Online: Liberation Through Deep Rest
with Cara Lai
Thursday, December 18th, 2025 | 6:30pm – 8:30pm ET
The Buddha taught that freedom from suffering comes from letting go, and that awakening is possible for everyone.
And yet, in a busy world oriented towards productivity and achievement, it’s easy to adopt the idea that we have to strain to find peace, and to doubt that it is really possible for us. If real peace comes from letting go and not from contracting, how do we make the radical shift from doing to receiving?
This online retreat will explore the many ways to rest, to release the grip we have on life, and to allow this life and this path to come to us. With instructions that support radical non-doing; through teachings on not-self, compassion, and faith; we will learn how to truly rest, even in the midst of a busy life, or with a mind/body habituated towards busyness.
We’ll also learn when and how to use the rest we find to move back towards action from a place of safety and love, rather than from fear.
Online Registration:
Please register below. If you are able, registering at the “Supporter” level enables others to attend at the “Subsidized” level. Thank you for your generosity! (Please note that the registration price includes a base level of teacher support, and you will have the opportunity to donate more after the program.)
If you are registering via a mobile device such as a phone or tablet, you can scroll right and left and up and down within the below form if it is partially obscured or cut off.
CLICK HERE to open the registration form in a new browser window.
Bring a Buddy: If you are a member of our Circle of Friends, you’re invited to bring a Dharma buddy to this program for no additional cost. Simply select “1” from the drop-down next to the Bring a Buddy level, and enter your special discount code (provided in your Circle of Friends welcome email) to reduce the price to that of a single, standard registration. This registration will grant attendance for you and your buddy.
Volunteering
All of our programs rely on volunteers to support our teachers and staff with various tasks and responsibilities. Volunteering allows you to participate in our programs at no cost. To inquire about volunteering opportunities, please fill out our inquiry form, and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
Teacher(s)
Cara Lai
Cara Lai spent most of her life trying to figure out how to be happy, or at least avoid total misery, which ultimately led to her spending the majority of her adulthood meditating. She’s explored the wild beauty of the human experience through many adventures in consciousness, including long retreats, chronic illness, and the profound experiences of childbirth and motherhood. Cara once worked as an artist, wilderness guide, social worker and psychotherapist, but traded it in for an all-out mindfulness rampage. She’s a working mom whose teaching is relatable, authentic, funny and sometimes crass, and is accessible for many people. She teaches at Spirit Rock, Insight Meditation Society, and Ten Percent Happier; ultimately hoping to get woke enough to bend spoons with her mind in front of large audiences. And to help everyone awaken.