Cultivating Care and Connection in Challenging Times

"Relying upon the boat of a human body,

free yourself from the great river of suffering."

~ Shantideva ~

 

Context

As humans, we are severely impacted by uncertainty, conflict and lack of control. Yet these are the times we are living in. They give rise to a sense of threat which activates both our cardiovascular and nervous systems, causing physical and mental challenges. We feel disconnected and disembodied, and forget our rightful place within our community of care.

About the Retreat

This retreat will remind us of an important truth - we were born into an ecosystem of care. We would not be alive today if it wasn’t for the attention and kindness of many others. The giving and receiving of care and compassion is what makes us fully human.

We’ll begin by returning to the wisdom of the body, which can hold us steady in the present moment. Communities have long known that to come together and move in harmony allows for healing of the individual and the collective. Utilizing breath, rhythmic movement, and a direct sensory experience of the embodied mind, we learn to regulate emotion, and become a safe haven for ourselves, for others and for the earth itself.

By working with somatic meditation practices, including gentle yoga, qi gong and dance, we will return to this miraculous home of ours. Once the body feels settled, the sitting practices of mindfulness and compassion will allow access to the inner world of the heart-mind. Inspired by the Four Immeasurables, we will journey through equanimity, love, compassion and joy.

Our bodies are treasure troves for self-reflection, insight, and freedom, filled with wisdom and worthy of our deepest devotion and care. Care for ourself and for others is not different, but rather two sides of the same compassionate coin. Perhaps, care and connection are what the world needs right now.

About the Facilitator

Dr Lucy Draper-Clarke is a retreat facilitator, mindfulness mentor and researcher-practitioner in the fields of awareness and compassion. After obtaining a doctorate in mindfulness and teacher education, she is now an Associate Researcher at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. With a focus on compassionate activism and somatic meditation, she works with those engaged in social transformation and healing, to alleviate stress, increase resilience and cultivate wise, compassionate action. She runs workshops and retreats around Southern Africa. As a practitioner with the Karma Kagyu School of Buddhism, she attends regular meditation retreats to deepen her own practice. Nothing gives her more joy than supporting others to develop their own, life-enhancing, contemplative practices.

Bookings and Payments

You are welcome to RSVP here to receive an email, where you will be asked to complete all your details on the Susurumba booking form.

The retreat will be run on a dana/donation basis for the facilitation/teachings. 

Accommodation: USD$275 single accommodation; USD $200 shared

Camping: USD$125 per person camping. Own equipment.

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NB. There is a 15% discount for all paid up members of the Harare Buddhist Centre

If financial constraints are a restricting factor, please contact Dave.

Participants should be prepared to pay 50% deposit if requested.

Please note that bookings for this retreat close on 23rd of August, 2022.

For those attending from outside Zimbabwe, you will need to fly to Harare on Monday evening or early Tuesday morning. From there, the organizers will help you find transport to the retreat centre (+/- 4 hour drive).

​Background Info

Retreats offer us ‘time out’ from our busy, often stressful lives, to ground ourselves in our meditation/mindfulness practice. The peaceful seclusion and mountainous setting of Susurumba, Nyanga, assists in the process of allowing our busy, distracted minds to settle, allowing our deeper energies of kindness, compassion, wisdom and clarity to reveal themselves. Retreatants can find solace and a deeper inner peace through meditation, taking breathtaking walks, and swimming in the clear mountain dams.

While there is now limited cell phone reception at Susurumba, we recommend that you keep your cell phones turned off. If you need to contact family members, we request that you do so in the privacy of your room/tent and not in the public spaces. While in the shrine room or dining room, they must be switched off.