The program has three main components:

1) Morning meditation practice with Bill and Susan. The Pavilion at the eco-village looks out over a sensational view of the Virgin Islands, and is an inspiring place for meditation in the early morning before the sun gets high in the sky.

2) Daily 2-hour study session with Andrew. The three characteristics of existence—anicca (impermanence), dukkha (unsatisfactoriness), anatta (non self)—form the core teachings of Buddhist psychology. We investigate these ideas both textually, by looking closely at the original words from the earliest Buddhist texts, and experientially, as we seek to see these characteristics directly in our own experience and grasp their significance.

3) Afternoon mindful adventure with Bill and Susan. Guided meditations and exercises will be offered to hone our understanding of the teachings of the three characteristics, as we undertake a series of group adventures, each day to a new site, as a form of dharma exploration and practice.

About the Teachers

Andrew R. Olendzki, PhD, is the Senior Scholar at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies in Barre, Massachusetts, which is dedicated to the integration of scholarly understanding and meditative insight. He has taught Buddhist thought and practice at various New England colleges (Harvard, Brandeis, Smith, Lesley, Amherst), and is the author of Unlimiting Mind: The Radically Experiential Psychology of Buddhism.

Bill Morgan, PsyD is a clinical psychologist who has been practicing meditation for over 35 years in both the Zen and vipassana traditions. He has participated in more than 6 years of silent retreats, and lived in a Trappist monastery for 6 months. He has a private practice in two Boston locations, and is a founding board member of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy.

Susan Morgan, MSN, RN, CS is a psychotherapist in private practice in Cambridge, Massachusetts with 20 years of meditation experience. She consults with therapists who are interested in deepening therapeutic presence. Susan has co-led retreats for psychotherapists with Bill for the past 12 years. Self-compassion and body awareness are integral to her mindfulness teaching. She is a board and faculty member of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy.

Bill and Susan have recently been on a 3-year meditation retreat. During breaks from this retreat, they explored bringing mindfulness practice and exercises to their vacations. The idea for this course arose from that exploration.

This is a dana course. Fees have been set to cover operating costs and the travel and accommodation expenses of the teachers, who will receive no additional remuneration.

Schedule for the week:

Pre-registration Information

**Please read this information in its entirety before registering.**

We are excited about offering this program, and hope you will join us. St. John is one of our favorite places in the world, and the most beautiful we have visited. We are delighted to have the opportunity to share this island with you in a dharma context.

Because of the unique nature of this program, and because there will be a limit of 20 participants, we expect this course to fill quickly. We want people to be as fully informed as possible before registering, so as to keep the cancellation rate as low as possible.

Concordia is a relatively small eco-resort, with only 27 preferred housing units. We have reserved several excellent premium tents and eco-studios for our group.

Length of Stay:

We will gather for an informal dinner at the Concordia café on Sunday night at 7:30, after a fairly long day of travel. Monday will be a day to relax and explore on your own. The formal course opening will be on Monday evening at the Concordia pavilion. The minimum stay will be Sunday April 14th to Sunday April 21st, although we encourage you to stay longer if you can afford this.

Cost:

This is the cost breakdown for the week.

*Our coordinator will handle these fees.

You will be responsible for these items.

Depending on your choice of accommodations and jeep preference, the approximate total cost for the week will be between $2500 and $3500.

Accomodations:

You can check out the types of accommodations on the Concordia website.

As sangha development will be central to this course, we encourage people to share a tent or studio, but this is a matter of personal preference.

Tents and studios have been reserved for this course and will be assigned to you after your registration has been received. Do not contact Concordia regarding reservations.

Jeep Rental:

We strongly encourage you to share a jeep with one other person, for two reasons:

1. Jeeps are quite expensive on St. John, around $75 per day, and


2. It doesn't make sense ecologically for 20 of us to have 20 jeeps at an eco-resort.

We have negotiated a 10% discount at Courtesy Car & Jeep Rental (phone: 340-776-6650). They have previously offered friendly and reliable service. Address your correspondence to Josephine, mention that you are part of the "Morgan conference" and ask for your 10% discount.

Courtesy will pick you up at the ferry upon arrival, and bring you back to the ferry when you return your vehicle.

It will be good to reserve your vehicle as soon as possible, as they have a limited number available.

Driving is on the left side of the road.

If you would like to share a room and/or jeep with another participant, check the appropriate boxes on the registration form and we will connect same-gendered sangha members with each other through email.

It might be simplest for each pair of participants to share both a jeep and accommodations. It would be advantageous to be arriving on the island at roughly the same time also, so you can pick up your vehicle and check in together, particularly since the ferry and Courtesy Car Rental are a 40-minute drive from Concordia. However, after we connect you with each other, it is up to you to sort out these details and book your jeep.

Sangha:

Sangha development is central to this course.

There are two aspects to this:

1. We ask participants to attend all of the formally structured parts of the course, so that we can move through the week as an increasingly cohesive community.


2. Only those registered for the course will be able to attend these three daily components of the course, including the early morning meditation session and the afternoon dharma exploration. We wish to protect the container of this course as we would with any other, so significant others or family members will not be able to accompany us at these times. That said, there will be ample time to be with your family outside the course hours.

How to Register:

1. Print and fill out the Registration Form and send it with your deposit to:
   
   

   Marina Gamble
   Mindful Vacation Coordinator
   25 Mayhew St
   Boston, MA 02125

   • You will receive email confirmation once the form and check have been received. Your tent or studio will be reserved at this time.
   
   
   • If you have indicated that you wish to share accommodations or a jeep, you will receive an email with the other sangha member's contact information as soon as this becomes available.


2. Answer the quick survey on the Registration Page.


3. Coordinate jeep rental with your sangha-mate through Courtesy Car Rental.


• Again we suggest you coordinate your arrival time for convenience.
4. Book airline ticket.


5. Pay course balance due on January 1, 2013.

We cannot accept credit cards for this course.
50% of the total is required at the time of registration.
The balance will be due on January 1, 2013.

Please make check payable to William Morgan.

For questions regarding registration or the course, please contact Marina at

Cancellation Policy:

In setting this policy we are considering the following:

1. Participants will be sharing rooms and jeeps.


2. Adventures like this require considerable planning. Though we will likely have a waiting list for this course, as we get closer to the date of the course it will be increasingly difficult for others to make arrangements, find flights, etc.


3. Teachers are responsible for paying in full for the tents and studios which have been reserved for this course.

If a registered participant needs to cancel their registration for any reason, all fees minus a non-refundable administrative fee will be refunded. These fees are listed and correspond to cancellations made prior to the dates listed below.

• January 1, 2013: $200
• After February 1, 2013: Full amount of initial deposit.