Bodhi Khaya - Retreats

Retreats

Let go, explore possibility

CANCELLED!! FULL MOON MEDITATION Community Gatherings

Join us for a Group Meditation followed by a potluck. Bring your friends, and a dish to share! There is no charge for these community gatherings.

StoepZen Loa Tsu meets Oom Schalk Lourens.
A MEDITATION RETREAT with Antony Osler
FEBRUARY 6-8

R990-1,110 depending on choice of accommodation. Dana is gratefully accepted.

StoepZen means to be able to meditate in a chair on the stoep as well as on a cushion in the meditation hall. This is a retreat that makes a bridge between formal Zen practice and daily life, a simple quiet weekend that includes meditation, talks, discussions, interviews and exercise. It is suitable for beginners as well as experienced meditators. Copies of Antony's new book 'StoepZen' will be available for purchase.

Antony Osler has been practising, studying, and teaching Buddhism since the early 1970s. He was the first Meditation teacher at the Buddhist Retreat Centre in Ixopo and thereafter spent some years as a Zen monk with Sasaki Roshi in the USA. He now lives with his family on a farm in the Karoo where he sits on the stoep, meditates in an old shearing shed and runs occasional Zen retreats. In his professional life he is an advocate specializing in human rights work and labour arbitrations.

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FLESH AND SPIRIT
THE MYSTERY OF INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP with Amber & Jesse
February 13-15,2009 [3 full days starting at 9:30am on Friday]
R1,800 per person including private en-suite accommodation and all meals.

This 3-day experiential weekend over Valentine's Day will provide both an intimate getaway and a provocative retreat in this beautiful pastoral farm setting in the Overberg. Celebrate and deepen your primary relationship in a small circle of couples through specific communication and energy practices. Leave the retreat with tools which help bring vision, inspiration, and more aliveness into your intimate partnership and support each of you in creating the life you want!
Facilitators Amber and Jesse have been offering Couples Retreats in the USA and SA since 1999. They trained with Jack Zimmerman and Jaquelyn McCandless [developers of the Flesh and Spirit practices as presented in their book 'Flesh and Spirit: The Mystery of Intimate Relationship'] and have a strong commitment to embrace relationship as a spiritual path.

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EXPLORING MAITRI
A Meditation Retreat with Jennifer Woodhull
February 20-22
R990-1,110 dpending on choice of accommodation. Dana is gratefully accepted.

The Sanskrit word maitri literally means "loving-kindness." A more challenging and powerful translation, however, is "unconditional friendliness to oneself."

The notion of treating oneself well is often confused with self-indulgence or self-improvement; but in fact, neither of these tendencies is of much practical help on the spiritual [or any other] path.
Using mindfulness meditation and maitri practice itself, we'll spend this weekend exploring what it really means to show ourselves unconditional friendliness - and why this practice is indispensable to all genuine spiritual unfolding.

Jennifer Woodhull is a close student of Pema Chodron, American nun and Buddhist teacher, whose popular books include When Things Fall Apart, No Time to Lose and Start Where You Are. Jennifer has studied and practised for 24 years in the Shambhala lineage of Pema's teacher Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, and has taught in the United States and South Africa. She has a special interest in the Tibetan Buddhist teachings that uncover the wisdom at the heart of our most distressing experiences.
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THE WAY OF COUNCIL
An experiential weekend with Jesse & Amber
February 28 - March 1: 9:30am Saturday to 5pm Sunday.
Residential [R660-725] or non-residential [R480]. These fees cover venue costs. There is no facilitator fee. Donations are gratefully received.
The Way of Council has been described in many ways: circlespeak, wisdom circle, or talking circle, but at it's essence it is about 'listening in the heart and speaking from the heart.' The ancient practice of sitting in a circle, speaking and listening from the heart, can enrich any relationship – at home, in school, in the workplace, in community. This lively weekend will enable you to integrate council into your personal and professional life, whether you're a facilitator, therapist, artist, home-maker, CEO, or student. Join us and explore thinking like a circle, moving from heart-centered awareness, and expanding our inner and outer horizons. Council is a gateway to deeper communication, intercultural understanding and the nonviolent resolution of conflict – a place where destiny and the present moment meet. There will be storytelling, games, song and movement, all in the spirit of council.

