You are warmly invited to join a group of Plum Village Monastics for a weekend retreat, learning how to connect to and nourish our spiritual roots, living simply and celebrating diversity, new communities blossom.…
Dear Friends,
We are delighted to announce that there are still tickets available for Wake Up London’s Summer Retreat, 4-7th of August. The retreat is available for those aged 18-35ish, in the beautiful Kent countryside.…
The Wake Up London Summer Retreat booking form is open here!
The theme of the retreat is Being Together where we’ll explore depth and lightness in community.
Dates: Thurs 30th Aug (evening) – Sun 2nd Sept
Location: The Quadrangle Trust a peaceful countryside venue in Kent, only a short walk from Shoreham Station with direct trains from London Victoria.
We will spend the weekend practicing mindfulness in the Plum Village tradition, enjoying the natural surroundings (including a wild swimming river!) and each other. Get involved 🙂
You can book here.
Facebook event see here.
We are delighted to announce that Plum Village monastics led by brothers Bao Tich and Phap Lai will be joining us for a series of events in May.
See below for further details on the event schedule and to purchase tickets. http://www.londonmindfulnesshub.org/
Schedule:
FRI 11 May: 7.30 – 10pm Bring a Friend to an Evening of Practice
Have you friends interested in mindfulness but haven’t tried it? Or who’ve tried Headspace and are interested in going further? This evening’s for you to bring them along to hear the Plum Village monastics share introductory teachings on mindfulness, meditation and a happy life.
Also suitable for newcomers on their own. Or for regulars who’d like to review the basics.
Westminster Quaker Meeting House
52 St Martins Lane WC2N 4EA
(entry via 8 Hop Gardens)
£5 /£7 /£10 per person according to your means
Info and booking here and facebook event here.
SUN 13 May: 10am – 5.30pm A Day of Mindfulness
For all with some experience of meditation you are warmly invited to join us for this day of mindfulness. We’ll come together to hear a talk, and to practice sitting and walking meditation, mindful eating, smiling and breathing together. Please bring vegetarian food to share for lunch.
The Core, 161 Northwold Road, Upper Clapton E5 8RL
£15 / £22 / £30 according to your means.
Info and booking here and facebook event here.
MON 14 May: 5 – 6.40pm Walk With Me
The recent film about Plum Village monastery — followed by Q&A with the monks. An insightful rumination on the pursuit of happiness, living in the present and our attachment to material things. Followed by thirty minute walking meditation on Regent Street
Regent Street Cinema
309 Regent Street, Marylebone W1B 2UW
£11 conc / £12 adult
Info and booking here and facebook event here.
FRI 18 May: 7.30 – 10pm Deepening Your Practice
How to come to our true home. Featuring a talk, touching the earth and other practices. For those already having some experience of Thich Nhat Hanh’s or similar traditions
The practice of Touching the Earth, also known as bowing deeply or prostrating, helps us return to the Earth and to our roots, and to recognize that we are not alone but connected to a whole stream of spiritual and blood ancestors. We touch the Earth to let go of the idea that we are separate and to remind us that we are the Earth and part of Life.
Westminster Quaker Meeting House
52 St Martins Lane WC2N 4EA
(entry via 8 Hop Gardens)
£5 /£7 /£10 according to your means
Info and booking here and facebook event here.
SAT 19 May: Afternoon of Mindfulness 2.15pm – 5.30pm & ‘Wake Up to the joy of togetherness’ Be In 6pm – 9pm
An Afternoon of Mindfulness with our monastics, schedule:
2:30pm Singing and guided meditation
3pm Dharma talk
3.45pm Dharma sharing in small groups
5pm Walking meditation
5.30pm Break time, please bring vegan/vegetarian food to share 🙂
6-9pm Be-In celebration with the first half of the evening led by the monastics. We will enjoy tea and cookies in mindful silence then there will be sharing, songs, live music, poems and other offerings. Please if inspired do bring your instruments and other creative offering to share at this celebration, you can let a member of the hub team know on the day.
Suggested donation of £7, according to your means.
Westminster Quaker Meeting House
52 St Martins Lane WC2N 4EA
(entry via 8 Hop Gardens)
Facebook event here.
