CREATIVE ITINERARY
One thing that’s made our past retreats so special was that we took an individualized approach to our curriculum and teaching. In practical terms, this means we’ve set a plan for what we’d like to cover during this retreat, but are always open to be spontaneous in how the individual days are laid out – the retreats follow this “creative itinerary” rather than something rigid that takes away from the enjoyment of the entire experience.
Every retreat group we work with is unique; we realized a long time ago that attuning the teachings as much as possible to those who come, tailoring the Sadhanas and theoretical teachings based on the individual, keeps things nourishing and more understandable.
A special part of these retreats is the atmosphere of immersion in the teachings and social environment together. We always look to find the right balance, allowing room for walks on the beach, meals together, while still allowing longer than normal days of teaching and practice when it makes the most sense to do so.
A Brief Overview Of What To Expect
In mid-20th century China, Mao-tse-Tung banned the use of the word dream in all published writing. Not long before this, Adolf Hitler deemed the automatic writing and dream work of the Surrealists in occupied Europe as sinister and deranged; he had them arrested and thrown into concentration camps.
Prohibitions against the life of the heart are not an invention of recent centuries.If you look closely, you’ll find them sprinkled throughout Europe’s deep history, where they reveal an underlying fear the West has of the Unconsciousand the Mystical Heart.
“You have to make the choice between the discomfort of being aware of your mental afflictions versus the discomfort of being ruled by them.”
–Tibetan Monk, Minge Rinpoche, on accessing the inner life
Scottish psychologist R.D. Laing spoke of the inner life of the heart as one of the three greatest universal human fears. Unresolved physic pain strives to express itself through our dreams. All our afflictive emotions (kleshas) are born of that hidden unresolved pain.
The bearers of the world’s mystical traditions have always turned to contemplative awareness and interior communion as the path to God, as well as freedom from fears, anxieties, and distress.
During this retreat,we will foray into the cultivation of practices touncoveryour hidden unresolved grief and fragmented emotional content of the heart.The paramount focus: to heal it through compassionate awareness in a close group setting.
We will make use of shared dreams, dream interpretation, group sharing, and daily meditation practice to facilitate compassionate access to the tender regions of the heart.