Everything you need for a loving-kindness meditation retreat at home: a schedule, the method, printable guides, and what to do when it gets difficult. You choose the dates. It’s free, and it stays free. The Tranquil Mind is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and there’s nothing to buy.
You are unguided, not unsupported. There’s no teacher in the room, but there is one on the other end of an email, before, during or after your retreat.
Who it’s for
- You’d like to go on a meditation retreat, but a retreat center isn’t possible right now.
- You’re new to meditation, or you’ve meditated before and want to try loving-kindness properly.
- You’d rather have a clear plan than a playlist.
No experience is needed. You don’t need a meditation cushion, special tools or anything else. Just a chair and some quiet time.
What a retreat weekend looks like
The kit’s main schedule runs Friday evening to Sunday afternoon: six sits of 30 to 45 minutes, with walking, simple meals and quiet evenings in between. Saturday is the long day. Your phone is off for the whole retreat, which is why everything in the kit is made to print.
The times are a shape, not a rule. Shift them to fit your household, but keep the order and the gaps. Once you’ve done a three-day retreat, the packet also has a seven-day schedule.
What’s in the kit
Five guides, read in order, plus two short ones for beginners. All printable.
| # | Guide | What it’s for | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Start Here: Your Practice Map | What to do, in what order, and how to know you’re ready for the next step | Read it first |
| 2 | Taking the Precepts | Five conditions for a tranquil mind | At the start of your retreat |
| 3 | Self-Guided Retreat Packet | Setting up, the schedule, the 6Rs, your Spiritual Friend, and a practice log | Your retreat (Stage 1) |
| 4 | Breaking Down the Barriers | Stage 2 | Later. The map tells you when |
| 5 | Radiating to the Six Directions | Stage 3 | Later still |
| + | Tranquil Mind for Beginners and How to Meditate | A gentle introduction, and a short reminder of how to sit | Before you begin |
Please don’t skip ahead. Stages 2 and 3 build on what Stage 1 develops, and the map says when you’re ready.
A map, not a schedule
The practice has three stages. You move on when you reach a gate, not when a day ends.
- Before you begin: read or listen to the first three chapters of The Tranquil Mind: what meditation is, mindfulness, and why loving-kindness is the object. No gate; it takes an evening.
- Stage 1 · Yourself, your Spiritual Friend, and the 6Rs. This is what a retreat weekend is for.
- Stage 2 · Breaking Down the Barriers. Widening loving-kindness from one friend to everyone.
- Stage 3 · Radiating to the Six Directions. Loving-kindness to all beings, in every direction.
Where people usually get to depends on the time they give it. A weekend is for Stage 1. Evenings at home, over weeks or months, is a real route through all three, not a lesser one. Nobody fails for not reaching the end.
Before you start
- Pick your dates and write them down. A retreat that stays “sometime soon” never happens.
- Tell the people you live with, in advance, with the actual hours you’ll be unavailable.
- Print the guides. Your phone will be off: off, not silent.
Get the free kit
Leave your first name and email, and we’ll send you one email with every guide, the videos, and a way to reach a teacher, all in one place. It’s free, and we won’t add you to a mailing list.
Watch and listen
- The Tranquil Mind, Read Aloud, the whole book one chapter at a time: the YouTube playlist.
- A full 30-minute guided loving-kindness session, if you’d like to sit along with someone the first time.
You’re not on your own
Email nathaniel@thetranquilmind.org, or book free one-on-one time with a teacher. That includes when you reach a gate in the map, when you get stuck, or when something comes up that you don’t understand.
After your retreat, or a few weeks on, you can tell us how it’s going with a one-question practice check-in. Your email is optional.
Would you rather be guided? Our free weekend Zoom retreats follow the same practice, with one short call a day.
Questions
How do I do a meditation retreat at home?
Choose your dates, tell your household, turn your phone off, and follow a schedule of sits, walks and quiet time. The Self-Guided Retreat Packet gives you the full schedule and the method, and the Practice Map tells you what comes next.
Do I need meditation experience?
No. The kit starts from the beginning, and a chair is fine.
Is it really free?
Yes. The Tranquil Mind is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The guides, the Zoom retreats and time with a teacher are free, and there’s nothing to upgrade to.
Why do you need my email?
So everything arrives together: the guides in order, the videos, and an address you can simply reply to when you want a teacher. We send that one email and nothing else.
Is this a silent retreat?
Not a formal silent retreat. It’s a quiet one: your phone is off, evenings are quiet, and you spend most of the time sitting or walking. If you live with others, you only need to agree on the hours you’re unavailable.
What kind of meditation is it?
Loving-kindness (metta), using a method called the 6Rs for when your mind wanders. It starts with yourself and one Spiritual Friend. More about loving-kindness meditation.
What if I can’t set aside a weekend?
Practice in the evenings at home. Or, you might choose to do a few mornings per week. It’s up to you how often you want to meditate.
Ideally you want to eventually try this for a full weekend or longer. The most important thing is getting started.