MEDITATION RETREAT: Finding Peace in the Chaos

“If you don’t become the ocean, you will be seasick every day.” ~ Leonard Cohen

During this daylong meditation retreat, we’ll be exploring a variety of different mindfulness methods we can use to approach and re-discover the calm, peace, and ease of equanimity – or balanced awareness – in the face of what are often called the 10,000 joys and 10,000 sorrows that make up all the days and moments of our lives.

As we practice together, we’ll begin to tap into the many ways that we can learn to accept and welcome each moment – life as it IS – with as much peace, compassion, and grace as we can muster, without falling into despair and resignation, and without making anything wrong – especially ourselves.

Our time together will include teachings about these practices, guided meditations to help us access more calm, joy, and ease in our lives, along with silent meditations, and walking meditation.

We’ll be gathering for our retreat on Saturday from 10 a.m. – 5:00 p.m in the beautiful, peaceful sanctuary of Grace Episcopal Church in The Plains, VA. Best known for its lush, rolling landscape and equestrian traditions, The Plains is located about one hour west of Washington, DC, and about a half an hour from the Shenandoah Mountains.

The sanctuary includes big padded pews, and the quiet church grounds include a large, sunny Parish Hall, and several different natural places to sit and walk.

The format will include both guided and silent meditation, a dharma talk, and walking meditation both inside and on the lovely, spacious church grounds. Lunch will be in silence, and participants are asked to bring their own.

THE TEACHER: Shell Fischer, founder and guiding teacher of Mindful Shenandoah (www.mindfulvalley.com) offers more than 30 years of extensive mindfulness training, study, and teaching. She is a Buddhist teacher, trained in the Tibetan Vajrayana tradition at Naropa University – the nation’s leading contemplative university – and in the Theravadan Vipassana (Insight) tradition by Dr. Tara Brach – one of the world’s foremost Insight teachers. She is a graduate of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction teacher-training program led by Jon Kabat-Zinn, founder of MBSR and the Stress Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. Prior to teaching, Shell wrote about mindfulness and yoga for national magazines.

While offering the teachings of Insight Meditation, Shell places great emphasis on the metta (loving-kindness) practices. Her hope is to guide you in nurturing even more kindness and compassion for yourself, others, and for all the situations you find yourself in throughout your life, through the heart-teachings and practices of mindfulness meditation.

Shell warmly welcomes the inclusion and participation of people of diverse identities, including those of all races, ethnicities, cultures, sexual orientations, gender identities, classes, religions, abilities, and ages … with the aspiration that all feel welcome, safe, and respected as we practice together in community.

When: Sat., Aug. 16, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. (also available online)

Where: Grace Episcopal Church, The Plains, VA
Fee: $85/$40

LEARN MORE AND REGISTER HERE: https://www.mindfulvalley.com/retreats/aug-16-2025-meditation-retreat-finding-peace-in-the-chaos/