Overview of the Retreat
Join Ven Choden, author and Mindfulness trainer and Mabel Odessey, registered FDCW facilitator and Mindfulness teacher, in this 5 day IN PERSON retreat exploring compassion and how it can change our lives.
During the retreat they will offer skills and practices for tapping into the compassionate potential within us that is innate and waiting to be uncovered. In so doing, we will discover source of inner vitality and wellbeing that can support us when we are down and help us respond to the inevitable difficulties of life.
>>Choden will draw on the wealth of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, as well as insights from evolutionary psychology and neuroscience. In 2013, he co-authored a book with renowned British psychologist Paul Gilbert called Mindful Compassion (2013) which was a synthesis of psychology, science and Buddhism.
>>We will focus on the cultivation of self-compassion as an antidote to self-criticism and the cultivation of compassion for others by drawing on the Buddhist model of the 4 Limitless Contemplations (loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity). This will include the practice of tonglen or taking and sending.
>>Choden will also offer teachings on the principle of mandala which describes how the mind is a dynamic energy system with a centre and a periphery. Most of us are caught up on the periphery, tossed and turned by our conflicting emotions, but we can find the centre though practicing mindfulness and compassion. This allows us to find a place of stillness and peace whilst also learning to take care of the different parts of ourselves.
The 5 day retreat will involve teachings, guided practices, sitting meditation and periods of silence. There will also be the opportunity to share and discuss what arises through doing the practices.
Bookings and Cost:
Early bird offer before the 1st Sept: 200€*
Bookings made after the 1st Sept: 250€ *
*Plus accommodation and meals at Vajra Yogini Institute.
Reduced tariffs are available upon request.
For more information and bookings please visit the Vajra Yogini Institute website
You can also get in touch with Mabel if you have any questions- 16attitudes@gmail.com
Facilitators
Ven Choden: ordanined as a monk in the Karma Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, Choden (aka Sean McGovern) completed a three-year, three-month retreat in 1997 and has been practising Buddhism since 1985. Originally from South Africa, where he obtained a law degree, he learned meditation under the guidance of the Tibetan master Lama Yeshe Rinpoche. Choden is now involved in developing secular programmes of mindfulness, compassion and insight, drawing on the wisdom and methods of the Buddhist tradition as well as contemporary studies in psychology and neuroscience. He teaches at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, in the postgraduate programme (MSc), the first of its kind to include compassion and mindfulness in its curriculum.
In 2013, he co-authored the book Mindful Compassion with Paul Gilbert, which explores the interface between Buddhist and psychological approaches to teaching compassion. He is also co-authoring two other books: ‘Mindfulness Based Living Course’ (2018) and ‘From Mindfulness to Insight’ (2019). Choden currently resides in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Mabel Odessey: Mabel is an accredited 16G Level 1, Level 2 and 16G for Children and Teens as well as Building Balanced Empathy facilitator, she combines this Universal Education journey and her training in Mindfulness with a secular ethos to create courses that can be adapted for schools, retirement homes and a variety of other environments. She is a founder member of Education Universelle France and she also works as a photographer and lives in France.
