Availability from January through March 2022

(Registration closes at 6:00 pm on Thursday, December 30)

In the Florida Community of Mindfulness, solitary retreat practice is an invaluable opportunity for members to spend some time away from regular schedules and responsibilities in order to focus single-mindedly on an aspect of our practice. Many FCM members have found that a solo retreat with Fred's guidance helps immensely in deepening one's practice of Dharma and connection with our Dharma Teacher.

All solitary retreatants will be scheduled for staying in Great Cloud Refuge, our new residential retreat facility located on the campus of FCM’s practice center in Tampa. As many as 2-4 people may be scheduled for solitary retreat at the same time in Great Cloud Refuge—each person having their own room.  Kitchen and eating space will be provided, and the garden made available for walking meditation. If you have additional questions about doing a solitary retreat in Great Cloud Refuge, please follow this link to see the answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Solitary Retreats in GCR.

COVID-19 Safety Protocols

For the health and wellbeing of all members of our community, FCM currently requires all members wishing to register for a solitary retreat to be fully vaccinated including a booster shot if you are eligible. You will be asked your vaccination status during the registration process. FCM follows CDC protocols and guidance on masking and social distancing. Currently this means that masks are required for everyone in public indoor spaces in Great Cloud Refuge and for all interviews with Fred. Please follow this link to read our full FCM Covid-19 Safety Protocols. We will continue to update our protocols over time based on the advice from our medical advisors and the CDC, so as to provide a safe practice center environment for all.

Cost/Dana

The daily cost is $35 payable directly to FCM. Thanks to a donation received in honor of Fred's mother, Ruth Eppsteiner, a limited number of scholarships are available to support solitary retreats.  You may apply for a scholarship when you register. 

The per-diem covers the cost of your room in Great Cloud Refuge, but does not include dana. As has been the tradition since the time of the Buddha, priceless Dharma teachings are given freely. Any dana you may wish to offer for the teachings may be given directly to Fred at the conclusion of your retreat, or offered as Teacher Dana on the FCM website.   

Registration Instructions:

Please read the registration instructions below carefully before registering. For those who have not done a solitary retreat before, please also see Fred's letter below on this practice opportunity. 

Registration will close at 6:00 pm on Thursday, December 30. 

The available dates for solitary retreats ranging in length from 3-7 nights for Jan - March 2022 are as follows:

• January 4 - 10
• January 13 - 20
• February 4 - 11
• February 24 - March 3
• March 9 - 15

Please note that the last date in each period is a departure date, not a last night of retreat—i.e., you may depart on January 10, but you may not stay over the night of January 10.

All solo retreats start in the afternoon of your first day, with departure the morning after your last night. A three-night retreat is the minimum, while the maximum is seven nights. During registration, you will be asked to specify your 1st, 2nd, and 3rd preferences for retreat dates. 

When you indicate preferred dates, please specify:

• Number of nights
• Arrival date
• Departure date

For example, ”3 nights Jan 4-7” would be a 3-night stay, arriving Jan 4 and departing after the third night on the morning of Jan 7. If your request does not fill up the entire time period offered, please do your best not to choose dates in the middle of the period--i.e., either arrive on the first day of the period or depart on the last day of the period.  This helps us maximize the number of retreatants within a given time period. Please do NOT enter any dates not included within the above list of available dates.

We will do our best to schedule as many people as possible into the available slots.  Carol Meyer will be in touch with each person who registers via email to offer and confirm retreat dates and location.  As interest in solitary retreats has grown and space is limited, please understand that it may not be possible to accommodate everyone who registers.  If you are not offered a slot during this time period, you are welcome to register again when new dates are offered.  

If you have any questions, please reach out to Carol at revcarol1@earthlink.net.

Letter from Fred:

In response to newer members' questions about the practice of solitary retreat at FCM, let me share a paragraph from an email sent to members when it was first opened several years ago.

While the Zen and Vipassana meditative traditions, as practiced in the States, regularly practice in a group setting and have group retreats, practitioners in both these traditions have also engaged in solo practice. On the other hand, the Tibetan meditative tradition has always emphasized solitary retreats for those who seek deeper levels of understanding and awareness. Having practiced in both group and solitary meditative settings, I have had the opportunity to experience both the positives, as well as the differences, of these two methods. As most of you have been involved in our group meditations and retreats, you know the power of group sitting. The constant support of fellow meditators, encouragement from the teacher, and the structure of a mandatory daily schedule, certainly creates an environment conducive to a deepening of practice. As well, it allows for “economy of scale”, i.e. many persons can access the retreat environment, receive teachings and instructions at the same time.

A private personal retreat is somewhat different. Here, we set our own meditation schedule and choose the focus or subject matter of our meditative practice. Since we have to rely more on our own inspiration and self-discipline to support ourselves in our practice, there is opportunity for touching deeper reservoirs within ourselves, strengths and abilities we might have doubted lay within us. Also in solitary retreat we are alone, so we have a unique experience in modern America...an opportunity to spend time away from the myriad distractions of daily life that we conspire with to keep from looking deeply within. In solitary retreat, we can learn how to dwell alone in happiness and well-being. There is also the opportunity to meet daily with the teacher, receive personal guidance and support, choose meditation practices tailored to your personal experience, and receive the relentless energy of the teacher to prod you out of the familiar and comfortable, to help you wake up.

In the Dharma,
Fred