New Year's Silent Meditation Retreat (Mary & Joseph Retreat Center)

The New Year's Silent Meditation Retreat is a five-day residential silent meditation retreat held at the Mary & Joseph Retreat Center. It is offered by InsightLA Meditation of Beverly Hills, California, and led by Melissa McKay and Dave Smith. It suits people who want to begin the new year in silence and sustained practice, away from home, rather than in a single day or an evening class.

What to Expect

This is a multi-day residential retreat, so you stay on site for the full five days. The retreat is listed as beginning on a Monday, with a schedule window of 3:00 PM to 9:00 PM Pacific time. As in most silent meditation retreats, the days are organized around quiet and a steady rhythm of practice, with the teachers guiding the group through it.

Your Teachers

Melissa McKay and Dave Smith lead the retreat. Melissa McKay also teaches other retreats and daylongs at InsightLA, including mindfulness foundations and lovingkindness (metta) practice, so she is a familiar teacher within this community.

The Setting

The retreat takes place at the Mary & Joseph Retreat Center, a residential retreat venue. Because the retreat is residential, the center serves as both the place of practice and the place where you stay for the five days.

Before You Go

This is a residential, multi-day retreat, so plan to be present for the whole five days, including the start on the first afternoon. InsightLA also runs shorter non-residential retreats and introductory classes for people who would like to try practice in a lighter format before committing to a silent retreat of this length.