Transforming our Relationship to Life

15-19th November 2023

Meditation is widely recognised as a practice that nourishes our wellbeing. And while this is no doubt important, the original purpose was vaster and far more profound… It was to transform our relationship to reality itself, to bring a transformative shift in understanding.

As the world goes from crisis to crisis, and our collective ways of living cause greater and greater harm to the planet, it is clear that we are not in right relationship to reality and such a transformation is deeply needed. 

In this retreat, we'll explore what just such transformed relationship might look and feel like. We'll explore how we can come to see life as sacred, and be enchanted by the beauty of reality. We'll discover meditation as practice that can open the door to seeing the deep interconnection of all that is, and in turn lead to a falling in love with reality, with life itself. We'll also explore how this can become the basis for a boundless compassion, free from the distinction of self and other. 

This promises to be a beautiful and nourishing experience, held in the beautiful setting of Wiston Lodge.  

You are very much invited to join us! 

5pm, Wednesday 15th November till 1pm, Sunday 19th November

Full cost including food and accommodation is £565

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Register your place

A beautiful venue in central Scotland

Wiston Lodge is a beautiful old building new used by youth and community groups. It's nestled in ancient woodland meaning there are many beautiful walks to enjoy during the retreat.

The venue is spacious and comfortable and accomodation is dormitory style with approximately 3-4 people in each room.

Getting to Wiston Lodge

Within an hour's drive of Edinburgh and Glasgow. If you'd like to carshare just let us know when you sign up.

Broadband Providers

What does the retreat consist of?

Sitting and Walking Meditation

Sitting and walking meditation are central elements of the retreat experience. Both practices gives us the opportunity to connect with our breath and body and to cultivate a stillness of mind that allows us to connect deeply to life as it is. Through sitting and walking meditation we can cultivate positive qualities of mind such as ease, compassion, and joy.

Deep Relaxation

Deep relaxation is a practice of learning to release tensions in the body and to nourish the body with feelings of ease, peace and joy. In this practice, we normally lie down so as to give the body the opportunity to rest deeply.

From the deep rest that comes from this practice, we can experience life with a renewed freshness and vitality

Talks & Workshops

Each day we will have the opportunity to listen to a talk/workshop to inspire our practice. The talk is offered to encourage our practice of mindfulness, to aid our process of self-inquiry and to provide guidance on how we can cultivate our capacities for wisdom and compassion.

Listening Circles

Circle sharing is a collective practice of mindful communication. It involves sitting in a circle with a small group of fellow practitioners and sharing what is alive in our experience and listening to others with non-judgment and compassion. This practice offers a space to be with others. It can be healing, inspiring, and heart-warming.

Instructor(s)

Michael Bready

Michael's been a passionate practitioner of mindfulness for over 18 years and has spent long stretches on retreat in various meditation traditions in Nepal, India, France and the UK. He holds a Masters in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania and founded Youth Mindfulness in 2011. Since then, he's taught mindfulness to thousands of children, teenagers and adults as well as trained thousands of educators. He led the development of the first mindfulness programme for young men in prison in Scotland and has taught mindfulness to Members of the Scottish Parliament. His current passion is exploring what science is telling us about human nature and how this can lead us to a brighter, wiser and more humane future.

Lorna Walker

Lorna is a mindfulness teacher and trainer with decades of experience in the education and social care sectors. She was previously a principal teacher and wellbeing advisor at Quarriers and is one of Youth Mindfulness’ lead trainers and co-author of the Youth Mindfulness SOMA Programme. Lorna has a passionate interest in building compassionate communities, and takes a systems-based approach to nurturing the wellbeing of staff teams. She has a particular specialisation in harm reduction and works closely with CALM Training to bring mindfulness and compassion training to staff teams both in the UK and internationally.

FAQ

  • Who is this retreat for?

    This retreat is open to anyone who wishes to nourish their practice of mindfulness and devote themselves to 4 full days of dedicated practice. We expect many graduates of youth mindfulness training programmes will join the retreat to reconnect with the wider Youth Mindfulness Community. Some prior experience of mindfulness is helpful.What

  • What is the accommodation like?

    The accommodation is spacious, comfortable, and dormitory style with approximately 3 to 4 fellow retreatants sharing in each room.

  • What is the full cost of the retreat?

    The full cost, including accommodation and food, is £565.

  • I have special dietary requirements, can they be accommodated?

    The food served at the retreat will be homemade vegetarian. We will do what we can to accommodate an particular requirements. Please email us at [email protected] if you have any particular questions you'd like to ask about the food.