Healing the Heart
Meditation Day at Gaia House
Sunday, 14 April
With Mat Schencks
This retreat is nearly full or has recently become full 
Suitable for all Our hearts are deeply impacted by all that we encounter in life, and our hearts can also develop the capacity to include and make space for all that arises. We can learn to meet our experience in a way that is receptive, responsive and allows for insight into the nature of our struggles and confusion.
A heart that is free to know experience and can remain open and spacious is a good friend. Receptivity and openness to experience allow us to relate more wisely to the situations and conditions of our lives. In doing so we are more free to meet ourselves and our experience with greater ease.
This day will include periods of sitting and walking meditation, instructions and a Dharma talk. There will also be the opportunity to ask questions.
Suitability
This retreat is suitable for all levels of experience.Teacher
MAT SCHENCKS has been practising Insight Meditation under the guidance of teachers at Gaia House since 2003. He has been leading day retreats and short courses since 2011 and trained as a Dharma teacher with Bodhi College. Mat is also a student of the Diamond Approach and works as a psychotherapist and coach in Milton Keynes.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.
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
This retreat has recently become full or almost full; we are operating a waiting list to prevent overbooking.
Please confirm the following and complete the checkout process. No payment is required for joining the list. We will then contact you to offer you one of the remaining places or if the retreat is full you may be offered a place if there is a cancellation.
To find out more about how we operate our waiting lists please click here.