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TEACHER IN RESIDENCE: MARCH 2009
GAVIN HARRISON
A SERIES OF AUTUMN INSIGHT MEDITATION RETREATS

All retreats with Gavin are for both beginning and experienced meditators. Sitting and walking meditation instructions will be offered. There will be talks and opportunity for discussion, inquiry and investigation together. Retreats are non-denominational and open to those of all spiritual traditions. Noble silence is practised throughout the retreats. Gavin does not charge for the teachings. The fees include a surcharge which goes towards his travel expenses only. Dana is gratefully accepted.
Gavin will be in residence and available between scheduled retreats to support those on individual retreat on the following days: March 5,10,11,18,19,24,25.

Gavin lives on the Big Island of Hawaii and has practised Buddhist Insight Meditation for 28 years. He teaches in South Africa and Hawaii and has taught internationally. He has a deep interest in finding ways to bring ancient teachings alive in accessible and authentic ways within the circumstances of our time. Gavin's teachings also draw from the Sufi and Christian mystical traditions. He is deeply committed to serving the orphans, vulnerable children, women and men living with AIDS and those who support them at the Woza Moya Project in KwaZulu, South Africa. See Gavin's website for more about Gavin. He is the author of "In The Lap of The Buddha" and a recipient of the "Unsung Hero of Compassion Award" presented to him by H.H. the Dalai Lama for "kindness and quiet dedication to others."

THE FLOWERING OF INNER AFFECTION: Weekend Retreat
MARCH 6-8. R1,100 - 1,430
It is the birthright of every one of us to embody a love that is both unconditional and limitless, expressed inwardly and outwardly, within every corridor of this precious human life. We all yearn to live an unfractured life, where our essential goodness beautifies every aspect of our humanity, bringing to a conclusion the patterns of self-crucifixion, self-hatred, division and harshness that tear the heart apart. This is what the Sufi poet Rumi called "Becoming a True Human Being."
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CULTIVATING A SPIRITUAL PRACTICE OF LIBERATION: 5-day Retreat [Thursday-Monday]
MARCH 12-16. R1,760-2,460
A spiritual practice of liberation is fundamentally concerned with one thing only: awakening to our true nature, that which is always and already present. Fundamental to the recognition of this deepest truth of who we are, is a flowering of the capacity of heart and mind to be with things as they are - without argument or a demand that they be different. This is the end of seeking, argument and struggle. This is "the peace that passeth all understanding." This retreat would include a focus upon:

Beyond the Grip of Thought
Homesickness of the Heart
Working with Anger and Fear
The Movement of Truth

Being on retreat affords us the opportunity to step back from the unfolding of daily life and enter into the Unknown together. Within an environment that offers both structure and support, this retreat is an opportunity to deeply realize the truth of our being and the nature of existence. The container for this sacred time is silence and togetherness, wherein we dedicate ourselves to the possibility of a deep and transformational unfolding into truth.
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LIVING IN THE LIGHT OF DEATH: 4-day Retreat [Friday - Monday]
MARCH 20-23. R1,375-1,890
We are aging from the moment we are born. We have no idea when we may grow ill and when we will die. We are not guaranteed even one more breath! Death is not waiting for us at the end of the road; it is walking with us all the time. Truly facing death enables us to appreciate and make the best use of our precious life in a whole new way. Engaging death liberates us from unnecessary suffering and serves our awakening to the truth of who we really are: the unborn, the deathless. We die before we die, and we open to life in all its fullness.
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CREATIVE SELF MASTERY
Painting your Way to Happiness with Fiona Almeleh
APRIL 24-26
R990-1,110 depending on choice of accommodation. There is no facilitator fee, Dana is gratefully accepted.

