Residential Retreat
Devin Berry, Tara Mulay & Hakim Tafari
Slow Down, Open, Belong: Insight & Lovingkindness Meditation Retreat
9/27-10/1, 2026
Insight San Diego Welcomes
Devin Berry, Tara Mulay & Hakim Tafari
Residential Retreat
Devin Berry, Tara Mulay & Hakim Tafari
BIG BEAR Retreat Center
In a culture of pressure and hurry, stillness is radical. On this four-night silent Insight and Lovingkindness retreat, we step out of habit and into presence—learning to stabilize attention and soften the heart. Through mindfulness of the body and the grounding support of mettā, we meet life with less judgment and more compassion. The retreat includes daily meditation instruction, dharma talks, practice meetings, sitting and walking periods, and optional Qi Gong. No prior meditation experience is needed—just a willingness to rest and begin again. Hakim Tafari will lead daily movement sessions in qigong.
Register now for special 15% discount for Insight SD members — ends February 28, 2026. See discount code below
Devin Berry began practicing in 1999. His teaching is rooted in the Buddhadharma and mindfulness daily life practices. Devin’s training includes Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction teacher training, the East Bay Meditation Center Commit to Dharma Program, Spirit Rock’s Dedicated Practitioners Program, and Insight Meditation Society’s four-year Residential Retreat Teachers Program. Devin also co-founded both the Teen Sangha and Men of Color Deep Refuge Group at East Bay Meditation Center in Oakland. Almost 20 years ago, Devin began some of the first mindfulness programs in SF Bay Area schools, including: weekly mindfulness groups for marginalized youth as a frontline advocate, leading wilderness camp programs for teens, Rites of Passage programs for tweens, and a summer camp for boys. Devin co-created Deep Time Liberation, an ancestral healing journey that explores the impact of ancestral legacy and intergenerational trauma on Black Americans. Devin is a father and teaches nationally.
Tara Mulay has practiced Insight Meditation since 2003. She received instruction from a teacher in the lineage of Mahasi Sayadaw, a Burmese Theravada Buddhist monk and meditation master. She has gratefully drawn influence from the Mahasi lineage, including Howard Cohn, Kamala Masters, Gil Fronsdal, Joseph Goldstein, Sayadaw U Tejaniya, and Ayya Anandabodhi. She is a South Asian (Indian)-American and felt an initial motivation to explore dharma practice upon encountering the Buddha’s teachings rejecting caste as a measure of worth and of capacity for awakening. She believes classical Buddhist practices, designed to cultivate compassion, non-greed, non-hatred, and non-delusion, are uniquely potent vehicles for empowering people in marginalized communities and effecting social change.
Hakim Tafari is a Buddhist Dharma practitioner and meditation facilitator blending his meditative practice with street and trail running. Hakim’s experience of mindfulness and social awareness supports his friends, family, and community at large. He believes that the essence of mindfulness is not only something to be practiced for the self, but for those seeking to walk (or run) a path of non-judgment, non-ego, and compassion for the greater good of all beings.
RETREAT INFORMATION
Date & Time:
The retreat begins on Sunday, September 27 at 7:00 pm and ends Thursday, October 1 at 12:00 pm
Detailed timing information for each day will be provided when you register.
Location:
Big Bear Retreat Center
1000 Sugarpine Rd, Big Bear, CA 92314
Registration Info:
Registration is open at the Big Bear Retreat Center's website. Register now for special 15% discount for Insight SD members — available only until February 28, 2026. Discount code: ISDSANGHA. Scholarships are also available from BBRC.
Teacher compensation is not included in the registration fee. If you wish to help support the teachers, you may donate as follows:
- Hakim: Venmo or the Cash App
- Devin: https://www.devinberry.org/support
- Tara: ttps://www.taramulay.com/contact
About Big Bear Retreat Center:
Big Bear Retreat Center (BBRC) is located a 2-3 hour drive from San Diego or Los Angeles, nestled in the ancient Juniper forests of the San Bernardino Mountains at a 7,000-foot elevation (four mountain seasons) near the town of Big Bear Lake in Southern California.
The Center is immersed in nature located amidst about 100 acres of forested land with direct access to several hiking trails connected to our property. With an emphasis on inclusion and accessibility, BBRC provides a refuge for people of all faiths and walks of life.
Additional Info: