Present to Life
Meditation Day
Monday 2 December 2024
With Laura Bridgman
Spaces available Suitable for all In this day of practice we will contemplate every experience as nature happening, even experiences of thoughts about ourselves and others, and their associated feelings, sensations and emotions; everything that we usually take to be personal. Opening and relaxing, yet also steadfast in staying attuned and present, this practice brings in a witnessing perspective. Then it becomes possible to see the cycles of thoughts, perceptions, mental states and physical reactions. By not judging or rejecting or being drawn into this cycle, we begin to experience how discerning awareness begins to enable a direct understanding of the nature of our mind.
Suitability
This retreat is suitable for all levels of experience.Teacher
LAURA BRIDGMAN was a Buddhist nun in the Theravada tradition from 1995 to 2015. Her main teachers within this school have been Ajahn Sumedho, Ajahn Sucitto and Sayadaw U Tejaniya. She has been offering retreats since 2007, most recently mainly at Gaia House where she is also the staff support teacher. Her practice orientation is the Buddha’s teaching of the Five Spiritual Faculties (trust, balanced effort, mindfulness, composure and wisdom). Alongside her Vipassana (Insight) practice she is a student of the Diamond Approach (Ridhwan).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).
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
Please arrive between 8.30am - 9.15am to register.The retreat will end at approximately 5.15pm.
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.
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