News

Down to Earth Dharma:  Awakening the Heart through Embodiment

Chas DiCapua and Rebecca Bradshaw will lead the annual TCVC Winter Retreat February 16-23, 2025 on the theme of exploring the mind, heart and body to find an integrated and whole connection to ourselves.  Registration opens November 1, 2024.  Look for the link and registration form in the TCVC November newsletter.

Chas DiCapua has been practicing Buddhist meditation for almost 30 years. He has trained with Burmese meditation masters, western monastics of the Thai Forest tradition and senior western vipassana teachers. He has spent over two years in silent, intensive retreat.  Chas has served as IMS’s Resident Teacher at IMS since 2003. Chas is a graduate of the four year joint Insight Meditation Society / Spirit Rock Teacher Training Program. He teaches retreats at IMS and at various centers and sanghas throughout the country.
Listen to Chas DiCapua on Dharmaseed.org.

Rebecca Bradshaw, an IMS Emeritus Guiding Teacher, has been practicing Vipassana meditation since 1983 in the United States and Myanmar (Burma) and teaching since 1993. She completed her dharma teacher training at Insight Meditation Society, where she is part of the three-month retreat teacher team, leads retreats for young adults, and serves as a member of the diversity committee. She also teaches at other locations in the United States and abroad, including Spanish language retreats. Rebecca emphasizes a body-centered approach to meditation, supplemented with large doses of loving kindness. Rebecca has a master’s degree in Counseling Psychology and is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC).
Listen to Rebecca Bradshaw on Dharmaseed.org.

Koronis Ministries, site of our 2024 retreats, will welcome us back in 2025.  Located in Central Minnesota, near Paynesville, Koronis is located in a quiet setting on the shores of a beautiful lake. TCVC will have near exclusive use of the entire facility, including a new, state-of-the-art meeting space for our meditation hall. There’s plenty of space for indoor and outdoor walking meditation and a dedicated room for mindful movement.

Announcing Teachers for Summer 2025 Retreat

TCVC is excited to welcome Deborah Helzer and Annie Nugent as the teachers of our Summer 2025 retreat.

Deborah Helzer first took up Buddhist meditation 30 years ago to reduce stress while working on her engineering degree.  She began teaching at IMS in 2004, as well as with the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, DC, where she lives.  She has studied and practiced with both western and asian teachers, including a year as a nun with the late Sayadaw U Pandita. 

Annie Nugent has studied and practiced in the Theravadan and Tibetan traditions since 1979 under the guidance of a range of teachers including Sayadaw U Pandita, Tulku Akong Rinpoche and various western teachers. Annie was the resident teacher for staff at The Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA from 1999-2003.

Upcoming TCVC Retreats

February 16–23, 2025 with Chas DiCapua and Rebecca Bradshaw
Registration opens November 1, 2024.

June 8-15, 2025 with Deborah Helzer and Annie Nugent

February 2026 (dates tbd) with Chas DiCapua and Rebecca Bradshaw

Summer 2026 (dates tbd) with Deborah Helzer and tbd

Click here for other opportunities for retreat practice in the upper Midwest.

Forward this email to your friends!

We encourage you to tell others about TCVC retreats and help them feel more at ease with the idea of attending a retreat.  Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.

Wishing you well,
TCVC Board

Thanks for Supporting the BIPOC Retreats

Many members of the TCVC Community have donated to the BIPOC Retreat Fund over the past couple of years. This spring the accumulated BIPOC donations ($4,542) were offered to Common Ground Meditation Center in support of a week long BIPOC retreat in July. The funds were used to pay for travel expenses and also offered as dana to teacher Tuere Sala. It was a very special retreat for the 17 participants. Click here for their photos and comments.

Tuere will be returning to Common Ground next summer and TCVC intends to offer dana from our community to support this retreat and possibly other BIPOC retreats in the region. Click here and select “BIPOC Retreat Fund” to make a donation on our website.  

Discount on Rebecca Bradshaw’s New Book

Longtime TCVC retreat teacher Rebecca Bradshaw has a new book coming out in November.  Down to Earth Dharma: Insight Meditation to Awaken the Heart weaves together classical Theravada Buddhist teachings and mindfulness practices to explore ways to balance the masculine archetype qualities—action, focus, individualism, achievement, and transcendence—with the often underdeveloped feminine—feeling, embodiment, relaxation, receptivity, and intuition.  TCVC members can get a 30% discount by pre-ordering the book at Shambala Publications.  For the discount, please enter the code DTED30 in the shopping cart.

Upcoming Madison Insight Meditation Retreat

Ayyā Medhānandī and Ayyā Anuruddhā will teach a residential retreat at St. Anthony Spirituality Center, Marathon, WI October 13–19, 2024.  The theme of this retreat will be “Noble Mind, Fearless Heart” and practice will be structured as if visiting a Theravada monastery.  For more information and registration click here.

Future TCVC Retreats

Save the date for future TCVC retreats at Koronis Ministries.

February 16–23, 2025 with Chas DiCapua and Rebecca Bradshaw. 
Registration opens November 1, 2024.

June 8-15, 2025 with Deborah Helzer and Annie Nugent

Click here for other opportunities for retreat practice in the upper Midwest.

Forward this email to your friends!

We encourage you to tell others about TCVC retreats and help them feel more at ease with the idea of attending a retreat.  Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.

Wishing you well,
TCVC Board