This weekend includes visualizations, meditation, movement and sound, and practical work with writing and colour. By playing with paint reawaken your passion for life; tap into your intuitive wisdom; understand why you keep repeating the same patterns; step outside of your attachment to the 'image'; set in motion the process of healing through self-empowerment; and become creatively resourceful. Everything changes when you put your heart into it. Creativity is who you are. Every time you take a breath there is the potential for something new, and when you realize that each thought creates your world, you can consciously choose to channel your energy into promoting positivity and full presence. This workshop which includes painting with your fingers, helps the mind to empty and allows something delicious and joyful to take hold as your awareness expands and your being feels elevated. This is what it really feels like to be you! No painting experience needed.
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5-DAY INNERFIRE QUEST AT THE MAY FULL MOON
with Jesse and Amber
MAY 5-10, 2009

A Vision Quest is an intensive, guided journey into this puzzling, fascinating, and enlightening collaboration between nature and human. The act of withdrawing from the community into wild nature in order to gain clarity and receive insight is actually an ancient tradition that seekers around the world have followed for millenia. Contemporary men and women embark on quests for many reasons: to gain clarity on a chosen path, to strengthen their relationship with nature, because they're in transition and need to make a leap forward, to heal an old wound, or simply to celebrate life! This 5-day quest is a solitary inner and outer journey undertaken in the company of other questers and with the support and guidance of facilitators. It includes a 24-hour alone time in wild nature. We dream differently when we sleep close to the ground; the earth speaks more directly to us, restoring its primal relationship to the psyche. We invite you to take this time for yourself and join with us in the week of the May Full Moon for a profound and uniquely meaningful experience.
Facilitators: Jesse and Amber are professional wilderness guides. They have been leading quests in partnership since 1996.

R2,400 includes private accommdation and wholesome meals before and after the alone time as well as art materials. Tent camping - R2,025

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COLLEEN-JOY InnerLifeSkills RETREAT
Be All you were born to be!
2009 Dates TBD. Call us to put your name on the info. list.

"Personal liberation leads to collective healing.
Personal liberation is the bedrock to global peace.
Personal liberation can only happen inside the self".

This retreat will include: developing your intuition; reclaiming your authentic self; transforming fear; finding inner strength; learning to understand, heal and build successful relationships from the inside out; healing inherited inner wounds; and plugging into your purpose to make a lasting difference in your world.
Making the shift from being 'externally referenced' to 'internally referenced' is the key in this retreat. An 'internally referenced' individual knows how to go inside to find solutions, strength and inner resources. Discover in humorous ways why intuition is your most valuable inner resource. Colleen-Joy combines inspiration, humour, and practical wisdom. She touches hearts with moving true life stories and anchors the learning into powerful take-home tools.

Colleen-Joy Page is an International InnerLifeSkills Coach, and Professional Motivational Speaker. Her professional speaking career has taken her to the UK, USA and at home in South Africa she has her own campus where she trains 80-150 students a week. At the age of 3, Colleen-Joy developed a large tumor behind her right eye. Life saving surgery at the age of 4 gave Colleen-Joy more than her sight. She died twice on the operating table and was deeply changed by the death experience. Ironically, the large brain tumor that nearly took her sight and her life, gave her gifts of new ways of seeing and being. At the tender age of 4 she had learned to look deeper than surface, deeper than appearance at herself and at the world.
Colleen-Joy has had extensive television appearances, is a regular radio talk show guest and frequents magazine and tabloid press.
See Colleen-Joy's website for more info.

OTHER PROGRAMMES AND EVENTS BEING HELD AT BODHI KHAYA:

JANUARY 9-11: Shakti Malan's TANTRIC MOON NEW YEAR RETREAT.

The first full moon of the new year is a time to celebrate life and to come to rest in the vast inner ocean of stillness - opening to what the new year brings for you. This is a unique quality of Tantra as a path of awareness - it encourages you to live and experience with totality, and in that way to find the deep meditation of life. For a whole weekend, dance and move the passion of life that courses through your body if you fully say yes to it. Practice individual and partner Tantric meditations working with breath and the conscious flow of sexual energy. And drink in the moment together in a beautiful sacred place.
Email This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it or phone her on 083 301-0399 to find out more or to make a reservation.

JANUARY 17-18: Lasslop/Heuermann Wedding

JANUARY 29-31: USA Elder Hostel group