Fundraising Update

For those of you unable to attend our fundraising IPO two weeks ago, it was a wonderful laughter-filled evening with a great turnout and a strong sense of community and support for the retreat center.  We raised almost $25K towards our renovation.  You can listen to a recording from the evening which includes much of Wes Nisker’s monologue here:  Comic Fundraising for IRC  

We currently have about $2,075,000 available for our renovation.  To complete the project as planned we need to raise another $125K, $20K of which we have a matching pledge for when we are $20K from the goal.  We are hoping to raise the additional funds in the next few weeks so as to not reduce the scope of our work.  Once we’re close to completion, we will also need funds for the startup, as we’ll need 42 beds and bedding, chairs, kitchen equipment, and other retreat center essentials.

Retreats

We have begun to tentatively schedule retreats starting November, and have a number of retreats scheduled for 2013.   We should have some details available before the end of summer.

A special screening of the documentary film “Happy” on World Happy Day.

When:  Saturday, February 11, 7 PM

Where:  Insight Retreat Center, 1906 Glen Canyon Rd, Santa Cruz

RSVP if attending: Contact Betsy Blessing at 831-566-3960, gardenblessings@gmail.com (you can still come if deciding last minute)

Carpool: IRC parking is limited. Please arrange carpooling with your friends.

Volunteers Needed to help with parking, set-up and clean-up. To volunteer: Contact Betsy Blessing at 831-566-3960.

No Cost, Donations Welcome  

Join Insight Meditation teacher Carla Brennan and others from Bloom of the Present Sangha for an evening investigating happiness by watching the 2011 film, “Happy”. There will be a short introduction to the film and a discussion afterward. Popcorn and tea will be available. Please feel free to bring finger food to share.

The film “Happy” combines cutting-edge science from the new field of “positive psychology” with real-life stories of people from around the world whose lives illustrate these findings. Does money make you happy? Kids and family? Your work? Do you live in a world that values and promotes happiness and well-being? Are we in the midst of a happiness revolution? “Happy” sets out to answer these questions and more. Taking us from the bayous of Louisiana to the deserts of Namibia, from the beaches of Brazil to the villages of Okinawa, “ “Happy” leads us toward a deeper understanding of how we can all live more fulfilling, healthy and happy lives.

www.bloomofthepresent.com

www.thehappymovie.com/

Please RSVP to Betsy Blessing if you can join us on one or more days:

Where: 1906 Glen Canyon Road, Santa Cruz

• Sunday, February 12^th :     9 am to 5 pm
• Saturday, February 18^th :  9 am to 5 pm
• Monday, February 20th:  9 am to 1 pm

Notes:

1. Bring work gloves if you plan to do work that requires them.
2. If you have a Truck for a Dump run, please bring it – let Betsy know. (Dump is closed on Sundays.)
3. There is a good amount of SCRAP BUILDING MATERIALS we are giving away.  If you are interested, bring a way to take it away.

Lunch will be provided.

Thank you!

Please RSVP to Betsy Blessing:  gardenblessings@gmail.com

A new section has been added to the website:  Architectural Plans, which includes plans and artist renderings.

Project Status

The construction plans we submitted to Santa Cruz County are still in the midst of the approval process.  We are also in the process of choosing a contractor.  We’ve narrowed our options and hope to be able to make a decision soon.

We are grateful for the generosity and support of our community.  We have raised approximately $1.5 million dollars since we launched our fundraising campaign last May.  This is the time we will be deciding what changes we can afford.  It’s a lot more cost effective to make all the changes now. If you are able to donate, please click here to DONATE now.

Online AUCTION to benefit IRC

We have already received a number of great items, such as Buddhist artifacts, new Adobe software, beautiful jewelry and belly-dancing lessons.  If you have items or services for our upcoming auction, please click to Donate An Item for the Auction.  The Auction will begin on March 31st at our FUN-draising IPO Launch, and will continue online until April 22.

Volunteering

If you are not on our volunteer list but would like to help out in preparing for the renovation, please sign up.  We particularly need someone with carpentry skills and someone with a truck to haul things away.  Also a number of people to move things from one place to another.  To volunteer, click here to fill out the form: VOLUNTEER.

Questions?  Email us.

We are asking individuals and businesses to donate items or services.  Some ideas include: new electronics, time at a vacation home/timeshare or retreat, services (such as yoga, personal training, accounting), event tickets for performing arts, movies, concerts, sporting events and tours.

If you have an item or service to donate please fill out our online donation form by clicking  below

  Click here to donate an item

Questions?  Please contact Catherine Byers at (650) 306-9264 or cabyers50@gmail.com.

We are pleased to continue to bring Insight Meditation practice to life at the Retreat Center with a meditation retreat on December 3. We are equally delighted that Carla Brennan, the founding teacher of the Bloom of the Present Sangha in the Santa Cruz and San Lorenzo Valley area, will be leading this retreat.

When:  Saturday, December 3 • 10am to 4pm
Where: IRC: 1906 Glen Canyon Rd, Santa Cruz
No registration necessary. Please bring a bag lunch and meditation cushion if you use one.
Carpooling: Because our parking is limited, carpooling is important. To coordinate carpooling, contact:

• Peninsula: Pat White or  650/906-1505
• Santa Cruz: Jan Noto or 831/427-3761

Volunteers needed to help with parking, set-up and clean-up. For more information or to volunteer: Contact Betsy at 831-566-3960

Now is the season to know That everything you do Is Sacred. -Hafiz

Carla describes the intention for this retreat as follows:

Although many wonderful qualities are at the root of the end of year holidays –  gratitude, generosity, connection, joy, peace  - we often get sidetracked into excessive consumption and activity. It can also be a time when we are reminded of past losses and struggles. The sacred meaning of this season of celebration and reflection is easily forgotten.

