Clear Seeing: An Insight Meditation Retreat - InsightLA Meditation

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

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Shaila Catherine

Location Mary & Joseph Retreat Center
Experience Levels All
Date Starts Friday, September 5, 2025
Ends Friday, September 12, 2025

7 nights

Refund and Event Policies

Join Melissa McKay and Shaila Catherine at the serene Mary and Joseph retreat center on a hilltop in Palos Verdes for this silent meditation retreat. The retreat will emphasize a balance of mindfulness, concentration, and investigation. Instructions will encourage mindfulness of breath, body, and mind to enhance the potential for liberating insight. Meditation instructions, consultations with the teachers, and daily dharma teachings make this retreat suitable for both new and experienced practitioners. By cultivating a calm, balanced awareness, we can dissolve any suffering that may entangle our hearts and discover our freedom in the midst life’s joys and sorrows.

What to Expect:

Nobel Silence: silence supports the practice not just in speech but in all external communications.
Intensive meditation: days will be full with alternating periods of sitting and walking meditation and there is an opportunity to keep mindfulness in all activities of the day.
Guidance: Daily discourses and private meetings with the teacher offering insights into the technique and philosophy and to support you in dealing with any obstacles that arise.
Solitude: Your personal space will be minimalistic, promoting focus on inward journey rather than outward distraction.

Accommodations
– Single and double room accommodations to support your focus on meditation
– Nutritious, silent, vegetarian meals served to nourish your body and mind
Light evening meals are offered and students can opt for skipping the evening meal in the practice of taking the 8 precepts.

Commitment
This retreat demands full engagement. Adherence to silence and the schedule is paramount for yours and others experience.

Cost
The cost of the retreat covers meals and accommodations only. You will have the opportunity to donate to Insight LA.

The teachers offer the teachings freely. You will have the opportunity to donate to them at the end of the retreat.

Shaila Catherine

Shaila Catherine teaches meditation world-wide. Shaila is the founder of Bodhi Courses, an online Dhamma classroom (bodhicourses.org), and Insight Meditation South Bay, a Buddhist meditation center in Silicon Valley in California (imsb.org). She has been practicing meditation since 1980, accumulating more than nine years of silent retreat experience, and has taught internationally since 1996. Shaila studied with masters in India, Thailand,... Read more

Melissa began her path of meditation in 1998 with a small group of dedicated practitioners in Oakland, CA with her beloved, though not known, teacher named Barbara Janus who introduced her to the teachings of Sayadaw U Pandita of Burma. Her first retreat was with Sayadaw U Pandita and the profound changes she saw in... Read more

Pricing Options
Single room	$1750
Shared room	$1385

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