The Journey of Presence and Love
September 26-29th, 2019
Venue: Don Bosco Retreat Centre, Lysterfield. For directions click here
Click to view Retreat Practical information here
Twin Share Room: $280 + Dana for the teachings (same gender only) Bookings are now closed.
Single Room: $380 + Dana for the teachings - Bookings are now closed.
Love and Presence are two of the core practices of Insight Meditation and each supports and balances the other. When we practice Presence by itself (aka mindfulness or bare attention) can lean towards aloofness, coolness and a detached view of life.... presence blended with love enables us to be strong and connected. Protected and connected. Love when practiced by itself can have the unwanted effect of us not having clear boundaries... presence here in the form of strength can come in to support our good hearted intentions and help us to not only make a stand for what is important, but to keep out harm.
We will spend our days in noble silence with the sitting and walking practices of Insight Meditation and other movement practices. Supported in this sacred container, we will explore Dharma teachings and practices that enable direct experience of our innate timeless freedom, while helping us open into deeper understanding, compassion and wisdom.
This will be a special opportunity to be in like-minded company surrounded by the peace of The Don Bosco retreat centre (pictured above) nestled near the base of the Dandenong ranges. Join us to reflect on the deeper truths, joys and sorrows we collectively share, to nourish our lives and strengthen our capacity to meet challenging times. Suitable for beginners and experienced meditators.
This retreat is suited for beginners and experienced students. We will include meditation instructions, periods of silent sitting and walking meditation, practice discussions with the teachers and talks on the theme on developing presence and love in meditation practice. In addition, we will explore various aspects of these themes that can be pragmatically applied to our life off the meditation cushion.
Movement Practices (2 x 1 hour each day) will be lead by Holly Huon. Holly describes herself .... "I regard myself as a Practitioner working with Bodily experience, Movement Awareness and Emotional truth . My fundamental practice has been the Feldenkrais Method since the 90's. My other studies and practices over time have been in Oki Do Yoga and Buddhism and several Hakomi workshops. Feeling into our truth, heart and our agency have been themes at the core of my curiousity and learning. I am really looking forward to sharing this space with you."
Noble silence
This retreat will be mostly held in noble silence except for interviews and question and answer periods and group study on the retreat theme. For beginners, please note that noble silence does not exclude common sense communication in times of emergency or at times when communication is needed to clarify meditation or work period instructions or questions you may have about anything you need to clarify.
Accommodation
This is a fully residential retreat. There are single rooms and shared twin room accomodation. Shared rooms are allocated on a same sex basis only.
Giving of service or Karma yoga ~ Insight meditation retreats are run on a non-profit basis, so in this way we are able to keep the costs down. Therefore In the same spirit we ask that everyone who comes to our retreats contributes one hour of their time each day towards the running of the retreat. This may be anything from washing up, veggie chopping, cleaning or something else connected with running the retreat. We thank you in advance.
Arrival: 5pm on the 26th
Departure: 2.30pm on the 29th. After lunch.
FAQ's
Click to view Retreat Practical information here
Question: What is the cancellation policy?
Answer: This is in the Retreat Practical information document... see above.
Food: To help you make the most of the retreat, we will provide 3 nutritious vegetarian meals each day and this is included in the cost. Vegan, Gluten Free & Dairy Free can also be catered for and you can indicate this in the booking process.
Question: It's the AFL grand final.... Can I go off and watch the game and come back?
Answer: Sorry, no. Well, unless the Swans are playing and that's most unlikely!
Question: I snore and there are only twin share rooms available... what to do?
Answer: Email the retreat manager and let them know as there may be some way around this. Please don't go ahead and book a twin share and potentially put the other person in a situation where their retreat may be compromised. Thanks for your care about this.
Question: Do I have to bring bedding?
Answer: On this retreat, all bedding is provided and included in the cost.
Question: Do I have to sit on the floor on a meditation cushion?
Answer: Absolutely not. There will be more than enough chairs to sit on. We encourage you to find a posture in meditation that allows you to be comfortable and easy.
Question: Will there be sitting cushions and mats provided.
Answer: There will be a limited number of meditation mats and cushions available. These will be reserved for people coming from a distance, so if you are driving and have your own it is really appreciated if you could bring them with you.
Question: I have very specific dietary needs, (eg Fodmaps) can you cater for special diets?
Answer: We can offer a simplified diet that usually satisfies most special needs. Please note we don't and can't cater for individual preference (eg. I would like 2 eggs fried with spinach and sourdough!) Please send us an email to clarify.
Question: I've never meditated before & I'm worried it will be too much. Even though you've said that the retreat is suited to beginners, do you really mean it!
Answer: Yes we do! Anton will be there to support you in any way that may be needed from getting the right posture for you, through to clarifying the meditation instructions. So in many ways this is the perfect retreat to come along and learn meditation.
Question: I live in Melbourne and would like to drive to the venue everyday rather than stay there. Is this possible.
Answer: No. This is a residential retreat only.
Question: I have something to go to on the Thursday night and can only arrive on Friday morning (or later). Is this ok?
Answer: No, for all sorts of reasons. Your respect for this is deeply appreciated as late arrivals puts pressure onto the retreat staff and teachers.
Do you have other questions? Click here to email us or call Anton on 0412 018962
The Venue
The Don Bosco Retreat Centre is nestled at the foothills of the picturesque Dandenong Ranges on 350 acres of private farmland.
- From the start of the Eastern freeway, it takes about 45 minutes to get there. It's right near Ferntree Gully.
- It's only 10 minutes from the Wellington Rd exit off Eastlink or 15 minutes from the Wellington Road exit off the Monash Freeway.
- For directions click here
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