This is a season of reconnection, replenishment and gratitude.  We offer this opportunity to renew and reconnect.  Every human heart has a remarkable capacity for renewal and growth.  Every human being has powerful wisdom already present in their bodies and minds.  We can develop this wisdom through the practice of gratitude, wonder and appreciation.  When we do that the power of this practice can nourish, heal and replenish us.
Words alone can’t express or reach this part of our nature.  We need to go beyond words and practice directly to connect with our inner wisdom.  Silent, community practice can allow us to access this miraculous capacity within each of us. 
On this retreat, we will step back briefly from everyday life to come together as an in-person intentional community of practice so that we can cultivate the wise, healing capacity of our inner nature.  We will practice mindfulness and self-compassion in silence together as a community to contact the present moment directly, beyond words.  We will try to practice continuously in breathing, sitting, walking, eating and resting, so we can receive the healing and nourishing energies present inside every human being.

Who is this retreat for?  We welcome anyone who has completed the Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) course and anyone who has experience with mindfulness meditation and/or self-compassion practice. 

Teachers:  The teachers on this retreat are Siri Chandler and Ben Weinstein. 

• Siri Chandler is a certified teacher of Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC), with teacher training in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). As an enthusiastic life-long learner, she devotes her time to continuously deepen her own practice which she has been cultivating over the past 30 years.

• Ben Weinstein is a clinical psychologist and certified MSC teacher.  Ben works as psychotherapist, lecturer and facilitator and is teaching faculty for the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion.

Retreat schedule:  See schedule in the full announcement (see download button on this page)

Companionable Silence:  Following the orientation on Friday, the retreat will be conducted in companionable silence until Sunday morning at 11am.  Participants are invited to turn off and set aside their devices so that they can turn attention inwards for two days of healing silence.  This allows us to practice continuously in each moment so we can create a shared energy of concentrated mindfulness and compassion.

Location:  Kanokrat Hotel is in Samut Songkhram.  Kanokrat is a small, local hotel with a serene atmosphere located along a canal near Amphawa- see images below.  Kanokrat provides basic accommodation to meet our needs while we practice.

Registration fee:  4500 baht (shared room) or 6500 baht (single occupancy) includes accommodation and Thai vegetarian meals (as the location is very basic, we can't accommodate special dietary needs- thank you for understanding).  The rooms are the same rooms (each room as Kanokrat has two beds (sometimes three).  This fee does not include transportation (please see transportation information below).  There are no refunds after November 15.

How To Register:  Send an email to Siri using the email address in the announcement (click button) or her website!