June 1-8, 2024 Queen’s House Retreat & Renewal Centre, Saskatoon
A fuller retreat description is coming soon.
This retreat will offer dharma talks, practice talks, and to close, gentle relational community practice.
Details about the retreat are being confirmed.
This retreat is offered by mutual generosity. When you register, there will be a registration fee to help SIMC cover our costs. During the retreat, we will provide information for those who are able to offer financial support to the teachers. If cost is a barrier, some scholarship support is available.
Registration
Registration will open in September 19, 2023, at noon Sask/Mountain.
We will review the situation in Saskatoon closer to the event and will publish guidelines at that time.
Guy Armstrong has been practicing Insight Meditation for over 30 years. His training included a year as a Buddhist monk in Thailand, primarily with Ajahn Buddhadasa. He began teaching in 1984 and has led retreats in the U.S., Europe, and Australia. Guy is a member of the Spirit Rock Teachers Council and a Guiding Teacher of Insight Meditation Society. He is the author of Emptiness: A Practical Guide for Meditators.
Sally Armstrong began practicing vipassana meditation in India in 1981 and started teaching in 1996. She is a member of the Spirit Rock Teacher’s Council and has served as a co-guiding teacher at Spirit Rock. She developed and led Spirit Rock’s Dedicated Practitioners Program and Advanced Practitioner Program. She has a keen interest in supporting students who want to deepen their practice and understanding. She regularly teaches retreats on themes such as metta or concentration, as well as the multiweek retreats at Spirit Rock and the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts.
Jeanne Corrigal is the guiding teacher for the Saskatoon Insight Meditation Community, and a graduate of the 2017-2021 IMS teacher training program. She deeply appreciates metta and nature based practices. She has been practicing since 1999, and is a graduate of Spirit Rock’s Dedicated Practitioner and Community Dharma Leader Programs. Jeanne is certified with Indigenous Focusing Oriented Trauma Therapy (IFOT), is a certified MBSR teacher, and she has trained with Mindful Schools and Somatic Experiencing. She is Métis, and one of her first teachers in loving presence was Cree Elder Jim Settee.
Saturday, January 13, 2024 10:00 am – 4:00 pm location t.b.d.
Intention can be understood as a accessible refuge, rather than a goal that is easy to lose track of. On this day, we will explore intention as a gentle guide, an ever present support, and a way of offering meaning and purpose in our lives.
This day will include instruction, dharma reflections, practices of joy and celebration, and community practice.
Please bring a mat for lying down meditation.
This retreat is offered through mutual generosity. When you register, there will be an opportunity to pay a registration fee to help SIMC cover our administration costs. During the retreat, we will provide information for those who are able to offer financial support to Jeanne.
We will review the situation in Saskatoon closer to the event and will publish guidelines at that time.
Jeanne Corrigal is the guiding teacher for the Saskatoon Insight Meditation Community, and a graduate of the 2017-2021 IMS teacher training program. She deeply appreciates metta and nature based practices. She has been practicing since 1999, and is a graduate of Spirit Rock’s Dedicated Practitioner and Community Dharma Leader Programs. Jeanne is certified with Indigenous Focusing Oriented Trauma Therapy (IFOT), is a certified MBSR teacher, and she has trained with Mindful Schools and Somatic Experiencing. She is Métis, and one of her first teachers in loving presence was Cree Elder Jim Settee.
This is for a past event – please visit our Upcoming Events page for current offerings.
A Simple, Quiet Day
An in-person daylong retreat with Jeanne Corrigal
Saturday, December 2, 2023 10:00 am – 4:00 pm St George’s Anglican Church 624 Avenue I South, Saskatoon
Join us for a day of simplicity, stillness, and also kindness, as a way of preparing for what can be a busy or complex season. Together we will practice cultivating the inner refuge of peace that we can carry in our hearts anywhere we go.
This day will include instruction, dharma reflections, deep practices of rest and nourishment, and community practice.
Please bring a mat for lying down meditation.
