Detailed List of Retreats

The Way Of Ubuntu: Exploring traditional South African healing

Teacher: John Lockley

Cost: 4 days' accommodation + R350 surcharge

Dates: Monday 04 February 2019 - Friday 08 February 2019

john lockley John will lead participants in a traditional South African healing ceremony over three days during which they will learn to connect to their Ancestors (bones), Dreams, 'Umoya' (spirit) and one another. 'Ubuntu' means 'I am what I am because of who we all are'. It is a circle of interlinking relationships connecting the seen and unseen worlds. The ceremony will involve a plant cleanse, using medicinal plants to cleanse the spirit and open the heart. John will lead an in-depth discussion on 'African cosmology' and the understanding of ancestors, plant medicine and dreaming to create 'Ubuntu'. Retreatants will learn one of the most ancient and misunderstood cultures in South Africa today - traditional healing from a sangoma perspective. 'Ubuntu' in essence represents harmony and is similar to the Zen circle. Linking the past and present, it is an evolving state of co-operation and compassion whereby every human being is linked to their own families and communities as well as the unseen world of ancestors. Please bring a plastic basin which will be used for medicinal foot healing, a dream journal, pen and paper to take notes, a meditation blanket and an open mind. This retreat is suitable for all therapists, healers and those with a desire to heal South Africa.

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John Lockley is a traditionally trained sangoma from the Xhosa culture, with over 20 years' experience. He was taught the essence of 'Ubuntu' by his Xhosa elders in the Eastern Cape. He has lectured and run retreats all over the world stressing the importance of 'Ubuntu' ('Humanness') and our need to unite as a human race and reconnect to our "bones and blood". The name he was given by his Xhosa teacher MaMngwevu in 1996 was 'Ucingolweendaba' which means "The messenger or bridge between people and cultures". This is an auspicious name and reflects his calling and mission to help bridge African spirituality and western psychology. John also has a background in Zen Buddhism and was a zen student under the late Zen Master Su Bong from South Korea. His recently published book Leopard Warrior is a bestseller and is an account of his pioneering journey in crossing the 'rubicon' or divide between white and black people in South Africa. This will be John's 5th time at the BRC and every year there are amazing stories of healing and transformation.