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Beginner's Mind, Quiet Mind: Meditation Instruction And Practice for Meaningful Daily LivingTeacher: Tsunma TsondruCost: 5 days accommodation + R350 surchargeDates:
It is important for us to take time out from the incessant demands and fast pace of daily life. The BRC gives us a space to step off the wheel and the time to come home to the quiet, strong refuge which lies at our centre. Cultivating the natural state of peace and ease that lies there reveals our true nature - which enables us not to just help ourselves, but to help the world of which we are a part. Then daily living becomes meaningful. This mid-week retreat will bring out our Beginner’s Mind through the practice of meditation. The time will be silent, quiet, and slow. There will be meditation instruction and guidance, formal sitting, and time for walking, writing, or staring into the distance.View teacher detailsTsunma Tsondru is a nun ordained by Tai Situ Rinpoche in the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. She came across Buddhism through Louis van Loon at the BRC. After working as a molecular biologist, lawyer and environmental scientist, she left for Spain for a traditional Kagyu three-and-a-half-year retreat, followed by a second retreat of four years. Since returning to Cape Town, she has served on the Board of the Southern African Faith Communities Environmental Institute, a multi-faith NGO, and as its Executive Director. In order to learn the Work That Reconnects, she travelled to San Francisco for a 10-day intensive retreat with Joanna Macy, engaging with Macy’s Work That Connects. Tsondru offers this work, blending it with teachings on Engaged Buddhism, and traditional meditation practice. Her particular interest is eco philosophy and the role that spirituality and ethics play in transforming our economic and social systems in protection of the Earth. Click here to see the blog interview in 2 parts done by Penny Urquhart. -
Releasing Ourselves From Old Stories: Stepping from the past into an abundant future by drawing on the Ancient Hawaiian practice of Ho’oponopono
Teacher: Dominique GarnettCost: 2 days accommodation + R200 surchargeDates:
Stories and story-telling are what make us human. We have stories about health, wellness and well-being. Often, we are informed by the should, could and would of life. These stories, or programs, inform our view of the world - whether it is a world-view and story of scarcity or one of abundance. Sometimes these stories, or the programs from the past can entrap and restrict us from living a full life. How have other people’s stories of the world in health and wellness, scarcity and abundance - informed your own? This retreat is an invitation to look at our own personal stories as part of a much larger story of world, health and well-being; to look at the programs that run automatically and prevent us from living freely and being in the present moment. It is also an invitation to seek alternate stories as we explore new possibilities of being well and being present; to be curious at how and where certain stories come from and to seek alternate meaning through engaging with new ideas and research, and to be enlivened as we open up to the possibilities. Through learning and practising Ho’oponopono we can learn how to release ourselves from restrictive stories and live in the fullness of each moment and to see how transforming this can be. The weekend will be informative, with practical workshopping real-life examples of how to shift our lives into the fullness of the present moment.View teacher detailsDominique Garnett is a Counselling Psychologist, Narrative Therapist, Nutritional Coach, writer, artist, foodie and a passionate reader and learner. She has a practice on the North Coast of KZN where she connects with people in therapeutic conversations as they explore meaning-making in a holistic and respectful way. She runs workshops and weekend retreats exploring health and wellness.