A Silent Retreat in Nature

Awakening the Heart of Love: Choosing a Life of Kindness & Courage

Begins: March 1st, 2027

You are warmly invited to join us for 6 days and 5 nights for a spacious silent retreat dedicated to refuge, rest, and renewal at Drala Mountain Center, a six-hundred acre mountain haven of native forests, gentle meadows and sweeping valleys. Drala Mountain Center is located at an elevation of 7,500 feet in Northern Colorado, just 50 miles northwest of Fort Collins.

Awakening the heart of love and choosing a life of kindness and courage is necessary medicine for our ailing world. Come immerse yourself in this spacious silent retreat dedicated to nourishing the goodness that already lives inside of you, your buddhanature, the bodhisattva within. This requires steady, honest, tender, and patient courage, for both your personal circumstances and those in widening circles around you. The task is big, yet the Dharma offers timeless perspectives, wisdom and everyday practical guidance to meet it all.

DATES
March 1st – 6th, 2027
Sunday – Friday
Drala Mountain Center
Red Feather Lakes, CO
REGISTER HERE

Held in Noble Silence with a relaxed schedule, each day includes meditation, gentle mindful movement, daily dharma talks, along with expanded time for personal contemplative practices and reflection – time in nature, taking a hike, making art, writing, or even taking a nap. Rest is encouraged!

Small group discussions will be offered as further support for one’s practice, explorations, and discoveries.

Drawing on the teachings of the Buddha from the Insight Meditation tradition, we’ll take a deep dive into the foundational, nourishing, and transformative teachings of the heart, the Brahma Viharas:

• Lovingkindness (Metta)
• Compassion (Karuna)
• Joy (Mudita)
• Equanimity (Upekkha)

Together or separate, the Brahma Viharas become the reliable solid ground that support the capacity to skillfully navigate everyday life with clarity, balance, commitment and care.

Dedicating a week to caring for your own good heart among the beauty and support of the natural world deeply nourishes the capacity to show up in your own life with expanded capacity, resilience, sensitivity, and love.

Please come join us for a retreat dedicated to awakening the heart of love. Everyone is welcome, both new and seasoned practitioners.

SCHEDULE
Early Morning Session
6:30 – Early Morning Session Movement
7:00 – Sitting Meditation
8:00 – Breakfast

Morning Session
10:00 – Daily Instructions & Sitting Meditation
11:00 – Walking Meditation
11:45 – Sitting Meditation
12:30 – Lunch
1:30 – Open Meditation, Personal Time, Small Groups

Afternoon Session
4:00 – Sit
4:30 – Dharma Talk
6:00 – Dinner

Evening Session
7:30 – Gentle Movement & Chanting
8:00 – Sitting Meditation

ACCOMMODATIONS & NOURISHMENT
Lodging options include private single and double shared rooms, some with private bathrooms, some with shared bathrooms. Choose your lodging preference with registration.

Three simple vegetarian meals a day will be provided from dinner the first day through lunch on the last day. The meals are varied, nutritious, and delicious. Please let us know about any dietary restrictions when you register.

Everyone is welcome; new and seasoned meditators of any background, gender, and orientation.

FEES
Tuition: by Donation.
This retreat is offered on a dana (generosity) basis for the teachers. Dating back to the time of Buddha, the dana system is an ancient form of reciprocity and a healthy gift economy based on open-handedness and trust in community. It is the foundation of Buddhist practice rooted in the understanding that generosity opens the heart, creates connection to others, and keeps the teachings alive. Your registration fee covers lodging and meals only. At the end of the retreat, there will be an opportunity to offer dana directly to the teachers. The suggested range is $500–$1,000, though any amount is welcome and deeply appreciated.

Meals & Lodging: $270 - $1,370 (full retreat period) based on your lodging choice. 50% discount on any additional lodging nights.

Click here for Details, Fees & Registration.

Photos: Drala Mountain Center www.dralamountain.org

The Teaching Team:

Heidi Bourne is a meditation teacher in the Insight Meditation tradition and is the founder and guiding teacher of Pacific Mindfulness. She has been teaching since 2005 offering classes, series courses, nature retreats, trauma-informed and resiliency-focused professional programs, and teaches regularly for Spirit Rock Meditation Center. Heidi is especially interested in the integration of the common sense, accessible and timeless teachings of awareness, ethics, and compassion into the complexity of our everyday lives. She is known for her grounded, down-to-earth humor and presence. Heidi holds certification in mindfulness facilitation from UCLA, trauma resiliency from the Trauma Resource Institute, and is a member of the International Mindfulness Teachers Association. She has a background in nursing and over 35 years in small business leadership.

Heather Lear, MA, our movement teacher, was born and raised with the Dharma in a family of Insight Meditation practitioners. She studies and teaches at the intersection of heart-centered Dharma, embodiment practices including Radiant Heart Qigong and community-centered racial awakening and DEIA work, and serves as the Program Manager at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. Heather is a graduate of Spirit Rock’s Advanced Practitioners Program, the Sati Center’s Buddhist Chaplaincy Training, Radiant Heart Qigong Teacher Training, and Awakening Joy Teacher Training. She has served on the teaching team offering the 6-month White and Awakening in Sangha program at the East Bay Meditation Center since 2019, and is currently training in Trauma Sensitive Mindfulness (TSM) and yoga with Janet Stone.