This retreat is offered through mutual generosity. When you register, there will be an opportunity to pay a registration fee to help SIMC cover our administration costs. During the retreat, we will provide information for those who are able to offer financial support to Jeanne.
Registration
Registration is now closed.
For in-person: Guidelines for caring around COVID
We will review the situation in Saskatoon closer to the event and will publish guidelines at that time.
Jeanne Corrigal is the guiding teacher for the Saskatoon Insight Meditation Community, and a graduate of the 2017-2021 IMS teacher training program. She deeply appreciates metta and nature based practices. She has been practicing since 1999, and is a graduate of Spirit Rock’s Dedicated Practitioner and Community Dharma Leader Programs. Jeanne is certified with Indigenous Focusing Oriented Trauma Therapy (IFOT), is a certified MBSR teacher, and she has trained with Mindful Schools and Somatic Experiencing. She is Métis, and one of her first teachers in loving presence was Cree Elder Jim Settee.
Living Fully, Living Freely: Embracing Our Impermanence
An in-person non residential/residential retreat with Jeanne Corrigal and Nikki Mirghafori
November 17-19, 2023 Queen’s House Retreat & Renewal Centre, Saskatoon
This retreat is a community exploration of living wisely and fully in the light of our common human mortality. We will turn gently to this reflection with the intention of supporting our capacity to engage wholeheartedly in the richness of living this life, now; and as we prepare for its ending. Everyone is welcome, wherever you are in your life journey.
The weekend will include dharma talks, instruction, practice, reflection, and relational practice, so that we feel the support of the community as we reflect together.
This retreat is being offered in-person only. We offer options for people to stay at Queen’s House or commute.
We request that you fully commit to participating in the whole retreat, from 7:30 pm pm November 17 to 4 pm November 19.
If you are a commuter, this means arriving at the center for the first sit and instruction after breakfast, at about 9 am, and practicing with the community until 9 pm. A rest area will be available. The schedule will be confirmed about a week before the retreat.
This retreat is offered by mutual generosity. When you register, there will be a registration fee to help SIMC cover our costs. If cost is a barrier, scholarship support is available.
During the retreat, we will provide information for those who are able to offer financial support to Jeanne and Nikki.
We will review the situation in Saskatoon closer to the event and will publish guidelines at that time.
Jeanne Corrigal is the guiding teacher for the Saskatoon Insight Meditation Community, and a graduate of the 2017-2021 IMS teacher training program. She deeply appreciates metta and nature based practices. She has been practicing since 1999, and is a graduate of Spirit Rock’s Dedicated Practitioner and Community Dharma Leader Programs. Jeanne is certified with Indigenous Focusing Oriented Trauma Therapy (IFOT), is a certified MBSR teacher, and she has trained with Mindful Schools and Somatic Experiencing. She is Métis, and one of her first teachers in loving presence was Cree Elder Jim Settee.
Dr. Nikki Mirghafori is an Artificial Intelligence scientist and an internationally known Buddhist teacher. She serves as a Stewarding Teacher at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, where she is also on the Board of Directors, and a Dharma Teacher at the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, CA. She teaches with clarity and warmth on topics ranging from mindful leadership to cultivating kindness, with a rare expertise on mindfulness of death. Dr. Mirghafori is widely published in AI, has led international collaborations as a Berkeley academic, and advised technology startups. She is of Persian heritage, an advocate for wisdom and compassion in daily life, as well as ethical AI in our zeitgeist. https://www.nikkimirghafori.com/
Friends, we are delighted to announce that our 9-month deep dive dharma program is open for registration. Living the Dharma in Community (LDC) supports participants to deepen their formal practice and to integrate the dharma into their daily life. There are in-person and online options.
