BRC Newsflash - February 2023

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The Buddhist Retreat Centre
Ixopo, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa		For people of all religions
BRC Newsflash: February 2023 Dear Retreatants,
Max Weier will be teaching at the BRC from 28 February to 23 March 2023. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn qigong and meditation from a great master. His retreats are published on our website www.brcixopo.co.za. Venerable Chamtrul Rinpoche will be returning to South Africa and will lead a retreat “Tibetan Dream Yoga: The Practice Of Lucid Dreaming” from 24-26 March 2023. Enjoy the article in the latest Odyssey magazine on John Lockley’s forthcoming retreat at the BRC from 27-20 January 2023: “The Way Of Ubuntu”.

Buddha sunset		Image: Andrew Brown
‘Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention’ The book “Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention” by Johann Hari recently caught my attention. Hari suggests that it is the perfect storm of ‘cognitive degradation’ - I call it rather the pleasures of distraction and constant diversion - that pull one away from being centred and focussed. Your attention is your life - your reality. Only by paying such attention, can you fully engage with what is front of you - screaming for your attention. If you are too locked up in your own neuroses and agitation, you drain away all that energy that could go into engaging what it confronting you with a clear mind. It is all about training our restless, chaotic mind to be more focussed, to see with clarity, to have more spaciousness for more purposeful living and to feel more connected.

Cape Batis focussed		Image: Andrew Brown
Twenty-five centuries ago before Mindfulness became a popular commodity in modern culture, the Buddha laid great emphasis on the need to fully engage and be present in any situation that requires you to interact with it, so whether you are simply eating a meal or shaking someone’s hand or doing complicated mathematics, it just requires paying attention in different degrees and intensity. I began meditating more than five decades ago, with teachers from the Theravada, Zen and Tantra traditions. I may not have achieved any higher states of consciousness, but mindfulness and meditation practice were instrumental in helping me maintain a greater degree of equanimity in my daily life and in the workplace. I am happy to say I have had a ‘look in’ and gleaned enough to taste this exquisite capacity of the mind to overflow into something else other than one’s own story - and to find stillness and presence. We are fortunate to have Anna Scharfenberg and Johnathan Preboy from Poland leading retreats from 9-19 January on how to realise ever-present mindfulness. This may be an opportunity for you to acquaint yourself with a powerful practice that can lead the wandering mind to calmer waters. For 2023, let’s all be ambassadors for joy and kindness. With affection, Louis

Zendo meditations		Image: Kim Ward
Now And Zen: Reboot, Recharge And Retreat There is no better place than the BRC to rejuvenate the body and mind with nature, meditation and movement to guide you into presence and stillness.

Entrance to the Buddha Boma		Image: Chantelle Flores
There are still a few spaces left on the following January retreats: indicates retreats held in Noble Silence Vipassana Meditation: How To Realise Ever-Present Mindfulness Jonathan Preboy and Anna Scharfenberg \| Weekend \| 13-15 January and/or 15-19 January Vipassana (Insight) meditation is based on mindfulness, which is always available, everywhere, without limit or cost. The challenge is how to realise it. The answer was provided by the Buddha. He taught ways to cultivate mindfulness that lead to insight and awakening. This retreat is an invitation for beginners and experienced meditators to practise Vipassana using the traditional Buddhist method of Ajahn Tong. For beginners it is a simple and direct technique to start meditating and for experienced meditators, it is a skilful method to deepen their insight. The weekend will be held in silence. Read more Gardening For Happiness: The Basics Of Gardening Chris Dalzell \| Weekend \| 20-22 January They say that 'your life begins the day you start a garden'. If you are looking for some green thumb inspiration and motivation, join Chris for a weekend where you will learn the practice and art of gardening, plant identification, plant selection of trees, shrubs, ground covers and bulbs. He will show you how to prepare a flower bed and how to lay out your plants, and how to plant trees and other plants and their maintenance. He will advise on plant propagation and more. Come and celebrate the BRC's gardens and its green spaces. Read more The Way Of Ubuntu: Exploring Traditional South African Healing John Lockley and Nomusa Mthembu \| 3 days \| 27-30 January Participants will experience a traditional South African healing ceremony over three days during which they will learn to connect to their Ancestors (bones), Dreams, 'Umoya' (spirit) and one another. Included will be an in-depth discussion on 'African cosmology' and the understanding of ancestors, plant medicine and dreaming. Retreatants will learn one of the most ancient and misunderstood cultures in South Africa today - the Sangoma medicine people - the monks and nuns of Southern Africa. The retreat will focus on educating people about South African traditional spirituality and also lead participants on a spiritual journey to rediscover their own ‘soul’ or what is termed ‘umoya’ in Xhosa/ Zulu culture. This retreat is suitable for all therapists, healers and those with a desire to heal South Africa. Read more

