Mindfulness for Everyone: Cultivating Attention, Compassion, and Presence

Mindfulness for Everyone is a silent meditation retreat at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California, open to people of all backgrounds and experience, and especially to those drawn to secular mindfulness. Four teachers lead it: Diana Winston, Gullu Singh, Dawn Mauricio and Eli Talen, a teacher in training. Rooted in the Buddhist practice of mindfulness, the retreat keeps its focus on practical application: how attention, emotional regulation, lovingkindness, compassion and even-mindedness can be cultivated and carried into daily life.

What to Expect

The retreat runs five days, from a Monday afternoon check-in to a Saturday departure. Monday brings check-in, a welcome orientation, dinner, and a first meditation session with instruction. The days that follow share a steady rhythm: pre-dawn meditation, practice instructions and Q&A, mid-morning sitting and walking meditation, lunch and a rest period, afternoon practice, a dharma discourse, and an evening sitting.

You will practice through stillness and movement, from focused attention to wide-open, spacious, natural awareness, and you will hear lectures and have chances to meet with the guiding teachers, in small groups or individually. Silence is held throughout, except for teacher-led dharma talks, Q&A, small groups and other practice meetings. Saturday morning offers final teachings and guidance on integrating the practice, a closing circle, and an invitation to offer dana to the teachers and to Spirit Rock. Departure is at 11:00 AM.

Eight continuing education credits are available for licensed and license-eligible mental health and healthcare professionals, through Mindful CECs. CE participants attend practice instructions from 8:45 to 9:45 AM and the discourse from 4:30 to 5:30 PM on the four core days, and full attendance is required.

The Teachers

Diana Winston is the Director of UCLA Mindful, the mindfulness education center of UCLA Health. She has taught retreats at Spirit Rock since 2004 and is the author of Fully Present, The Little Book of Being, and Wide Awake: A Buddhist Guide for Teens.

Gullu Singh is a corporate real estate attorney and Dharma practitioner who teaches secular and Buddhist meditation in legal, corporate and academic settings. A graduate of Spirit Rock's Teacher Training, he serves on core faculty for major programs and is the incoming Co-chair of the Guiding Teacher Council.

Dawn Mauricio has been teaching since 2005 and spent 13 years teaching yoga and mindfulness meditation full-time. Since 2018 she has taught Buddhist Dhamma and meditation, mostly in intensive retreat settings. She completed Spirit Rock's four-year Retreat Teacher Training and its Dedicated Practitioners' Program, and is a Somatic Experiencing practitioner and the author of Mindfulness Meditation for Beginners. Her approach is playful, dynamic and heartfelt, grounded in relational and embodied practice.

Eli Talen, a teacher in training, is a psychotherapist and former lawyer and academic. He teaches dharma in prisons and community settings, emphasizing intuitive awareness and bringing Buddhist and Western approaches into conversation.

The Setting

The retreat is residential at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, in Marin County, California. Lodging is in shared double rooms or in a limited number of single rooms. Sixteen of the 80 rooms are singles, and they go first to those at the higher-contribution rates, then to people with serious medical needs. All meals are vegetarian. A commuter option exists once the retreat is full, for those who have completed a weeklong silent Insight retreat.

Before You Go

The level is introductory, and no prior experience is required. Newcomers to meditation are encouraged to begin with a daylong program if they prefer. The retreat is taught in English. Registration covers meals, lodging, teachings and retreat materials. Teacher dana, CE credits and transportation to Spirit Rock are separate, and CE must be arranged before the program starts. Pricing is on a sliding scale, and needs-based scholarships are available.