Deepening our Ground: Cultivating Presence, Insight, and Kindness in the Deep Woods
With Erin Treat and DaRa Williams
July 14 - 19, 2026
This retreat emerged from the relationship between its teachers as a result of over a decade of being together in dharma practice, teaching, and spiritual friendship. And this retreat invites the participants into relationship — with themselves, each other, the land, and all beings everywhere without exception.
Awakening from the delusion of separation through practice and inquiry, we will explore belonging, connection and nature to reveal what supports us in coming home to our hearts, coming home to interdependence. Grounded in foundational Dharma teachings, we will offer traditional sitting and walking instruction as well as daily opportunities to practice in wild nature together.
This is a silent retreat but we will also engage in inquiry and sharing through structured, guided relational practice as part of the context of the retreat.
Cancellation Policy:
- 45 days prior to retreat: Full refund, minus a $150 nonrefundable fee
- 44-22 days prior to retreat: 50% refund
- 0-21 days prior to retreat: No refund
Teachers
Erin Treat lives in Durango, CO and has been practicing Buddhist meditation for 30 years. In addition to serving as the Guiding Teacher of Vallecitos Mountain Retreat Center since 2013, she teaches regularly at Spirit Rock and the Insight Meditation Society. She served for 20 years in leadership on the Teaching Council of the Durango Dharma Center. Erin teaches the practical and the profound, from a heart grounded in respect for mystery and the many faces of awakening. Her approach to sharing the dharma is influenced by her ongoing experience as a student of the Diamond Approach by A.H. Almaas and by…
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DaRa Williams has practiced Insight Meditation for more than 25 years. She completed the Spirit Rock/IMS/IRC Teacher Training, and serves on the Spirit Rock Teachers Council, and as an Associate Guiding Teacher at IMS. DaRa is a trainer and wellness coach, and has been a clinician and administrator in the mental health field for over 25 years. She is a certified Focusing Oriented Therapist and a practitioner and trainer of Aboriginal Focusing Oriented Complex Trauma Therapy. “It is my belief that vipassana meditation and the dharma are ideal for transforming suffering, particularly the trauma of oppression and its many vicissitudes-where…
Learn more about DaRa Williams
