Directed Solo Cultivation (Meditation) Retreat~Shelter In Place

Open Dates
Heartwood Refuge and Retreat Center
Make time for yourself and your practice in a supportive and peaceful contemplative environment. Entering into a self-directed or long-term retreat allows you to design a program that best meets your needs and schedule. This could be an intensive silent meditation retreat, or it could be a more gentle meditation […]

Spiritual Practice for a Chaotic World~ Live Online Zoom Retreat

with Ronya Banks

April 2 - 5, 2020
ZOOM Online by way of Heartwood Refuge
Shelter in Place - Home Retreat with Ronya Banks Just as a lotus flower grows out of the mud, blooming into the world with its brilliance and beauty, we too can use the mud of our isolation during these scary times of the Coronavirus crisis to deepen and “Plumb the Depths of our Spiritual Practices”. Join Ronya Banks, Asheville Insight Meditation center’s founding teacher as she leads you in a silent, meditation retreat, streamed live into your home on your computer via Zoom, Thursday evening, April 2 – Sunday morning, April 5th. During our precious time together, Ms. Banks will…

Dharmacharya III Graduation & IV Retreat

with Venerable Pannavati, Venerable Pannadipa and Associate Teachers

May 12 - 17, 2020
Heartwood Refuge and Retreat Center
Open only to students in ministerial program

Awakening the Wild Heart – Memorial Day Weekend Insight Meditation Retreat~ Scholarship Eligible

with Andrew Chapman, LMSW and Mikey Noechel, MS

May 22 - 25, 2020
Heartwood Refuge and Retreat Center
The Buddha taught that the seeds of awakening are deeply rooted in the hearts and minds of every human being. However, it is only through the intentional cultivation of these seeds—generosity, ethical living, and mindfulness—and the uprooting of greed, hatred, and delusion that we can begin to harvest the fruits of our awakened heart. […]

Charis Spiritual Formation Program

May 28 - 31, 2020
Heartwood Refuge and Retreat Center
This event is Private~Planning Retreat 8 People max    

A Journey to Peace through Meditation and Mandala~ Retreat Scholarship Eligible

with Cynthia Calhoun

June 5 - 7, 2020
Heartwood Refuge and Retreat Center
You live in a world with lots of distractions, stress and anxiety. There is a way to find the calm in the chaos. Knowing how to “fill your cup” through the creative process and meditation can really help you cultivate a sense of peace. During this retreat, while practicing noble silence, you’ll learn about meditation through creating mandalas, guided meditation, silent meditation, and more. You’ll spend time crafting different types of mandalas: with objects, markers, pencils, and in other ways. Learn some lessons that the creative process and mandalas teach and walk away with the tools to find your peace…

Dismantling Race Through Mindfulness~ Retreat Scholarship Eligible

with Sister Clear Grace

June 18 - 21, 2020
Heartwood Refuge and Retreat Center
Power and privilege have been unfairly awarded throughout history to certain groups of people based on race while disempowering others. If one is born in America race is something we have been born into. We unconsciously internalize messages about each other, ourselves, and about race. Simply growing up in a racist world causes subtle and not so subtle habits of mind and heart to take on racist patterns. Mindfulness meditation can help one to observe preconceptions as they arise in the mind, providing space for cultivating kindness and care. Mindfulness can illuminate implicit bias, and the usually unconscious prejudices that…

The Power of a Tender Heart: Awakening with Presence, Love and Insight~ Retreat Scholarship Eligible

with Lisa Ernst

June 24 - 28, 2020
Heartwood Refuge and Retreat Center
We live in a time when divisiveness and intolerance seem to rule the day. More than ever, we need to find a way to live from our hearts - for ourselves and for the world. Fortunately, even a moment of kindness and compassion can begin to open the door to the healing power of loving presence. [...]

The Four Protective Meditations Retreat with Bhikkhu Bodhi~ Retreat Scholarship Eligible

with Bhikkhu Bodhi

July 16 - 19, 2020
Heartwood Refuge and Retreat Center
Bhikkhu Bodhi will be leading a retreat here at Heartwood.

Mindfulness Retreat for Beginners~ Retreat Scholarship Eligible

with Mary Aubry

July 23 - 26, 2020
Heartwood Refuge and Retreat Center
This three-night retreat will be held in Noble Silence.  The retreat is designed for those who are new to meditation, but meditators with experience are welcome to attend to rejuvenate their practice.  Mary will offer meditation instructions, dharma talks, and interviews.  Each day will include periods of sitting meditation, walking meditation, loving-kindness meditation, and Q&A sessions.

Teaching as a Spiritual Path

with Venerable Somasiki and Renee Owen, Ed.D

July 31 - August 3, 2020
Heartwood Refuge and Retreat Center
“One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.”  ~Malala Yousafzai. Teaching as a Spiritual Path is a retreat to affirm your own sacred path of teaching. This three day retreat will offer you an opportunity to reconnect with your “why”, to engage with your authentic self,  explore your inner landscape, renew your passion and cultivate practices to sustain yourself and inspire others for your personal and professional life. We will learn secular spiritual pedagogical practices, meditate together, journal, and engage in powerful embodied experiences that will renew our inner resources and return deep meaning and purpose to…

Teacher in Residence – John Orr

August 7 - 23, 2020
We are happy to host John Orr again as an in-residence guest teacher. He is always a great addition to the Heartwood  Refuge family. Welcome John!

