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 Vance Pryor
Click here for other opportunities for retreat practice in the upper Midwest.
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Wishing you well,
TCVC Board