Financial Support

Our mission is to make all of our programs accessible. Every fee-based offering has a limited number of pay-what-you-can spots available to support self-identified people of color, members of marginalized groups (queer people, transgender people, and  people with disabilities) and those in financial need (those for whom the cost to attend is not financially possible). 

These spots are offered on a first come, first served basis. Please pay at the highest level you can afford. In order for this support to be available, we rely on those who can afford to pay the full price to do so.

Find out if spots are available by clicking REGISTER NOW on the event you are interested in.

Safety 

We work to protect the safety of all students. We reserve the right to remove any student from any class, sitting group, retreat, or any event if the student is disruptive to the safe learning environment we maintain for all.

Cancellation & Refunds

We reserve the right to cancel a class or special event due to low enrollment or other circumstances which would make the event non-viable. If InsightLA cancels an event you’ve registered for, you will be offered a full refund. If an event has to be postponed for any reason, you will have the option to either receive a full refund or transfer your registration to the same event at the new, future date. If you cancel, we apply a 5% credit processing fee and the refunded amounts are listed below:

MBSR, MSC, & MBHC, Mindfulness for Beginners & Special Events

7 days – 95% Refund
<7 days – No Refunds – Credit given if requested or donation to InsightLA

Fee-Based Non-Residential Retreats (note: Donations are non-refundable)

>7 days – 95% Refund
<7 days – No Refunds – Credit given if requested or donation to InsightLA

Residential Retreats

> 8 weeks – amount paid less $100
4-8 weeks – amount paid less $175
2-4 weeks – amount paid less $300
< 2 weeks – No refund

Residential Retreats with Financial Support:

> 8 weeks – amount paid less $75
4-8 weeks – amount paid less $100
2-4 weeks – amount paid less $200
< 2 weeks – No refund

Register Now Save for Later Please log in or create an account to be able to use this functionality.

  • Location Big Bear Retreat Center
  • Experience Levels All
  • Date Starts Tuesday, September 15, 2026
    Ends Sunday, September 20, 2026

    5 nights

Refund and Event Policies

Please note: This retreat is hosted by Big Bear Retreat Center, not InsightLA.

For any questions or support for registering or preparing for this retreat, please contact guestservices@bigbearretreatcenter.org.
For more details and to register for this retreat, please visit the Big Bear Retreat Center’s website: The Refuge of the Heart (in-person).

_____________________________________

This event page is the in-person version of a hybrid retreat which will take place both in-person and online. To register for the online version of this event, click here.

Open to experienced and new practitioners

Registration closes on September 1, 2026. If joining after this date, please contact guestservices@bigbearretreatcenter.org.

The Buddha counsels: “Hatred does not cease by hatred but by non-hatred. This law is eternal.” The alternatives to love – namely, hate or apathy – are not viable for ourselves, for our communities or our world. There are many details to work out, but in one way or another, love is the path forward.

During this retreat, we’ll cultivate and abide in the four forms of love articulated by our Buddhist tradition. When love meets goodness, there is lovingkindness. When love meets suffering, there is compassion. When love meets good fortune, there is joy and when love meets the timeless, ungovernable nature of suffering, there is equanimity.

Sometimes, we rest in love and sometimes the practice acts like a magnet, pulling to the surface that which has not yet been loved. On this path, there is more than enough space for everything.

 

Matthew Brensilver, PhD

Matthew Brensilver, PhD, offers retreats at Spirit Rock Meditation Center and the Insight Retreat Center. For more than a decade, he taught for Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Society. He continues to teach at UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center about the intersections between mindfulness and mental health. He spent years doing research on addiction treatment... Read more

Beth Sternlieb

Beth is a Spirit Rock and Insight Mediation Society retreat teacher. She teaches the Dedicated to Dharma program at InsightLA and The Morning Community Sit. You can drop in through InsightLA.org and meet her there Monday – Friday mornings. Beth’s Teachers are Dza Kilung Rinpoche and Joseph Goldstein. Beth has been a co-investigator on several... Read more

Pricing Options
Private Room, Private Bathroom $1875
Private Room, Shared Bathroom $1375
Double Shared Room, Shared Bathroom $825
Triple Room, Shared Bath $450
A Frame Camping $825

Register Now

Financial Support

Our mission is to make all of our programs accessible. Every fee-based offering has a limited number of pay-what-you-can spots available to support members of marginalized groups (people of color, queer people, people with disabilities) and those in financial need (those for whom the cost to attend is not financially possible).

These spots are offered on a first come, first served basis. Please pay at the highest level you can afford. In order for this support to be available, we rely on those who can afford to pay the full price to do so.

Register Now

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