We will step out of the holiday rat race for a day, finding respite and sanctuary within our true refuges of silence, meditation and sacred community. Slowing down, finding quiet and ease, and reconnecting to our true nature, will be emphasized.

As Thomas Merton warned, “to allow oneself . . . to surrender to too many demands, to commit to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything is itself to succumb to the violence of our times.” We will temporarily put down our lists and plans to open to our present experience, our own hearts and deepest intentions.

This retreat is suitable for both beginning and experienced meditators. There will be teachings, instructions, and alternating sitting and walking meditation.

CARLA BRENNAN is an Insight Meditation teacher in the Santa Cruz and San Lorenza Valley area and offers weekly meditation groups, classes, retreats and other programs with the Bloom of the Present Sangha. She is a visiting teacher with Spirit Rock Meditation Center. Before founding Bloom of the Present in 2009, Carla taught with Vipassana Santa Cruz for five years. She also regularly leads nature-based retreats to encourage her students to open to the primordial wisdom of the natural world.  www.bloomofthepresent.com

When:  Sunday, December 11, 1 pm to 4:30 pm

Where:  Vipassana Santa Cruz  1010 Fair Ave., Suite C, Santa Cruz

In addition to founding Vipassana Santa Cruz and serving as its Guiding Teacher for two decades, Mary Grace has been a leader in the larger community of Spirit Rock and insight meditation across the US. The ritual marking this passage will also include the installation of Bob Stahl as the new Guiding Teacher of VSC. There will be celebration of all the gifts Mary Grace has given to our sangha and the dharma, and community sharing of gratitude and memories. The afternoon will also include open time to share food as well as memories and mementos. At this occasion we invite you to bring your own mementos, stories and appreciations to contribute. Although cards are welcome, Mary Grace has asked that there be no personal gifts to her; instead she has asked that she be honored by a group contribution to the Spirit Rock Thousands of Buddhas campaign.

Life Dharma

Before stepping down as guiding teacher, Mary Grace will be presenting her final teaching series during November & December. This four-week Thursday evening series is entitled Life Dharma. Mary Grace will be discussing various aspects of integrating dharma practice into 21st century householder life and thinking. Intimate relationship, purple hair, the culture of Burning Man, astrophysics and astronomy will be woven into the presentations. This is a drop-in series; anyone can come at any time in the series. Please join us on Thursdays (November 10 & 17 and December 1 & 8) from 7:00pm – 8:30 pm.

The series will be followed by a daylong on Saturday, December 10 from 10am – 4pm.

Due to the popularity of Audiodharma, we have received many donations from people around the world who have never been to IMC. We have also received donations from eight sitting groups around the country who were inspired to support our retreat center. I appreciate this “grass roots” support by many people far and near. I find it meaningful that the ways we support others through our many podcasts now inspires others to support us in turn.

We plan on starting the renovation in January. We will do as much as we can with the funds we have at hand. Ideally we would finish the work next year as there are many advantages in doing it all at once.

I am quite enthusiastic about IRC, especially when I envision the many retreats we will be offering there. I have seen how beneficial retreats are for those who attend them. I am confident that IRC will not only benefit many, many individuals, but that the benefits will also spread, through them, out into our wider society.

Our fundraising campaign is still active and I am grateful for all who are inspired to donate to IRC over the next months. In particular I thank the sitting groups that have taken the initiative to support us.

With much thanks and appreciation,

Gil Fronsdal

Construction Documents:  Our construction documents are on track to be submitted in then next few weeks.  We hit some minor bumps which have been resolved.  Once submitted we will begin the process of getting bids and choosing a contractor.

Video: Gil Fronsdal, Making A Difference, A Vision for the Role of Mindfulness in Society
An informative presentation where Gil shares his vision for the important role mindfulness can have in our society and how it can help create a society that benefits and supports all its members.

Dharma Wheel:  We’d like to thank Anna Oneglia, a wonderful local artist and retreat cook, for the beautiful Dharma Wheel she painted at IRC, helping the transformation from nursing home to Retreat Center.  

Daylong Retreat at IRC:  October 8, 10 am to 4 pm, with Mary Grace and Bob Stahl
1906 Glen Canyon Rd, Santa Cruz. Please carpool if possible.  To coordinate carpooling, contact:

• Peninsula: Pat White or  650/906-1505
• Santa Cruz: Ann Zweig or 831/428-2736

Fundraising Update:  We have just received our first grant of $2,000 from the Trust for the Meditation Process for the IRC sound system.  So far we have raised $1.12 million dollars towards our goal. Thank you to all who have contributed!

Amazon Purchases and helping IRC:  If you make purchases at Amazon, using this Amazon Search link will give a small percentage to the Insight Retreat Center.  Another way to enter is through any link on the IMC Recommended Books page.

Buying or Selling Your Home:  If you are buying or selling your home, sangha member and retired real-estate broker, Carol Collins, offers to negotiate a reduced brokerage fee for you, and contribute her entire finder’s fee to IRC.  For information, contact Carol at (408) 348-1385.
Flier: Buying or Selling Your Home

With Metta,
Ines Freedman
Managing Director, Insight Retreat Center

  DONATIONS for IRC