The purpose of a daylong retreat is to simplify your experience and your attention in such a way that you actually—maybe like never before—fully arrive in this present moment.

This kind of returning to the present moment is the essence of Zen practice, it’s the essence of so many spiritual teachings and spiritual practices.

When one simplifies one’s attention and arrives more fully in the moment, what occurs naturally is a calming down of the nervous system and a balancing of the parasympathetic nervous system where we literally are facilitating healing, and in that clarity and simplicity, we also cultivate the fertile ground for what we call spiritual awakening.

Most people think they are trying to get spiritually awakened, but often they are avoiding their personal nature, their personal conditioning, thinking that they are going to transcend the human experience. But true transformation—integrated, embodied transformation—completely involves the human experience. So, we learn to be with our thoughts, we learn to be with our feelings, we learn to be with our sensations in a way that doesn’t get caught in explanations and conclusions, judgments and comparisons. We’re not caught in getting rid of or changing what’s happening, but we’re actually cultivating profound acceptance. And that realm is what is referred to as awakened consciousness—this incredibly vibrant, radiant, penetrating, connected energy—which is what is often referred to as unconditional love and divine consciousness, or God, or Buddha nature, the Tao. All of these words refer to what I’m calling our essential nature. I also like to refer to it as just energy, as the essential aliveness of our being. It’s the creative life force. And when you harmonize—align with that—then you’re in harmony with the true evolution of your personal life, so you can find what’s right for you more easily.

What I’m really teaching and what people are learning is how to follow the natural, intuitive learning awareness that we all are.

Most of us are completely unconscious of it, and yet it is always what we are. It’s what we have always been. It takes awhile to develop the sensitivity required—the ability to listen, the ability to watch, the ability to sense when we are not in the way—and retreats, even a daylong retreat—actually gives you more ample time to really steep in awareness, because even in that environment, part of the teaching process is what has been referred to as transmission of the dharma. This isn’t a conveyance of information, an intellectual process, it’s actually an energetic, nonverbal alive space that people come to. The more people tune into that, the more the energy grows and it literally facilitates insight and healing and transformation. It’s very powerful. It’s why Eckhart Tolle called it the Power of Now. You can think of this as a retreat, but I like to think of it the way Thich Nhat Hanh use to call them: “treats.” By attending a Daylong, you’re giving yourself a treat!

So, as we learn to breathe awareness into every cell in our body, we become enlivened. We literally become embodied with awareness and I call this inspired. We are literally filled, consciously, with the life force and then every moment of our life is inspired living. And that’s the purpose of retreat, of spiritual practice—to live inspired—whatever you do, whatever your work is, your relationships are, your conditions are, doesn’t matter. And because of that, when you live literally inspired—it is not a mental perspective at all, it’s a full being aliveness—then, Life naturally, without any thought to it, has meaning and purpose. And then you’ll find the true prosperity of this life.

—Jon Bernie

A note to our friends in the East Bay: In 2020, there are currently no plans for a Daylong Retreat in the East Bay. We are sorry to report that the venue which has hosted us for the past few years has increased their rent beyond what we can currently afford. If you know of a similar venue, feel free to contact us at clearwatersangha@gmail.com. We hope you can join us for the Tiburon Daylongs or the Half-day Online Retreats we have planned for 2020!