Letting Go, Coming Home:
A Daylong Retreat with Cara Lai & nico hase
Saturday, March 14th
10 am to 4 pm pacific time
What if freedom isn’t about having more, but needing less?
Nekkhama parami—renunciation or letting go—sounds like deprivation to our consumer culture. But true renunciation is actually the most radical form of abundance: the discovery that you already have everything you need.
This doesn't mean becoming a hermit or giving away all your possessions (though it might). It means loosening the grip of craving, the endless hunger that tells us we're not enough, we don't have enough, we haven't done enough.
What We’ll Explore Together
In this one-day online retreat, Cara & nico will explore nekkhama parami in depth—the profound freedom that comes through letting go.
The day will begin with an hour of conversation and an opening talk around the theme. We'll then sit and walk for four hours in lightly guided practice, before reconvening for a closing talk and further dialogue.
A Full Path of Practice—Rooted in Community
🪴Monthly Daylongs – This is the third in an annual series of ten online daylongs offered by Refuge of Belonging, a dharma community rooted in presence and open to all.
🪴The Paramis – The ten paramis are heart qualities that range from kindness and equanimity to resolve and letting go. They offer a time-tested path for cultivating what truly benefits both ourselves and others.
🪴Community – Refuge of Belonging is an online community offering a WhatsApp group, weekly dharma talks, monthly daylongs, quarterly classes, and an annual residential retreat—all designed to nourish and sustain your practice.
what people are saying
"Cara Lai is awesome. She is humble and real and willing to explore a heated topic without having any easy prepared answers."
— Tasha Schumann and Jeff Warren, The Mind Bod Adventure Pod
"nico is a deeply experienced practitioner, with a strong dedication to his meditation journey. He has immersed himself for many years in long intensive practice, and I highly recommend his teaching."
— Joseph Goldstein, Author of Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening; Co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society
Registration & Payment
Date: March 14th
Time: 10am to 4pm pacific time
Format: Online via Zoom
We offer these daylong retreats on a dana model. The suggested donation is $50 to $150 per session. We gratefully accept contributions of greater or lesser amounts, based on your resources.
Cara Lai has spent most of her life in pursuit of meaning and happiness, which landed her on a cushion for much of her adult life. Throughout many mind-body adventures including many long-term retreats, she has explored the concentrated mind, chronic illness, the value of pleasure, the power of maternal energy, and connection to the earth. In the past, Cara has worked as an artist, wilderness guide, social worker and psychotherapist. Now she finds herself intently focused on the dharma path, practicing both on and off the cushion in unconventional ways, and using intuition as her guide. She tries her best to teach from the most authentic and vulnerable place she can muster, and is still learning about the contentment of simply existing.
nico hase lived in a monastery for six years before earning a PhD in counseling psychology and becoming an Insight Meditation teacher full time. He currently mentors mindfulness teachers, teaches online and in-person retreats, and speaks with students in one-on-one sessions. He and his beloved life partner devon are the authors of How Not to Be a Hot Mess: A Buddhist Survival Guide for Modern Life.
