Programs

Join Karen Lawrie for a day of mindfulness. This offering runs once a month on Saturdays. Registration is $20.00 plus teacher dana. Please email Karen at karenlawrie77@gmail.com for more information and to register.

This retreat welcomes meditators who identify as LGBTQIA2S+. The retreat will be held in noble silence from the first evening until the last day, including a requirement to turn off and put away all electronic devices.

Cultivating Love and Wisdom

Gather with us at the height of summer to take a deep dive into practice! An extended retreat like this one gives us an opportunity to pause and relax amidst the busyness of our lives, as well as to learn things we can’t learn any other way. We will be undertaking practices that strengthen the qualities of peace, love, and wisdom in our minds and hearts.

There will be practice instructions at the beginning of each day and the practice schedule will be made up of alternating periods of formal sitting and walking meditation. There will be practice discussion groups and time for questions and answers each day.

A First Timer Retreat

“I don’t know what happens on a retreat, but I kinda want to try it. I have so many questions and feel intimidated because I’m new.”

“I don’t think I can meditate for that long, especially with more experienced meditators.”

“I know someone who wants to try a retreat but is intimidated to start.”

If this is you, or you know anybody who says these things, then this retreat might be a good fit.

BCIMS is happy to offer a First Timer Retreat. This shorter residential retreat is a sample of a more extended retreat. It is designed for new - or newer - meditators to learn what a retreat is and how to live and practice in silence.

We’ll help you develop the stamina to meditate longer, and we’ll introduce and explain the etiquette and practices of meditation retreats. Best of all, you’ll be with new or newer meditators, so you can relax and enjoy the environment.

The Middle Way of Partnership - A Weekend Retreat on Conscious Relationships
This immersive weekend retreat offers a fresh approach to understanding and nurturing meaningful partnerships through the lens of Buddhist wisdom and contemporary psychology. Rather than pursuing idealized connections or accepting unnecessary struggles, attendees will discover the "middle way"—embracing the inherent challenges of intimacy while cultivating deeper connection, presence, and joy.

Throughout the weekend, we'll weave together teachings, guided meditations, and interactive exercises that address four essential dimensions of partnership.

Befriending Mortality: Living An Awakened Life Through Mindfulness of Death (Maranasati)

Death is not exactly a typical dinner table topic in modern, dominant Western culture. We all “know” that we die, yet we tend to ignore it and put our collective heads in the sand. Rather than running away from our inevitable mortality, we can harness the power of this reflection to stay aligned with our deepest values and to live and love more fully. Through mindfulness of death (maranasati), we become more present for this miraculous, passing show called our life with gladness and gratitude.

Meeting Frequency: Daily
Join Rachel directly via the Zoom link below.

Meeting Frequency: Weekly on Mondays
Email Patti Wall for details.

Meeting Frequency: Weekly on Tuesdays and Wednesdays

We sit Tuesday from 6:30 - 8 p.m. and Wednesday from noon - 2 p.m.
Our group also also does periodic residential retreats.
Email Judith Green for details.

Meeting Frequency: Weekly on Tuesdays

Email Karen Lawrie for details

Meeting Frequency: Once a Month

Meeting Frequency: Third Tuesday of the Month
A group for Black, Indigenous and People of Colour who are also 2SLGBTQIA+
Email Arti Mehta for details.

Meeting Frequency: Weekly on Wednesdays

Email Sānta Aloi for details

Meeting Frequency: Weekly on Wednesdays

We presently meet every Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. both in person and on Zoom. The group is lead by Christine Mauro and David Rumsey. For further information, email: saltspringimc@gmail.com

Meeting Frequency: Every second week on Wednesdays

As a peer-lead IBPOC sangha committed to the path of the dharma, we gather to build community in the spirit of collective liberation. With humility and gratitude we sit on the unceded traditional homelands of the Lkwungen and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples.

Meeting Frequency: Weekly on Wednesdays.
Email Mia Tremblay for details.