The Heart Practice for Difficult Times
Weekend Retreat with John Douglas & Anne Sheehan
When things are difficult in our lives, strong emotions can sometimes overwhelm us, making it hard to get on with even the simplest of daily tasks.
While meditation instructions invite us to stay present in the face of such strong emotions, to neither indulge nor suppress them, for many of us, it is hard to stay with such feelings for long without becoming overwhelmed or else completely shutting down.
In this weekend workshop we will introduce methods from the Tibetan Buddhist Tradition for working with our hearts and minds that can be particularly helpful for easing, releasing and transforming some of our more difficult feelings.
Content Summary
- How meditation techniques can help increase our tolerance for our own feelings
- Using imagination and visualisation to help soothe and calm our minds and hearts
- Guided meditations and visualisations particularly focussed on calming or transforming our emotions
- An introduction to using mantras
- Exploring our personal relationship with prayer and how calling out from the heart can help connect us to greater sources of love and transformation both within and without irrespective of our belief system
- Integrating these various elements into a personal “Heart Practice” that we can have and use as a refuge for difficult times in our lives
- Small group discussions to share our experiences
Location
The retreat will be held in the Dzogchen Beara Temple. With expansive views across the bay, the temple is a modern example of a traditional Tibetan monastery, a form of architecture designed to be an inspiring symbol of the Buddha’s teachings for our times.
John Douglas
John Douglas first became interested in Buddhist Meditation in 1990 and moved to West Cork in 1994 to become part of the Dzogchen Beara community. As a Senior Meditation Instructor and Spiritual Care Educator, John is one of Dzogchen Beara’s main facilitators on a range of courses and workshops including Facing Loss and Healing Grief, Deep Listening, Self Compassion and Healing Relationships.
John is a Counsellor & Psychotherapist, accredited with the IACP, working in private practice in Castletownbere and in ARC Cancer Support House in Bantry, as well as being part of the care team supporting guests at the Spiritual Care Centre in Dzogchen Beara.
Anne Sheehan
Anne Sheehan has spent many years studying and practising meditation. She is an experienced instructor who has an ability to communicate the depth of the Buddhist teachings in a very accessible way. She regularly instructs on Meditation and Loving Kindness on events at Dzogchen Beara Retreat Centre and at Rigpa Centres throughout Ireland.