Inward Bound Mindfulness Education (iBme)

IBme has been one of my greatest experiences, and one that has and will continue to influence and shape every moment of my life. I came seeking a community of individuals who share my desire for personal growth and found exactly that but so much more. When people ask me why they should go on retreat with IBme I simply tell them that it is the single greatest investment they could ever make in their personal growth, mental health, and overall life. The mindfulness skills taught at IBme are invaluable and translate over into my life on a day to day basis, even without meditating each day. After attending for three years I have seen mindfulness effortlessly translate into simple everyday aspects of my life, from listening more attentively to people I'm speaking with, to truly tasting and appreciating my food. Linking mindfulness into my everyday life has become second nature. IBme creates the safest, most nurturing environment I've ever been in due to their insanely receptive, kind, and interpersonal staff.
For me, IBme has provided me with the tools needed to cope with my everyday experience which in turn, has provided me with the most valuable life-long skills any human can acquire to truly live their experience positively. I have friends and family who look at my personal growth and are in awe and confusion of where it has come from. After attending my first retreat, I remember thinking that "if everyone in the world attended one week of IBme there would be world peace". The compassion, empathy, love, and understanding I feel while attending IBme brings out the most beautiful side to everyone attending because of the shared sense of community and desire to support one another: something often lost in today's society.
IBme has provided me an environment to learn skills that have and will continue to transform my life for the better. Mindfulness is secular and can be added to any person's desired faith or lack of. The simplicity of the mindfulness techniques taught is what makes the program so valuable because anyone can take what they learn and apply it to their lives.
I'm so grateful for the opportunity to attend events held by IBme and would recommend them to anyone of any age because I know that it will have a positive effect on their life. IBme has nurtured my personal, mental, and spiritual growth more than I could have imagined going into it, and that is because they taught real life skills that I continue to work on and apply to every aspect of my life.

Teen retreats are a great experience. The staff does a great job at keeping us safe and keeping the schedule filled with fun activities. They also transition really effortlessly between staff and friend person, so talking and hanging out doesn't ever feel weird. In general teen retreat is a totally new experience, and I remember having to break into it for the first couple days. But once you spend time with everyone and everything around you, you leave with a better understanding of a lot of life things, as well as fun memories and new friends :)

I don't think any other program or experience in my life has been as formative as retreats with iBme. I have grown so much, and continue to grow as I use the lessons and skills from retreat throughout my life. My ability to be resilient during times of difficulty has greatly improved, and I find myself much more in touch with myself and my needs, as well as my community. The staff are so supportive and such amazing role models for wise, authentic, and happy adults. I am endlessly grateful for iBme and recommend it to everyone!!

While participating in retreats, I have had many unique and unparalleled experiences. These experiences have taught me things about both myself and the world I live in, that I truly had no previous awareness of. For example, I learned the value of having genuine and kind conversations with my peers. I learned a lot about kindness, in general, and most importantly the value of trying to be kind to myself. Meditation and mindfulness allowed me to listen to my mind and body, and the instructions I received from the staff helped me to learn the steps to begin accepting and understanding myself. I think this retreat not only taught me to respect myself but what respecting myself means.
Everything I learned about mindfulness while on retreat was extremely valuable as it provided me with tools and techniques I could take away and apply in my life. I now frequently find myself using these tools in order to implement some much needed mindfulness to the everyday goings on in my world. I am able to manage stress and high anxiety situations (and high school anxiety situations) much more smoothly by bringing a sense of calm awareness to my mind and body. I have also used what I learned about awareness to help me be relaxed while staying alert during times when I need to focus. This has helped me a lot as a student where in school, being focused is crucial for having a successful day of learning.
There is so much about this retreat that I would like to share with the teens in my generation and I often try to. But try as I might, mindfulness and meditation isn't as fascinating as the latest episode of that show their watching. It is, however, far more important. I would love to express the awe I experienced upon first discovering what the IBME teen retreats offered. Going on retreats has truly been the most valuable experience I've had the opportunity to take part in to this day. If there was one solution I could present to teens like me and teens of all backgrounds and stories it would be to slow down, and take the time to learn about yourself, your peers and your world by participating in these retreats.
Mindfulness is such a crucial aspect of living, especially today, when continual exposure to social environments, a competitive economy and a busy lifestyle make it so hard to be aware of the moments your life, and how to appreciate them and be kind to yourself and others.
IBME teen retreats have helped me and countless other teens access this kind of essential awareness. The experiences that I've had on retreat will stay with me forever and they act as much more than a memory, they act as a positive influence on every moment that I choose to look around me with awe, kindness and calmness.