In Buddhism, we are often instructed to "let go", to simply rest and receive. A lot of us are tired, and this sounds appealing. Yet, in a fast-paced world bent on productivity, actually stopping can feel impossible. When the compulsion to "do" consumes us, it becomes a distraction from the work of getting free.

On this retreat, we will clearly identify the value of rest, investigate the obstacles to getting it, and learn how and why rest is liberating. Indeed, liberation is the ultimate rest! We’ll explore methods for practicing deep resting so that we can experience a spaciousness that helps us sense into the essence of things (including ourselves).

As we explore the shift from doing to being, we see that this transition does not deaden us in the face of a world in need. Instead, we see how deep surrender transforms us so that we can live from a place of profound love and trust rather than one of fear and control. When we open to the world, the world opens to us.

Zac Ispa-Landa is a mindfulness teacher and a Senior Lecturer at the University of Vermont. At the University, he teaches courses on ecology, environmental justice, mindfulness in the Anthropocene; honeybee biology and beekeeping; and sustainability. He teaches mindfulness at Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, Inward Bound Mindfulness, MIT Sloan School, the Burlington Dharma Collective, and Bhumisparsha.

Zac began meditating and studying Dharma twenty years ago, inspired by a vision of personal and collective liberation, and has spent thousands of hours in meditation and hundreds of days on retreat since. He began mindfulness practice with vipassana (Insight) meditation and, in recent years, has been practicing Vajrayana (tantric) Buddhism with Lama Rod Owens, who he’s worked and taught with since 2017. Zac lives Winooski, Vermont with his partner, son, and tens of thousands of honeybees.

Cara Lai is a meditation teacher, artist, and writer who helps people step out of the cycle of suffering and into the fullness of life.

She spent most of her life trying to figure out how to be happy, or at least avoid total misery, which ultimately led her to spend the majority of her adulthood meditating. She’s explored what it means to be alive through many adventures in consciousness, including a full year of solitary retreat, living with chronic illness, and having two whole humans come out through her vagina.

She once worked as a wilderness guide, social worker, and psychotherapist, but traded it in for an all-out mindfulness rampage. She’s a working mom whose teaching is relatable, authentic, funny and sometimes crass, and is accessible for many people. She is authorized to teach in the Theravada Buddhist Lineage through IMS/Spirit Rock, and she teaches at centers across the country, for the Happier app, Ten Percent Happier, Hatch, and more. She lives with her husband, toddler, and new infant in Hinesburg, Vermont, ultimately hoping to get woke enough to bend spoons with her mind in front of large audiences. And to help everyone get free.

Artists / Speakers: Cara Lai, Zac Ispa-Landa