Soulmaking Dharma Retreat 28.2.-6.3.2022 in Kruusila: Catherine McGee

Re-enchanting the Cosmos: The Poetry of Perception

On this retreat we will cultivate a sensitive and meditative playfulness with respect to the senses, the body, and the whole experience of being. 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’ – opening us to our freedom but also beyond it to an infinite field of potential enchantment, depth, beauty, and meaningfulness, and giving to everything, including our sufferings, a necessary place. Inquiring into the barriers, emotional, ideological, and practical, that can prevent this opening, constrain its range, or render it ineffectual for our lives, we will explore the nature of an enchantment without clinging.

The retreat is aimed at experienced practitioners who should also have a basic understanding of the Soulmaking Dharma practice.

Prerequisites

Soulmaking Dharma retreat asks that a practitioner has already developed a number of very particular meditative skills before participating. It also asks that they have already listened to and have affinity with some of the Soulmaking Dharma teachings. To help you decide if you wish to come please consider the 8 criteria below.

The prerequisite experience for this course is the following:

1. 4 weeks of residential, teacher-led, silent Insight Meditation retreats (or equivalent experience).
2. Familiarity with Energy Body practice.
3. Self-knowledge.
4. An understanding of emptiness and ways of looking as presented by Rob Burbea.
5. A Metta practice.
6. Interest in the key ideas of Soulmaking Dharma.
7. An open mind.
8. A keen interest in restoring, opening and expanding senses of sacredness.

Some of you may already have some or all of these pre-requisites well established. If not, some of them can be met by listening to the talks listed below each prerequisite

Prerequisites number 2 and 3 below are a longer-term development and if these are not already established in your practice, then this course will most likely not be helpful for you. If this is the case and you want to develop these and any of the other of the Soulmaking Dharma foundations, there are several pathways for development linked below the prerequisites.

Please read more detailed description of prerequisites and pathways for development here.

A message from Catherine

Dear Dharma Friends,

I realise that attendance at this retreat asks for a lot of very particular ways of practising and understanding the Dharma. And that without these the retreat may be of limited value to you. 

 And I recognise that it can be a big task to consider each of these 8 criteria and assess if one is ready or ready enough, or what to do next in terms of getting ready.  If you have any questions about your readiness or just want some help in getting oriented to these pre-requisites, I encourage you to arrange a meeting with Juha or Sari. They can support you to assess where you are with each of the criteria and possible next steps in getting ready for a Soulmaking Dharma retreat. Juha and Sari both offer one-to-one meetings as a part of their teaching work on a donation basis and are kindly offering their time to support you in deepening your practice in preparation for this retreat. You can reach out to Juha and Sari via email through penttila.j@gmail.com and sari.a.markkanen@gmail.com.

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.

How much does it cost? How can I sign up?

Practical information and the registration instructions can be found here.