Freedom From Bias
Weekend Retreat with Dr. Valerie (Vimalasara) Mason-John, M.A.
at
WILLIAM J. KELLEY RETREAT CENTER
510 N 2nd St, Bay St Louis, MS 39520
In-Person Retreat • February 24-26, 2023
About the Event
"To study the Buddha way is to Study the self. To study the self is to let go of the self. To let go of the self is to be illuminated by a Myriad of things."
-Dogen.
With compassion, loving kindness and equanimity we will explore both our unconscious and conscious biases so that we can begin to be free of them. Facing yourself is the true path to Liberation. Nobody escapes being impacted by bias, and coming into relationship with our bias, helps to cultivate a world filled with awareness and compassion.
Please bring one photo of someone who represents an ancestor. Somebody who has passed in your family, from any generation you choose - someone who inspires you.
Teacher Bio
Dr. Vimalasara (Valerie) Mason-John M.A is a TEDx speaker, author of 8 books including Detox Your Heart, Meditations for Emotional Trauma, and her award-winning books Eight Step Recovery - Using The Buddha’s Teachings to Overcome Addiction and her novel Borrowed Body.
She is a senior teacher in the Triratna Buddhist Order, practicing for 27 years, chair of Vancouver Buddhist Centre, President of the Buddhist Recovery Network and one of the organizers of the GENX Buddhist Teacher’s gathering in 2019. She curated the Tricycle series Teachings for Uncertain Times 2018, and was the recipient of a European Diversity Awards 2018, for her past work in the LGBTQ communities in the UK.
She is a co-founder of Mindfulness-Based Addiction Recovery MBAR and trained as a telephone counsellor for Night Line UK. She lives in Canada and tours internationally as a public speaker and is one of the new leading African Descent voices in the field of Mindfulness Approaches for Addictive Behaviors.
Schedule
* Bell rings 5 min. before scheduled activity
Friday, February 24th
3:00-5:00 pm Arrival & Sign-In
5:30 Orientation (please all attend inside dining hall)
6:00* Dinner
*7:30 -9:00 pm Session I- Intro the theme & meditation
10:00 Lights Out
Saturday, February 25th
*6:30 Wake-up Bell (ring wake-up bell 10 mins beforehand)
*7:00 Still Meditation
7:30** Breakfast
8:15-9:30 Work Meditation
*9:30- 11:00 Session II
11:00 Moving Meditation
*11:30 -12:30 Still Meditation
*12:30 Lunch
1:15 – 2:00 Work Meditation
*2:00-3:30 Session III
3:30- 4:00 Moving Meditation
*4:00-4:45 Still Meditation
*4:45 -5:30 Session IV
5:30 Moving Meditation
*6:00 Dinner
6:45 – 7:30 Work meditation
*7:30-930 Session V
10:00 Lights Out
Sunday, February 26th
*6:30 Wake-up Bell (ring wake-up bell 10 mins beforehand)
*7:00 Still Meditation
7:30 Breakfast
8:30-9:30 Work meditation
*9:30 – 10:00 Packing & Cleaning
*10:00-11:30 Session VI: Closing
More Information
If you have questions or need additional information about this retreat or other Flowering Lotus program offerings, please contact:
Beth Herzig, Retreat Director
601-918-8510