Silent Meditation Retreat with Upasaka Upali
Thursday, August 8 – Sunday, August 11, 2019
Explore the Stillness Within
Allow Peace to Fill Your Being
This 4 day meditation retreat will serve as a platform to support your practice, wherever it’s at, and aims to provide a space where it can deepen and flourish. No experience is necessary and experienced practitioners will thrive. No need to sit on the floor! Allow your practice to develop to suit your needs.
Your retreat will be filled with extended periods of meditation, personal interviews with the teacher, evening teachings, nourishing food, and natural surroundings. It will be especially beneficial for those wanting to deepen their experience and understanding of the stages described in the book The Mind Illuminated, by Culadasa.
About The Mind Illuminated
The Mind Illuminated (TMI) is an ancient meditation technique with modern considerations, including the perspective of cognitive science. It could most accurately be described as Shamatha-Vipassana, incorporating both concentration and insight practices. It has grown in popularity due to the way it gives clear and tangible instruction on how to meditate, demystifying the practice of meditation as a whole and giving greater access to the benefits of meditation for everyday people.
This retreat will be held in Noble Silence, meaning that there’s very little talking, activity, or distraction. There will be instruction as needed and you are supported by the teacher, the staff on site and by the silence itself. This allows you to maximize the amount of time each day that you spend meditating and exploring yourself.
How often do you have time to truly be still and listen to your soul?
Upasaka Upali (aka Paul Peterson) is a meditation teacher who specializes in working with beginning to advanced meditators. Upali’s teaching style strives to provide tangible instruction, inspire consistent practice, and to create a rewarding meditation experience. He has taught broad and diverse audiences from adult professionals seeking stress reduction to elementary students in under served communities. He began teaching in the Southeastern United States where he would travel once a month to a Federal Prison in Virginia to talk about meditation with inmates of a prison Sangha (meditation community). He later moved to South America, where he was encouraged to continue his teaching practice by Tucker Peck, Ph.D. through teaching beginning meditation classes online. Since then, his online teaching practice has expanded, which he has found to be a delightful way to connect with meditation practitioners from all over the world.
After arriving back in the United States, Upali began a local meditation Sangha in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He also teaches elementary students in under served communities of Chattanooga in the Mindful Schools Program. In April, 2018, he completed a one month Teacher in Residence program at Dharma Treasure with Upasaka Culadasa. Since then, Upali has increased his teaching of in-person meditation retreats and has enjoyed seeing the benefit and progress silent retreats create for practitioners. He currently studies with Culadasa, the author of The Mind Illuminated. Culadasa’s own authorization to teach can be traced, through Ananda Bodhi, back to the historical Buddha.
Registration Details
– Shared cabin (4 people max),
– All meals, classes and workshops for 3 nights, 4 days
– Full use of Sugar Ridge’s amenities
Cost and Registration:
– $505 + HST for shared accommodation
Registration fee does not include Dana (generosity) for Upali’s teachings. Dana can be given at the end of the retreat directly to Upali. This can be in the form of cash or can be given through Upali’s webpage: https://
Please contact Upali by email with any questions: [email protected]
Explore the Stillness Within
Allow Peace to Fill Your Being
This 4 day meditation retreat will serve as a platform to support your practice, wherever it’s at, and aims to provide a space where it can deepen and flourish. No experience is necessary and experienced practitioners will thrive. No need to sit on the floor! Allow your practice to develop to suit your needs.
Your retreat will be filled with extended periods of meditation, personal interviews with the teacher, evening teachings, nourishing food, and natural surroundings. It will be especially beneficial for those wanting to deepen their experience and understanding of the stages described in the book The Mind Illuminated, by Culadasa.
About The Mind Illuminated
The Mind Illuminated (TMI) is an ancient meditation technique with modern considerations, including the perspective of cognitive science. It could most accurately be described as Shamatha-Vipassana, incorporating both concentration and insight practices. It has grown in popularity due to the way it gives clear and tangible instruction on how to meditate, demystifying the practice of meditation as a whole and giving greater access to the benefits of meditation for everyday people.
This retreat will be held in Noble Silence, meaning that there’s very little talking, activity, or distraction. There will be instruction as needed and you are supported by the teacher, the staff on site and by the silence itself. This allows you to maximize the amount of time each day that you spend meditating and exploring yourself.
How often do you have time to truly be still and listen to your soul?
Upasaka Upali (aka Paul Peterson) is a meditation teacher who specializes in working with beginning to advanced meditators. Upali’s teaching style strives to provide tangible instruction, inspire consistent practice, and to create a rewarding meditation experience. He has taught broad and diverse audiences from adult professionals seeking stress reduction to elementary students in under served communities. He began teaching in the Southeastern United States where he would travel once a month to a Federal Prison in Virginia to talk about meditation with inmates of a prison Sangha (meditation community). He later moved to South America, where he was encouraged to continue his teaching practice by Tucker Peck, Ph.D. through teaching beginning meditation classes online. Since then, his online teaching practice has expanded, which he has found to be a delightful way to connect with meditation practitioners from all over the world.
After arriving back in the United States, Upali began a local meditation Sangha in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He also teaches elementary students in under served communities of Chattanooga in the Mindful Schools Program. In April, 2018, he completed a one month Teacher in Residence program at Dharma Treasure with Upasaka Culadasa. Since then, Upali has increased his teaching of in-person meditation retreats and has enjoyed seeing the benefit and progress silent retreats create for practitioners. He currently studies with Culadasa, the author of The Mind Illuminated. Culadasa’s own authorization to teach can be traced, through Ananda Bodhi, back to the historical Buddha.
