The Open Heart: A One Day Meditation Retreat

Note: This retreat is being shared on multiple channels and there are currently 20+ attendees. We have capcity for 35.

Most meditation begins with the breath. This day begins with the heart.

This is a secular retreat built on the four immeasurables, an old map of the heart's four finest qualities: lovingkindness, compassion, joy in the good fortune of others, and a wide, steady equanimity. No belief required. No incense mandatory. Just attention, turned toward warmth.

The rhythm is simple, and it repeats all day. A short teaching on the method. Twenty minutes of guided practice, each one resting on a single quality of the heart. Then time to connect as a community and ask questions. Learn a little, sit with it, talk about what you found. Again and again, a little deeper each round.

We start by gathering the mind, because a scattered mind cannot love anyone. From that stillness we open, one quality at a time. You will spend most of the day in practice, not in theory.

This is a foundation. Concentration steadied, heart opened. It is also the ground for what comes later in practice, the deeper questions of awareness and the nature of the self. But that is another day. Today we stay with the heart.

THE SHAPE OF THE DAY

Morning, we settle, then turn toward warmth. Afternoon, we meet suffering, then lighten, then widen into a love with no center. We close by pointing quietly at the one who did all of this.

10:00 to 12:00, morning practice
12:00 to 1:00, lunch (bring your own)
1:00 to 3:00, afternoon practice
3:00 to 3:15, break
3:15 to 4:00, closing

WHO IT IS FOR

Anyone. New sitters welcome. Longtime sitters who have lived in the breath for years and were never shown the heart, especially welcome.

WHAT TO BRING

Please bring a meditation cushion or a firm pillow to sit on. This one is required. Also bring comfortable clothes, a water bottle, and your own lunch.

WHERE

Gracie Barra North Austin, 8868 Research Blvd #608, Austin, TX 78758

ON GIVING, AND SHOWING UP

This day is offered as a gift. Generosity is the first practice, so we begin by giving it away freely. There is nothing to pay to reserve your place and nothing due at the door. If the day serves you, you are welcome to give at the end.

A suggested offering is 50 to 150, though any amount is welcome and none is required. Donations support our nonprofit and keep the door open for the next person.

We give freely, and we ask for one thing in return: honesty. If you sign up, come. If your plans change, please mark yourself as not attending so we know. We prepare the space for the number we expect, and a true headcount lets us hold the room well. That care, running in both directions, is part of the practice.

Make a contribution for the day here: https://account.venmo.com/u/meditationcommunity

OR

https://givebutter.com/meditationcommunity

Six hours, one heartbeat. Come find out what your attention does when you point it at kindness.