Soul of the Mountain Sesshin: A Backpacking Sesshin at Bells Mountain

A retreat with Bell’s Mountain Dharma Center

The cool, cleanliness of Autumn marks the annual transition into Winter in the Pacific Northwest. As the leaves turn and fall, so too do we surrender the enthusiasms of summer, entering the internal spiritual call of the darker seasons. We return to that awake, vivid dormancy below, listening at the base of our being, that in time, true life may again emerge.

Immerse yourself into the silence of the mountain, forest, and sky. Allow their wisdom to awaken within you and inform how you experience and embody this life. This retreat is an invitation to dive deep into the present moment experience, supported by the spacious clarity, enduring stability, and flowing life energy of the natural world.

This is a full Zen Sesshin.* We will hike up the mountain and set up a base camp, following a structured daily schedule. Each day will consist of about eight hours of seated meditation, chanting/singing, meals, a period of meditative movement, and guided hiking (or optional trail running). One night hike and some solo meditation are generally incorporated into the schedule as well.

For this retreat, each person will be expected to carry their own gear, plus additional communal items 2-5 miles uphill. A required packing list will be provided and all food is included in the retreat fee. Previous backpacking and meditation retreat experience are highly recommended.

*Sesshin is an intensive silent meditation retreat. It can be physically, emotionally, and psychologically challenging and is generally not recommended for beginning meditators. We recommend that you attend one of our silent weekend retreats first if you have not previously sat sesshin, or an equivalent week-long meditation retreat. For more information about what to expect when attending a sesshin, click here. If you are a beginner and feel you are ready for a full sesshin, please contact us to have a conversation with one of the teachers before signing up.

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