An FIMC Camping Gathering in the Coconino Nathional Forest
with Robin Craig & Janine Schipper

October 16 – 18, 2026
Register Here!

Join us for a weekend of connection, practice, and relationship with place and community as we explore what it means to be deeply present – with ourselves, with one another, and with the natural world.

We’ll spend two nights camping together in the exquisite Coconino National Forest, northeast of the San Francisco Peaks. Our time together will include meditation practice, periods of quiet, and intentional opportunities to connect and share with spacious time to listen, breathe, wonder, and simply be together.

Dates: October 16–18, 2026
Arrival: Meet at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, October 16
Departure: Conclude by 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 18

Last day to REGISTER: October 13, 2026

About the Retreat

What to Expect

This gathering is an opportunity to connect with the community outdoors through small and large group conversations as well as times to practice silent meditation together. We will have some times of silence, reflection, and sharing.

Location

This is a camping gathering. This means we will be camping, off grid and
outdoors the entire time. Please only register if you are comfortable with being outdoors full time for a couple of days.

The retreat will be in the forest in Northern Arizona, USA. You will receive details of the exact location closer to the time.

Registration

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO REGISTER BY OCTOBER 13th.

Food & Gear

• FRIDAY NIGHT we will have a potluck dinner. Please bring a vegetarian dish to share, including serving utensils.
• Participants bring and prepare their own food.
• Participants bring their own camping equipment (tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, cooking gear, etc.) If you have not camped before and would like some support in what to bring, you will be able to contact the manager soon.

Cost & Dana

This gathering is offered on a Dana (generosity) basis, a traditional practice in the Buddhist lineage that supports the sharing of teachings freely and accessibly.

There is no set fee for the gathering, and the teachers receive no upfront compensation. Instead, at the end of the event, you will be invited to offer a donation to the teachers and to Flagstaff Insight Meditation Center, guided by your own sense of generosity and capacity.

Dana is an integral part of the practice. It cultivates gratitude, mutual care, and the understanding that teachings are sustained through community support. Your offering helps make these retreats possible, supports the teachers in continuing to offer the Dharma, and allows FIMC to host future programs.

This model invites each participant to reflect on the value of the retreat and to participate in the living tradition of generosity that has supported contemplative practice for centuries.

Facilitator Bios

Robin Craig is a Nature Dharma and Meditation Teacher trained in The Mind Illuminated tradition, which is rooted in Theravadan and Tibetan Karma Kagyu traditions with lineage to the Venerable Ananda Bodhi.

She appreciates the ways that gladness is an integral part of the path to deep spirituality and interconnection, and how practicing outdoors supports this. Robin is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Faculty of Organic Intelligence®. Her understanding of the ways spirituality is shaped by our biology and physiology support an approach to meditation practice that is non-shaming and flexible and brings an emphasis on the joyful exploration and insight that arises from there.

Janine Schipper is a sociologist, writer, and FIMC Dharma leader whose work explores the intersections of nature, mindfulness, and what she calls “healing the human-nature split.” A professor of sociology at Northern Arizona University, her work draws on environmental sociology, contemplative studies, and 35 years of Buddhist practice. For many years she has engaged in a morning practice of wandering in the forests behind her home, learning directly from the presence of towering Ponderosa pines and the more-than-human world. These experiences have shaped both her writing and her understanding of how nature can invite reflection, healing, spiritual growth, and a deeper sense of connection.

For More Information:
Email registrar@flagstaffinsight.org

Photo Credit by StrangeHappenings