When Awareness Becomes Natural: An IMS Urban Retreat
with Alexis Santos and Susa Talan
Saturday, October 12th, 2019 | 9:00am – 6:00pm
Sunday, October 13th, 2019 | 9:00am – 4:00pm
“When awareness becomes natural,” as renowned Theravadan Buddhist monk Sayadaw U Tejaniya explains, our practice becomes part of our life, rather than a separate activity or pastime.
Insight Meditation Society (IMS) is pleased to present this weekend urban retreat at New York Insight (NYI). Wisdom and compassion are natural to the mind and they develop when we learn to attend skillfully to our experience with awareness. They arise when the mind is not obscured by confusion and distractedness, anxiety and fear, and the relentlessness of desires and wants. And yet these afflictive habits of mind are natural as well – meaning they are not a self. They also arise due to causes and conditions that can be understood.
Through relaxing the body and mind, we can come to understand the effortless nature of being mindful. This natural awareness leads to the blossoming of wisdom and compassion.
IMS Urban Retreats at New York Insight: These non-residential retreats are a great opportunity to deepen and integrate our mindfulness meditation practice into our daily lives within the urban environment and within the container of noble silence. While this weekend retreat is suitable for beginners through experienced meditators, some meditation exposure is helpful.
Learn more about IMS Urban Retreats here.
Alexis Santos is giving a separate dharma talk on “Cultivating Awareness + Wisdom” on Friday, October 11th from 7pm-9pm. Click here for more info and registration for Friday evening.
Registration:
Please note that consistent with IMS practice, teachers for IMS Urban Retreats offer their talents and services to our community through the practice of dana, the generosity of donations from participants which are collected at the end of the Retreat. The registration fees listed below only cover NYI’s direct costs for presenting these programs such as rent, staffing, registration processing, volunteer management, etc.
The retreat is sold out and walk-in registration will not be available.
Registration Fees
New York Insight Meditation Center has streamlined the registration fee levels. Members of our Circle of Friends are eligible to receive 20% off of the Sustaining Rate via a code provided in the email confirming membership, which you can enter after clicking the Sustaining Level registration.
*Benefactor Level: Supports NYI’s ability to offer the Subsidized Base.
**Sustaining Level: This level reflects the actual costs to support this program. Circle of Friends members eligible for 20% discount with code. Click here to join.
***Subsidized Base: Made possible by the generosity of Benefactor Level above and other donations to ensure participation by those requiring financial assistance. (Sold out)
If you have questions about your registration (cancellation policy, membership discount, email confirmation, etc.), please read our FAQs. If your question is not addressed in the FAQs, please email registration@nyimc.org.
Teacher(s)
Alexis Santos
Alexis Santos has practiced Insight Meditation in India, Burma and the US since 2001. He met Sayadaw U Tejaniya in Burma in 2003 and has been his long-time student, including several years of training as a Buddhist Monk under his guidance. Alexis’ teaching emphasizes knowing the mind through a natural and relaxed continuity. He brings a practical, intuitive and compassionate approach to the development of wisdom. Alexis teaches meditation at retreat centers throughout the US and internationally and is a featured teacher in the Ten Percent Happier meditation app.
Susa Talan
Susa Talan has been studying and practicing insight meditation since 2006 and is a long-time student of Sayadaw U Tejaniya, with whom she ordained temporarily in Burma in 2010. Susa is currently in a 2-year Community Dharma Mentorship program with Narayan Helen Liebenson. She offers workshops on mindfulness + meditation in a variety of communities and is co-founder of Open Door Meditation Community in Portland, ME and is also an artist + illustrator.