Seven-Day Retreat with Sandra Gonzalez and Susan Schepp

Sandra and Susan have been engaged in meditation and meditative work at the Center for many years. They’ll both give talks and take part in the afternoon group dialogues, as well as being available for group and private meetings.

Sandra Gonzalez has led retreats in both English and Spanish for several years. She began working with Toni in 1988. Previously, she studied at other meditation centers. Sandra was born and raised in Nicaragua. She leads or participates in retreats in Springwater and other locations each year. She writes:

Presence invites presence when there is no resistance, no ownership of ideas, experiences or things, no worrying, no hurrying, no judging, no defending–just the ease of life when we meet without wanting things to be otherwise. Certainly we all can participate; presence is free and available to all of us. There is a true beauty in this.

Susan Schepp has a deep commitment to meditative work and has been involved in the Center since its inception. She has a small collection of poems she’s written at the Center, including one she read during a talk last June:

Ripples upon ripples
stretch across the pond
The golden glistening stems of cattails
bend graciously in the wind
paying homage to the day.
Leaves released from their trees
gently float across the sky.
One wonders
is there really such a thing as inside and out?