SUN 20 May: Peace Walk – A Walking Meditation in Victoria Park 11.30am – 1.30pm
Offering Peace for Ourselves, the City and the World
Walking meditation and mindful picnic in Victoria Park. Please bring an individual packed lunch for a mindful picnic afterwards.
Meet at Bonner Gate (junction of Sewardstone Rd / Approach Rd) E2 9JW. Please arrive in plenty of time.
Facebook event here.
For all these we have kept prices as low as possible. Please just pay what you can. Where you can afford the upper rate however that would be helpful.
This summer, from 5th to 12th August, Plum Village will be hosting another wonderful International Wake Up Retreat.
These retreats are a time for us to be together, young people from all over the world (16-35 year olds), to deepen our mindfulness practice, and enjoy time being together.
As well as the usual program of sitting meditation, dharma talks and mindful eating and so on, we’ll have plenty of time to relax and restore ourselves by being close to nature – on walking meditations, going on hikes, working on the Happy Farm, and spending time together around bonfires. There will be music and laughter, as well as time to listen deeply and share from our hearts.
We will be asking ourselves:
In the current climate crisis and context of wars, how can we balance our deep wish to engage in actions to help the world, with our own personal spiritual journey? How can we find meaning and purpose in our life? How can we find an alternative, healthier, sane, and compassionate lifestyle?
We are so happy to be able to share with you these wonderful gifts offered by Thich Nhat Hanh’s monastic community this August and organized by The Community of Interbeing UK.
Stourbridge, West Midlands (nr Birmingham)
As well as offering daily dharma talks, monks and nuns, students of Thich Nhat Hanh will be offering their wisdom, practice and peaceful presence in all aspects of the retreat, which, will include programmes for under-5s, children up to 13, teenagers and young adults (Wake Up) and is open to all, whether experienced in mindfulness meditation or a complete beginner.
Bursaries available to those who might otherwise be unable to attend.
Logan Hall, London
You are invited to join the monks and nuns of Plum Village, exploring the practice of mindfulness through listening deeply, meditation, chanting and singing.
This is a wonderful opportunity for people from all cultures, different faiths and none, to come together to experience the transformational practices of mindfulness and liberation.
We’re happy to announce that there will be a retreat for young mindfulness practitioners from 17-24 April in Plum Village, France.
If you are aged 18-35(ish), are based in (or come from) the UK or Ireland, and would like to enjoy a week in Plum Village together experiencing the mindfulness practices of Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, then please register here.
Once you register, you will need to make a payment to secure your place.
In our week together in Plum Village, we have the precious opportunity to take a break and enjoy being in the beautiful nature of South-Western France, where several monks, nuns, young men and young women will together create a joyful, refreshing and peaceful retreat.
You will have the chance to learn and experience the art of sitting meditation, deep total relaxation and walking meditation on the legendary Plum Village paths through fields and forests. We will learn how to really be there for ourselves and for each other, and to really listen to our own hearts and to one another. We will live together simply, healthily and joyfully – with music, dance, games, maybe hikes and bonfires.
This is a wonderful opportunity to bring together all the Wake Up sanghas and young mindfulness practitioners in the UK & Ireland to nourish and deepen our connections, and enjoy being together in this special place as one rich and diverse community.
To find out more about your stay in Plum Village, please go to their website for more information.
Plum Village monastery is a non-profit charitable organization run entirely by donations. The retreat contribution includes the cost of your accommodation and three meals a day. The contribution will depend on the type of accommodation you choose when registering:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RisZvedx6VU
A slideshow of pictures from the International Wake Up retreat in Plum Village 2013
We are grateful to Plum Village for offering significant discounts to make the retreat fee affordable to us. However, we do understand that there may be some of you who may still not be able to afford the fee due to various circumstances. It is our deep aspiration of Wake Up UK to make the practice of mindfulness as accessible to as many young people as possible, therefore we have created a Bursary Fund to enable this.
It is thanks to the generosity of The Community of Interbeing UK for their donation that we are able to offer bursaries.
The fund is made up of £1,500 and an individual can apply for any amount up to £200. To apply for this bursary, please email info@wkupuk.org and write the following:
1. Your aspiration to visit Plum Village
2. Your current financial circumstances and reasons for seeking assistance
3. What you are able to contribute towards the retreat fee
4. Amount you would like to apply for – please note that we cannot guarantee we will be able to meet your request.
Your application will be made anonymous and reviewed in confidence by a 5-person Wake Up UK bursaries group, with input from an impartial adviser from another Community of Interbeing sangha.