Stupa spire		Image: Lisa De Venter
Conducted Retreats February 2023 Happy Healthy Yoga For Healing And Harmony Carol Segal \| Weekend \| 3-5 February Join Carol for a yoga, breathwork and meditation where we explore our innate strength and vitality in order to deepen and develop serenity in our minds. This retreat will be a chance to gain clarity, wellness and recovery and is suitable for all levels of fitness. Please bring a mat, water bottle, blanket, strap and journal. Read more Shining Bright: Awaken The Authentic Leader Within Rajes Govender \| 2 days \| 5-7 February Are you searching for the path to fulfilment, and the tools you need to live a life aligned to this path? Leadership and performance coach Rajes Govender has put together an exciting and transformational retreat to help you Lead from Within and unlock the skills and tools you need to live a more impactful and fulfilled life. She will delve into the science behind what we value most as individuals, explaining how this drives our thoughts, decisions and actions in more ways than we are consciously aware of and ultimately determines our destiny. Using the proven Demartini Value Determination & Application Processes™, you will gain clarity on your path to fulfilment and learn how to develop mastery in all areas of your life. Read more Getting To Know The Birds At The BRC: 160 Birds Of A Feather Steve Davis \| Weekend \| 10 -12 February* Join Steve for an enjoyable weekend of identifying some of the BRC’s 160 species of birds - including the summer residents, the rare Blue Swallow, Knysna Turaco and Emerald Cuckoo. Wake up to birdsong and walk the verdant hills and meadows close to where the Blue Swallows nest. The BRC has been awarded “Private Nature Reserve” status by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife for its conservation of the Blue Swallow and its pristine mistbelt grasslands. Included will be talks, slide shows, qigong, meditation and some quiet time communing with nature. Bring your binoculars and a sunhat. Read more Creative Intuition Retreat Theresa Hardman \| Weekend \| 17-19 February Theresa will re-introduce you to the world of intuition, which was your primal and most natural way of knowing the world as a child. We will withdraw from the world of busyness and hustle and slow down. The intuitive way of being has been the focus of Theresa’s attention over the last fifteen years during which she has tried to understand the fleeting and fragile experience of intuition during the creative process which occurs when we surrender and let go of the thinking mind. The experience of creative intuition is characterised by moments of mysterious potentiality and open-ended suggestiveness which generate new and original thoughts, sounds, images and actions. It is to these original and highly personal points of potential that you, a creative person, will constantly return for inspiration as you attempt to express in the medium of your choice (words, paint, music) your original contribution to the world. Read more The Practice Of Embodiment Through Therapeutic Yin Yoga, Therapeutic Sound And Mindfulness Meditation Despina Forbes \| 5 days \| 19-24 February Join Despina for 5 days of therapeutic yoga, therapeutic sound and mindfulness practice to cultivate well-being. She will be offering two yoga classes per day in the studio which include meditation, breath practice and therapeutic sound (morning and afternoon) - with plenty of time to go at your own pace in between and to opt in or out of the guided practices. A daily morning meditation practice will be offered in the meditation hall. You are invited to join this retreat in supportive Noble silence. Read more Shine your Light : An Integrative Astrology Retreat Combining SoulCollage® And Yoga Corinna Botoulas and Duncan Rice \| Weekend \| 24 -26 February During this retreat, Corinna will connect you to your inner light and wisdom, discovering the archetype of your Sun - the masculine, yang, extroverted outward-radiating nature of your being, and the Moon - the feminine yin, receptive, internalized, reflective nature. She will translate the language of Astrology, working with your natal birth chart's Sun and Moon to guide your journey of self-discovery and explore SoulCollage© imageboards. Duncan will balance these two subtle energies with yoga sessions to create equilibrium in body, mind and soul. Read more Qigong From The Daoist Mountain Wudang: Energy - Vastness - Stillness Max Weier \| 2 days \| 28 February- 02 March Join Max Weier, Master qigong teacher, for mid-week vitalising qigong. This practice is designed to cleanse, strengthen and expand the energy body with its subtle channels and centres. From a state of heaviness and contraction, we will move to a state of pure vibration, lightness, spaciousness and stillness. Eventually we will get a glimpse of our true nature. Read more A Personal Self Retreat: Walk Into Stillness People often yearn for an opportunity to recalibrate their lives and to spend some time in quiet reflection among like-minded people. The BRC provides such a refuge - where silence is a precious commodity. Treat yourself to a personal retreat. Venessa Muller and Marinda Grobler will be in situ to offer guided meditation and gentle yogic stretching mid-week. Read more

