Seven-Day Retreat with Wayne Coger and Sandra Gonzalez

Due to low in-person attendance the upcoming retreat with Wayne and Sandra will take place primarily online via Zoom. Also it has been shortened to be a seven-day retreat, running from Saturday May 7 to Saturday May 14.

Just as in retreat timed sittings and talks will take place from the sitting room and private meetings with the facilitators will continue to be available. Also as in retreat, the main building will be in silence, with the exception of the afternoon online dialogues as people participate from their rooms on their own devices.  A lunch will be served each day following the talk. Other meals will be self-serve and participants will do their own dishes after each self-serve meal. 

In essence, this online retreat will embody all the elements of a traditional retreat but in a more informal atmosphere. We hope this approach will work for both online participants and in-person guests.

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.

Wayne Coger has led retreats since 2001. For more than 30 years he worked with Toni Packer, and has been a staff member of the Center since 1983. Currently he is serving as Administrator. Previously, he studied at the Rochester Zen Center. He says:

Toni Packer asked me if I would share the work that we do with others. While I have never had any desire to become a ‘teacher,’ exploring the work of meditative inquiry has been my deepest joy and passion for many years. What excites me is this possibility to look at anything and everything freshly, without inhibitions or strictures. It is through this open inquiry that we begin to learn about ourselves. To learn how we are when we are not bound by our ideas and self-images.