Half-Day Virtual Retreat
Through the Lens and Stomped on by Photoshop
A Deep Dive into Exploration and Experimental Photography
Learn . Practice Meditation . Integrate . Q&A
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 26TH
9AM-1PM PT / 12PM-4PM ET
“The meaning of life differs from man to man person to person, from day to day, from hour to hour. What matters, therefore, is not the meaning of life in general, but rather the specific meaning of a person's life at a given moment.”
Victor Frankl
Creativity is the lifeblood of a meaningful life.
The meaningfulness of life comes from doing the things that you derive meaning or purpose from.
And, believe it or not, this is a creative endeavor.
The activation of the creative-self is one of the essential aspects of exploration.
It doesn't always manifest as the creation of art or product.
You don’t have to be a painter or artist to be creative.
Spiritual exploration is a totally valid expression of exploratory creativity.
Join us in this half-day retreat to
nurture your creativity and get on the path of authentic exploration.
George Haas will pull back the curtain and show you how he uses photography as a form of primary exploration. The intention here is to
Offer you one model of exploration to anchor the philosophy in practice
Demonstrate the natural, organic flow of how exploration actually happens
We covered intermediate meta-cognitive skills in the September half-day retreat. In this retreat, we’ll cover the advanced meta-cognitive skills in relation to exploration.
In this half-day retreat, you’ll walk away with…
⚫️ Understand the process of exploration (and how early childhood impacts this).
Attachment conditioning affects your capacity to explore. At this retreat, we will identify the particular attachment strategies complications that come up for each attachment strategy (anxious preoccupied, dismissive avoidant, disorganized) and determine what to do about it, so that you can more effectively explore without stalling out.
⚫️ Learn how George Haas uses photography to explore the natural, organic flow of how exploration happens.
This will ground the concept of exploration in a specific type of activity, and reveal exploration in practice.
⚫️ An interesting way to dive deeper into exploration for visual thinkers.
If you’re drawn to the visual arts, you may love this approach to exploration.
⚫️ Practice real-time meditation guided by George Haas, Founding Teacher of Mettagroup
We’ll practice meditation techniques designed to establish the inner safety, encouragement and emotional regulation needed for sustainable exploration. These are techniques that you can bring into your daily life well beyond the retreat.
This Half-Day Retreat Is For You If
Whether you’re a photography enthusiast,
or simply interested in supporting your own exploration,
this retreat is for you.
Your level of photography experience could be as little as taking selfies with your mobile device.
You’re great at secondary exploration
but not so great at primary exploration.
You want to feel more fulfilled
but you don’t know how to make space for what you authentically find meaningful.
You’re in relationships that drain your life force
and you have no time or energy to explore the things you love.
Whether you’ve taken Meditation x Attachment Level One or Two,
or private 1.1 mentorhship
this is for you. There are no pre-requisites to attend this retreat.
You have no clue who you are.
Don’t worry. Many of us have been there on the attachment healing journey. You’re in the right place.
Option #1 | Half-Day Retreat Only
One Payment of $59
Option #2 | Half-Day Retreat + Magazine
One Payment of $69 (for half-day retreat + 1st issue of the magazine)
Followed by biannual payments of $20 recurring.
Cancel anytime.
Option #3 | International Order of Half-Day Retreat + Magazine
If you’re based outside of the United States, please use this form to join the retreat and receive the magazine subscription.
One Payment of $77 (for half-day retreat + 1st issue of the magazine)
Followed by biannual payments of $28 recurring.
Cancel anytime.
More about the Magazine
Join Option #2 or #3 above to get access to this biannual magazine, and support your exploration!
Receive a new volume of the Magazine 2x/year PLUS receive the Behind-the- Scenes Exploration video series by George Haas
This includes:
✔️ The magazine's origin story
(and how it fits into the greater attachment repair track of Mettagroup)
✔️What is exploration
(and how to do you elevate it over time?)
✔️How quality of your relationships impacts the quality of your exploration
(and the signs to determine if your relationships are supporting your exploration, or hindering it)
George’s Journey
From New York to Los Angeles
George moved to Los Angeles from New York to work in film and photography in 1992, when he started practicing Vipassana at Ordinary Dharma in Venice, and studying Buddhist texts extensively.
From Meditation Student to Teacher
In 1998 he began study with Shinzen Young, at Vipassana Support International, who encouraged him as he did with all his senior students to begin teaching.
He began teaching meditation in 2000, founded Mettagroup in 2003, and became an empowered teacher through Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Society, where he taught from 2007 to 2016.
In 2017, he met Dan Brown, who became his meditation teacher and also mentored him in integrating the Ideal Parent Figure Protocol into his Meditation x Attachment program.
Along with his full schedule of one-on-one students, he continues to teach weekly classes and intensives in Los Angeles and online, and offer day-long, weekend and extended retreats around the world.
Artist
George Haas is an artist with works in the permanent collections of the Hammer Museum, the Library of Congress, MoMA and the American Irish Historical Society. George Haas studied film, photography, and sculpture at Columbia College and The Art Institute of Chicago before moving to New York.
His photographs have appeared in numerous exhibitions, including The School of Art Institute of Chicago, The Bergman Gallery, The Soho Photo Gallery, Club 57, The Couturier Gallery, The Finley Gallery, and the MoMA.
His photographic and written work has appeared in numerous publications, including The New York Times, The LA Times Magazine, The Village Voice, Seventeen, Detour, NME, and Spy Magazine. His stage work has been performed in New York, Boston and Chicago, including No Entiendes and Doris and Inez Speak the Truth.
He wrote and directed the feature film Friends and Lovers, starring Robert Downey, Jr., Stephen Baldwin and Claudia Schiffer, distributed by Lion's Gate Films. His independent films from his New York days have been collected by MoMA. Photographs from this series have been added to the permanent collection of American Photographers at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C and to The Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles.
“I'm better than I've ever been.”
“I just want to share, that it's been six years, a big journey, a big journey. But guess what? I've earned secure. Today I found out that I've earned secure. I know a lot of you won't know what that means, but some of you might. I got my attachment assessment inventory back today and I'm secure. I'm better than I've ever been.”
-Sia, Pop Star
FAQs
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Yes! If you can make it out live, we’d love to see you there. If you want to catch the replay, we’ll send it to you within 48 hours after the virtual retreat, via email.
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Attachment theory is an understanding of the instinctual drive to seek closeness to a caregiver who will provide protection and love, as well as support the development of your natural abilities.
By understanding this system, as well as your own attachment style (as well as the attachment styles of people in your life), you’re better equipped to act in secure ways, get your needs met, set aligned boundaries, and invest time and energy in reciprocally supportive relationships. This leads to having the capacity to live a more meaningful life, and to put your energy into your authentic passions, curiosity and purpose (and less energy in volatile relationships).
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Commonly referred to as "mindfulness," Vipassanā meditation is focused on living more peacefully, compassionately and wisely. Derived from the Theravada school of Buddhism, the techniques are widely acknowledged as effective ways to manage pain, stress, compulsiveness and are often used in conjunction with psychotherapy.
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No. We cannot tell you what your attachment strategy is without an Adult Attachment Interview.
This retreat is designed to address different attachment strategies and support people with their exploration (and moving beyond any blocks or complications that have held them back in the past).
If you're interested in learning more about your attachment strategy, please reached out to us here.
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No. The flow of decisions that an artist makes to create work is the same flow that all creative endeavors use find their path of exploration. You can extrapolate from the illustration of the photography process how to discover the flow and bring it to anything you do.
