Cancelled
Open to beginners and experienced meditators alike. Please note this weekend will now take place online on Zoom.
More info on the Shambhala Teachings Series here.
“If we pause and breathe in and out, then we can have the experience of timeless presence, of the inexpressible wisdom and goodness of our own minds. We can look at the world with fresh eyes and hear things with fresh ears.” Pema Chödrön
This first weekend in the series of Shambhala teachings is an introduction to the good news: That we already have everything we need to live a fulfilling life regardless of all the challenges we face as individuals.
Meditation plays a part by bringing together body and mind in the present moment. Moments like this can be experienced as glimpses of ‘no struggle’ – that is, moments when we find ourselves relaxing into and trusting our own aliveness.
We can learn to relate to our own aliveness with appreciation, bringing peace and clarity through the practice of meditation. We will work on developing friendship with our mind, skill in how to work with difficulty, and a sense of humour – offering a healthy and sustaining alternative to the anxiety that often underlies our experience.
Here is a video on the Shambhala Teachings and their relation to Buddhism.
Feedback from recent courses:
“Loved the talks, and everyone was so open to each other’s opinions and experiences”
“Having done retreats before I consider this venue and organisation excellent and will definitely come again”
“I got all the answers I came for and am excited about my practice”
“Impressive support by staff and volunteers – very professional”
For further information please email: [email protected]
The Teachers
Vinita Joseph has been involved with Shambhala for over thirty years. She has enjoyed careers both as a family lawyer and as an academic in creative writing and brings this experience to her teaching within Shambhala. She has run meditation groups and courses for many years and currently works as a coach helping professionals lead more balanced lives. She lives with her wife in Whitstable.
Rachael Cheang has been meditating since 1997 and has studied with many different spiritual groups and Buddhist teachers. She first joined Shambhala in 2014 and is currently a trustee of the London Centre. She has an MSc. in Mindfulness and Compassion and has recently completed a PhD researching the effects of mindfulness for people with alexithymia and autism. In 2019, she had a systematic review published about the effects of mindfulness on empathy and compassion in children and adolescents. She is a British Association of Mindfulness-Based Approaches (BAMBA) registered teacher, a qualified Tai Chi instructor since 2013. She lives in Northampton with her husband and their four teenagers.
Payment Terms and Conditions
Please register and pay in full on registration, ensuring you click on the relevant price option to go through to PayPal where you can also pay by credit/debit card. Cancellation up to 1 week before the programme will receive a full refund, after that there will be a £20 fee charged for cancellation up until two days before, after which no refund is granted.
The early bird registration fee of £100 is available until two weeks prior, after which time the fee will be £120. A concession fee of £60 is available for those earning below £25,000 per annum and a concession fee of £50 is available for those earning below £20,000. Please contact [email protected] to arrange a concession.
We do not want cost to be a barrier to anyone attending and understand that these are challenging times financially for many people – please do not hesitate to contact us if you require a further concession.
Repeat attenders
If you have previously attended this course and would like to do so again, you may attend for 50% of the price of either the full cost or the concessionary cost, depending on income. Please contact [email protected]