Sitting in Beauty: A 5-day Silent Meditation Retreat
Janet Solyntjes and Dawn King
April 11–16, 2023
Mindfulness and awareness training allows one to fully receive the unpredictable, extraordinary, and sometimes heartbreaking dance of life, as it appears within our own personal experience. The inclination of our heart’s longing for contentment and freedom reflects our innate beauty and wisdom. Opening to this present moment illuminates the vividness of reality, the tenderness of the heart, and the magic of being alive, and prepares us to meet the challenges of this life with awareness and love. It is through this path of opening and softening that we discover our own essential nature, our innate goodness, and the innate goodness of all humanity.
“Whatever exists in us is a natural situation. It is another dimension of natural beauty. People sometimes go to great lengths to appreciate nature by climbing mountains, going on safari to see giraffes and lions in Africa, or taking a cruise to Antarctica. It is much simpler and more immediate to appreciate the natural beauty of ourselves.” Mindfulness in Action, Chögyam Trungpa
The Sitting in Beauty retreat is an intensive 5-day silent meditation program that emphasizes the deep understanding and practice of mindfulness meditation in its most universal and secular expression. In this retreat we will explore the journey of opening and softening through periods of sitting and walking meditation practice, gentle movement exercises, and talks by senior teachers to deepen the understanding of the practice. Each afternoon there will be a period of time to rest or take a walk around the land of Drala Mountain Center.
While participants will be in silence for the majority of the retreat, there will also be an opportunity to meet with a teacher to discuss your meditation practice.
Prior experience with a personal meditation practice is recommended.
Schedule Overview
7:00 – 8:00 a.m. Program Session
8:00 – 8:30 a.m. Silent Breakfast
9 a.m.- noon Program Session
12:30 – 3:00 p.m. Silent Lunch and Open Period
3:00 – 4:30 pm Program Session
4:30 – 5:00 p.m. Silent Tea
5:00 – 6:00 p.m. Program Session
6:30 -7:30 p.m. Silent Dinner
7:30 -8:30 p.m. Program Session
Please review DMC’s current COVID-19 policy at this link before visiting DMC.
Teachers
Janet Solyntjes
Janet Solyntjes, MA, is a Certified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teacher and has been leading silent meditation retreats in the U.S. and internationally for over 30 years. She provides online study groups and individual mentoring to mindfulness teachers-in-training and has been on the faculty of Naropa University, the Center for Mindfulness, and the Engaged Mindfulness Institute.
Janet facilitates the annual leadership retreat: Leading with Genuine Care (formerly donothing retreat) for entrepreneurs and supports business leaders and teams in the integration of mindfulness into workplace settings.
Dawn King
Dawn King, MA, LPC, LAC is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Licensed Addiction Counselor in private practice in the Denver area. She has over 20 years of experience in the counseling field working in various settings. She integrates Buddhism, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) in her work with clients.
She is a qualified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and trained Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) teacher and offers these courses regularly in the community.