(Please note: this replaces the Community Circle Program)
“Good friends, companions, and associates are the whole of the spiritual life.“ The Buddha to Ananda, Upaddha Sutta: Half the Spiritual Life, SN 45.2
This program supports a shift from seeing the dharma as something we fit into our lives, to seeing our life through the lens of the dharma: the movement from having a spiritual practice to having a spiritual life. This is not about changing our lives, but rather changing our relationship with life. This program is offered in support of each of us living fully, with an open heart, expanding kindness, and wisdom and care for the world. Living the Dharma in Community combines the wisdom of study, reflection, and practice together.
Our theme this year is the ever-deepening and liberating teaching of the Four Noble Truths, with a special emphasis on the 3rd Noble Truth of Nibbana.
This teaching can be easy to list cognitively and challenging to understand in an embodied way. This year will give us a precious opportunity to slow down and sense into this process of freedom deeply and naturally. If you are in the early stages of your practice, this can orient your practice from a firm foundation. If you are an experienced practitioner, this will offer the chance to feel into these liberating practices in new ways and invite awakening as your own lived experience.
This time of practice in community is suitable for both beginners and experienced practitioners.
The course includes:
7 online 2 hour sessions combining dharma talks, small group reflections, and relational practice
Home reflections, including sutta study, reading, audio resources, practice suggestions and reflection questions follow each session
Dharma buddies
Practice talks with Jeanne Corrigal
Dates and times
For online folks, click links for conversion into other time zones.
Administration fee: The administration fee paid at the time of registration helps cover the administrative costs for SIMC.
Teacher dana/donation: The registration fee does not include teacher support – there will be an opportunity to offer dana to Jeanne. See dana information below.
Jeanne Corrigal is the guiding teacher for the Saskatoon Insight Meditation Community, and a graduate of the 2017-2021 IMS teacher training program. She deeply appreciates metta and nature based practices. She has been practicing since 1999, and is a graduate of Spirit Rock’s Dedicated Practitioner and Community Dharma Leader Programs. Jeanne is certified with Indigenous Focusing Oriented Trauma Therapy (IFOT), is a certified MBSR teacher, and she has trained with Mindful Schools and Somatic Experiencing. She is Métis, and one of her first teachers in loving presence was Cree Elder Jim Settee.
Some words about the practice of dana
We often have queries about what might be an appropriate range for any financial dana offering to the teachers, that you might wish to make. Before we consider this, it is really important to know that the teaching of dana is a liberation teaching, because it is an intentional opportunity to practice generosity, which can directly erode the habit in the mind of grasping. The Buddha invites us to tune into the joy of dana, the joy of giving, before, during and after… so please, see this as a joy and liberation practice!
One of the gifts of dana is that it is optional, and if people decide to give in this way, they can give according to their means. And at the same time, asking about a range is a reasonable question… in Asia, folks often have an idea of how much is needed to support a teacher’s “requisites”, but in the west, we don’t have the same kind of guidelines, and folks in the west can be left a little bit out at sea in this area.
Offering guidance can be sensitive, as everyone’s circumstances are different. That said, in order to support the teachings, we offer these guidelines as a place to start, and those who wish to give in this way can move up or down on the scale, according to their means.
One guideline is to give the amount that brings you joy, knowing that your dana is supporting the Dharma to carry on (while being aware of not breaking the bank 🙂). One may also seek guidance by looking at the fees that are charged for similar events of workshops in our culture. Movies now cost $15 or more; yoga classes often $15/hour; in addition, workshop leaders are often compensated in recognition of the time it takes to prepare materials, the presentation, as well as their expertise.
Perhaps a helpful starting point for our sessions would be $30 – $40 per class. (This would be a range of something like $210 – $280 for the program). For one-on-one practice talks with Jeanne, a range of $35 – $50 per meeting could be a good range to consider.
Please feel free to offer less than this in order to ensure your participation, knowing that your presence and any financial contribution are valued. Please feel free to offer more, if you are able, and it brings you joy to support others and the program in this precious way. Feel free to offer monthly or once or twice during the course – whatever works for you. And, please know that we are very grateful for both the dana of your presence in the program, and your financial dana; both danas contribute to our capacity to continue teaching. You can feel that your support is supporting the Dharma. Thank you.
