Online Retreat for Teens
Chas DiCapua, Jean Esther and Cara Lai
Friday, June 26 – Monday, June 29
Cost is sliding-scale: $300, $185, or $100, your choice. Paying at a higher rate helps IMS to offer ongoing support to teachers and staff during this period of closure. Scholarships ($50) are available, simply choose the scholarship rate when you register.
REGISTER HERE
This retreat is specifically for those who, as of August 31, 2020, will be aged 15–19. This online course offers meditation instruction, half-hour sitting periods, facilitated discussion groups, and a guided movement period each day. This allows young adults to develop and value their natural spirituality within a supportive online environment.
A note on dana (generosity)
Most IMS teachers—like insight teachers around the world—rely on the generosity of students for their livelihood, and receive no compensation from course fees. All IMS online teachers receive a modest dana advance from IMS to guarantee a minimum level of financial support. (Click here to learn more about the dana practice.) There will be an opportunity to offer a contribution to your teacher at the end of this course.
Daily Schedule:
**all times are Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)
Note: all sessions will be recorded and posted so you can view it later if you missed one. Discussion Groups will NOT be recorded.
Friday, June 26
7pm – 7:50pm Opening Talk
Saturday, June 27
10am – 10:45am: Morning Sit & Instructions, Q&A, Guidance on Mindful Daily Activity
11am – 11:30am: Group Gathering
11:30am – 12:30pm: Small Group Discussions
2pm – 3pm: Mindful Movement
3:15pm – 3:45pm: Guided Metta Meditation
5pm – 6pm: Discussion Groups and Guided Meditation
7:15pm – 8:15pm: Dharma Talk, Q&A, Guided Meditation
Sunday, June 28
10am – 11am: Morning Sit & Instructions, Q&A, Guidance on Mindful Daily Activity
11:30am – 12:30pm: Small Group Discussions
2pm – 3pm: Mindful Movement
3:15pm – 3:45pm Guided Metta Meditation
5pm – 6pm: Discussion Groups and Guided Meditation
7:15pm – 8:15pm: Dharma Talk, Q&A, Guided Meditation
8:30pm – 10pm: Community Share / Dance
Monday, June 29
10am – 11am: Final Small Group Discussions
11:15am – 12:30pm: Closing Circle
REGISTER HERE
Teacher Bios
Chas DiCapua has been practicing Buddhist meditation for almost 30 years. He has trained with Burmese meditation masters, western monastics of the Thai Forest tradition and senior western vipassana teachers. He has spent over two years in silent, intensive retreat.
Chas has served as IMS’s Resident Teacher since 2003. Chas is a graduate of the four year joint Insight Meditation Society / Spirit Rock Teacher Training Program. He teaches retreats at IMS and at various centers and sanghas throughout the country.
As a way to address the widespread suffering that is endemic in many partnered relationships, Chas explores how the dharma can be practiced in relationship, including how the masculine and feminine energies manifest in relationship, in spiritual practice, and in the world.
Jean Esther, MSW LICSW, has trained in meditation since 1975 and has been a practicing psychotherapist for over 37 years. She is a guiding teacher of True North Insight Meditation Centre in Canada, teaches at Insight Meditation Center of Pioneer Valley , MA, Inward Bound Mindfulness Education (iBme) and elsewhere across North America. Her teachings integrate psychological understanding and somatic awareness with Buddhist teachings on love and wisdom.
Cara Lai started meditating over ten years ago, and began sitting long retreats regularly in 2011. Most of her practice has been in the IMS/Spirit Rock tradition, although she has walked many other avenues of self-discovery. She seeks to find freedom through her own intuitive process, however that may vary from the ways we normally think about Buddhism, and to help others do the same. Nature, intuition, and the body are all integral to her teaching. She teaches for Inward Bound Mindfulness Education and works as a mindfulness-based psychotherapist, artist and occasional wilderness guide. She has a Masters in Social Work from the University of Vermont; and in the past has worked in a therapeutic high school, an adoption agency, and various outdoor education settings. In 2020 she will complete the Spirit Rock Teacher Training Program. In her spare time she enjoys walking and watching plants grow.
