Monday, April 2, 2012

Retreats 2012

Finally I begin to realize that the first two meditation retreats that I wanted to participate this year are actually happening. It took quite a lot of work to get everything in order, flights, get some time off from work, carpools and stuff, but now everything is in order and the first one is only 4 days away.

This first retreat takes place in my home country Finland (April 5th –April 10th 2012).
It´s five days Mindfulness based silent retreat and the teacher, Patricia Genoud-Feldman, is very well known teacher internationally.

Here is more about her:
 Patricia has been practicing Buddhist meditation since 1984 (Vipassana and Dzogchen) first in Asia under the guidance of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and Sayadaw Upandita and then in the West. She has completed her teacher training at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA under the guidance of Joseph Goldstein and other senior teachers. She has been teaching Vipassana meditation since 1997 in Europe, Israel and in the US.


Genoud-Feldman has also trained in Insight Dialogue and the Relational Dharma with Gregory Kramer and teaches it (since 2009). She has also trained in MBSR in Worcester, MA. She is a co-founder of the Vimalakirti Meditation Center in Switzerland.

The other one that I´m participating is called Kind Awareness Retreat, (June 1st – June 8th 2012) and it takes place in Cadzad, Netherlands.
I´m really excited about the fact that Vinny Ferraro (w/Frank Uyettebroeck from Dutch Sangha; Tegen De Stroomin) is teaching.  I think Vinny is really heartful guy, and I have followed and listened to his teachings for few years now, so you can imagine how it feels like when you get to sit with someone you think very highly off.

Here is more about Mr. Ferraro:
1987 Vinny began speaking in drug rehabs and prisons.
1993 he started leading groups and teaching meditation which he continues to this day.
1998 he spent a year sitting bedside with the dying through the Zen Center Hospice Program in San Francisco, as well as experiencing A Year to Live Practice. He has taught meditation in San Quentin, and continues to teach incarcerated youth with the MBA Project.

Vinny Ferraro is a graduate of the ‘Spirit Rock Mediation Center’s Community Dharma Leader’s Program’, being trained by, amongst others, Jack Kornfield. As a meditation and Dharma teacher Vinny teaches all over the world, leading Vipassana retreats for youth and adults.

Vinny´s  Tricycle-magazine  interview  can be found here