Establishing the Timeless Refuge of Awareness

Teacher

GAVIN MILNE has been practicing the Dharma since 2004 and teaching since 2015. He is especially interested in the role and relevance of these teachings towards the individual, relational and societal transformations being called for in this era. And as such embracing and exploring practice in all areas of our life.

‘Every form of genuine awareness is liberating. Close-in or vast, near or far, awareness illuminates the ungraspable nature of the universe’, Jack Kornfield, Bringing home the Dharma

During this spacious practice weekend, we will explore a flexible but continuous approach to meditation practice, both on and off the cushion, towards establishing wise awareness as the primary ground of our experience – a milestone that the Buddha sought for his disciples.

Practicing giving attention to inner, outer, and both inner and outer experience, in the flexible yet wise way the Buddha taught, freedom can become less tied to what we are doing or where we are, and life offers more and more opportunities to sow the seeds of inner and outer transformation. But to fully establish this refuge, we need to practice – there is no other way. The particular challenge in daily life is getting used to meeting the diverse landscape of our lives with flexible awareness, whilst resisting the endless illusory promises we receive from the world around us. We will embrace all of this during this weekend.

In line with the emphasis for this weekend, if you have a particular formal sitting practice that you do, you are welcome to include this during the weekend, with much of the time open for self-led practice.

This retreat can be enjoyed as part of the Awakening in the World series. There are three other weekend retreats that form the series and it is possible to book either the whole set of four, or each session individually. There may also be the opportunity to attend in between group sessions, or 1-1 meetings, to support your practice in daily life. 

Please follow the link to view the whole ‘Awakening in the World‘ series. The other individual weekends are linked below:

 

• Friday 21 – Sunday 23 June — Self Compassion, Whole Compassion
• Friday 27 – Sunday 29 September — Awakening into the Web of Life
• Friday 22 – 24 November — Living and Liberating Who You Truly Are

Awakening in the World

We are living in extraordinary times. The converging crises are unprecedented in their scale and implication, and could quite literally change everything. So how can we galvanise a path of awakening in these times, and what might it look like?

The Dharma has much to offer, from transformative insight into our interdependent reality, timeless resources for facing and navigating uncertainty and challenge, and perhaps most importantly, a means for unlocking our hearts. The world is in deep need of more wisdom and compassion, and access to timeless Dharma supports and practice contexts are crucial. But the shape of our life and our path is for each one of us to discover, and practicing in our daily life setting provides an ideal opportunity for this exploration.

Over these four weekends of flexible practice, mixing formal silent practice with self-led practice, we will cover some of the key teaching emphases that have emerged as these ancient teachings have met our cultures, and explore a path for the life and times we are living – grounding our practice in that which is timeless, whilst opening to what is emergent and particular to this era. And most importantly, summoning a wholehearted practice intention to galvanise momentum, for our own sake, and the sake of the world around us.

 

Format & Schedule

The retreat will offer flexible practice, mixing formal silent practice with self-led practice.  Please make it your intention to attend all taught sessions.

Friday

8.00 pm – 9.15 pm — Opening session

Saturday

7.00 am — Meditation (optional)

9.30 am – 11.00 am — Teaching, instructions and practice

2.30 pm — Meditation (optional)

3.00 pm — Open Q&A session

7.00 pm – 9.00 pm — Dharma talk and practice

Sunday

7.00 am — Meditation (optional)

9.30 am – 10.45 am — Teaching, instructions and practice

2.30 pm — Meditation (optional)

3 pm — Open Q&A session

7.00 pm – 8.00 pm — Dana talk and closing session (approximately – all please attend)

Well-being and online retreats

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

Preparing for the retreat

We suggest that you have in mind your plan for the days of our retreat. For example, will you be:

• Maintaining silence?
• Continuing with/doing additional sitting and walking meditation?
• Cultivating an attitude of retreat throughout?

If so, be sure to set up conditions that support you, including discussing with those you share your space at home with. It would be helpful to plan in advance, using the guidelines below, to simplify as much as you can and set boundaries around what you will and will not engage with. These are skilful ways of creating continuity and settling more deeply into practice and quiet.

Creating a retreat environment

Practicalities