The more attuned we are to our hearts, the clearer our ethical behavior becomes. So the more we actually become embodied, start to feel our body fully, to feel our heart, the clearer ethical conduct becomes. It’s like we become attuned to our own system in such a way that we begin to see that doing good feels good. And the kind of karmic loop, when we act out of alignment with our own deepest integrity, that feedback loop gets shorter and shorter, so we really feel it. And this clarity breeds more careful, non-harming behavior.
Matthew Brensilver, PhD
Board Member
Matthew Brensilver teaches at the Insight Retreat Center, Spirit Rock and Insight Meditation Society. He was previously program director for Mindful Schools and for more than a decade, was a core teacher at Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Society. Matthew worked as a clinical social worker, serving severely and persistently mentally ill adults. He subsequently earned a PhD from the Dworak-Peck School of Social Work at USC. His dissertation examined the mechanisms of risk and resilience in maltreated adolescents in a large, longitudinal study in South Los Angeles. Before committing to teach meditation full-time, he spent years doing research on addiction pharmacotherapy at the UCLA Center for Behavioral and Addiction Medicine. Each summer, he lectures at UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center on the intersections between mindfulness, science and psychotherapy. He serves on the Board of Directors at Spirit Rock and Insight Meditation Center.
Matthew Brensilver's Upcoming Programs
Training | Online | Dharma Institute
August 29 - December 4, 2026 | 5 Sessions
Buddhist Psychology Training: Integrating Mindfulness, Science & Clinical Practice
21 CE Credits. Deepen your meditation practice and nourish your work with clients in this training designed for clinicians, counselors, and mindfulness teachers. Through meditation, Dharma talks, small group explorations, and clinical case studies, you will develop greater confidence in applying mindfulness-based interventions with clients while enhancing your understanding of Buddhist psychology and meditation practices that illuminate our minds, foster goodness, and transform habits that compound suffering. This training brings both sides of ourselves—patient and healer—together as we practice and learn in community.
Matthew Brensilver
Retreat | On-Land | Hybrid
December 6 - December 11, 2026 | Sunday - Friday | 5 nights
An Undefended Heart: A Big Heart City Retreat
Full - with waitlist. Commuter spaces available! This retreat is rooted in the transformative power of the heart. Drawing on heart wisdom practices, we explore meeting life with courage, tenderness, and an undefended presence. Meditation steadies the mind and softens the heart, supporting a wiser, more responsive way of being. Through lovingkindness, mindfulness, and embodied awareness, we welcome joy and grief, beauty and difficulty as the curriculum. The retreat includes sitting and walking meditation, guided practices, Dharma talks, one small group meeting, and teacher inquiry. All are welcome.
Retreat | Online | Hybrid
December 6 - December 11, 2026 | Sunday to Friday | Self-paced@Home Online Retreat
An Undefended Heart: A Big Heart City Retreat
Spaces Still Available! This online retreat is rooted in the transformative power of the heart. Drawing on heart wisdom practices, we explore meeting life with courage, tenderness, and an undefended presence. Meditation steadies the mind and softens the heart, supporting a wiser, more responsive way of being. Through lovingkindness, mindfulness, and embodied awareness, we welcome joy and grief, beauty and difficulty as the curriculum. The retreat includes sitting and walking meditation, guided practices, and Dharma talks. All are welcome.
Retreat | On-Land
May 3 - May 10, 2027 | Monday - Monday | 7 nights
Spring Insight Meditation Retreat: Mindfulness, Kindness, and the Practice of Presence
15 CE Credits. Registration Open. All the time before you were born plus all the time after you die is almost exactly all the time there is. Yet we find ourselves alive, with a question: how should I live? We begin by listening deeply. Throughout this retreat, we will sit together in the refuge provided by a 2,600-year legacy of wisdom and kindness. In the silence, we come to know the preciousness of life and the poignancy of the human condition.
Retreat | On-Land
June 14 - June 18, 2027 | Monday - Friday | 4 nights
Young Adult Insight Meditation Retreat
Designed for Young Adults ages 18-32 years. Registration Open. Join us to practice silent mindfulness meditation with a community of kind, sincere peers. Give yourself a break from constant overstimulation and external demands as we create a supportive space for cultivating greater calm, spaciousness, and presence. Together we will explore the ancient practices of guided and silent sitting, walking, and heart meditations, along with movement, teacher meetings, and Dharma talks. Over the course of the week, we will extend these practices until the entire day is one of steady, continuous awareness.
Matthew Brensilver
Cara Lai
Vinny Ferraro
Hakim Tafari (Movement Teacher)
Fernmarie Rodriguez (Teacher in Training)
Retreat | On-Land
August 27 - September 1, 2027 | Friday - Wednesday | 5 nights
Finding Freedom through Insight Meditation
Registration Open. Insight Meditation is a simple, direct practice of moment-to-moment awareness that steadies the mind and softens the heart. In silence, we’ll cultivate continuous mindfulness through a balanced rhythm of stillness and movement meditation, supported by clear guidance and shared intention. As outer stimulation falls away, we learn to listen closely to body, emotions, and thought. Practicing with kindness and equanimity, insight deepens naturally. The retreat includes instruction, Dharma talks, chanting, and optional teacher meetings.
Upcoming Drop-Ins
Drop-in | On-Land
Monday, November 30 | 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.
Matthew Brensilver
Drop-in | Online
Monday, November 30 | 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.
Matthew Brensilver
Dharma Library
Can't join us live online or on the land? Study and practice at your convenience with Matthew Brensilver through our new library of recordings, articles, and self-paced online courses.