About this IMS Online Retreat

Friday, October 23, 2026 - Sunday, October 25, 2026

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This weekend retreat will focus on the balance between effort and enjoyment in insight meditation, to help refresh, renew, and re-inspire your practice. For many people, enjoyment is less well developed than effort—as it was for the Buddha himself at the start of his own journey to freedom—so there will be an emphasis on cultivating skillful, positive mental states such as appreciation, gladness, ease, calm, and contentment, as supports for finding more balance in your meditation and your daily life.

Choose your enrollment fee

Schedule

This retreat begins on Friday, October 23, at 7:00 pm ET and concludes Sunday, October 25, at 3:00 pm ET. A full home retreat schedule and instructions will be offered. The live session schedule with the teacher is as follows:

Friday, October 23, 2026

7:00 pm - 8:30 pm ET (check local time)

Saturday, October 24, 2026

9:30 am - 11:00 am ET (check local time)

1:30 pm - 3:00 pm ET Session (check local time)

7:00 pm - 8:30 pm ET Session (check local time)

Sunday, October 25, 2026

9:30 am - 11:00 am ET (check local time)

1:30 pm - 3:00 pm ET (check local time)

Meet Your Teacher

Jill Shepherd

Jill Shepherd began practicing insight meditation in Thailand in 1999, and since that time has lived and worked at several meditation centers and monasteries in the US, Australia, England, and Thailand. She recently spent seven years on staff at the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) in Barre, Massachusetts, where she participated in several long retreats and Buddhist study programs, as well as offering weekly meditation classes at a nearby men’s prison. She is a graduate of the IMS / Spirit Rock teacher training program in the US, under the guidance of Joseph Goldstein and Gil Fronsdal. Currently, she divides her time mostly between the USA, Australia and New Zealand, teaching vipassana and brahma vihara retreats and offering ongoing study and practice groups focused on bringing the dharma into daily life. She also leads courses and non-residential workshops exploring the relational practice of Insight Dialogue, as developed by Gregory Kramer and colleagues.

More Information

  • Equity Pricing Model

    As one part of our ongoing effort to expand access to the teachings of the Buddha, all IMS Online programs feature equity-based registration fees, including the opportunity to self-select a low-cost scholarship rate. No-fee enrollment is available for those who request a fee-waiver at [email protected], no questions asked. Our system supports the cultivation of a dynamic and inclusive community and is made possible by our generous donors and those who choose to support other students by contributing at the “Benefactor” level.

  • Registration Deadline

    Registration for this program closes on October 23, 2026.

  • Program Recordings

    This program will be recorded and made available for on-demand viewing after the live sessions. On-demand videos will be available to registered participants only for 90 days.

  • Refunds

    IMS Online offers full refunds through the last day of a live program. Refunds for this program can be processed until October 25, 2026. Refunds can only be applied to the card that was used for the purchase. Please reach out to [email protected] with any refund requests. 

  • Additional Questions

    If you have additional questions please contact us at [email protected].