Noliwe Alexander (non-residential, residential, and online retreat)

Madison Vipassana is excited to welcome Noliwe Alexander for a residential/nonresidential /online retreat at Holy Wisdom Monastery, August 5-7, 2022.

This will be a hybrid retreat, held in person at Holy Wisdom Monastery in Middleton and also offered online via Zoom. The in-person retreat will be primarily nonresidential, with a residential option for a limited number of practitioners. Holy Wisdom offers a beautiful and peaceful setting for this wonderful practice opportunity.

RETREAT DESCRIPTION

Join us for a weekend of meditation, exploration, and discovery into how we gather the grace, ease, and harmony to live in these turbulent and uncertain times. Faced with the rapid winds of change, we’ll have an opportunity to witness our tendencies toward binding, swaying, and being upended by the Eight Worldly Winds, the conditions that affect even a wise and skillful mind and heart.

Throughout our time together, we’ll learn how holding these dualistic aspects of life — loss and gain, disrepute and fame, blame and praise, pain and pleasure — with wise view and intention will help us navigate and embrace our lives with the tenderness of a loving and aware heart, as we deepen our practice and resolve in the world.

There will be alternating periods of sitting and walking meditation, and toward the end of the retreat, once we break silence, an opportunity to join together in small group reflection. Both beginners and experienced meditators are welcome. The retreat will be held in Noble Silence.

As an introduction to Noliwe’s teachings, you can sample her talks on Dharma Seed.

COVID PRECAUTIONS (FOR IN-PERSON ATTENDEES)

We will be adhering to the following COVID precautions:

• Registrations for in-person attendance will be capped at 50 to allow more space — but not necessarily a full six feet between yogis — in the meditation hall and at meals. (There is no cap on online attendance via Zoom.)
• Full vaccination (two doses, plus a booster if the second dose was received five or more months before the retreat) will be required for in-person attendance. We encourage those who are not fully vaccinated to attend the retreat online.
• Proof of vaccination — a copy of your vaccination card, Wisconsin Immunization Registryrecord, or vaccination record provided by your health care provider — will be required as part of registration. Your spot in the retreat will not be guaranteed until proof is received.
• If you do not yet have the necessary Covid vaccinations but plan to get them before the retreat, please contact the registrar at madvip@gmail.com as soon as you submit your form and payment to make arrangements for securing your place in the retreat and submitting the proof of vaccination.
• We will check case numbers closer to the time of the retreat to determine whether masks will be required. We will notify all registered retreatants then.
• Accommodations for residential yogis will be single occupancy unless two yogis together request a double.
• Hand sanitizers will be located in heavy traffic areas, and hand sanitizing will be required before meals.
• Yogis will be required to agree to a waiver of liability as part of registration.

To protect the health of the community, if you are feeling unwell prior to the retreat, we ask that you stay home and email the registrar at registrar.madvip@gmail.com

COST

Registration fees are on a sliding-scale basis. The sliding scale goes from 50% to 150% of actual costs, and within this range you’re invited to offer the amount that best suits your circumstances. Please pay at the highest level of the sliding scale you can afford; this gives the opportunity to attend to others who need to pay less. If the lower end of the range exceeds what you can afford, please offer what you can.

In-person fees: Fees for those attending the retreat in person cover room (for residential retreatants); simple vegetarian meals (lunch and dinner for all in-person retreatants and breakfast for residential retreatants); and fixed costs (teacher transportation, room, and meals; facility rental costs; and miscellaneous expenses).

Online fee: The fee for those attending via Zoom covers fixed costs only (teacher transportation, room, and meals; facility rental costs; and miscellaneous expenses).

Note. We have charged no registration fee for retreats conducted entirely online during the pandemic. Hosting this retreat in person as well as online entails significant fixed costs, which we’re asking all retreatants to share.

In keeping with Theravada Buddhist tradition, there is no charge for the teachings. However, a freewill donation (dāna) to the teacher is encouraged.

RESERVED SPACES FOR YOUNG ADULTS AND PERSONS OF COLOR

We want to encourage attendance at our retreats by young adults (18–26) and those identifying as persons of color. Recognizing that our in-person retreats fill quickly after they are announced, we hold a few spaces open for additional registrations from young adults and persons of color until two weeks before the retreat opens — in this case, until July 22. Thus, until July 22, one or more reserved spaces for in-person attendance may still be available even if the website says the retreat is full. After July 22, we will fill the reserved spaces from the retreat’s waiting list.

If you have questions about whether spaces are still available, please contact the registrar at registrar.madvip@gmail.com.

SPECIAL NEEDS

To inquire about special situations, contact the registrar at registrar.madvip@gmail.com. Please note that we are unable to accommodate special dietary needs.

CHEMICAL SENSITIVITY

In consideration of those with chemical sensitivities, please refrain from using perfumes or scented shampoos, ointments, or lotions if you are attending the retreat in person.

SCHEDULE

RIDE SHARING

There is a section in the registration form where you can request or offer a ride to and from Holy Wisdom. Alternatively, contact the registrar at registrar.madvip@gmail.com.

TO REGISTER

To register for either in-person or Zoom attendance, COMPLETE ONLINE REGISTRATION by August 1. 

In-person registration. In-person attendance at Holy Wisdom is capped at 50, so early registration is encouraged. If the retreat is full, you will have the option of being placed on a waiting list or registering for Zoom attendance. Those on the waiting list who do not get an in-person spot may elect to switch to Zoom attendance or receive a full refund. Please note that your place in the registration queue for in-person attendance will not be secured until we receive your payment and proof of full vaccination along with your registration form.

Zoom registration. There is no cap on online attendance via Zoom, but REGISTRATION is required.

CANCELLATIONS

In-person registration. All cancellations of in-person registrations will be subject to a nonrefundable $50 fee. Cancellations received on or before July 5 will be refunded the retreat fee less $50. Refunds, less $50, will be given to those canceling after July 5 only if there is another person wanting to register to attend the retreat in person.

Zoom registration. All cancellations of Zoom registrations will be subject to a nonrefundable $25 fee. The deadline for cancellation of Zoom registration is August 1; cancellations after that date will receive no refund.

ONLINE PAYMENT VIA PAYPAL

Please PAY THE REGISTRATION FEE HERE USING PayPal. Please note that this does not require a PayPal account: Once on the PayPal site, you’ll be given the option to use a PayPal account or a major credit or debit card.

If you prefer not to pay electronically, please contact the registrar at registrar.madvip@gmail.com to make other arrangements.

After registering, you’ll receive two emails, the first confirming that we received your complete registration. Close to the time of the retreat, you’ll receive another email providing additional details for both in-person and online attendance via Zoom.

For questions about registration, contact the registrar at registrar.madvip@gmail.com.