Days
Hours
Mins
Cultivating Joy: A Silent, Mindfulness Retreat for Individuals
July 30 - August 03, 2025
Jayne Gumpel, LCSW
Michael G. Burbank
David Gumpel M.A
Join us at Menla for a gentle, joy inspired, silent retreat consisting of meditation, self compassion, mindfulness and walks in nature. We will begin to gather as a group at 4pm Wednesday for check in and will enjoy our first dinner together at 6pm. Silence will commence around 9:30 pm after the evening introductory session and will continue through Sunday morning when we will break our silence and enjoy our final lunch together with shared reflections.Cultivating JOY through the lens of silence and self compassion is a noble offering to yourself. Guided meditations and simple mindfulness practices are offered as an invitation to notice and make connections to joy in the midst of it! Attending to and noticing the obstacles arising cultivates space for those moments of joy that may pass by unnoticed. It is not necessary to have meditation experience but it is preferred. This retreat is not a traditional Vipassana silent retreat yet it holds silence as a sacred practice and also includes writing, sitting and eating meditation practices, music with eye shades and a mat, and movement. This is an opportunity to bring joy into your everyday life!All participants are encouraged to commit to the full program, including a live zoom preparation session prior to the retreat.This is especially important for participants who have yet to experience a silent retreat.A full digital detox is highly encouraged, and at a minimum no cell phones will be allowed in the conference center or at meals. Finding freedom from our phones will feel liberating after the initial moment of letting go. In the evenings after our silent dinners, we will have an opportunity to listen to evening discussions and contemplate their relevance to our lives.Mindfulness allows for a balanced awareness of negative thoughts, enabling individuals to observe their feelings without becoming overwhelmed or overly identified with them. This aligns with Dr. Tara Brach’s teachings on radical acceptance, suggesting that embracing our present experience with compassion leads to deeper self-awareness and growth.In essence, self-compassion during a silent retreat is essential, facilitating a nurturing space for exploration, acceptance, and personal transformation.A capacity for self regulation, self reflection and self care is appreciated. The group experience is a safe and sacred opportunity to connect to one’s self and to the reality that we are all connected.All participants are invited to attend a 60 minute preparation and information zoom call June 2, 2025 at 8 am; or July 21 at 8 am. This is an essential meeting.This retreat is co hosted by MENLA.org and AccessMindfulness.orgContact Persons:Jayne Gumpel 914 924 1509www.accessmindfulness.orgDavid Gumpel 212 286 1850www.relationshipresources.infoThe tuition is $800 plus housingWe offer scholarships on the tuition on an as needed basis. Please contact Jayne 914 924 1509ScheduleWednesday, July 30
In the Silence, Joy Waits
Come,
not to speak,
but to listen.
Not to fix,
but to feel.
The world
has shouted long enough.
Now the hush
becomes a gate.
Walk the moss-lined path,
let your breath be your language.
The trees do not require
an explanation.
Here,
joy does not arrive with a trumpet.
It lives
in the curve of steam from your tea,
in the hush between footfalls,
in the noticing
of what was always here.
Let silence
wrap you in its cloak—
not empty,
but vast.
Not lonely,
but full
of the space
where truth can breathe.
You are not asked to disappear,
only to soften.
To let the self unclench.
To lay down the phone,
the posture,
the mask.
Sit.
Walk.
Breathe.
Eat slowly.
Let the music arrive
behind your eyes.
Let the movement
remind you
how to dwell
in your own skin.
And when joy comes—
not loud,
not seeking applause—
may you bow to it
like an old friend
you had forgotten
you missed.
You are not alone.
You never were.
In silence,
we return
to the source of all sound.
In stillness,
we hear
what has always sung within us. JG
ABOUT THE TEACHERs
Jayne Gumpel, LCSW
Jayne Gumpel, LCSW (she/her/hers) is a psychotherapist, trainer, and teacher with 30 years of experience working with couples, individuals, and groups in New York City and Woodstock, NY. Jayne is a professional clinical trainer in Psychedelic Integration Psychotherapy, is a membe...
Michael G. Burbank
Michael G. Burbank has been a student of Robert Thurman and HH the XIV Dalai Lama for over 25 years, since his undergraduate years studying Eastern religions and cultures at Columbia University in the 90s. In February of 2002, he was invited to help the Thurmans and Tibet House s...
David Gumpel M.A
David Gumpel, Co-founder of Relationship Resources, is an Integral Master Coach and a qualified teacher of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) through UMASS medical school. He completed his MA in Psychology at The New School for Social Research. David is the co-founder of...
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