🧘‍♂️ PAUSE: A Waking Up In-App Retreat (Live In-Person @ The Commons)

​The folks at the Waking Up app are putting on a half-day, in-app meditation retreat, and we'll be hosting an (unofficial) in-person version at The Commons!

​The plan is to follow the schedule and guidance of the retreat, including silent sitting and walking, then to discuss and de-brief together over food and drinks.

​You don't need to be a subscriber to the app, but if you are, you can follow the registration link here (although we'll be playing the guidance for everyone to hear): https://dynamic.wakingup.com/course/CEC8BF

​The schedule will include:

• ​Four hours of guided meditations — including a mix of sitting and walking, metta, and a mirror meditation exercise

• ​A new dharma talk from Joseph Goldstein

• ​The app will also be putting on a 90-minute live Q&A with Sam Harris, during which time we'll be talking in-person!

​Here's the advice from the folks at Waking Up:

​The full retreat will be released on Saturday, November 5, at 9am Pacific Time, and Sam will host a live Q&A at 2pm Pacific Time. (You’ll have the opportunity to send questions via the app, starting 30 minutes before the Q&A.)

Please note: For technical reasons, PAUSE will take place only in the mobile app, and won’t be available via our in-browser app.

​If you’re able to, we encourage you to start as soon as the retreat is released. If you’re not, no worries—you can start it at any point within 18 hours of the release. And as long as you’ve begun the retreat before Sam’s live Q&A, you’ll be able to join that session.

There are a few things we recommend you do to make the most of your retreat experience:

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​To the degree you can, truly block out that time.

Let people who might depend on you know that you’ll be unreachable; turn off all notifications; set an out-of-office reply, if you work on weekends—so that you can give your attention fully to the retreat.

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​Think ahead about logistics.

Plan any meals and snacks you might need, take your dog for a walk beforehand, don’t schedule any deliveries—whatever you can do to keep life’s details from interfering with the retreat.

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​Get in the “retreat mindset.”

PAUSE isn’t a 10-day silent retreat. But it’s still a terrific opportunity to go deeper. Bringing a perspective of mindfulness and intentionality to the retreat can make all the difference.

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​Try to stay in silence the entire time.

Typically, when you go to a retreat center, you’re asked to remain in silence, except for Q&A sessions with the teacher. That’s by design—not engaging in any external dialogue allows you to focus only on the practice, and creates the ideal conditions for deeper insight to emerge.

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​We’re looking forward to seeing you at PAUSE.

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​THE WAKING UP TEAM