Detailed List of Retreats

Open The Heart And Still The Mind: Mist Rising, Dew Falling – Embracing Impermanence With Courage, Compassion And Joy

Teacher: Sue Cooper

Cost: 2 or 5 days accommodation + R400 surcharge

Dates: Friday 24 November 2023 - Wednesday 29 November 2023

sue cooper 2021 24 - 26 and 24 - 29 Nov (2 and 5 night options)

This Open the Heart and Still the Mind Retreat is in ennobling silence and is offered for an extended 5 nights for those who want a longer and deeper retreat experience, or as a 2 night weekend retreat for those unable to stay longer. Drawing on the beauty of nature and the Mist Rising, Dew Falling, we will explore living with change and uncertainty as we embrace the truth of impermanence with courage, compassion and joy.
As we experience the unfolding of aging, sickness and death (dukkha), we are invited to be more fully present, so that we can live wholeheartedly and more joyfully, connecting with ourselves, each other and this world with greater kindness and care. The deep nourishment of the silence and the experience of our interconnectedness with the sangha (our silent retreat family) and with nature enhances our connection to what is life-affirming, compassionate and wise. We will discover that we can embrace impermanence with less fear and more appreciative joy (sukkha), inspired by the qualities of heart and mind found in the Brahma Viharas (the 4 divine abodes) of loving-kindness (metta), compassion (karuna), appreciative joy (mudita) and equanimity (upekkha).
This retreat includes guided sitting and walking meditations, short individual sessions with Sue and daily sessions of qigong movement meditation to enhance the integration of body, heart and mind. There will be time for silent, mindful walks in nature when you can explore the beauty of the Centre. Additional optional mindful movement and massages will be offered - details to be confirmed nearer the time.

Please note: There is a teacher's fee for this retreat, which is offered on a sliding scale, with reductions and payment plans on request.

A pre-retreat individual session via Zoom/Whatsapp is highly recommended for newcomers or if you have not attended one of Sue’s residential retreats before. The fee for this will be the 30-40/50 minute medical aid rate and will be reduced if you are not on medical aid. Please contact Sue on to arrange a time.
CPD accreditation for psychologists and other HPCSA registered professionals: Confirmed with an admin fee.

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Sue Cooper is a Cape Town-based Clinical Psychologist with extensive experience as a psychoanalytic psychotherapist, working in private practice since the early 1990's. She has a long-standing interest in the interface between psychological and spiritual approaches to self-discovery and inner healing, and has attended Buddhist meditation retreats, mainly in the Theravada tradition, for over 30 years, both in South Africa and at Gaia House in the UK. She has been inspired by the teachings of Ajahn Chah of the Thai Forest tradition, and is deeply grateful to her primary teachers: the late Godwin Samararatne, Kittisaro and Thanissara, Ajahn Sucitto and Stephen and Martine Batchelor. She has a particular interest in exploring how our practice enables us to embrace our humanness, integrating love and loss in our lives, so that we can live and die with compassionate awareness. She offers weekend and longer retreats throughout South Africa at Temenos, Mont Fleur, Blue Butterfly and Somerset Gift in the Western Cape; Dharmagiri Insight Meditation Centre and the Buddhist Retreat Centre in KwaZulu Natal; and Emoyeni Retreat Centre in the North West Province, as well as 6-8 week "Open the Heart and Still the Mind" courses, on-going weekly groups and monthly half-day/day retreats in Cape Town See: https://stillmindretreats.com and please contact