Coming Home, Coming Out, Being Together

Then, deliberately mark your calendar and take care of the necessary steps to be able to participate with the most possible presence. We are aware that maybe some of you will not be able to attend the entire retreat due to different time zones or other life circumstances, and that is totally ok. You will still be able to participate in most of the activities.

Having said that, there is a special community energy, solidarity and togetherness generated when we practice with the same group over a few days. For this reason we would like to encourage those who do have the possibility to attend fully to give yourself the gift of this time of shared practice and togetherness to get a chance to build our communal Sangha energy by having enough time and space together to do so.

Another good condition to add for that retreat weekend is to be practicing together with your local Sangha siblings. There will be, for example, a time of walking meditation outside where you could meet and/or of course also for any of the other or all activities of the retreat, if your circumstances are safe enough to meet together inside. Practicing together with other Sangha members can be a very rich, bonding and fun experience, maybe you’d like to give it a try :)

Taking some moments to clean your space, possibly get some flowers and, or arrange some of your favourite meaningful objects, like photos of beloved ones, of your teachers, stones, cards etc. can already be a nice opportunity for ourselves to get in touch with that energy inside of ourselves that lead us to take part in this retreat in the first place. Taking a moment to slow down and to dedicate our time and energy in creating our little spot/altar is an act of deep self care and true love, as we’re setting our intention and directing our awareness towards mindfulness through our senses already.

We will have enough time to enjoy our meals mindfully and peacefully during this retreat. To create an even better condition for rest and spaciousness during these times we recommend that you prepare your meals before the retreat starts, if possible. If that is not available for you there’s still the possibility to stick to a very simple, yet nourishing meal option, which can be prepared rather quickly. For more information on eating meditation/the 5 contemplations on food, please click here:

https://wakeuplondon.org/mindfulness/the-5-contemplations-before-eating/

https://plumvillage.app/mindful-eating-7-reasons-to-try-it-a-step-by-step-guide/

We would like to warmly invite you to be on time for the different activities. To make the spaces safer for everyone present we will close the zoom rooms about 10 minutes after the official starting time. Please remember that all timings will be in ‘central european summer time’.

Just as in Plum Village, we ask you to maybe try to consciously create some distance to our devices and our habit energies around them. Perhaps we can invite some curiosity and observe ourselves without them. We encourage you to treat this time to the best of your abilities just as if it would be a physical retreat where you would most probably switch your phones off and your notifications on the computer to allow yourself to be undisturbed and to have more space to reconnect deeply with yourself, the practice and the Sangha.

For the Dharma sharing on Saturday afternoon we will give the option for those who are participating in the whole retreat to be in families with others who likewise have been present the entire time to be able to relate to certain events and experiences and have a shared space together. We will also have the opportunity for those who will be participating, but unable to attend all events, to have a dharma sharing family with other part time participants. We will split you into different groups on the spot with the help of our tech team.