In-Person “Writing Toward Awakening”, with Laura Rosenthal

Note: This event is in-person only. There will not be a streaming option. We recommend masks for anyone who would benefit.

Writing Toward Awakening, with Laura Rosenthal (Insight Meditation) will be held 10:00 am – 3:30 pm Pacific Time. Please bring pens/pencils and paper.

Laura describes the retreat thus: The practice of writing resonates deeply with dharma and meditative practice in its central impulse toward wholeness, its openness to non-linear understandings, and its grounding in the body and the senses. During this daylong gathering, we’ll use writing as a tool for turning our awareness inward and supporting our trajectory toward waking up. Our writing practice will be supported by brief periods of sitting and walking meditation. The mid-day (lunch) break will be part of our practice, though not uniformly held in silence; please bring a lunch so you can stay with us during this time. This day is equally suitable for folks who are practicing writers or artists and for folks who simply want another lens for exploring their practice of awareness.

The fee is on a sliding scale of $30 to $150. Remember that SBMG includes a donation for the teacher in the registration , so register as generously as you can.

Scholarships are available upon request. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. Use our sliding scale registration for folks who cannot pay the suggested range. Otherwise, please contact the registrar, Lesley, at [email protected] to arrange for full financial assistance.

If you wish to pay at the door or via check to the registrar, those options are available on the payment information page after you click the green "Register" button, enter the desired money amount and click the green "Checkout" button.

A poet and dharma practitioner, Laura Rosenthal has been practicing in the Insight Meditation tradition since 2004 and is a graduate of Spirit Rock Meditation Center’s Dedicated Practitioners Program and Advanced Practitioners Program. Her Buddhist teachers have included Andrea Fella and Heather Sundberg. She currently participates in Heather Sundberg’s MahaSati Essence of Mind Awareness Training and is mentored in her dharma teaching by Heather. Laura has offered dharma talks in Sacramento-area sanghas, has facilitated an affinity group on Buddhist ethics, and has been a mentor in beginning meditation courses offered by the Spirit Rock Meditation Center and the Insight Meditation Center. She is deeply engaged with Jewish text study and is one of the Torah study leaders for Sacramento’s Congregation B’nai Israel. Laura recently received her Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing from Pacific University. Before re-igniting her passion for writing, Laura practiced law in the public sector for almost 40 years, with an emphasis on access to health care.

• Please try to arrive between 9:15 a.m. and 9:45 a.m. to register and settle in.
• Bring a covered mug or water bottle, a lunch, your masks (as needed) and your meditation cushion.
• Additional chairs and cushions will be available at the retreat, as well as tea and hot water.
• In the spirit of doing no harm, we ask that you refrain from using scented products that may affect others. The Dharma Center is wheelchair accessible.
• SBMG hosts teachers from all Buddhist traditions at weekly meetings and monthly daylong retreats. All have been welcome since 1991. SBMG is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
• Please contact the registrar if you have any questions.

Host or Publisher Sacramento Buddhist Meditation Group