Awakening the Heart

Residential Retreat

Tuesday, 7 March – Saturday, 11 March (4 nights)

With Zohar Lavie and Jake Dartington

Teachers

ZOHAR LAVIE has been practising meditation in different traditions since 1995. This journey has taken her from the meditation cushion into exploring further ways of expressing truth and love and in 2004 she co-founded SanghaSeva. She now spends most of her time facilitating retreats that offer service as a spiritual path around the world. Since 2006 she has been teaching on silent retreats and Dharma gatherings in India, Europe and Israel.

Listen to one of Zohar Lavie’s Talks from the Meeting Uncertainty with Wisdom and Courage: Perennial Teachings for a Changing World retreat on 07.06/2021: Anicca Brings Possibilities (Duration 40:35)

JAKE DARTINGTON has practised Buddhist meditation since 1995. After training as a Dharma teacher with Christina Feldman, he started teaching in 2007. He has a background in Philosophy and Buddhist Studies and trained to teach MBSR and MBCT at Bangor University. Jake lives in Nottingham and regularly teaches for Bodhi College and the Oxford Mindfulness Centre.

Listen to one of Jake Dartington's Talks given at Gaia House on 20.08.2017: Wisdom, wellbeing and awakening (Duration 47:08)

Experience required

This retreat is suitable for all levels of experience.

Retreat description

Metta (friendliness or loving-kindness) connects us with our potential to awaken to deepening levels of love and wisdom. It transforms our relationship with our own experience, other people, and helps us bring the Dharma into all areas of life. On this retreat we will explore how metta relates to compassion, joy and equanimity, supports insights into inter-dependence, and nourishes our deepest well-being.

Rates

Please consider paying at the highest rate that you are able to. Your generosity is vital in supporting Gaia House to sustain its Dharma offerings for the benefit of all.

We are committed to ensuring that our programme is available to everyone who wishes to participate. If our rates are too high for you, we invite you to apply for support from our Financial Assistance and Bursaries Fund (FAB Fund).

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Standard Rate:	£388	Includes a donation that helps sustain Gaia House’s offerings and supports access for all
Basic Rate:	£300	Covers the very basic costs of running the retreat
Supported Rate:	£248	A subsidised rate to support practice
Young Persons Rate:	£90	For more details please see the Financial Assistance page
FAB Fund Rate:	£150	For more details please see the Financial Assistance page

Extend your retreat

If you have previously been on a residential retreat of a weekend or longer at Gaia House, you are welcome to join us a day earlier than the retreat start date. All retreatants are welcome to stay an extra night at the end of the retreat. There is an additional cost of £68 per night.

Please note, retreat conditions will still apply from arrival:

Observe silence
Follow the daily schedule
Practise meditation

Dana/generosity

None of your registration fee goes to the teacher. Gaia House teachers rely on the generosity of students for their livelihood. At the end of the retreat, there is an opportunity to make a dana offering to your teacher(s), the residential community team and Gaia House. We are deeply grateful for your generosity.

Click here to read more about the practice of dana.

Gaia House and covid-19

We hope to make everyone's retreat at Gaia House as supportive as possible. Please click here for further information on how we are creating as supportive and safe a retreat environment.

Arrival and departure times

Arrive for registration between 2.00pm-4.45pm on the opening day.
Depart after 12.30pm on the final day (or 1.30pm if staying for lunch).

Please note:

We will need everyone to commit to the full duration of their retreat.

Cancellation terms & conditions

We have now updated our Booking Terms and Conditions which includes cancellation information, please click here. Please take time to review these before you book.

Well-being and silent retreats

This is a silent retreat: apart from during individual or group meetings with the teachers you will be invited into silence for the duration of the event.

Before you book, please read these guidelines about mental well-being and silent retreats:

Meditation retreats can be very nourishing; however, as they require sustained meditation practice, they also need some stability of psychological health. If you have recently (within the past year or so) experienced significant trauma or psychiatric illness, or if you are currently experiencing acute emotional distress such as serious depression or anxiety, it may not be the best time for you to participate in a retreat. The teachers might not be able to give you the kind of individual psychological care you need at this time. A setting with more opportunities for interpersonal engagement may be more appropriate.

If you are currently under the care of a mental health professional, please discuss your attendance with them. You should be in a relatively stable period of mental well-being and have adequate psychological resilience.
If you have any questions about this, please contact Laura using the email address, retreatmanager@gaiahouse.co.uk

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