Have you learned the basics of meditation and wanted to take things deeper? Have you heard about silent meditation retreats and wondered what they are like? If so, you’ve arrived at the right place as in this episode we are going to discuss why we should go on meditation retreats, with a focus on the commonly available nine or ten day retreat format. Also we’ll discuss what we might expect when going on meditation retreats and some of the obstacles we might encounter and how to overcome them, and how to integrate this all into a deeper practice, leading us to deeper tranquility and insight. To guide us into a better understanding of silent meditation retreats is our guest Shaila Catherine. Shaila Catherine is the founder of Bodhi Courses, an online Dhamma classroom, and Insight Meditation South Bay, a center for mindfulness, compassion, and wisdom in Silicon Valley, in California. She has taught insight meditation since 1996 in the USA, Europe, Israel, New Zealand, and Canada. Shaila draws inspiration from the Discourses of the Buddha and maintains an unwavering dedication to awakening. She is known for her expertise in guiding practitioners to cultivate concentration and the deep absorption states of jhāna, and for her enthusiasm for sutta study. Shaila is a Buddhist author of three books on meditation. Her first book, Focused and Fearless: A Meditator’s Guide to States of Deep Joy, Calm, and Clarity, introduces concentration practices and the absorption states of jhāna. From 2006–2014 Shaila trained in samādhi and vipassanā under the direction of Venerable Pa-Auk Sayadaw in Myanmar. She went on to author Wisdom Wide and Deep: A Practical Handbook for Mastering Jhanā and Vipassanā to help make his traditional approach to meditative training accessible to western practitioners. And her third book is Beyond Distraction: Five Practical Ways to Focus the Mind which shares practical Buddhist strategies for overcoming restlessness and distraction. Shaila has been going on and teaching meditation retreats for several decades and I feel very fortunate that she has offered her time and experience to help us understand the whys and hows of silent meditation treats on this episode of Treasure Mountain. So join us as we seek for the treasure within… --- Links related to this episode: Shaila Catherine website Shaila Catherine upcoming meditation retreats Bodhi Retreats and Courses (online) Links related to Treasure Mountain Podcast: Treasure Mountain Podcast The Everyday Dhamma Network Support the podcast with a donation (via the Ko-fi creators platform)