Early in life, a deep, unconscious view arises which comes to afflict our whole being. If we could put it in words, it might be “I am separate”. It is a sense of being divided both from our own experience and from others. This sense of separation, even alienation, can be very painful in itself and underlies a great deal of our self-caused dukkha. Yet, it an illusion - it is not what and how we really are.
The Buddhist tradition has addressed this self-construct, its consequences and dissolution, in many ways. But all reflect the Buddha ’s fundamental teaching of anatta, ‘not-self’. This teaching isn’t suggesting that somehow we don’t really exist. Rather, it is pointing us back to directly seeing and knowing our original undivided
nature - what we are and always have been.
Knowing directly that there is no separate self here opens us naturally to seeing that a separate other is not to be found either. Our reality is whole and undivided. With the collapse of this subject-object dichotomy, a great deal of the suffering bound up in this belief dissolves.
We’ll explore non-separation directly on the basis of both integration and positive emotion: calm, embodied, aware presence and unconditional love. From here, we’ll explore our immediate experience directly to see not only how we create and sustain the illusion of separation and a self-other divide but also how this illusion can
dissolve, like a mirage or a dream.
This retreat is suitable for people with at least six months regular meditation practice and who have attended at least one full week retreat before. For more information, read the retreat information sheet.
£100