The Eye of the Heart
— Tracing a Path Towards Soulfulness
Residential retreat
Friday, 21 June – Saturday, 29 June (8 nights)
With Catherine McGee and Yahel Avigur
This retreat is full, join the waiting list. 
Experience required Special criteria
With our bodies as home base and emptiness as our ground, we will cultivate the four beautiful qualities of the heart known as the Brahma Viharas: kindness, joy, compassion and equanimity. Loosening the views and the limiting patterns of mind, and engaging the liberating gifts of our imaginations, we will deepen our capacity to rest in the boundless heart.
And from here, we will venture, engaging in contemplative ways of looking to explore a soulful and enchanted cosmos. A cosmos in which our particularities are needed, loved and woven into a sacred and meaningful story.
How does this retreat relate to Soulmaking Dharma teachings?
‘The Eye of the Heart’ commences as a Brahma Viharas retreat. From here, the Soulmaking Dharma approaches and practices will be explored. It is therefore suitable for students who may already be deeply involved with Soulmaking teachings and also for those who may not be deeply involved but who have an informed affinity for this body of work.
Teachers
CATHERINE McGEE has been teaching Insight Meditation at Gaia House and internationally since 1997. Her teaching emphasises working with perceptions of the body on the path of awakening and in the healing of the individual and collective crises of our times. She is an advisor to One Earth Sangha. Between 2014 and 2020 Catherine collaborated with Rob Burbea in shaping and teaching a Soulmaking Dharma.
Here is a link to Catherine’s reflection on the third foundation of mindfulness - mindfulness of mind, on day five of a meditation retreat.
Third foundation of mindfulness – mindfulness of mind (Duration 51:21)
YAHEL AVIGUR is a devoted meditator and Dharma teacher. In 2013, after practicing in Theravada and Insight Meditation traditions, he met the Dharma teacher Rob Burbea and became his student. He was encouraged by Rob to teach the complete path of Emptiness as he articulated it, as well as his particular approach to Jhana practice and to train in teaching Soulmaking Dharma. Yahel is also trained in the Hakomi approach of assisted self-study.
Experience and prerequisites required to participate in this retreat
The following are all necessary for participation in this retreat: Please consider them carefully.
- An informed interest in and affinity for the orientations and key ideas of Soulmaking Dharma.
- Listen to 3 of these 6 talks listed on the Soulmaking Dharma page and have interest in this work (scroll down the page, the talks are listed under ‘Possible places to start…’ choose whichever are interesting to you).
- At least fourteen days of silent residential Insight Meditation experience.
- Some familiarity with the Ways of Looking approach as outlined by Rob Burbea and presented in the talk Approaching the Dharma: Part 2 – Liberating Ways of Looking (and an affinity with the idea of the ‘flexibility of perception’ and possibilities that come from experimenting with different ‘ways of looking’).
- A working familiarity with Metta, or other Brahma-Vihara practice.
- An ability to access a full body awareness in practice as pointed to in these talks The Energy Body (A Little Bit of What, Why, and How), A guided meditation on energy body and working with the breath.
- Familiarity and skill in working with difficult emotions in practice.
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).
Accommodation
This retreat will be offered in a mixture of shared and single rooms. Some single rooms are available to book in advance for those that need them to come on retreat. If these are still available, you will be able to select this option. Some single rooms are also held for people to request, but these cannot be guaranteed. These will be allocated in the days leading up to each retreat so we cannot let you know in advance. Priority will be given to those with specific medical needs.
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 £73 per night.
Please note, retreat conditions will still apply from arrival:
- Observe silence
- Follow the daily schedule
- Practise meditation
Camping
In addition to our in-house accommodation, we can offer a few camping places during the warmer months.
There are a limited number of camping places available, please email reception at info@gaiahouse.co.uk to check availability, please don't forget to include the retreat you wish to book in the email.
- Each retreatant needs to bring their own tent (small one/two person tents only).
- Toilet and bathroom facilities are shared with the in-house occupants.
- Please note: In poor weather we cannot accommodate campers in the house.
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.Before booking
In support of your retreat, two weeks before you arrive, we will send a list of questions about your physical, mental health and dietary needs. This will help us to support you during your retreat. If you are unsure whether or not to book due to needing specialist support due to significant physical or mental health needs, including checking availability of our only ground floor bedroom (also wheelchair-accessible), please email retreatmanager@gaiahouse.co.uk.
For more information on our retreats please check our frequently asked questions page.
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
Join the Waiting List
To register your interest go through the booking process and complete the checkout process. No payment is required for joining the list. We will then contact you if a place becomes available.To find out more about how we operate our waiting lists please click here.