How do we consider our heart, our mind? Do we see it as a garden that needs careful trimming, cultivation and keeping in check? Or is it more like an open space with room for everything and everyone – more like a wilderness, unpredictable, fresh and full of discoveries? 

To have an open heart is a beautiful idea – but is it naïve? Can we keep our heart open, in this world
that so often seems to be hard, rough, or full of pain? With the practice of the Metta Bhavana – of loving kindness – we engage with all we meet in the world with an ever-expanding openness. The practice invites us to shed the covers of our habitual identities, and to be present and alive to the world as we meet it. Do we dare enter the thrilling wilderness that is our own heart? 

This retreat will focus on metta, and explore the stages of the Metta Bhavana in our heart, mind and bodies, in meditation, in nature and in the way we relate to one another. Practicing in- and outdoors, we will research how we can trust what is wild and surprising in ourselves, the mind-heart in its natural state. 

Easy physical improvisational exercises will help us to become more present, and open to more light and joy. This will enrich our attention within and outside of meditation with the spirit of discovery. In meditation and in movement improvisation we enter the unknown, a dance with ever new experience. Joining this dance, we can discover where stillness and engagement meet. 

For more information, read the retreat information sheet. 

A retreat for people who are part of the Scottish Sangha, who attend one of the Triratna groups or centres in Scotland. 

A precious opportunity to come together in community for meditation, talks and discussion, ritual and mantra, all held by the beautiful landscape of Dhanakosa.