A Series of Led Retreat Days with Bristol Insight Meditation for 2025

Day retreats take place mostly in a setting of companionable silence, including during the lunch period. Silence offers an opportunity to attend to one’s own experience without the need to be anyone for other people.

There will be a chance for a chat with a cup tea at the start and end of the day and during the day there will usually be time for questions and discussion with the teacher.

You will be asked to sit quietly for periods of up to 30 minutes, with varying amounts of guidance. These sittings are interspersed with periods of walking and movement.

We recognise that this level of silence may be challenging for newcomers and is not always suitable for everyone at every time. If you have any concerns or wonder whether a retreat is the right thing for you at this time, you are welcome to get in touch with us.

Some retreats do require attendees to have some prior meditation experience. If this is the case it will be stated in the retreat description.

We welcome volunteers to help on the day, if you would like to help in this way please contact us.

Fees

We ask for a booking fee to cover costs of venues, teachers’ expenses, ongoing administrative costs. We offer an Early Bird (closes 1 month before the event) and Tier 1 rates. A freely given rate is also available so that no-one is excluded.

Dana

Dana can be translated as cultivating generosity or giving. The teachers who lead our retreats receive their travel costs and ‘out-of-pocket’ expenses but do not receive any payment for their teaching. However they are happy to receive voluntary contributions from participants in the events they lead. These offerings are traditionally called dana. Most of our teachers depend on dana for most or all of their livelihood.

Our teachers are following an ancient tradition, offering teachings freely just as they received them freely from a previous generation of teachers. In this way the dharma (the teachings of the Buddhist tradition) is not made an object of commerce, and the relationship between teacher and student is based upon trust, freedom, and mutual generosity.

If you attend one of our events and appreciate what the teacher has offered, we warmly invite you to make whatever contribution you feel appropriate. If you do so, you will be making a vital contribution to their livelihood and helping them to continue teaching on this generous basis, particularly in situations where people cannot afford to pay anything.

Sunday 16th Feb 2025 - ONLINE Retreat Day - How to Thrive in Hard Times

During this online daylong Stephen would like to explore the fact that we are faced with ever more challenging situations and often conflict at the personal, social and planetary levels. It is easy to feel overwhelmed and sometimes lost. Yet they can also be a wake-up call. Can we find equanimity and steadiness within such challenging situations? Can dharma help us to dance with uncontrollable life?

Stephen Fulder: was born in London in 1946, educated at Oxford University and has a PhD. He is the founder and senior teacher of Tovana (the Israel Insight Society), which is the major Buddhist practice organisation in Israel. Stephen has been teaching intensively for 30 years and has written many books, including his new title: How To Thrive in Hard Times: A Buddhist Manual (Watkins Publishers). He has been engaged in conflict amelioration work in the Middle East for many years.

www.stephenfulder.com,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Fulder

Saturday 5th April - To Expect Wonders with Kirsten Kratz (in person)

“Though I do not expect a plant to spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed. Convince me you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders.” Henry David Thoreau

Buddhist teachings explore how to nourish and cultivate wholesome seeds of intention, liberating ways of looking, that can connect us directly with our yearning for true happiness.

During uncertain, confusing and frightening times, one of our habitual reflexes is to create limiting, separating or even polarising narratives, thus perpetuating suffering for others and ourselves.

How can we discover an increasing freedom from our conditioned painful reactions, to allow us to attend to life from a place informed by connection, care and wisdom?

We will explore the heart-mind’s capacity for compassion, balanced presence and engagement. There will be periods of sitting and walking/movement meditation, practice suggestions, guided practices, reflections and an opportunity to ask questions. The day will be held in silence.

Kirsten Kratz: has practised Buddhist meditation in Asia and the West since 1993. She started teaching in 2006 and since 2015 she has been ‘teacher in residence’ supporting those on personal retreat at Gaia House. Her love and understanding of Dharma has been strongly influenced by, among others, the teachings of her friend and teacher colleague, Rob Burbea. One of her particular passions is exploring how wisdom teachings can foster appropriate responses to the challenges of our time, and Kirsten sees her involvement in activism as an important expression of her practice. Kirsten is co-initiator of the “Dharma Action Network for Climate Engagement” () and supporting teacher of .

Sunday June 21st June - Intiuitive Awakening with Gavin Milne (in person)

We are living in extraordinary times, summoning us to awaken, whilst turning towards the unfolding challenges we face - personal and collective.

During this day retreat, we will explore and sense into the place of intuition within all of this. Practically speaking, how this might translate into a wise balance of discipline and creative freedom in the lives we are living? Awakening to that which is timeless, we align with our own unique expression of our deeper nature.

The day of practice will be in silence, alternating between sitting and walking meditation. There will be practice instructions, as well as Dharma talks, and all levels of experience, backgrounds and identities are welcome.

Gavin Milne: has been practicing the Dharma since 2004 and began teaching in 2015. He is particularly interested in the role and relevance of these teachings towards the individual, relational and societal transformations being called for in this era. And as such embracing and exploring practice in all areas of our life. He is also trained in Internal Family Systems, and is a student of the Diamond Approach by A.H Almaas.

Saturday 25th October - River Wolton(in person)

River Wolton: attended her first Insight Meditation retreat in 2000, and subsequently helped to establish Sheffield Insight Meditation. She is a Community Dharma Leader authorised by Gaia House Teacher Council, and completed Dharma Teacher Training with Bodhi College. A former Derbyshire Poet Laureate, she has led writing and arts projects for many years, and is an activist in the LGBTQIA+ community. Her latest non-fiction book is The Subtle Art of Caring: A Guide to Sustaining Compassion (Windhorse Publications 2023).

In Person Retreat Day Venue: Glenfrome Primary School, Bristol, BS5 6TY

These days are run by Bristol Insight Meditation group from 10-4 with a shared lunch. You can arive as from 9.30 to havea bit of time for a drink and to settle in before we start at 10am.

So please bring the following items with you on the day:

• a vegetarian dish to share (or your own pack lunch if you prefer),
• a yoga mat,
• cushions and blankets so you can be comfortable for the day.
• Outdoor gear for mindful walking
• Cash/cheque for the teacher's dana

Chairs and gym mats are provided.

Booking:

We have suggested donations for our retreat days which are as follows:

Early Bird Booking is £20 waged and £10 unwaged (plus booking fee).

Tier 1 Booking is £25 waged and £12.50 unwaged.

Suggested T icket cost:

The fee that you pay covers the running costs for the retreat – the hire of the venue, teachers’ travelling and accommodation expenses, publicity, insurance, etc. Fees are charged on a sliding scale chosen by you according to your means.

P lease pay the standard or sponsor rate if you are able to - this helps us to cover our costs and keeps our events open and accessible to all.

Gift Aid:

If you are a UK tax payer and happy to sign up for Gift Aid then we would be really grateful for this as Bristol Insight then receives the Gift Aid on each ticket. You con find out more information about gift aid here: https://www.gov.uk/donating-to-charity/gift-aid

Our freely given tickets are available for anyone with limited or no means to pay. We warmly welcome and encourage anyone who wishes to attend. No one will be excluded for lack of funds.

Dana:

We ask for dana (donation) to be given on the day to cover the cost of the teacher so please bring cash/cheque if you wish to donate towards the cost of the teaching itself.

Host or Publisher Bristol Insight Meditation