„Interpersonal Mindfulness and Compassion Deepening Retreat”

Jackowo, Poland: 19 – 25 June 2017

The retreat is especially of benefit for those who would like to practice with being mindful in relationship and how to enhance empathic resonance with others. The retreat will also deepen their understanding of meditation and to familiarize with habitual patterns both individually and socially and how to step out of those so we can truly meet one another in openness. Also for anyone interested in developing their meditation practice, as individuals as well as in a community context. Teachers using both secular (MBLC or MBSR / MBCT) as well as Buddhist models of meditation may find the emphasis on group learning particularly relevant.

Can our relationship with each other be one of listening together and looking together? Can the images that come up be seen for what they are and be put aside so that they do not distort the listening and looking together?

Quote by Toni Packer

Being fully attentive and present is the basis for acting responsively toward each unfolding situation. Yet sustaining our mindfulness with others is challenging. Reactive individual and group patterns are easily triggered and we become distracted. How might we translate the values cultivated during our solitary and silent mindfulness practice to the chaotic flux of group life we are so often part of in our daily life and work?

During this retreat, we will explore the communication exchanges among members based on the four foundations of mindfulness. Individually and as a group using speech we ground our attention and presence by starting with the basic level of body sensation. We then sequentially proceed to feeling, mental events and experience. This gradual approach helps integrate the use of speech to describe moment-to-moment experience whilst not getting taken by story or narrative: individual, social, or cultural.

This approach is known as Contemplative Group Dynamics, which facilitates a loosening or release from self-centered attention enabling real time insight into:

  • the transient and contextually determined nature of experience
  • how others share the same embodiment and world with similar concerns and struggles
  • how we co-create a mindful group

In this way we practice deepening our compassionate appreciation of the interdependence of self, other and lived-world. This retreat offers a further deepening of the Compassion and Insight training as developed by Rob Nairn, with the Mindfulness Association. We use the group as an immediate relational field where interdependence and compassion operate, and where insight into the group’s operation and co-operation occurs as we loosen the grip of projections and expectations. The periods of practice with speech will be integrated with periods of silence. Talks, discussion, and exercises will help us meet the challenge of sustaining mindfulness- awareness as we co-create our group. The result is to manifest the values cultivated during our solitary and silent mindfulness practice within our group life, thus supporting a deeper understanding of the group as a community to support our deepening practice.

Facilitator:

Annick Nevejan, (MSc, Dutch) is an independent professional trainer and counsellor and lives in Am-sterdam, where she regularly offers mindfulness and compassion training. For the last 5 years she has been tutoring on the University of Aberdeen’s Mindfulness Studies Programme (MSc). She is a lead tutor and supervisor for the Mindfulness Association in the UK and Europe. In her work she integrates contemplative psychology, with systems oriented training and twenty-five years of study and practice in Tibetan Buddhism.

Annick will be supported during the retreat by: Olaf van Kooten and Anna Zubrzycki.

The retreat will be held in Folwark Jackowo in the village of the same name, 90 km from Gdańsk. You will find directions and a photo gallery of this unique place on their website: www.folwarkjackowo.pl

The retreat is international, basic English is required. Teachings will be translated into Polish.

Price, including accommodation and meals: 1 650 PLN (which is about 370 Euro or 317 GBP)

A minimum amount of participants is need in order for the retreat to take place.

If there are not enough participants those that did pay will receive a refund of their fee. Payment details may be found in the registration form: http://bit.ly/2el271B

Contact: mapoland.info@gmail.com

www.mindfulnessassociation.org.pl