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Open the Heart And Still the Mind Compassion RetreatTeacher: Sue CooperCost: 4 days accommodation + R350 surchargeDates:
This 4 night, silent retreat Open the Heart and Still the Mind Compassion Retreat will provide an opportunity to develop and explore meditation practices and teachings which strengthen our embodied, heartfelt presence, whilst integrating the joys and the sorrows that we have all been confronted with during these years of so much uncertainty. Drawing on the wisdom of Buddhist psychology and the inspiring teachings and practices of Kuan Yin, the bodhisattva of Compassion, who "Listens to the cries of the world at ease" we will strengthen our capacity to be with things as they are unfolding. After establishing a calm and grounded body, heart and mind, we will focus on the practice of loving-kindness (metta) meditation and the deepening of compassionate wisdom and appreciative joy. These practices connect us with our authentic presence, strengthen our boundaries and provide us with a secure foundation of courage and trust. In a contained and nurturing atmosphere of contemplative (Noble) silence, we will learn how to transform the viciousness of the inner critic, so that we can end the habitual cycle of self-abandonment and fear. As we discover how to internalise the archetypal good-enough mother, represented by Kuan Yin, we will develop the courage and trust which allow us to honour our vulnerability without fear or shame. When we can embrace our humanness with kindness and compassion, we can live more authentically and more courageously, and joyfully, so that healing and awakening can occur.Because this is a fee-based course, please contact Sue Cooper directly for further information about her fee, which is on an adjustable sliding scale with a payment plan if needed. Everyone is welcome and reductions and dana-based options are available on request. Sue is also offering 5 people an opportunity to attend this retreat with her teacher's fee offered on a fully dana basis (i.e. instead of the sliding scale you may offer whatever you can manage.) Please email her on to apply and please book and pay for your Accommodation directly with us. Sue's email is and her website link is https://stillmindretreats.com/event/retreat-embracing-life-with-compassion-and-joy/
View teacher detailsSue Cooper is a Cape Town-based Clinical Psychologist with extensive experience as a psychoanalytic psychotherapist, working in private practice since the early 1990's. She has a long-standing interest in the interface between psychological and spiritual approaches to self-discovery and inner healing, and has attended Buddhist meditation retreats, mainly in the Theravada tradition, for over 30 years, both in South Africa and at Gaia House in the UK. She has been inspired by the teachings of Ajahn Chah of the Thai Forest tradition, and is deeply grateful to her primary teachers: the late Godwin Samararatne, Kittisaro and Thanissara, Ajahn Sucitto and Stephen and Martine Batchelor. She has a particular interest in exploring how our practice enables us to embrace our humanness, integrating love and loss in our lives, so that we can live and die with compassionate awareness. She offers weekend and longer retreats throughout South Africa at Temenos, Mont Fleur, Blue Butterfly and Somerset Gift in the Western Cape; Dharmagiri Insight Meditation Centre and the Buddhist Retreat Centre in KwaZulu Natal; and Emoyeni Retreat Centre in the North West Province, as well as 6-8 week "Open the Heart and Still the Mind" courses, on-going weekly groups and monthly half-day/day retreats in Cape Town.
Because this is a fee-based course, please contact Sue Cooper directly for further information about her fee, which is on an adjustable sliding scale with a payment plan if needed. Everyone is welcome and reductions are available on request. Sue's email is and her website link is https://stillmindretreats.com/event/retreat-embracing-life-with-compassion-and-joy/.