Living with an Open Heart - A Few Spaces Available
A 10-night Meditation Retreat will be led by John Travis, with Adam Stonebraker offering Yin Yoga. The retreat will be held at Praiwan Raft House, Khao Sok National Park, Thailand, from December 29, 2023 through January 8, 2024. The retreat now has a few spaces available. (This is not a Mountain Stream retreat.)
For more information, contact Catrinka Holland at catrinkah@gmail.com.
Click here for a downloadable pdf of this information including even more pictures.
This is a Vipassana silent retreat. Join us as we sit together in the stillness of this remote jungle lake. We will be nourished by the dedicated cultivation of the 'divine abidings:’ unconditional friendliness, wise compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity.
In each moment returning gently to the present, we develop the ability to abide with clarity and kindness in the midst of both subtle and strong emotions.
We will have regular offerings of gentle movement practices and Yin Yoga.
Setting
Cheow Lan is a remote, beautiful lake in the interior of Southern Thailand. Located on the edge of Khao Sok National Park (www.khaosok.com) the lake is hidden among towering limestone karst formations in one of a few primary rainforests left—over 160 million years old. The prehistoric jungle is part of a wildlife sanctuary home to gibbon apes, elephants, langur monkeys, giant hornbills, serpent eagles and many other rare birds and animals.
Retreat History
Steven Smith of Vipassana Hawai’i has been the primary teacher for this retreat for many years. Steve has retired from teaching and has asked John to carry on this tradition. Here is Steven’s note to his beloved students:
“I am so happy that John Travis has offered to keep the Vipassana retreat legacy alive that I have had the privilege of teaching for 17 years - at this annual New Year’s Lake retreat. John is a dear old friend of mine and a great teacher. To be practicing in noble silence for 10 days in this ancient protected rain forest with the elephants and gibbons and so many other beings close by allows for a renewal and cultivation of the deepest well of wisdom and love inside.”
Accomodations
Accommodations are in private, comfortable floating bamboo jungalows. Linens, blankets, and towels are provided. The food is delicious and nutritious with fresh fruits and vegetables from the jungle and local markets, and fresh fish from the lake. Meals will be mainly vegetarian with fish, and occasionally chicken. Fresh drinking water is readily available. There is a small generator, usually on from 6:30pm to 10pm, for lighting and outlets available for charging a few necessary electrical items.
This is a rare opportunity to be unplugged with no Internet or telephone service available except for emergency use. Swim in clear fresh waters of the lake outside your door. Travel the lake on easy-to-use kayaks. Enjoy massage from an experienced Thai masseuse. We have exclusive use of the Praiwan Raft House accommodations (www.praiwanrafthouse.com). The wonderful staff from the raft house and Jungle Yoga (www.jungleyoga.com ) are available to help us with on-site information, travel questions, etc.
There will be a maximum of 28 students.
Teachers
John Travis is the founding teacher of Mountain Stream Meditation in Nevada City, CA, and is a teacher emeritus at Spirit Rock Meditation Center (www.spiritrock.org) in Marin County, CA. He has practiced Insight Meditation for over 50 years and completed a four-year teacher training with Jack Kornfield. In the 1970’s & 80’s, John lived and studied in Asia with many of the premier meditation masters of our time. John’s practice included periods of monastic ordination in the Theravadan and Tibetan traditions. His dynamic teaching style focuses on a non-dualistic approach that emphasizes the body, heartfulness, and the nature of awareness. In addition to his meditation training, John has taught Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction and is a certified Hakomi therapist.
Adam Stonebraker (www.adamstonebraker.com) has been practicing and studying meditation in various schools since 1999, and began teaching meditation, mindfulness, and yoga in 2010. He is a teacher and leadership council member with Sacred Mountain Sangha and leads teacher trainings, retreats, and workshops internationally, in yin yoga, meditation, and mindfulness. Adam is committed to an all-inclusive dharma, where no aspect of the human experience is left out. He has particular interest in the transformative power of the natural world, inter-faith dialogue, and the bodhisattva way of life.
Travel
From Bangkok to Surat Thani is 1-hour flight (cost approximately $40-$50). We arrange a group pickup to and from Surat Thani airport. From there it is about an hour’s drive, and finally we travel by long boat to the raft house. We highly recommend you arrive at least 1 night before in Bangkok to get a good sleep and some self-care. A tight schedule on arrival coupled with jet lag can make your first few days of retreat a total blur.
Registration & Payment
For more information, contact Catrinka Holland at catrinkah@gmail.com.
Cost of the retreat is $1750 per person, for your own room with the use of shared bathroom. Some en-suite accommodation available for additional cost. $1,000 deposit is due upon registration to hold your place in the retreat. This deposit will be returned if the retreat cancels. Other than retreat cancellation, this deposit is non-refundable. We ask all participants to purchase trip insurance within 1 week of registration. We will also ask participants to sign a Liability Waiver. The $750 balance is due on or before October 1, 2023. This fee will be returned if the retreat cancels. This fee is otherwise non-refundable.
The retreat fee includes lodging, all meals, group transportation from and to Surat Thani by van and boat, entry fee to the national park, kayak use, the meditation and movement programs, and dana for the raft house staff.
There will be an opportunity to offer dana to the teachers and staff near the end of retreat. Dana is a Sanskrit and Pali word meaning generosity or giving.
Price does not include airfares, mandatory travel insurance, optional Thai massages, extra snacks or drinks or any other personal expenses.
Cancellation Policy
All payments are non-refundable. If the retreat is cancelled for any reason, all fees, including the deposit, will be returned. Airplane flights and travel costs to and within Thailand cannot be reimbursed. We have made this requirement in order to cover our costs and keep our commitment to Jungle Yoga and the Praiwan Raft House. For this reason, we require all enrolled individuals to purchase medical travel insurance and strongly encourage the purchase of a policy that also covers trip cancellation.
Travel Insurance
Things happen! Most medical travel insurance policies include trip cancellation. This trip insurance will also generally reimburse your trip cost if you cannot travel due to injury or illness. Be aware that you usually are required to purchase the policy shortly after you register for the trip and make your first payment, if you wish for the trip cancellation insurance to be effective.
Please carefully read the benefits for different plans and you might consider the “cancel for any reason'“ clause available in some plans. Two companies we can recommend are:
Worldwide Trip Protector, www.travelinsured.com or call 800-243-3174.
World Nomads, https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-insurance/
Further information will be provided upon registration.
For more information, contact Catrinka Holland at catrinkah@gmail.com.