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'Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.'
Thich Nhat Hanh
This in-depth retreat entitled 'Awakening Joy' runs from 5.00pm on the 9th to 4.30 pm on the 11th November, 2018 and addresses key elements of the practice of mindfulness - the cultivation of joy and happiness.
On this weekend retreat we will identify how we can:
- Nourish joy and happiness regularly in our daily life;
- Cultivate understanding and compassion for ourselves and others; and
- Take care of our despair, depression, anger and anxiety.
We will practice with the loving kindness meditation and consider the four immeasurable minds, the discourse on happiness and the four nutriments.
"Practicing love meditation is like digging deep into the ground until we reach the purest water. We look deeply into ourselves until insight arises and our love flows to the surface. Joy and happiness radiate from our eyes, and everyone around us benefits from our smile and our presence. If you take good care of yourself, you help everyone. You stop being a source of suffering to the world, and you become a reservoir of joy and freshness."
Thich Nhat Hanh
If you have time to prepare for this retreat please use the love meditation ahead of time as much as you can.
Love Meditation
May I be peaceful, happy and light in body and spirit.
May I be safe and free from injury.
May I be free from anger, afflictions, fear and anxiety.
May I learn to look at myself with the eyes of understanding and love.
May I be able to recognise and touch the seeds of joy and happiness in myself.
May I learn to identify and see the sources of anger, craving and delusion in myself.
May I know how to nourish the seeds of joy in myself every day.
May I be able to live fresh, solid and free.
May I be free from attachment and aversion, but not be indifferent.
We begin practicing this love meditation focusing on ourselves (I). Until we are able to love and take care of ourselves, we cannot be of much help to others. Next, we can practice towards others (substituting he/she or they), first with someone we love, next with someone we like, then with someone neutral to us, and finally toward someone who has made us suffer.
The retreat is suitable for those with an established understanding of mindfulness and a regular practice and will include:
- a set text to study beforehand: 'Happiness:Essential mindfulness Practices', 2005 and/or 'Teachings on Love', 2007 by Thich Nhat Hanh
- opportunities to practice a variety of techniques to help cultivate joy and happiness;
- the opportunity to learn from others through dharma sharing/exploration; and
- teachings by the Dharma Teachers Vari McLuskie and Angie Searle
Vari
"I arrived home on my first Plum Village mindfulness retreat with Thich Nhat Hanh in 1990, Life became brighter, calmer, more enjoyable and understandable. I began to recognise how, supported by my sangha, I could cultivate peace, love and understanding in myself every day. It was clear that developing these qualities in myself also truly benefitted others.
I put practice and sangha at the centre of my life. Bit by bit; building my practice, accepting my shortcomings, encouraging myself through the difficulties - perceived and otherwise.
Through difficult times in my life I have practiced no mud no lotus through the premature death of a beloved friend, through the sudden deaths of my parents, through the challenges of parenthood, through work and health challenges.
With the support of sangha I feel blessed to have been able to heal and transform and to offer support to others. I became an order member in 1995 and was ordained as a dharma teacher in 2012.
Angie
Angie comes from a nursing background in Australia and returned to the UK to take care of her elderly parents. Finding working for the NHS to be bad for her own health, she retrained as a gardener, at the same time being introduced to Thay's practice by a friend.
She has been a student of Thay's for around 20 years, 14 of which as an order member. She has completed the UK dharma teacher training course, and has been recommended for ordination; hoping to receive the lamp during this year's 21-day retreat at Plum Village.
This is one of a series of retreats where the teachings are applied to a variety of different every day experiences.
The retreat is being organised by the Community of Interbeing. We are a growing network of people in the UK who practice mindfulness and aspire to develop peace and happiness in ourselves and in the world by living according to the teachings on global ethics of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. His teachings, which can be followed by people of all ages and any religion or none, are notable for their emphasis on joy, engagement in the world, and integrating the practice of mindfulness into daily life. We are a registered educational charity which offers a programme of courses, retreats and events and encourages and supports local groups that meet to practice mindfulness.
Location
Holland House stands in three acres of beautiful gardens alongside the River Avon and is situated in the Vale of Evesham. Since 1946 this old thatched house, parts of which date from the early seventeenth century, and a modern block including bedrooms and a large conference room, has been a Retreat House, offering opportunities for day and residential retreats and other activities. The House, "seeks to provide the space, time and ethos that will facilitate an authentic encounter with self, the other and the Divine whether on retreat, at a business meeting with colleagues, walking in the gardens, or sitting in quiet meditation".
Accommodation
There is a mixture of single and twin bedrooms at Holland House with one twin bedroom on the ground floor adapted for people with physical disabilities which will be reserved for people requiring wheelchair access. The remaining bedrooms will be distributed on a first come first served basis. When allocating bedrooms we will assume that you are prepared to share a same sex bedroom and do not need a ground floor bedroom unless you contact us at howardsaunders@blueyonder.co.uk.
Diet
We have asked for a vegan diet at Holland House and are assured that other diets - gluten/dairy free etc - can be catered for. Please confirm special dietary requirements further on in the booking process.
Holland House is about twenty minutes drive from exit 7 of the M5 but also accessible from the south via exit 6. The closest train stations are in Pershore or Evesham.
Dana
There will be an opportunity to offer Dana (generosity,giving) for the teachers during the weekend.
Cost
The weekend retreat will cost £205 and there are four supported places at £155 for those on low incomes. Assistance with the cost of the supported places will be much appreciated and can be given by paying either of the higher rate fees.
Payment
Payment of the full fee will be needed to book a place on the retreat and in the event of a cancellation before 9th October a refund of the amount paid, less £50 to cover administration fees, will be possible. No refunds will be possible after 9th October.
Supported Places
The supported places are intended to be for people who have been practising for at least 12 months with the Community of Interbeing and who are in financial difficulty or who are in receipt of some sort of state benefit. Supported places are offered on an honesty and first come first served basis.
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LocationHolland House (View)
Main Street, Cropthorne,
Near Pershore WR10 3NB
United Kingdom
Categories
| Minimum Age: 18 |
| Kid Friendly: No |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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Contact
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