Calendar of upcoming events and retreats – Bristol Insight Meditation

Below is a list of upcoming retreats and other events. Some are regular events and you will see the next session below. At the bottom of the page you can view details of past Teacher-led retreats.

Jun

Tuesday evening sitting group

Please note we have replaced our meetings at the Quaker Meeting House with an online Tuesday sitting group. Please see our Supporting our Sangha Online page for further details and the Zoom link.

Jul

Love in the time of extinction with Yanai Postelnik

What does dharma practice look like in the face of a Climate and Ecological emergency? How do the Buddha’s wisdom teachings and compassionate practices empower us to meet this crisis? How do we keep our heart open while engaging with our inner responses and the outer situation? Cont.…..

Sep

Stretching the heart -liberating the heart

There are many ways to conceive of “Heart”. In the Buddhist teachings it is often referred to as “Citta”, the “Heart-Mind” that resonates, is sensitive, responsive and malleable; it is also that which can be liberated.
Attending to Heart-Mind we may discover its innate capacity for wisdom, kindness and compassion, its yearning to attend to, hold and address what is difficult … as well as what is beautiful. Cont…….

Nov

The power and art of slowing down with Ramiro Ortega

In this silent retreat day, we will explore the potential of slowing down. In a world and time that praise quickness and busyness, we need more than ever to develop the capacity to pause and slow down, instead of letting ourselves being “carried away” Cont…..

Past retreats - 2020

2020 2019 2018 2017 2016

Feb

Sangha Walk – Goblin Combe, Cleeve – Saturday 8 th February

Goblin Combe is a lovely green wooded valley in North Somerset which stretches from Redhill near Bristol Airport through to Cleeve . The combe is a 128 acre Site of Special Scientific Interest and over 30 species of butterflies have been recorded here. Cont……..

Feb

Contented and easily satisfied with Venerable Canda

The ennobling quality of contentment is a direct antidote to the cause of suffering: restless desire.
Whilst the winds of wanting blow us from past to future, always promising happiness someplace else, contentment enables the mind to linger with loving appreciation in this moment; within this imperfect body and mind. Cont…..

Mar

Focusing group

Focusing and Insight meditation have in common a willingness to sit with one’s experience from a place of presence, acceptance, warmth and curiosity. If you’d like to attend a meeting please contact Gordon to book a place.

Mar

Sangha Walk – Nympsfield, Owlpen & Uley Bury Hillfort – Sunday 15th March

The next Bristol Insight Sangha walk will be in Gloucestershire, when we will be exploring the Owlpen Valley and Uley Bury Hillfort. This will be the third time I’ve led this walk – the first being in May 2014 and latterly in October 2017. I thought it would be nice to do it again! Cont……

Mar

Practising wisdom and compassion in turbulent times with Chris Cullen

THIS RETREAT IS NOW CANCELLED. If you have already booked our Administrator will be contacting you. We are offering an on-line alternative with Chris using Zoom. For further details see our Updates page.

Apr

Nature meditation monthly Saturday afternoons

Please note our nature meditation afternoons have been cancelled for the foreseeable future. We hope to resume when the current health situation improves.

Come meditate outdoors at the Well Centre for Spirituality at the beautiful 15th century Elsie Briggs House in in Westbury-on-Trym. This is a fantastic opportunity to connect with nature, explore your practice in new surroundings and return to the fray refreshed and restored. Cont….

May

Gratitude and Joy – an online meditation morning with Jenny Wilks

Saturday May 9th 2020 10am – 12.00 via Zoom

Even in unusually difficult times – we might say especially in such times – the practice and experience of appreciative joy, including gratitude for our own blessings and good qualities and delight in those of others, is deeply supportive of our ability to respond with resilience and compassion to the challenges of our lives. Cont……..