Hosted By: Vishvapani and Amitajyoti
Friday, September 13th at 5 am EST to Thursday, September 19th, 2024 at 4 pm EST
Online via Zoom - see session times below
Event Description:
A home retreat to inspire and enrich your imagination
The mind, freed from the pressure of the will, is unfolded in symbols.
— W.B. Yeats
Following last year’s successful Mindfulness and Imagination retreat, The Heart of Imagination offers a week of meditation and creative practice, drawing inspiration from poetry, art, nature, and Buddhist symbols.
The focus of the retreat will be on cultivating awareness as a gateway into more expanded and enriched states of mind. We will reflect on what the imagination is, what it means to us individually, and what it can serve in our lives. There will be an emphasis on meditation and mindfulness with periods of creative exploration — drawing and writing. You’ll receive a rich body of resources to stimulate your imagination and help you access images/themes of significance to you. We will also explore the transformative power of the imagination to enrich our lives and open our minds to new ways of seeing and being. Bringing mindful awareness to the whole of our lives, we’ll explore how being grounded and embodied can open a space for curiosity, receptivity, and connection.
To deepen our understanding of the transformative power of the imagination, we’ll draw on a body of teachings called the “System of Spiritual Practice” that outlines a naturally unfolding process, as awareness deepens through dedicated practice. This can help us to navigate our unique way, with more confidence and freedom. We’ll explore:
Integration, meaning embodied awareness
Positive Emotion: an open, loving, and empathic heart
Spiritual Death: releasing limiting attitudes and finding a more authentic way of being
Spiritual Rebirth: the realm of imagination that brings an expanded experience of ourselves and opening to a sense of mystery
Spiritual Receptivity: resting in the freedom of open, spacious awareness and creative flow
These are doorways to a more creative experience that we can access whatever our circumstances.
Enlightenment is the state of irreversible creativity.
— Urgyen Sangharakshita
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 PDT 2:00 am | México CST 3:00 am | USA EDT 5:00 am | IE & UK BST 10:00 am | Europe CEST 11:00 am | India IST 2:30 pm | Australia AEST 7:00 pm | New Zealand NZST 9:00 pm
Second daily session (1.5 hrs): USA PDT 7:30 am | México CST 8:30 am | USA EDT 10:30 am | IE & UK BST 3:30 pm | Europe CEST 4:30 pm | India IST 8:00 pm | Australia AEST 12:30 am (next day) | New Zealand NZST 2:30 am (next day)
Third daily session (1.5 hrs): USA PDT 11:30 am | México CST 12:30 pm | USA EDT 2:30 pm | IE & UK BST 7:30 pm | Europe CEST 8:30 pm | India IST 12:00 midnight | Australia AEST 4:30 am (next day) | New Zealand NZST 6:30 am (next day)
Event Registration:
Register at the link below.
Suggested Donation:
Suggested donation for the whole retreat:
£175 / $220 / €205 or £30 / $38 / €35 per day.
To take part in this home retreat, we ask that when reserving your place, you affirm that you have been practicing meditation regularly for at least six months. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about this or your own potential attendance on the retreat.
Get one ticket and come to any session you wish throughout the week!
Like all our events, 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:
Vishvapani is a writer, broadcaster, and mindfulness teacher based in Cardiff, Wales, with over four decades’ experience of Buddhist practice. As a writer, he's best known for Gautama Buddha: the Life and Teachings of the Awakened One and as the Buddhist contributor to Thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4. He’s a prominent figure in the UK’s mindfulness world and has taught over 150 mindfulness courses.
He loves to explore poetry, myth, and imagination — along with Buddhism — in his writing, teaching, and practice.
Amitajyoti is a full-time artist, tutor, and freelance teacher/trainer living and working in London. She received BA (Hons) Fine Art in 1998, and in 2003 studied drawing, to MA level, at the Royal Drawing School. Her work is held in private collections across the UK, Europe, and America.
She has been practicing mindfulness meditation for over 30 years and has been teaching drawing, mindfulness, and the imagination courses and workshops for over 20 years in both Buddhist and secular contexts. She has worked as a freelance drawing and mindfulness teacher/trainer in a variety of locations including The National Gallery, British Museum, British Library, Pallant House Gallery, and the Queens Gallery.