Going on a Meditation Retreat by Koster, Frits; Heynekamp, Jetty; Norton, Victoria;

Rövid leírás:

This book provides a straightforward, accessible guide to going on a silent meditation retreat.

Hosszú leírás:

This book provides a straightforward, accessible guide to going on a silent meditation retreat.

Written by experienced retreat facilitators, this book presents a mix of Buddhist wisdom, insights from modern psychology and mindfulness research and personal accounts from meditators who have attended retreats with them in the last 30 years. The chapters provide advice on preparing for the retreat, such as booking and what to pack, and offer practical day-to-day guidance about how to sit whilst being kind to knee, back or other physical issues. There is detailed information about how to work compassionately with the difficult thoughts or emotions and other challenges participants typically encounter on this kind of more intensive meditation programme, as well as how to cultivate joy, gratitude, compassion and balance. The focus is on in-person retreats, but this book also offers some guidance for teaching and participating in online home retreats, a new development which has emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns.

This book is an invaluable resource for anyone considering going on a silent meditation retreat to step out of the often frantic and overwhelming round of day-to-day activity and find space for reflection. It will also be of use to mindfulness teachers or trainees who are required to go on retreat for qualification purposes and to current or trainee retreat facilitators.

?This is a wonderful book. It shows how from a safe and caring silent space and time, mindfulness and compassion are uncovered and radiate, which you can then take out into the world. Going on a Meditation Retreat is full of practical details which will prepare you for a silent retreat but also tell you how it is to be there. The book contains inspiring testimonies and the teachings are relevant and applicable to our modern times.?

Martine Batchelor teaches meditation retreats worldwide and is the author of Meditation for Life (2007) and Let Go: a Buddhist Guide to Breaking Free of Habits (2021). See www.martinebatchelor.org

?In this beautifully written and practical book, Buddhist teacher Frits Koster skillfully leads his readers through the ups and downs of the inner journey that occurs in a silent meditation retreat. The narrative is encouraging, the gentle voice of an experienced leader who offers examples from participants about the kinds of challenges and breakthroughs that can occur when we turn inward to meet ourselves in an environment that promotes mindfulness and self-reflection. I am grateful to the authors for this excellent book and highly recommend it for anyone interested in going deeper with their spiritual path.?

Susan Gillis Chapman is a retired family therapist, Dharma-teacher, author of Which way is up? (2024) and The Five Keys to Mindful Communication (2012) and founder of Green Zone Communication. See www.susangillischapman.com

?For people who are going on a mindfulness retreat and are unsure what to expect, this is a wonderful overview. It guides readers in a detailed step by step, day by day programme, outlining the process and functions of the different practices. Written by highly experienced meditators and retreat guides it offers a wealth of insights into possible ways to relate to our minds. This book captures the essence of the experience of a retreat in ways that are unique and profound. This is a major addition to the literature on meditation and the experience of retreats.?

Prof. Paul Gilbert, OBE, author of, among others, Compassion Focused Therapy (2010), co-author (with Choden) of Mindful Compassion (2015) and co-editor (with Gregoris Simos) of Compassion Focused Therapy: Clinical Practice and Applications (2022)

?This lovely warm book is a wise and gentle guide for any kind of meditation retreat. From their own ups and downs on retreat, the authors give many practical suggestions for how to get the most of it. They offer both contemplative and therapeutic perspectives on how to manage challenging experiences, and how to open into the wonderful depths of our own being. Highly recommended.?

Rick Hanson, PhD, Senior Fellow of UC Berkeley?s Greater Good Science Center, author of Buddha?s Brain (2009), Hardwiring Happiness (2014) and Neurodharma (2020). See www.rickhanson.com

?In this book the reader will find the enormous richness of Frits and Jetty's multifaceted, non-dogmatic approach to leading a retreat. It is full of practical advice and inspiring examples. It is a must for the beginner as well as for the experienced practitioner, who wants to take steps on the path of mindfulness, compassion and wisdom.?

Joost van den Heuvel Rijnders is a vipassan? meditation teacher and author of several books in Dutch language. He is the co-founder of the Dutch online meditation platform 30NOW. See www.joost-meditatie.nl

?This is a wonderful book, and one I would heartily recommend to anyone. It is not only excellent for first-timers, but equally supportive to those who have been on retreat already. With careful attention to what would be most helpful, a great deal of experience and an inviting and considerate tone, the authors draw on both their personal meditation experience and their decades of leading retreats to create an eminently practical

Tartalomjegyzék:

Introduction - Why Go On Retreat