Labyrinth at night		Image: Andrew Brown
Live and work in the beautiful rural environment of the BRC Image: Antony Lavoipierre We are looking for a mature person - a non-smoker - who has IT and office experience to handle the bookings, reception of guests and allocation of rooms for retreatants, the shop sales, as well as correspondence with local and international guests. The applicant must have Excel experience, be fully IT literate, enjoy meeting new people and be sympathetic to the Buddhist philosophy and to residing in a rural environment. We are therefore inviting applications to fill this administrative position. Being a non-profit organisation, we are not able to offer a ‘going wage’, but we do offer an allowance, live-in board and accommodation, a small medical-aid, a chance to meet an interesting array of people and the opportunity to attend retreats. Full details of the position, including renumeration, terms and conditions of employment are available. Please contact either Lien Duvenage at 0878091687 or Chrisi at 0824668306 or email:
About the BRC Perched on a ridge at the head of a valley in the Umkomaas river system in KwaZulu-Natal, the Buddhist Retreat Centre looks out on a vista of indigenous valleys, forests and rolling hills receding like waves in the blue distance. Here, for forty two years, people of all religions and none have come to experience peace and tranquillity. It is a gentle, sympathetic space where one can be still and get in touch with oneself and reflect on the things that crowd one's life. The BRC was voted by CNN as one of the ten best meditation centres in the world. CNN Travel awarded another feather in the BRC’s cap by voting it as one of the ten best spiritual centres in South Africa, recently. The BRC was awarded Natural Heritage status in 1995 under the auspices of the Department of Environmental Affairs and received a certificate to that effect signed by President Nelson Mandela for turning an eroded farm into the natural paradise it has become - thousands of indigenous trees were planted by retreatants under the supervision of Mervyn Croft - with 160 species of birds, including the Blue Swallow, otter, deer, antbear and indigenous forests. The Centre was also given the special status of “Custodian of the Blue Swallow” for its work in preserving the breeding areas of this endangered bird. Recently, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife granted the BRC “Private Nature Reserve” for the conservation of the rare Blue Swallow and Mistbelt Grassland. The BRC facilitated the founding of Woza Moya, the community-based NGO, located in Ufafa Valley, twenty-two years ago, on the estate. Their vision is for all people in the community to be healthy and.productive, to live in a safe and clean environment, with good access to services and social justice. The Centre continues to support the organisation by showcasing their crafts in the shop and sponsoring their trainers and consultants. We have been very touched by your appreciative letters, emails and friendship towards the BRC - your spiritual home from home. We are deeply grateful for your generous gifts to the Centre this year: new beds and bases, office chairs and a desk, a new refrigerator, bathroom towels, indigenous trees and seedlings, books for our library, a generator, garden benches, clothing and Dana for our staff - and so much more. Thank you to all of you who continue to support our work in Ixopo with monthly and Paid Up Yogi contributions and donations, with gifts, or with skills and time. And, of course, everyone who comes to the Centre keeps us open and viable. We are deeply grateful for your generosity towards us; it encourages us to continue Louis’ beautiful vision and legacy for the future. Please continue to support the BRC by becoming a friend of the Buddhist Retreat Centre (a registered non-profit organisation) and find out more about the BRC's Paid-Up-Yogi and Sangha Friends’ projects. Chrisi Visit our website for further information, directions, image gallery etc.
www.brcixopo.co.za \| 087 809 1687 \| 082 579 3037 \| 031 2095995 Share: \| Follow us:
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