Overview of 10-day online retreat Aug-Sept 2021 with Malcolm Huxter and Lisa Brown.
This retreat was recorded live and online from August 27 till Sept 5, 2021. It was based on Theravada Buddhist meditation practices. It focussed on training in the cultivation of mindfulness, focused attention, and the four divine abodes(loving-kindness, compassion, appreciative joy, and equanimity).
There were evening talks (7:00-8:00 pm AEDT) and workshop-style morning instruction (9:00-10:30 am AEDT) with Mal Huxter as well as some talks, instruction, and morning yoga sessions (6:15-7:45 am AEDT) with Lisa.
Why it is helpful to attend retreats?
Silent retreats are opportunities to focus on cultivating the heart-mind and awakening psychological freedom. They provide the external circumstances conducive to inner transformation, peace, and harmony with oneself and others.
What will you learn in this course/retreat?
At a basic level, retreats provide a break to recharge and remember what is important in our lives. For professionals, such as teachers or therapists, retreats allow us to refine the skills we teach to our students and clients. Meditation retreats provide an opportunity for personal stress management and self-reflection. They often clarify life’s directions so that there is renewed vitality and enthusiasm towards that which is important.
These personal gains help individuals become more effective in whatever they do include their professional roles. For those therapists who wish to use mindfulness, compassion, and loving-kindness in therapeutic settings, retreats provide the opportunity to deepen therapeutic skills and understanding of these interventions.
In some mindfulness and mindful compassion approaches (e.g. MBSR and MSC) attending silent residential retreats are essential qualifications for teacher training programs. General aims of this retreat
Meditation teacher: Mal Huxter is a teacher of Buddhist meditation and an aclinical psychologist in private practice. He is the author of “Healing the Heart and Mind with Mindfulness.” A practicing psychologist for30years, he has been teaching mindfulness and the four heart qualities since 1991. He began training in Buddhist meditation practices in 1975, living in Thailand as a Buddhist monk for two years in the late 1970s.
As well to Theravada he has trained in other Buddhist and spiritual traditions. For more info about Mal goto: www.manhunter.comYoga teacher: Lisa Brown is a Psychologist, Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) facilitator, a Mindful Self Compassion (MSC) trained teacher, and a qualified yoga teacher. She currently works in private practice in Bellingen and Coffs Harbour and facilitates Mindfulness-based StressReduction groups and Trauma Sensitive Yoga classes. For more info about Lisa go to:http://mindfulnesspsychologywellbeing.comMay you be well and happy
Who should take this course?
This course is most suitable for meditators with experience. If you are a beginner meditator it is strongly recommended you have the support of a meditation mentor or teacher as you embark on the training.
Mindfulness and meditation can be enormous benefits for our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health. However, often they need to be adjusted and tailored to the situation and the individual and no one size fits all. In addition, just as any powerful healing approach can have side effects and contraindications, so too can mindfulness and meditation.
Regardless of whether a practitioner is new to meditation or experienced, sometimes mindfulness and meditation can trigger untoward side effects. They have the power to uncover what we may prefer to forget or stir up unwanted reactions. Please take care of yourself. There will be suggestions for how to take care of oneself throughout the retreat. But please do not use the meditation instructions or the suggestions as a substitute for personal therapy.
If you feel you are experiencing any negative side effects from medication, please stop or reduce the practice you are doing, and don't hesitate to speak to an experienced meditator or mental health professional. If you have a history of mental health vulnerability, it is strongly recommended that you consult with a mental health professional before engaging with the practices.
Regardless of whether one is a beginner meditator or one is experienced it is always helpful to have the support of teachers or spiritual friends as we venture on the journey of cultivating serenity, insight, and the heart and waking up.
Health Warning