“Practicing With Karma” ~ Retreat Scholarship Eligible

with John Orr

August 12 - 16, 2020
Heartwood Refuge and Retreat Center
There may be many questions regarding the meaning of karma and how to workwith it in our practice. What is karma? How does it work? Does karma mean predestination or fate? If there is no self, whose karma is it? How does karma get transferred from one lifetime to the next? Karma is nether punishment or reward, but just the natural results of seeds we have planted, consciously or unconsciously. Some of these seeds or actions through what we say or do are wholesome and others unwholesome. The Buddha said; Abandon the unwholesome. If it were not possible, I would…

The Five Bundles of Clinging~ Retreat Scholarship Eligible

with Santikaro

August 19 - 23, 2020
Heartwood Refuge and Retreat Center
The Five Bundles or Khandhas are known as "the most frequent teaching." This simple & powerful analysis of human experience is used in two primary ways. First, they are the stuff out of which we fabricate ourselves, which makes them the core of suffering. Second, in response to the first inquiry, they are scrutinized to see their deeper nature so that they're no longer concocted into "me" and "mine." In this teaching, we find the four ennobling truths, dependent co-arising, emptiness, and the middle way. The core teachings of Buddhism are all found in insightful inquiry of the five bundles…

Unknow Yourself Through Mindfulness~ Retreat Scholarship Eligible

with Vimilasara Mason John

September 4 - 7, 2020
Heartwood Refuge and Retreat Center
We are not fixed! This is the teaching of the Buddha. Everything changes, and that includes all the addictions, compulsive and obsessive behaviours. Together we will explore what the Buddha taught to help free us from our addictive mental states, and how to cultivate freedom from the prison of our minds. This retreat is for anybody who identifies as human. This precious birth has given us the gift of transformation and emancipation of the human condition.

Insight Meditation Community of Charlotte Retreat

with IMCC

September 17 - 20, 2020
Heartwood Refuge and Retreat Center
Private Retreat.

Mindful Healing for Healers (CEU pending)~ Retreat Scholarship Eligible

with Dr. Sonja Williams MD and Dr. Maureen Hall

September 24 - 27, 2020
Heartwood Refuge and Retreat Center
This is a retreat designed to further mindful practice of healthcare providers and empower them for improved resilience in a changing healthcare industry. With increasing rates of suicide and burnout amongst our healthcare providers learning new and innovative ways to sustain and enliven our healing practices is so vital. The goal of this retreat is to teach concrete sustainable techniques to improve presence and stability with our clients in the midst of stress and increasing demands of the industry. Regardless of the length of practice each provider has experienced, invigorating our compassionate intention for healing of others further invigorates ourselves.…

Re-wiring for Joy

with Deborah Eden Tull and Amma Ṭhanasanti

October 9 - 13, 2020
Heartwood Refuge and Retreat Center
This is a silent retreat that includes Relational Mindfulness. The Buddha taught that the key to peace, joy, and happiness is release: abandoning the relentless insistence that life, in this moment, be other than it is. But how do we wire our brains to recognize the wholeness in every moment? How do we consistently see joy in everything that is within and outside of our control? And how do we cultivate joy in an age of disruption and global uncertainty? In this 5-day retreat,  former Buddhist nuns and world-renowned meditation teachers, Amma Thanasanti and Deborah Eden Tull, combine practices and…

Walking the “Path of Insight”~ Retreat Scholarship Eligible

with Dr. Donald Rothberg and Ronya Banks

October 18 - 25, 2020
Heartwood Refuge and Retreat Center
Walking the “Path of Insight” is a time-tested journey to spiritual awakening traversed by thousands of people over the past few thousand years. With the expert guidance of Vipassana teachers – Donald Rothberg and Ronya Banks, you will delve deeper into the many gifts this Buddhist practice has to offer.

Jhana Retreat~ Retreat Scholarship Eligible

with Mary Aubry

November 5 - 15, 2020
Heartwood Refuge and Retreat Center
This retreat will emphasize the application of the Jhanas (Meditative Absorptions) as part of a regular sitting practice, in the tradition of Leigh Brasington and his teacher Ayya Khema.  The Jhanas are a method of one-pointed concentration taught in the Theravadan Buddhist tradition. The retreat will be held in Noble Silence and will focus on teaching the Jhanas for the purpose of enhancing insight practice.  Several topics for insight practice will be discussed, including Dependent Origination and Emptiness.  Mary will offer instructions, dharma talks, and interviews.  Each day will include periods of sitting meditation, walking meditation, lovingkindness meditation, and Q&A.  This retreat is for experienced…

Dharmacharya Retreat IV

with Venerable Pannavati and Venerable Pannadipa

December 4 - 10, 2020
Heartwood Refuge and Retreat Center
Open only to students in ministerial program

The Liberating Teachings of the Buddha~ Retreat Scholarship Eligible

with Annie Nugent

May 6 - 9, 2021
Heartwood Refuge and Retreat Center
The purpose of the Buddha’s teachings is to show us how to be truly happy  by using the tools of mindfulness and clear understanding to reveal the unskillful tendencies  of mind that keep us bound to suffering. Joy arises for us when we realize, through our direct experience,  that it  is possible for transformation to come about. This silent  retreat is an invitation to explore the depth of the teachings  in this formal setting as wisdom and compassion is cultivated, allowing these qualities to come to the fore  in the  midst of the fullness and vibrancy of daily life.