The Power and the Beauty: Soul-Making Dharma with Metta and Skills of the Heart
“There are a Thousand Ways to Kneel and Kiss the Ground”
Rumi
Relating to our practice as the fashioning and tuning of an instrument of perception, we will explore our seeing and sensing not as ‘revealers of truth’ but as ‘arts’ – engaging the materials of our lives with more freedom and exploring an infinite field of richness and meaningfulness. Inquiring into the emotional, ideological, and practical barriers that can prevent this opening, constrain its range, or render it ineffectual for our lives, we will trace a path towards more sacredness and beauty. Drawing our hearts onward in devotion, the beauties we encounter in these practices have the power to orient and inspire us during better times and during troubled times too — and can give to everything, including our sufferings, a necessary place.
During this Soulmaking Dharma retreat we will have time to learn and deepen the sensitivities, skills and flexibility with working with images, imaginal perception and sensing with soul. We will make a home base in practices of kindness throughout this retreat and we will also give time to work on deepening skills with our emotions and mind states (as taught by Rob Burbea in the Boundless Heart retreat). These practices with and for the heart provide a rich and steady platform for Soulmaking Dharma, letting us become more available and attuned to mystical perceptions.
This retreat is for those already familiar with Rob Burbea’s ‘Ways of Looking’ approaches to the Dharma — please see the specific criteria.
Experience and prerequisites required to participate in this retreat
The following prerequisites are all necessary for participation in this retreat: Please consider them carefully.
Please listen to the talk on this page to see if the retreat is a good fit for you, and meet the experience and prerequisites below:
- I have listened to the recording above and consider that this retreat is a good fit for me. An informed interest in and affinity for the orientations and key ideas of Soulmaking Dharma. I have listened to 3 of the 6 talks recommended as possible starting points on the Soulmaking Dharma page and have an interest in this work (choose whichever are interesting to you).
- At least fourteen days of silent residential Insight Meditation experience.
- Some familiarity with the Ways of Looking approach as outlined by Rob Burbea and presented in the talk Approaching the Dharma: Part 2 – Liberating Ways of Looking (and an affinity with the idea of the ‘flexibility of perception’ and possibilities that come from experimenting with different ‘ways of looking’).
- A working familiarity with Mettā, or other Brahma-Vihara practice
- An ability to access a full body awareness in practice as pointed to in these talks. The Energy Body (A Little Bit of What, Why, and How) and A guided meditation on energy body and working with the breath.
- Familiarity and skill in working with difficult emotions in practice.
Who is teaching?
Catherine McGee has been teaching Insight Meditation retreats internationally since 1999. She is a member of the Gaia House teachers council, a guiding teacher of One Earth Sangha and a long term student of the Diamond Approach. Her teaching emphasises embodiment and how to translate our deepest knowledge in to our lived relationships.
Juha Penttilä has been practicing meditation since 2002. He has spent extended periods of time on retreats and in monasteries in Asia and Europe and is one of the founding members of Nirodha, the Finnish Insight Meditation practice community. Juha completed his Insight Meditation teacher training in 2020. In addition to exploring meditation, Juha’s teaching is influenced by the current climate crisis and engaged perspectives into the Dharma.
How much does it cost? How can I sign up?
The base price is 340 euros. It is also possible to pay more or less than this. More information about the price, registration and other details.
Warmly,
Marianne (Nella) & John Woodbury, registrations, retriitit2@nirodha.fi