Sydney Insight Meditators
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This is a residential retreat
​How do we keep our hearts open in face of the overwhelming suffering we see in the world?
This retreat will offer you the time, the space, and practices to give your body and mind the opportunity to settle and find freedom in the midst of this suffering.

This six-day silent retreat offers a rich program of guided meditations, instructions, sitting and walking meditations, individual meetings with the teachers and open dharma inquiry sessions. There will be talks each evening that will offer insights into how the liberating wisdom teachings of the Buddha can provide understanding into our experiences of the world and ourselves.
 
Each day will also offer the opportunity to embody the heart practices through Mindful Dance sessions with music. These sessions are adapted from Biodanza, a movement methodology that supports dancing with life and reconnecting with our vitality, joy, and the pleasure of living.
 
By deepening our mindful awareness, savouring the stillness that is possible, we can discover an embodied sense of freedom, an unbounded experience of life that is beyond our limited self-view.
​Here is an outline of the Daily Retreat schedule
Suitable for experienced and new meditators
When
: 5 to 11 July 2024 (6 nights)
Times: Start: arrive from 4.00pm on Friday 5 July
              Finish at 2pm Thursday 11 July 
Cost: for all vegetarian meals and accommodation
  • Share rooms - $1100 
  • Single rooms - $1500 (waiting list only)
  • Concession (Share rooms) - $990, for full time students, pensioners and unemployed.
  • Campervan - $ 800 (only 3 spots, must bring your own van)
  • If you need assistance and do not qualify for the concession you may wish to apply for a scholarship (see below)
For more information email Alan 
​Dana: In keeping with a 2,500-year-old tradition no fee has been charged for the teachings. At the end of the retreat, you are invited to give a donation (dana) to express your appreciation and to support the teachers to continue their work.​
To book your place and pay Click Here
Scholarships
Scholarships for all SIM retreats are available for people who need assistance.
 Click here for more information and to apply.
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About the venue
​
The retreat will be held at the beautiful Sangsurya retreat centre in Byron Bay. 
Address: 95 Old Bangalow Road, Byron Bay NSW.
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About the Teachers 
                                           Alan Bassal 
​
Alan has been studying and practicing Buddha’s teachings for over 35 years beginning in the Vipassana meditation tradition and then developing in Eastern & Western Insight.
He is a certified mindfulness based Hakomi therapist and for many years has practiced integrating the Buddha dharma and psychotherapy with leadership development in organisations.
He is the current chairman of SIM, chairman and one of the lead teachers at the Insight Meditation Institute and a Biodanza facilitator.  He has been leading workshops and retreats for the last 10 years. Alan’s teachings are eclectic and practical. He encourages people to awaken to each moment and realise the fulfillment they seek.​

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Kate Amy
Kate began her journey 23 years ago working directly in clinical psychology and attending numerous Vipassana meditation retreats. She fell in love with the writings of the Venerable Thich Naht Han and along with the range of therapeutic modalities, psychological theories and esoteric readings she has encountered and integrated into her clinical work she always returns to the Buddhist heart and her love of the Dharma.
Kate predominantly practices and teaches from a Buddhist based philosophy which is trauma-informed, focused on embodiment through somatic experiencing, and the constant cultivation in real time of a mindful and compassionate approach to the understanding and being with our direct experiences.

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Ali Barlow
Ali began a meditative life in 1997 whist staying in an Ashram in South India, and attended her first Insight Meditation Retreat in 2008 where her love for the Buddha Dharma opened like a flower. This love led quite naturally into a life of service in support of retreat life for one and all. Ali has been a supporting teacher at Tallowwood Sangha retreats since 2017, as well as leading yatras and a weekly sitting group in Bellingen. She is a member of the Tallowwood Sangha Management Committee and the Insight Meditation Institute Management Committee. Ali has participated in the inaugural Dharma teacher training with the Insight Meditation Institute since 2021.

Covid Protocols:
We follow all NSW heath guidelines on our retreats. As the requirements are constantly changing information on vaccination requirements and distancing rules will be advised prior the retreat to ensure compliance and safety of all.

​Event Terms and Conditions
Sydney Insight Meditators acknowledges the Gadigal, Dharug and Dharawal peoples, the traditional custodians of the lands on which SIM is located. We acknowledge their ongoing connection to the land, water, sky, and animals. We pay our respects to the Elders, past, present, and emerging.
  • Home
  • Events Calendar
  • About us
    • About us, AGM & Constitution
    • Membership
    • Committee
    • Our History
    • Newsletter
  • Groups
    • Bondi Junction
    • Illawarra
    • Inner West
    • Newcastle
    • North Sydney
    • Northern Beaches
    • Northern Beaches (Avalon)
    • Online - Sky Sangha
    • Southern Highlands
    • Southern Highlands Inquiring Minds
  • Teachers
  • Resources
    • Inner Rhythm of Being Recording 2025
    • Martine Batchelor Workshop Recording
    • Secular Dharma Recording
    • Guided Meditations
    • Reading list
    • Deepening Into Stillness Recording
    • Audio files >
      • Stephen Batchelor, Sydney 2014
      • Winton Higgins, Four frontiers for Secular Buddhists 2014
      • Other audio links
    • Retreat Reflections >
      • High Country Retreat Reflections 25
      • High Country Retreat Reflections 23
      • High Country Retreat Reflections 22
      • NY Reflections 21/22
      • NY Reflections 19/20
      • DIS Reflections 2017
      • NY Retreat 2016
    • Teachers Reflections >
      • Winton Higgins. January 2018
      • Jonathan Page. May 2018
      • Gawaine Powell Davies. November 2017
      • Jill Shepherd. October 2017
  • Contact Us
  • List of Events
    • DIS 2025
    • Inner Rhythm of Being 2025
    • Mornings of Practice 2025
    • New Year 2025