Dear friends,
We are delighted to announce that there will be a Wake Up UK Retreat for young adults in August this year at the beautiful Binley Farm again.
This year’s retreat, entitled, ‘Touching Freedom’ will be for 5 nights and co-facilitated by practitioners from Wake Up communities around the UK and former monastic disciple of Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, Michael Schwammberger.
“For me, there is no happiness without freedom and freedom is not given to us by anyone; we have to cultivate it ourselves.”
Thich Nhat Hanh
Registration is open now! Check out the retreat page for more details. We hope to see you there!
With love,
Elina, Jasmine, Kareem and Felipe
Retreat organisers
Non-residential mindfulness retreat for teachers, youth workers and all who work with young people.
From Saturday, 27 (8am) to Sunday, 28 October (5pm) 2012 (non-residential)
The American School in London, 1 Waverley Place, London NW8 0NP
The Educators Retreat is an opportunity to develop mindfulness both in ourselves and in our work with children and young people and to practice ways to cultivate mindfulness in educational contexts such as classrooms, college and universities, staffrooms and communities. We will explore the workings of our bodies and minds and learn how to use the power of silence, appreciation, self-care and compassion for others to increase clear and ethical thinking and action. During the retreat, we will share our lived experience of working with young people. We will also consider how we may use the techniques and practices of the retreat to help us form and sustain more mindful communities at school and at home.
This retreat is part of a wider long term initiative by Plum Village which is attempting to help school staff and students to develop mindfulness using Plum Village principles and practices. This initiative seeks to help teachers and other school staff to:
– develop a personal practice of mindfulness
– cultivate mindfulness in their students including the skilful use of classroom based activities materials based in the unique Plum Village – tradition
– build supportive schools and surrounding communities for teachers, parents and students.
For more information: http://educatorsretreatuk.co.uk/londonoctober2012/
We all have the seeds of love in us.
We can develop this wonderful source of energy,
nurturing the unconditional love
that does not expect anything in return.
– Thich Nhat Hanh
Dear friends,
I hope you’re enjoying this warm and sunny weekend.
Thanks to everyone who came to practice together at our bi-monthly
Afternoon of Mindfulness. Here is the full transcript of the dharma
talk that we read together. And here is the guided self love
meditation:
May I be happy
May I be peaceful and at ease
May I be free from suffering
May I be safe from harm
May I learn to love and accept myself unconditionally
May I learn to recognize what is good, beautiful and true in me
Our next Afternoons of Mindfulness for young people (from 16 to early
30s) is Saturday 14th July.
Other stuff happening:
DAY TRIP TO AMARAVATI BUDDHIST MONASTERY – JULY 7
A few of us are going to Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in Hemel
Hempstead next Saturday. We will get the 9:54am train from Euston and
then get a taxi to the monastery. Lunch is at 11:30 am and there is a
meditation workshop from 2 pm to 4 pm. Please let me know if you’re
interested in coming along so I know who to wait for in station next
week. You can also contact me on 07910675357.
WAKE UP YOUTH RETREAT IN PLUM VILLAGE – JULY 13 TO 21
The annual Wake Up youth retreat is happening from July 13 to 21 in
Plum Village, monastery and practice centre of our teacher Thich Nhat
Hanh. Please click here for more information.
MEDITATION FLASH MOB BY LONDON EYE – JULY 14
For those who are not going to be away in Plum Village, or Buddhafield
festival etc… there’s going to be a meditation flash mob by the
London Eye on Saturday 14th July – so straight after our Afternoon of
Mindfulness. Please come! RSVP and invite your friends to the Facebook
event here.
WAKE UP T SHIRTS FOR SALE
We have some medium to large navy t shirts with the ‘Wake Up’ in white
letters. They are £15 each and you can buy them at the next Afternoon
of Mindfulness. Or you can order them and I can pop one in the post to
you. Let me know.
Have a great weekend, dear friends.
Elina
info@wkuplondon.org
Wake Up London is a community of individuals practicing together to promote peace and reconciliation within ourselves and for our planet. We’d love to highlight what’s happening within our community, and how the practice is positively impacting our society.
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