If you wish to offer your generosity to support Jeanne and our community, please visit our dana page to find details.
Registration for this is closed – please visit our Upcoming Events page for current offerings.
This six-week introduction to mindfulness course will teach skills to develop a focused and embodied attention, self awareness, emotional intelligence, and greater sense of ease and well being. The course will include a variety of mindfulness meditations and practical ways to integrate mindfulness into daily activities at work, home and in relationships.
The course will include the following:
Training in meditation, developing awareness of breath, body, feelings and thoughts.
Managing stress and learning how to shift from reaction to response.
Recognizing and letting go of unhelpful habitual thoughts and mind states.
Exploring, understanding and working with a range of emotional experience.
The intro course is designed for beginners to mindfulness or those who would like a refresher in its basic principles and techniques.
Each two-hour class will have a mix of the following components:
Guided meditation
Talk on weekly themes
Practice check-ins
Question and Responses
Experiential practices or exercises
Small group practices (dyads, triads, mindful listening and speaking), or alternative journaling activities
Suggested home practices
Dates and times
Tuesdays, September 19-October 24, 2023 7-9 pm
Location
This is an in-person program, although we will pivot to online if necessary. Address will be sent out as part of the registration confirmation.
Course fee
The course fee is $200. This includes teacher support.
Financial assistance available: We want to assist you if the cost of the course is prohibitive for you. Through the generosity of our community members, we have some funds set aside for some assistance of up to 50% of the course fee. You can indicate this on your registration form.
Registration
Registration is closed.
Course Teacher
Andrea Grzesina is a MTI Certified Teacher, having completed the Mindfulness Training Institute’s Certified Mindfulness Teacher Training with Mark Coleman and Martin Aylward in July 2021. A life-long learner and lover of the Dharma, Andrea has taken several training programs, including the Intensive Practice Program through the UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center and several courses in Social Meditation Facilitation with Vince Fakhoury Horn and the Buddhist Geeks Sangha. She has been practicing meditation and mindfulness since 2014, and contributes to SIMC as a local dharma leader, a member of the planning committee, volunteer, retreat manager, cookie baker, and other duties as required.
Guest Teacher
Jeanne Corrigal is the guiding teacher for the Saskatoon Insight Meditation Community, and a graduate of the 2017-2021 IMS teacher training program. She deeply appreciates metta and nature based practices. She has been practicing since 1999, and is a graduate of Spirit Rock’s Dedicated Practitioner and Community Dharma Leader Programs. Jeanne is certified with Indigenous Focusing Oriented Trauma Therapy (IFOT), is a certified MBSR teacher, and she has trained with Mindful Schools and Somatic Experiencing. She is Métis, and one of her first teachers in loving presence was Cree Elder Jim Settee.
This course outline has been adapted from the Six-week Introductory Training in Mindfulness, developed by the Mindfulness Training Institute.
We aspire always to nurture community and connection. Committed to being truly inclusive, we welcome people of all social identities, including all ethnicities, classes, sexual orientations, gender identities, ages, abilities and cultures.
This is for a past event – please visit our Upcoming Events page for current offerings.
Silent Insight Meditation retreat at lovely Zeden Lake, with Jeanne Corrigal
August 28-September 3, 2023
On the eve of his enlightenment the Buddha touched the earth and asked for help to awaken. On this retreat we will touch the beloved earth with our hearts, minds, bodies, and spirits. This immersion in kindness with the community of land, lake, sky, and trees cultivates our sense of care for ourselves and all beings, and supports liberation into the spacious, loving, connected heart and mind. This in turn can be a nourishment we carry back into the world, in all the big and small ways we care for our communities, including the earth itself, in all the challenges and joys of this time.
The retreat includes dharma talks, practice talks with Jeanne, reflective meditation practices, and gentle paddling each day. For more information, please email the Saskatoon Insight Meditation Community at contact@saskatooninsight.com.
Photo of Zeden Lake, from the St John Bosco Wilderness Camp website.
