5-Night silent in person mindfulness meditation retreat Joshua Tree California
A 6 – day / 5-night teacher-led silent in person residential mindfulness meditation retreat, December 13th – 18th, 2022, in Joshua Tree, California. Facilitated by a team of highly experienced mindfulness meditation teachers. This program is designed to support meditation practitioners of all levels in cultivating and deepening their mindfulness practice. This retreat fulfills the 5-day/night retreat prerequisite for people interested in mindfulness teacher training, including but not limited to, MBSR, MSC, and other Mindfulness Facilitator programs.
5-Night silent in person mindfulness meditation retreat Joshua Tree California
December 13th - 18th 2022
4:00 pm - 12:00 pm
Led by Beth Mulligan and Hugh O’Neill
Joshua Tree, CA 92252
United States
This Mindfulness Meditation Retreat is an intensive, residential, teacher-led, 5 night silent meditation retreat, which emphasizes the deep understanding and practice of mindfulness meditation in its most universal and secular expression.
This 6-day 5 night silent residential mindfulness retreat includes meditation instruction, individual interviews with qualified meditation instructors, talks by senior teachers, guided sessions of mindfulness meditation practice, movement exercises, and mindful eating, as well as sessions of contemplation and teachings to deepen the understanding of the practice. On site Registration opens at 4:00 PM on the first day with our first formal session at 7pm. And the event ends at noon on December 18th.
During the retreat, there will be one small group interview session and one brief individual interview.
The Mindfulness Meditation Retreat is based on the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) principles developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn and Saki Santorelli at the Center for Mindfulness in the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
Questions?
For , email mindfulness@health.ucsd.edu
Program Goals
- Provide a safe and nourishing environment for the cultivation and development of a deep and grounded mindfulness meditation practice.
- Foster a rigorous retreat experience – independent of a specific religious outlook
- Offer excellent support and guidance from highly trained and experienced teachers and meditation instructors.
- Practice noble silence to develop a strong container for deepening meditation practice.
For those who are new to meditation practice, please be aware that practicing for a week in silence can be an intensive and challenging – as well as a highly rewarding – experience.
Daily Schedule will run from 6:30 AM to 9:00 PM and will consist of periods of guided and unguided meditation, Movement, Walking, and talks by the teachers, except for date of arrival- which begins at 4:00 PM with registration. Our last day ends before lunch.
Participant Guidelines
Attendance:
Participants are strongly encouraged to attend all practice sessions.
Silence:
Means no conversation except during formal interviews. No reading, writing or use of technology except under special circumstances where you may need to maintain contact with the outside world i.e. (illness of a family member, etc).
Attitudes:
- Non-judging
- Patience
- Beginner’s mind
- Trust
- Non-striving
- Acceptance
- Letting go
Expectations:
- Self-care
- Confidentiality
- Listening and participating
- Silence
- Non-disruptive
- Genuine effort
- No food or drink (except water) in meditation room
Instructors
Beth Mulligan

Beth Mulligan, PA-C is a certified MBSR teacher, teacher trainer, and adjunct faculty through the UMASS Center for Mindfulness. She has been teaching MBSR for over a decade to diverse populations; from the critically ill, to non-profit organizations, the underserved, educators, and corporate leaders. She currently teaches at the Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine at UCI and Insight LA. Beth teaches the 10-week and nine-day practicum for teachers in training nationally and internationally. Beth is a certified Mindful Self-Compassion teacher and teacher trainer and does international training for the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion.
Beth has a background in primary care medicine as a Board Certified Physician Assistant having graduated Magna cum Laude from Duke University and has practiced medicine for over thirty years. She is a long time student of Charles Tenshin Fletcher, Roshi at Yokoji Zen Mountain Center where she has lived in residence. Beth is the Guiding Dharma teacher at Insight Community of the Desert and is a certified yoga instructor.
Beth is the Author of The Dharma of Modern Mindfulness, New Harbinger Publications
Hugh O’Neill

Hugh O’Neill is co-owner of Mindful-Way.com, and a certified MBSR Teacher and International teacher trainer and retreat leader. Hugh has studied and practiced meditation and yoga for more than 20 years. His many years of creative and management experience in the media industry, including significant time working in international news and documentary production, combined with his intensive training in Mindfulness Meditation programs enable him to skillfully relate the concepts and practices of mindfulness with sensitivity and compassion to a wide range of populations. His experience working in the news business in Ireland and Northern Ireland has given him personal experience with Gun Violence; combined with his training in Trauma Informed Mindfulness makes him a key part of our work with offering MBSR to Survivors Empowered.. Hugh has taught more than 100 MBSR courses and dozens of other mindfulness programs at universities, medical centers, corporations and government agencies including the US Navy. He is the lead instructor on a multi year- multi site NIH study on MBSR for Parents of developmentally delayed children. Hugh has also been a presenter at the International Scientific Conference on Mindfulness, is a regular event speaker, and is the lead mindfulness teacher in a number of clinical research projects. Hugh has trained in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction with the originator of the MBSR program, Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn Ph.D. He has studied and lived in residence at Yokoji Zen Mountain Center under the guidance of Zen Master Charles Tenshin Fletcher, Roshi, and is Certified as an MBSR teacher through the UCSD Center for Mindfulness.