The Buddha said, “My friends, it is through the establishment of the lovely clarity of mindfulness, that you can let go of grasping after past and future, overcome attachment and grief, abandon all clinging and anxiety, and awaken an unshakable freedom of heart here and now.” At the heart of Insight Meditation is the practice of mindfulness, the cultivation of a clear, stable, nonjudgmental, non-interfering awareness. We’re learning how to overcome the preoccupations of our mind—our stories, our habits, our recirculating thoughts—so we actually can be present.
Dana DePalma, MFT
Residential Retreat Teacher
Dana DePalma teaches Insight Meditation retreats at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Northern California and online through Dharma Ground, an organization she co-founded. She specializes in teaching Nine Bodies Insight, a method of practice which utilizes specific teachings on the structure of consciousness to balance, refine, and empower one’s Insight Meditation practice.
Dana began her Vipassana practice in 1993, when she was a psychology student at UC Berkeley. She graduated from Spirit Rock’s first Community Dharma Leaders (CDL) Program in 2000 and completed Spirit Rock’s four-year retreat Teacher Training Program in 2010. Dana was a Spirit Rock Board Member (2013 - 2023), Co-Chair of the Guiding Teachers Committee (2018 - 2022), and currently serves as a Stewarding Teacher. Dana holds a Masters Degree in Counseling Psychology from California Institute of Integral Studies, and a Marriage and Family Therapist license, and is most influenced by Relational psychology, Depth psychology, and Jungian perspectives. She is a Bay Area native, married, mom to an awesome teen, and grateful to call the ancestral Coast Miwok Land also known as Marin County, with Mount Tamalpais and its rugged coast, home.
Dana DePalma's Upcoming Programs
Short Program | On-Land
Saturday, March 14 | 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Aligning with Our Deepest Knowing: Wise View on the Path of Awakening
Aligning with our deepest truth brings a rush of relief. During this daylong, we’ll explore the assumptions that obscure freedom and the embodied experience of deep knowing. Together, we'll explore the various aspects of the Dharma path that help us wake up to the assumptions that shape our experience and behavior—including deep attention, spiritual friendship and surrendering to this moment. The day will include guided meditations, Dharma talks, and time for dialogue.
Short Program | Online
Saturday, March 14 | 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Aligning with Our Deepest Knowing: Wise View on the Path of Awakening
Aligning with our deepest truth brings a rush of relief. During this daylong, we’ll explore the assumptions that obscure freedom and the embodied experience of deep knowing. Together, we'll explore the various aspects of the Dharma path that help us wake up to the assumptions that shape our experience and behavior—including deep attention, spiritual friendship and surrendering to this moment. The day will include guided meditations, Dharma talks, and time for dialogue.
Short Program | On-Land Non-Residential
May 2 - May 3, 2026 | Saturday - Sunday | 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Starting With Our Experience: Building the Four Ennobling Truths for Ourselves
No one taught the Buddha the Four Noble Truths. They arose from his own practice. In this two-day program, you'll start with your own experience and build this understanding from within. You’ll look directly at what causes your suffering and explore practical relief based on the Buddha's teachings. Discover how the Four Noble Truths become the Four Ennobling Truths: living insights that find freedom and meaning in your circumstances.
Short Program | Online
May 2 - May 3, 2026 | Saturday - Sunday | 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Starting With Our Experience: Building the Four Ennobling Truths for Ourselves
No one taught the Buddha the Four Noble Truths. They arose from his own practice. In this two-day program, you'll start with your own experience and build this understanding from within. You’ll look directly at what causes your suffering and explore practical relief based on the Buddha's teachings. Discover how the Four Noble Truths become the Four Ennobling Truths: living insights that find freedom and meaning in your circumstances.
Retreat | On-Land
June 7 - June 16, 2026 | Sunday - Tuesday | 9 nights
Exploring Awareness: A Retreat for Experienced Practitioners
Spaces Still Available! This retreat invites a direct exploration of awareness—not just as the faculty that knows experience, but as experience itself. Together, we’ll explore the felt sense of awareness as it reveals itself in body, heart, and mind. Our aspiration is to become more intimate with this innate capacity—not as concept, but as direct, embodied knowing that supports freedom in the midst of life.
Upcoming Drop-Ins
Drop-in | On-Land
Monday, March 23 | 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Monday Night Meditation & Talk
For over 35 years, the Monday Night sitting group at Spirit Rock has been a welcoming refuge to gather, hear the teachings of the Buddha, and practice Insight Meditation together as a community. The program includes a 30-40 min guided meditation, a short break, and a Dharma talk.
Dana DePalma
Drop-in | Online
Monday, March 23 | 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Monday Night Meditation & Talk
For over 35 years, the Monday Night sitting group at Spirit Rock has been a welcoming refuge to gather, hear the teachings of the Buddha, and practice Insight Meditation together as a community. The program includes a 30-40 min guided meditation, a short break, and a Dharma talk.
Dana DePalma
Dharma Library
Can't join us live online or on the land? Study and practice at your convenience with Dana DePalma through our new library of recordings, articles, and self-paced online courses.
