Hosted By: Paramananda and Bodhilila
Friday, January 20th at 9:00 am GMT (London time) to Thursday, January 26th, 2023 at 10:00 pm GMT
Online via Zoom - see session times below
Event Description:
What does it mean to really wake up? Join us for an opening of the heart and imagination to our own deepest nature and place in the world.
Seven days of meditation, soulful exploration, and strong, supportive friendship: a safe space to go deeper into experience and practice.
The Buddha was known as the Awakened One, but what does it mean to really wake up? Buddhism is clear that this awakening is more than just intellectual knowledge. Most importantly, it is an opening of the heart and imagination to our own deepest nature and our place in the world.
During this online retreat we will be looking at how we might deepen into ourselves and open to the world through our practice of meditation and ritual. 🧘♀️ 🧘♂️
The sessions will be a mix of meditation, poetry, presentation, practice, interaction and inquiry. One session each day will feature breakout groups. There will also be a private community message board for all taking part in the retreat.
Attend any or all conversations in Zoom.
This event will be recorded and may be published online for others to access. Only the leader's video will be used except where users consent to appear spotlighted in a public conversation. Private conversations in breakout rooms will not be recorded.
Session Times:
First daily session (2 hrs): USA PST 01:00 | México 03:00 | USA EST 04:00 | IE & UK 09:00 | Europe CET 10:00 | India 14:30 | Australia AEDT 20.00 | New Zealand NZDT 22.00
Second daily session (1.5 hrs): USA PST 07:30 | México 09:30 | USA EST 10:30 | IE & UK 15:30 | Europe CET 16:30 | India 21:00 | Australia AEDT 02.30 (next day) | New Zealand NZDT 04.30 (next day)
Third daily session (1.5 hrs): USA PST 11:30 | México 13:30 | USA EST 14:30 | IE & UK 19:30 | Europe CET 20:30 | India 01:00 (next day) | Australia AEDT 06.30 (next day) | New Zealand NZDT 08.30 (next day)
Event Registration:
Register at the link below.
Payment:
Suggested donation for the whole retreat:
£125 / $175 / €150 or £25 / $35 / €30 per day.
Get one ticket and come to any session you wish!
This retreat is offered by donation rather than charging a compulsory ticket price. We want to do this because we never want money to be an obstacle to taking part in a supportive community, and we know many people are struggling financially in the wake of the pandemic and cost of living crisis. The amount we suggest reflects the huge amount of work and love that goes into putting on events we hope will benefit everyone attending. If you can, please donate today to help us continue with our work and support others to attend who cannot afford to pay. Thank you!
About the Hosts:
Paramananda is an inspirational and much loved Buddhist teacher who has written a number of books on Buddhism and the craft of meditation, including 'Change Your Mind', ‘A Deeper Beauty’, and mostly recently ‘The Myth of Meditation: Restoring Imaginal Ground through Embodied Buddhist Practice’.
He worked for a number of years as a psychiatric social worker and did voluntary work in the community for the Samaritans, in drug detox, and in a hospice. Having co-founded the San Francisco Buddhist Center, Paramananda is now based in West London where is time is dedicated to teaching.
Bodhilila has been meditating and practising mindfulness for 27 years. She is a fully accredited Breathworks mindfulness trainer as well as a qualified counsellor, teacher and massage therapist. She worked for many years as a classical musician and more recently as a nursery manager. She is currently Chair of the West London Buddhist Centre, where she has been teaching meditation, mindfulness and Buddhism, as well as helping to run the Centre, since 2012. She regularly leads retreats for the WLBC and at Taraloka women’s retreat centre.