Joining Buddhist Meditation with the Internal Family Systems Model

A Daylong Retreat with Ralph De La Rosa

Saturday, February 1st, 10am–5pm

“Self energy, buddha nature, the open-hearted state, Source, Love—pick a term that sits well with you. Whatever you call your basic nature, it’s already here. The search is over. Go inside and get started. Plant your seeds and tend your river from this place. This is the spirituality of healing our lives—of outshining trauma.”

—Ralph De La Rosa, Outshining Trauma: A New Vision of Radical Self-Compassion

The Buddha taught that radical compassion is synonymous with full awakening, and that one must begin with compassion for oneself. Compassion is a healer, an alchemical force, a grossly underestimated state of heart and mind. Self-compassion could heal every part of you, if stayed with long enough. Self-compassion opens the door to the deepest of insights.

This daylong retreat is a primer in how to open to this presence in meditation and extend it towards parts of the psyche stuck on the treadmill of affliction. Utilizing the integration of Buddhism and the Internal Family Systems model presented in Ralph De La Rosa’s new book Outshining Trauma (foreword by Richard Schwartz), this daylong retreat will offer you:

Teachings from the Buddhist Lojong
A crash course in IFS and why it complements the Dharma so well
Breath techniques for opening space in the heart-mind
Meditations for directly experiencing of buddha nature
Meditations for extending self-compassion to parts of the psyche caught in affliction

Please wear comfortable clothing. Bring pen and paper. You are welcome to bring a blanket or nay object that signals safety to your nervous system.

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Ralph De La Rosa (they/he) is the author of three books, including the new Outshining Trauma: A New Vision of Radical Compassion (foreword by Richard Schwartz). He is a psychotherapist in private practice and a longtime meditation teacher known for his radically honest and humorous approach.

Perhaps most crucial is that Ralph walks the path of outshining trauma alongside the people he works with. He is a survivor of PTSD, heroin addiction, Borderline Personality Disorder, ADHD, and liver failure. Walking through these matters with the help of profound therapists and mentors has been an empowerment no school could have offered. It is simply part of his path to offer back what he’s been shown.

Ralph has mentored personally with Richard Schwartz, founder of the Internal Family Systems model of psychotherapy, known for its efficacy in healing trauma. Ralph has completed an invite-only advanced teacher training with Jack Kornfield. He’s began meditation in 1996 and has taught since 2008.

Ralph is also an intersectional activist, musician, wannabe acrobat, and outdoor enthusiast. He currently resides in Seattle, WA.