Wide and Deep

Teacher

NATHAN GLYDE has been practicing and studying meditation since 1997, and sharing teachings on retreats since 2007. In 2004 he co-founded SanghaSeva whose retreats emphasise wisdom and compassion in ecological and humanitarian service.

Listen to one of Nathan Glyde’s Talks given at Gaia House on 15.12.20: Anattā and Mettā (Duration 45:31)

Format

This day of practice allows us to join with those on the meditation day at Gaia House joining in the meditation hall to practice together.  As online participants we will have a window into Gaia House and be viewing and listening to the teacher in the meditation hall.

• The meditation day can be attended, if your circumstances allow, as fully as if in the house, the teachers encourage attendance, as a minimum, for the main teaching sessions (shown in bold) — although these will be recorded if you need to miss one or to enable you to join from a different time zone
• Towards the end of the day time is given to ask questions or share comments alongside those in the house.
• Recordings of the main sessions and any resources will be shared on an online retreat noticeboard

Although all efforts have been made to ensure that live-streaming is possible from Gaia House, we are in a rural location and at times there can be a loss of connectivity.

Recordings of the essential sessions from the house will be made available at a later time and we will endeavour to provide short recordings for participants to practice with for the duration of any time whilst the connectivity is down.

Schedule

All times shown are in Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).  Times are subject to change.

09.45am — Online welcome
10.00 am — Opening talk from the hall
10.20 am — Meditation instructions & practice
11.00 am — Walking meditation
11.30 am — Stillness practice
12.15 pm — Dharma Reflections
12.30 pm — Lunch

2.00 pm — Gentle movement
2.15 pm — Guided metta practice
3.00 pm — Movement practice
3.45 pm — Stillness practice
4.15 pm — Q&A and Dharma Reflections
4.45 pm —Closing Talk
5.15 pm — Retreat Ends

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 meditation day

We suggest that you have in mind your plan for the day. For example, will you be:

• Maintaining silence?
• 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