- Friday May 2nd-Monday May 5th 08
- Park Place Pastoral Centre
- Wickham
- Fareham
- Hampshire
- PO17 5HA
- The price of the retreat is £330
Final numbers by Sunday 20st January 08 along with a deposit for £165 to secure your interest If booking; need to let me know of vegetarian or non vegetarian food food option. There is a possibility that if the majority are vegetarian they will make our menu vegetarian but if there are only a few then we will get a choice of both.
Retreat Focus and Practice
I've just booked and confirmed the summer retreat space (one day past Beltane, the start of summer) for our annual retreat. I am looking for students wanting to start/ continue to cultivate their retreat practice and focus on morning Qi Gong practice, starting a substantial sitting meditation practice, walking, outdoor work, 5 elements, 6 direction, Guardian animals and Nature practices.
Indoor practice will include a mixture of revising meditation, the outdoor Qi Gong learned, and text study and some personal consultation time with myself , for any aspect of practice you would like to go over or discuss.
My observation of the last retreat is to have more unpressured time to really focus on key practices and spending a lot of time walking the area; with time for the Self, relaxation, to do I Ching , etc. Quite a few students told me last retreat, that they were only starting to unwind by the sunday when we normally leave. I agree. It's got to be substantially nourishing , restful, with time to orientate towards a practice mind and coalesce. Then it will be possible to go away with an awareness of the weekend to take with you.
Sister Frances was great in the way she jiggled around dates till I could get that quality time. It means that Friday 2nd can just be time to arrive and gather. 3rd /4th We have 2 full days to wander the South Downs and can leave Bank Holiday Monday 5th May around or after lunch. Myles will be assisting me with admin and general run of the retreat over the 4 days but not teaching ( Shaolin forms or anything else) as I want to move on with the complete curriculum and really develop the Nature Practices, Qi Gong, Sitting Meditation and Text Study. Do chat with him though if you are interested in practising anything you learnt with him last retreat.He might invite you to some informal practice with him or arrange something on your time. He is there however in his capacity as a Qi Gong practitioner and experienced meditator, so also there to help with any practice support, feedback, and retreat needs you might want to discuss.
Venue
It's a simple but really nice big house for conferences and retreats of all faiths and philosophies. It's run by a really friendly group of Franciscan nuns there on behalf of the community. I was actually struck by the the ordinary homeliness, and the efficiency of the space and the nuns. It is simple but functional. but everything that needs to work does. There is a common sense maintenance about it that I really liked from our visit there. Sister Frances (in charge of bookings) who I dealt with is lovely, she has been very accomodating and her cultivation and heart warmth shine through a very efficient and sound presence!
There are many points about the centre that attracts me . It has been an absolute dream to get such a local place that offers single ensuite rooms for all, (a small room with your own electric shower and toilet attached ) offering privacy time on retreat; which is invaluable. She has also offered me a great indoor practice room with our own lounge coffee/ tea area so we can work and rest undisturbed by other groups there. The food is again a choice of vegetarian and non vegetarian (but they can't cater for specialist vegan diets.) It is near Fareham train station (local station) and only a 10 min taxi ride away. The grounds consist of a a big field at the front and a garden at the back....a little bit limited for nature walks. Fine for morning and evening practice but not really remote. There are houses nearby.
However the big plus that offsets this, is just 15mins away by car is the the beautiful Meon valley and the South Downs; where I would like to focus the outdoor work and develop a relationship with the land long term ; a place to keep revisiting, to develop personal connections with students interested in outdoor and seasonal work. I can't think of a lovelier time to mooch around the South Downs. Those of you who've been to the North Downs in Kent in previous years, will remember the elementary nature and fun of practice in meeting year after year in the same fields, reconnecting with the same trees and working with directions, weather, light and dark in the fields and meadows there.
Given that the South Downs is near where I now live, I would really like to nurture a relationship with the pastoral centre that allows myself and a small group of outdoor practitioners flexibility on overnight stays off peak, to celebrate the light and dark, Solstices and Equinoxes It also allows students from London to get to know the area a bit should they want to visit Hampshire themselves.