Retreat requirements
To support the safety and practical aspects of this nature retreat, we ask that participants have:
A minimum of one weekend silent meditation retreat.
Familiarity with Insight Meditation practice.
Good swimming and basic canoe skills.
Basic camping experience.
Retreat Etiquette
We will share the happiness of the community work meditations of on-site food preparation and clean up.
This retreat will be held in silence, except for safety and logistical needs, and for practice talks with Jeanne. This supports the whole community.
Please come prepared to participate fully in the retreat schedule: Day 1: 3:45 pm to 9 pm Days 2-6: 6 am to 9 pm Day 7: 6 am to noon
Please note there is no cell-phone coverage at this location. An emergency number will be provided for you to give to family or friends in case they need to contact you.
Base registration fee: $315, plus a food contribution equaling about $80-$100. A provincial park pass is also required.
The base fee is for those who plan to camp (bring your own tent, etc.). There are two additional options for accommodation: 1) A bed in a bunkhouse for an additional $63 2) A private cabin for an additional $315
Some scholarship support is available, if the registration fee is a barrier.
Registration fees cover the operational expenses of the retreat (site, equipment, fees, transportation, etc.). They do not cover the teachings, which are offered on a dana basis. Dana is a Pali word meaning generosity. In keeping with Buddhist tradition, teachers do not charge for their services but are sustained by the generosity of their students. Dana allows the teacher and retreat manager to continue their Dharma work. There will be an opportunity to offer dana to Jeanne for her teaching. (Ways to offer dana to Jeanne.)
Protocols to safely offer this retreat in light of Covid will be determined closer to the event.
Registration
Registration is now closed.
Jeanne Corrigal is the guiding teacher for the Saskatoon Insight Meditation Community, and a graduate of the 2017-2021 IMS teacher training program. She deeply appreciates metta and nature based practices. She has been practicing since 1999, and is a graduate of Spirit Rock’s Dedicated Practitioner and Community Dharma Leader Programs. Jeanne is certified with Indigenous Focusing Oriented Trauma Therapy (IFOT), is a certified MBSR teacher, and she has trained with Mindful Schools and Somatic Experiencing. She is Métis, and one of her first teachers in loving presence was Cree Elder Jim Settee. She is a long-time canoeist.
This is for a past event – please visit our Upcoming Events page for current offerings.
Dear friends,
We are delighted that some of our sangha friends are joining us as we go online only for four Wednesdays in May:
May 3 Jeanne will be leading online;
May 10 our good friend Elvina Charley will be leading us in the Navajo Beauty Way;
May 17 Jill Shepherd, founder of Auckland Insight will join us;
May 24 Jeanne’s teacher training colleague Walt Opie will dive into Clinging and Non-clinging.
All of these dear hearts are looking forward to spending time with our special sangha, while Jeanne is teaching in BC, and then on personal retreat there. Any dana you offer will be passed on to these beautiful teachers.
Enjoy, dear sangha! What a gift that these teachers from around the world can come to visit us.
To join us online, please register for the Zoom here: https://bit.ly/simcwed When your register, Zoom will email you a personalized link to join the Wednesday session. The Zoom link will remain the same for the foreseeable future.
With every good wish, Jeanne and SIMC
May 10: Elvina Charley
Elvina Charley, Ed.S. is Diné (Navajo) school psychologist practitioner and integrates mindfulness as a part of serving children and youth. Charley has been practicing mindfulness since 2013, introduced to her by Bonnie Duran, Ph.D. as a way to heal from historical trauma. She found parallels between her Diné philosophy of life – Sa’ah naaghái bik’eh hózhó and Buddhism. Charley continues to cultivate her practice through people of color retreat programs through the Insight Meditation Society and Vallecitos Mountain Retreat Center. Charley also received training through Mindful Schools to bring back mindfulness to reservation schools.
