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    • 11 Jul 2025
    • 5:00 PM
    • 13 Jul 2025
    • 4:00 PM
    • In-Person Only
    • 0
    Join waitlist

    With Angie Parrish, Bryan Hindert and Sharen Lock


    Dates

    July 11 - 13
    Registration Deadline:  June 5
    Suitability
    This retreat will be beneficial for both newcomers to meditation and more experienced mindfulness practitioners with an interest in living with more ease in the present moment.

    Description

    Beneath our often distracted and restless minds lies a natural, peaceful presence — steady and always available. While it’s easy to blame phones or external circumstances for our lack of focus, the deeper truth is that it is our own wandering minds that pull us away from clarity, contentment, and ease.


    During th
    is weekend retreat, we will explore teachings, guided meditations, and gentle yoga to help quiet the body and mind, recognize the inner causes of distraction, and reconnect with the stillness that is always here — even in the midst of life’s challenges.


    This will be a silent retreat, offering a rare opportunity to settle deeply. In the stillness, we allow our meditative experience to deepen, and the wisdom of the teachings to reveal themselves not just intellectually, but directly and experientially.

    Retreat Leaders

    Angie Parrish has been a student of Buddhism since attending a 1999 retreat with Thich Nhat Hanh. She is the Dharma Programs Leader for FCM and a Dharma Instructor with FCM, having been given permission by FCM’s teacher Fred Eppsteiner to share the Buddha’s teachings with the sangha. She is also a Qualified Teacher of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and is a frequent teacher of classes, Intensives and retreats at FCM.


    Bryan Hindert has been following the Buddhist path since 2008, when a strong desire to make changes in his life and to develop a better relationship with his mind drew him to the Florida Community of Mindfulness. This path has helped Bryan to transform his life in profound ways and continues to be a source of guidance, support, and joy in all of his endeavors. In addition to helping to develop and lead Wake Up Tampa Bay, a mindfulness and meditation group for people in their 20s and 30s, Bryan has served by teaching classes and presenting on mindfulness and on Buddhism, and leading intensive practice periods. 


    Sharen Lock has been working in the mind-body medicine field since 1998. She is a certified yoga therapist and trained in mindfulness-based applications for healthcare. Beginning with Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Sharen went on to study Buddhism in the Insight Meditation tradition. She happily rejoined FCM in 2024 and enjoys offering yoga and mindful movement to the FCM community.


    Fees

    The fee for in-person participation is $180 for overnighters and $140 for commuters.

    Retreat Logistics

    This retreat is in-person only (either staying overnight or as a commuter) participation at FCM’s Tampa Center. The retreat will begin with orientation at 5:00 pm on Friday, July 11 and ends Sunday, July 13 at 4:00 pm. Participation is open to both FCM members and non-members.


    If you are not familiar with our campus, you may enjoy this short video tour.

    Please note: 

    • The deadline for registration for this retreat is June 5. 
    • We will send a retreat acceptance letter by June 8 with additional information to help you prepare for retreat.
    • The full fee will then be due by June 15, otherwise the spot will be given to another applicant.
    • Please click here to read FCM's Retreat Cancellation Policy.

    Retreat Scholarships are available; please click here to see FCM’s Retreat Scholarship Policy and for an Application, which needs to be submitted prior to the registration deadline for this retreat.

    New to retreating with FCM? Please visit our FAQs page.

    The teachings are offered in the Buddhist tradition of Dana, wherein the teachers freely give of themselves to the students out of gratitude for what they’ve received from their teachers and a desire to be of service. The student’s response is also based on Dana, i.e. generosity that naturally flows from a sense of appreciation of the value of Dharma and gratitude to the living lineage. All retreat dana for this retreat will go towards supporting future programs at the FCM center. 

    Questions?
    Please contact Rita at ritaanna727@gmail.com for any logistical questions.


    • 07 Aug 2025
    • 5:00 PM
    • 10 Aug 2025
    • 12:00 PM
    • In-Person Only
    • 31
    Register

    With Betsy Arizu and Misti Oxford-Pickeral


    Dates

    August 7 - 10
    Registration Deadline:  July 9
    Suitability

    This retreat is especially designed for the summer session of the year-long Deconstructing the Myth of Self Intensive that began in March. However, it is also open and appropriate to any FCM members that have taken this Intensive in previous years or have participated in a previous FCM Deconstructing the Myth of Self Retreat.

    Description

    In Buddhism, the knots of self is a metaphor that describes the layers of memories, thoughts, feelings and behavioral patterns that created our sense of self as being solid, permanent and fixed. These knots of self, “tied” during our early years, are reinforced over the course of our adult lives. They hold the stories, dramas, and misperceptions we may have about ourselves and the world, as well as our immature life strategies to make self feel real, safe and in control.


    These knots of self hold our mistaken identities -- I’m an anxious person or an angry person; I am flawed or not worthy; or I am unlovable or an imposter. These limiting beliefs, afflictive emotions and patterns of reactivity cause us suffering in life, limit our potential, and keep us from fully realizing who we really are.


    Untangling the Knots of Self is a 3-Day Summer retreat and its objectives are to:

      • Identify and bring awareness to the knots of self (our core schemas) that feed and reinforce our emotional suffering
      • Better understand their construction, triggers, and recurring patterns, and learn to challenge our self-limiting beliefs
      • Bring awareness and compassion to the wounded parts of ourself that long for understanding, healing and freedom
      • Loosen our identification with the process of the conditioned self and begin to open to greater ease and spaciousness in our daily lives.

