Exploring Spiritual Bypass: Navigating Our Blind Spots (Online)

This is the ONLINE component of the retreat. If you’d like to register for the RESIDENTIAL component, please click here.

How can we investigate what we do not see? Spiritual bypass, a term introduced in the mid-80s by John Welwood, a Buddhist teacher and psychotherapist, is a tendency to use spiritual ideas and practices to sidestep or avoid facing unresolved emotional issues, psychological wounds, and unfinished developmental tasks. In this weekend retreat, led by three Buddhist teachers, two of whom are psychotherapists, we will dive deeply into the topic of spiritual bypass.

We might initially believe that spiritual bypass is something that other people do. Not us. But as our meditation and spiritual path progresses, it becomes clear that everyone must eventually grapple with a tendency to use meditation as a way to avoid facing our more uncomfortable states, and the roots beneath. In other words, we are all susceptible to spiritual bypass and need to be proactive to address it. Through awareness practices and psychological healing, we can work with our own patterns of bypass to come into meaningful relationships with others, and with our world.

Please join us to:

• Explore contemplative means of turning towards our avoidance, suppression and distraction
• Engage in exercises to gently parse out these patterns in relationship with oneself and others
• Practice meditation and self reflection in community

With exercises and self-reflection, we will begin to explore the impediments to freedom, how we avoid, suppress and distract ourselves from the roots of our suffering. We will then consider the psychological and mindful work required to find freedom and joy in our life and practice.

In the end, by engaging a dual path of awareness and psychological healing, we can begin to circumvent spiritual bypass and realize our profound potential, as human beings, social creatures and citizens of this planet.

Typical Retreat Schedule

(All times are Eastern time zone)

First Day — Opening session begins around 7:00 pm.

Full-Day Schedule — Morning meditation 7:00 am; Breakfast break 8:00-9:30 am; Lunch break 12:00-2:00 pm; Dinner break 5:30-7:00 pm.

Last Day — The closing session typically ends by 12:00 pm.

These times are just for reference. An expanded schedule will be provided in pre-retreat information emailed during the week prior to the event.

Zoom Link

The Zoom link will be sent several days before the retreat to all those registered. If you register after that date, you’ll receive the link with your confirmation email shortly after submitting your registration. If you don’t see an email from Natural Dharma Registrar or Wonderwell Mountain Refuge, it may have mistakenly gone to your spam folder or to Promotions or Updates in Gmail.

Important: Please put these this email address in your Contact or Safe-Send list to make sure you receive our emails:

• register@naturaldharma.org

Program Cost

Our program fees provide essential support to our non-profit operations and NDF’s mission to spread the Dharma in accessible, relevant, and creative ways. Our goal is that no one misses out on our events due to lack of funds. Thanks to our generous donors, we are able to offer tiered pricing and additional support to fit varied financial situations: 

• May All Beings Benefit! *– supporting access for all and general support for NDF operations
• A Middle Way – covering the base cost
• Held in Sangha Loving-kindness – offering ease when financial resources are limiting

If the lowest cost tier creates an obstacle to your attendance, please see our financial support options on the registration page. The process is simple and does not require extensive information. Financial aid is immediately approved using discount code options that allow you to contribute the most you are able while honoring your particular resources.

* The difference between the May All Beings Benefit! tier and the Middle Way tier will be considered a tax-deductible donation and will be acknowledged as such in writing. Contributing at this level helps us offer financial aid to other participants. Thank you!!

Access to Recordings

NDF offers unlimited access to recordings, which are available in your user dashboard (more information about user accounts provided in a pre-retreat letter). If you have a user account, please register with the same email you use to log into your dashboard. If not, an account will be created for you using your registration address.

Availability will vary depending on the type of event and the backlog for our precious resource volunteers. Thank you for your patience.

Natural Dharma Fellowship Full Calendar