Faith in the Lotus Born Guru:  Three Day Retreat (NPR508)

May 16th – 18th (Thursday – Saturday), 9:30 AM – 5:00 PM 

In Person Only 

During this retreat, we will immerse ourselves in accessible yet potent practices such as visualization, mantra, and prayers based on instructions given by Padmasambhava himself and great Nyingma masters, including Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo. By uniting our minds with Padmasambhava, we can liberate our habitual identification with body, speech, and mind from the closed loop of the self and enter into a vast vision of awakened being.

Rooted in the nature of mind, Padmasambhava’s teachings possess a singular directness that can transform our experience of reality. Join us to strengthen your connection with the profound vision and methods of this enlightened lineage, revitalize your faith, and open to Padmasambhava’s blessings.

Learn more: https://nyingmainstitute.com/padma/ 

Instructors: Pema Gellek and Lama Palzang. Cost: $360. Registration: https://go.asapconnected.com/?org=4698#EventID=2571056 

Cultivating Inner Peace: Shamatha Meditations (MED403)

May 25th (Saturday), 9:00AM – 4:00PM, PT 

Online and In Person at the Nyingma Institute

This retreat will offer meditations to quiet the mind by using a simple object of focus to help anchor the mind, such as breath, sound, or gazing at a single pebble. Some gentle Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga movement will allow us to relax body, breath and mind which  naturally become more integrated, easing inner tensions, allowing the natural tranquility of mind to open.  At some point, mind naturally becomes more stable, more flexible, more clear, so that an object of focus becomes irrelevant.  TarthangTulku writes that natural mind is free from resistance, responsive to all aspects of experience, so that … you don’t need to do anything. Some meditation experience is helpful. 

Instructor: Olivia Hurd. Cost: $105. Registration: https://go.asapconnected.com/?org=4698#EventID=2572327 

Workshop: Filled with Devotion (DHS412)

June 1st (Saturday), 10:00 AM–1:00 PM, PT 

Online and In Person at the Nyingma Institute

 The final chapter of the sacred text known as the Uttaratantra, titled “Benefit,” describes the immense merit for the world generated by devotion and certainty in the Dharma. Through practice and discussion, we develop an understanding of faith based on insight. Readings from Buddha Nature. Open to all with interest in Buddhist thought.

Instructors: Mark Henderson and Hugh Joswick. Cost: $50. Registration: https://go.asapconnected.com/?org=4698#EventID=2572328 

Making Mind the Matter (DHS407)

July 6th (Saturday), 10 AM–1:00 PM, PT 

Online and In person at the Nyingma Institute

 Working specifically with the traditional “three trainings”—ethical action, meditation, and wisdom—we gain insight into how “reality” is fabricated and how the patterns of ego, personality, and identity drive that process. Readings: Milking the Painted Cow, pages 99–106.

Instructors: Mark Henderson and Hugh Joswick. Cost: $50. Registration: https://go.asapconnected.com/?org=4698#EventID=2572329 

How to Meditate Workshop (MED401)

July 13th (Saturday), 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM, PT  

Online and In Person at the Nyingma Institute 

 This workshop will offer instruction in sitting and walking meditations. It is for beginners and for those having previous experience, wishing more support in rekindling and deepening a regular practice.  We can change habit-patterns and the way we live our lives when we bring meditation into our daily routine, through expanding awareness of body, breath and mind – beyond thinking, active mind. 

 We can learn to relax more deeply at will, quieting and calming the mind, and integrating body/mind energies through slow, gentle movements (Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga). By attending to our experience in the moment, as it is, no matter what it is, with an attitude of acceptance, non-judgment, and compassion, something transforms; awareness expands beyond my mind, my body, my emotions, to a wider view from a more peaceful center; from one’s own heart. 

Instructor: Olivia Hurd. Cost: $50. Registration: https://go.asapconnected.com/?org=4698#EventID=2572330