New Year’s Silent 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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Location Mary & Joseph Retreat Center
Experience Levels All
Date Starts Monday, December 28, 2026
Ends Friday, January 1, 2027

4 nights

Refund and Event Policies

Join Melissa McKay and Dave Smith for a 4-night silent meditation retreat at the Mary and Joseph Retreat Center.

This retreat offers a quiet space to mark the turn of the year. It’s a chance to deepen your meditation practice, better understand your mind, and let go of old patterns so you can begin the new year with more clarity and calm.

Most of the retreat is held in silence, with periods of sitting and walking meditation. There will be dharma talks, guided meditations, and time for questions and answers. Three healthy vegetarian meals are provided each day.

You’ll be encouraged to practice mindfulness steadily throughout the day, staying with your experience as it unfolds moment by moment. In this supportive, silent environment, awareness becomes sharper, the body settles, and the mind has room to clear. This often opens the way for insight and a greater sense of ease.

By strengthening awareness, clarity, and kindness, we can move toward inner freedom and a more peaceful heart — which benefits our relationship with ourselves, our community, and the wider world.

This New Year’s retreat is a practical opportunity to close out the past year with mindfulness and start the new one with steadier footing.

We look forward to practicing together. Spaces are limited.

Schedule
Sunday, December 28, 2026
• 3:00pm – 5:00pm Arrive and Settle
• 5:30pm – 6:30pm Dinner
• 7:00pm – 9:00pm Opening Ceremony

Thursday, January 1, 2027
• 11:00am Retreat ends

Retreat Cost & Dana:
The registration fee covers the accommodations, meals, and InsightLA’s administrative costs. It does not include compensation for the teachers. In alignment with Buddhist tradition, there will be an opportunity to practice dana (generosity) and offer financial support to the teacher at the end of the retreat. Thank you for your support!

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

For nearly 30 years, Dave Smith has held a practice rooted in the Insight Meditation (Vipassana) tradition. He was empowered to teach through the Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Society, is a certified teacher for Cultivating Emotional Balance (CEB) which is combines contemporary emotion based scientific research with contemplative practices and psychology drawn from Buddhism.... Read more

Pricing Options
Single Room	$1050
Shared Room	$805

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