Widening the Circles of Compassion: From Self-Care to World-Care

“When you cultivate love and compassion for all beings, that means every being, including yourself.” 

Chamtrul Rinpoche

Have you been feeling overwhelmed, disillusioned or fearful recently? You’re not alone. 

The first noble truth acknowledges the existence and inevitability of suffering in our lives. Yet, within every human heart is an innate and profoundly sustaining capacity for compassion. This capacity allows us to acknowledge the suffering of ourselves and others, and to respond with kindness and understanding rather than judgment or avoidance. Compassion is both an individual and collective practice that can transform the world around us. 

This retreat is an invitation to reflect and refocus, as we reimagine a world that is built on an ethic of care. Through embodied awareness practices, including yoga and qi gong, we will prepare the heart-mind for meditation. Then we’ll sit together and cultivate the innate qualities of being human and explore how to integrate them into daily life. By combining practices of mindfulness and compassion with activities for engagement and shadow integration, we can find a way to transform the world from the inside out, and transform ourselves from the outside in.

Lucy Draper-Clarke and Felicity Joan Hart will walk beside you through the Four Immeasurables of loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity. These ancient practices support us to expand our circle of compassion. Through experiential and interactive activities, you will learn how to apply these practices in your daily life. Join us on this transformative 3-night retreat and learn how to cultivate an ever-widening circle of compassion that touches the lives of many. 

When faced with a world in crisis, what do you do? Run and hide, fight and burn out, or freeze in overwhelm? Guided by ideas and practices from Lucy's book and the work of Dr Marshall Rosenberg, we will facilitate you on a journey to skilful engagement, addressing issues of personal, social and environmental transformation. 

Lucy Draper-Clarke, author of The Compassionate Activist, is an educator, retreat facilitator and researcher-practitioner, with a PhD in Mindfulness and Teacher Education. She leads courses in mindfulness and compassion and runs retreats throughout Southern Africa. As a Research Associate at the University of the Witwatersrand, with Drama for Life, she supervises postgraduate students. Her current focus on compassionate activism for a life-sustaining society aims to offer changemakers the skills they need to alleviate burnout, increase resilience, and cultivate wise, compassionate action. She has taken refuge in the Karma Kagyu School of Buddhism and the Engaged Buddhism tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh. By attending regular retreats to deepen her own meditation practice, she is learning how ancient wisdom traditions can offer support as we address the many crises of modern life.

Felicity Joan Hart has practised meditation, mindfulness and yoga for over 35 years and now teaches within these modalities. Her formal qualifications include an Honours Degree in Psychology, international coaching qualifications, and a PGC in Mindfulness-Based Interventions from the University of Stellenbosch. She is an enthusiastic student and teacher of Non-Violent communication as developed by Dr Marshall Rosenberg. Her teaching style is interesting, intuitive, precise, responsive and entertaining.

Cost

The retreat fee includes accommodation for 3 nights, all meals, tea and snacks and facilitated sessions. The food is ovo-lacto vegetarian, with vegan/gluten free options available on request. Cost is dependent on your choice of accommodation.

• Shared rooms: TBC
• Single en suite rooms: TBC

Limited rooms are available. A deposit of R2000 (by EFT) will secure your place. While the deposit is not refundable, it is transferable to other retreats at Dharmagiri, or courses with Lucy or Felicity. Final payment for the retreat is due by the 1st March 2024. Payment plans or discounts are available on request, so please be in touch with Lucy directly via lucyheartmind[at]gmail.com.