May 17: Jill Shepherd
Jill Shepherd began practicing insight meditation in Thailand in 1999, and since that time has lived and worked at several meditation centres and monasteries in the US, Australia, England, and Thailand. She is a graduate of the IMS / Spirit Rock teacher training program in the US, under the guidance of Joseph Goldstein and Gil Fronsdal, and at the founder of Auckland Insight. Currently, she divides her time mostly between the USA, Australia and New Zealand, teaching insight / vipassanā and brahmavihāra retreats and offering ongoing study and practice groups focused on bringing the dharma into daily life. She also leads courses and non-residential workshops exploring the relational practice of Insight Dialogue, as developed by Gregory Kramer and colleagues. https://jill0shepherd-insightmeditation.com/
May 24: Walt Opie
Walt Opie was introduced to insight meditation in 1993, but didn’t realize its full life-changing potential until sitting his first two residential retreats at Spirit Rock in 2005. He has a strong interest in early Buddhism and serves as a facilitator for online courses based on the work of Bhikkhu Analayo through the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies (BCBS). In addition, he teaches retreats and speaks at insight meditation centers around the country. Walt has also led sitting groups for people in recovery for many years and helps facilitate Buddhist services in a California prison. His most influential teachers include Bhikkhu Analayo, Sayadaw U Tejaniya, Joseph Goldstein, Gil Fronsdal, and Guy Armstrong. He is a graduate of the 2017-2021 IMS Teacher Training Program. Walt received an MFA in Writing from California College of the Arts. His writing appears in the book collection Still, In the City: Creating Peace of Mind in the Midst of Urban Chaos edited by Angela Dews (Skyhorse Publishing, 2018). His website is www.waltopie.com.
This is for a past event – please visit our Upcoming Events page for current offerings.
The Factors of Awakening A Process of Liberation
(OR, Jeanne’s secret title: The Factors of Awakening: Otter Teachings)
An in-person non residential/residential retreat (online option available) with Jeanne Corrigal
April 21 – 25, 2023 Queen’s House Retreat & Renewal Centre, Saskatoon
This retreat will begin with an exploration of how we can understand awakening, in the Buddhist teachings, and then an understanding of how the seven factors supports this freedom. We will cultivate each factor within our meditation, practicing with them with the intention of cultivating the conditions for this highest happiness. This map is one that can guide us both on and off retreat, to support this peace in the mind and heart.
This retreat will offer dharma talks, practice talks, instructions in the factors, and to close, gentle relational community practice.
There are many ways to participate – in person with full residential; commuter; or online.
With the in person and commuter residential options, we request that you fully commit to participating in the whole retreat, from 7 pm April 21 to 11 am April 25.
If you are a commuter, this means arriving at the center for the first sit and instruction after breakfast, at 9 am, and practicing with the community until 9 pm. A rest area and place for you to eat your meals, if you are bringing your own, will be offered.
If you choose the online option, you can choose whether to participate fully, or if you wish to make the retreat your own, with your own schedule. If you participate fully, we will connect with you about practice talks.
To support our return to the in person residential form, we are subsidizing the cost of the full residential offering by $100 off the cost for the first 25 people registering for this option. As of February 27, we have 12 of these subsidized seats still available.
This retreat is offered by mutual generosity. When you register, there will be a registration fee to help SIMC cover our costs. During the retreat, we will provide information for those who are able to offer financial support to Jeanne. If cost is a barrier, scholarship support is available.
We will review the situation in Saskatoon closer to the event and will publish guidelines at that time.
Jeanne Corrigal is the guiding teacher for the Saskatoon Insight Meditation Community, and a graduate of the 2017-2021 IMS teacher training program. She deeply appreciates metta and nature based practices. She has been practicing since 1999, and is a graduate of Spirit Rock’s Dedicated Practitioner and Community Dharma Leader Programs. Jeanne is certified with Indigenous Focusing Oriented Trauma Therapy (IFOT), is a certified MBSR teacher, and she has trained with Mindful Schools and Somatic Experiencing. She is Métis, and one of her first teachers in loving presence was Cree Elder Jim Settee.