    Retreat is an opportunity to step away from our daily lives and enter a nurturing and silent oasis of mindfulness, meditation, and transformative teachings and practices. Silence affords us the opportunity to deepen our meditative experience while absorbing the experiential meaning of the teachings and practices presented.


    This retreat will be led by Betsy Arizu and Misti Oxford-Pickeral who have been working this year with Fred Eppsteiner, the creator of the year-long Intensive, Deconstructing the Myth of Self. The retreat will include mindfulness practices, guided meditation, self-reflection, journal exercises, and inner dialogue with parts of ourself to nurture greater understanding, insight, and healing. The retreat is for those currently in the Deconstructing the Myth of Self Intensive, have participated in a past FCM Deconstructing the Myth of Self Intensives or Retreat, or are experienced Dharma meditators/practitioners with some experience within this area of study and practice. If you have any questions about the retreat or whether it is right for you contact Betsy Arizu at betsyarizu@gmail.com.

    Retreat Leaders

    Betsy Arizu is an FCM Dharma Instructor. She co-led the Deconstructing the Myth of Self Intensive and Untangling the Knots of Self Retreat with Ken Lenington in 2021. She has been a member of the Florida Community of Mindfulness and a student of Fred Eppsteiner since 2011, participated in the three-year Dharma Transmission Program, and was ordained as a member of the Order of Interbeing in 2015. Her background is in counseling, mindfulness in education, art and organization development. She currently resides in Raleigh, NC, leading Open Circle Mindfulness in Raleigh and various programs for Florida Community of Mindfulness.


    Misti Oxford-Pickeral was introduced to Buddhism in her 20s through the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh, Pema Chodron, and the Dali Lama. She became a member of FCM in 2016. Having experienced profound changes in her life through Buddhist teachings and practices, Misti is grateful to serve the FCM community and support others' practices. She is active with FCM's kitchen team and with the Community Care Team, and she participates as a new member mentor. She is excited to apply her experience with and passion for teaching to the Dharma. Misti currently serves on FCM's Board of Directors. She lives in Gainesville, FL with her husband.

    Fees

    The fee for in-person participation is $270 for overnighters and $210 for commuters.

    Retreat Logistics

    This retreat is in-person only (either staying overnight or as a commuter) participation at FCM’s Tampa Center. The retreat will begin with orientation at 5:00 pm on Thursday, August 7 and ends Sunday, August 10 at 12:00 pm. Participation is open to FCM members only.


    If you are not familiar with our campus, you may enjoy this short video tour.

    Please note: 

    • The deadline for registration for this retreat is July 9. 
    • We will send a retreat acceptance letter by July 14 with additional information to help you prepare for retreat.
    • The full fee will then be due by July 18, otherwise the spot will be given to another applicant.
    • Please click here to read FCM's Retreat Cancellation Policy.

    Retreat Scholarships are available; please click here to see FCM’s Retreat Scholarship Policy and for an Application, which needs to be submitted prior to the registration deadline for this retreat.

    New to retreating with FCM? Please visit our FAQs page.


    The teachings are offered in the Buddhist tradition of Dana, wherein the teachers freely give of themselves to the students out of gratitude for what they’ve received from their teachers and a desire to be of service. The student’s response is also based on Dana, i.e. generosity that naturally flows from a sense of appreciation of the value of Dharma and gratitude to the living lineage. All retreat dana for this retreat will go towards supporting future programs at the FCM center. 

    Questions?
    Please contact Rita at ritaanna727@gmail.com for any logistical questions.


    • 25 Sep 2025
    • 5:00 PM
    • 28 Sep 2025
    • 4:00 PM
    • FCM Center, Tampa FL

    Save the Date

    • 23 Oct 2025
    • 5:00 PM
    • 26 Oct 2025
    • 1:00 PM
    • FCM Center, Tampa, FL

    with Fred Eppsteiner (Save the date)


    Description

    Join Fred for this four day exploration of how to become free from this "self" that seems to hold so much sway over our lives.


    This retreat is appropriate for practitioners who have a regular meditation practice and have cultivated a stable mind through participation in FCM's Mindful Living Path programs or equivalent courses.


    • 14 Nov 2025
    • 5:00 PM
    • 16 Nov 2025
    • 4:00 PM
    • In-Person Only

    with Bill MacMillen and John McHarris (Save the date)


    In our modern world, we have countless ways to stay busy, informed, entertained, and otherwise distracted from the moment we wake up until we go to bed at night. We can easily spend our entire day completely disconnected from our actual experience and unaware of what thoughts and mind-states we are cultivating throughout our busy days. If we do have a moment to stop, we may find that we feel uneasy, agitated, bored, anxious, stressed, in despair, or otherwise uncomfortable in our bodies and our minds. 


    Fortunately, as so many people throughout the world are discovering, there is another way. Through what the beloved Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh called, “The Miracle of Mindfulness,” we can learn how to be at ease in the present moment. We can learn to use our minds in a way that nourishes our well-being and helps us to feel whole again. Through cultivating mindfulness of the body, breath, and mind, we can learn to develop peace within ourselves and to enjoy the simple experience of being alive.  


    In this two-day Introductory Retreat, participants will learn mindfulness and meditation practices that calm and nourish the body and mind. There will be both formal instruction as well as “off-the-cushion” practice in areas such as walking, eating, mindful movements and work meditation. There will be periods of Q&A and deep sharing within a setting that is mostly silent, offering participants the opportunity to retreat from digital devices and other distractions that so often clutter our minds and cover the natural spaciousness that lies beneath the “noise.”


Florida Community of Mindfulness, Tampa Center
6501 N. Nebraska Avenue
Tampa, FL 33604

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Naples Sangha

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