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Preceding Day
Friday 30 October 2026
Following Day

  • Open The Heart And Still The Mind: Infusing Mindfulness With Metta And Compassionate Wisdom

    Teacher: Sue Cooper
    Cost: 5-7 days accommodation + R450 surcharge
    Dates:

    sue cooper 25This 5 to 7 night (23 Oct - 28 or 30 October) Open the Heart And Still the Mind retreat is an immersion into nourishing and ennobling silence and is an opportunity to cultivate and deepen your meditation practice with a heart-based focus. Sue offers an integration of the psychological and spiritual dimensions of this path of compassionate awareness, combining more than 40 years of meditation practice with her extensive experience as a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist.

    We will draw on the support of nature and the teachings that are revealed by practising in the exquisite environment of the Buddhist Retreat Centre, where the truths of impermanence and our inter-connectedness with each other and with nature express themselves daily, through the beauty and wisdom of the ever-changing conditions.
    We will cultivate a safe and nourishing home within, inspired by the wisdom and practices of the Brahma Viharas (the Four Immeasurables), which deepen our capacity for loving- kindness (metta), spacious inner freedom, appreciative joy and compassionate wisdom and action.
    In addition to the silent and guided meditations in all postures, there will be daily qigong, gentle, mindful movement and additional, optional massages offered to enhance our embodied experience. Sue will include short, individual sessions throughout the retreat, as well as time for reflection, journaling, walks in nature and deeply replenishing rest.
    Please note: This retreat carries a teacher's fee for all retreatants, offered on a sliding scale. Please contact Sue directly on for further details, including reductions if needed and to arrange a recommended pre-retreat session. Her website link is https://stillmindretreats.com/event/retreat-infusing-mindfulness-with-metta-compassionate-wisdom-2026/

    View teacher details
    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 40 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, Bodhi Khaya and Somerset Gift in the Western Cape; Dharmagiri Sacred Mountain Retreat Centre and the Buddhist Retreat Centre in KwaZulu Natal; and Emoyeni Retreat Centre in the North West Province, as well as "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 {

    Her website link is https://stillmindretreats.com/event/retreat-infusing-mindfulness-with-metta-compassionate-wisdom-2026/

  • The Practice Of Deep Listening: Integrating Mindfulness And Meditation, Movement And Therapeutic Sound

    Teacher: Despina Forbes
    Cost: 2 days accommodation + R400 surcharge
    Dates:

    despina forbes2022This retreat is a quiet invitation to slow down and return to yourself. Within the sanctuary of the BRC, Despina will gently guide you on a journey dedicated to the art of deep listening and the cultivation of heart-full presence. Days will be held in the gentle embrace of noble silence, supported by a rhythm of mindful movement, meditation, and intentional sound. Together, we will explore practices such as mindful walking, sitting meditation, movement and the resonance of "full-body listening." By weaving these practices of movement, stillness and sound invites possibilities for insight, clarity and transformation. This retreat will be held in an atmosphere of silence.

    ‘In the quiet of your own presence, may the truth of your heart find its voice’

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    Despina Forbes is a counselling psychologist, yoga and mindfulness meditation practitioner and sound therapist whose intention is to hold space for facilitating well-being through the practice of embodiment and sustainable therapeutic practices for the purpose of cultivating awareness, healthy change, compassion, resilience and collective well-being.

  • A Personal Retreat : Rest, Reflect, and Restore – 10% discount mid-week

    Teacher: Robyn Aitken, Keelan Naidoo, Dirk Lamprecht
    Cost: Number of days accommodation
    Dates: 08:00am - 05:00pm 

    robynkeelandirk lamprechtJoin us for a personal retreat mid-week and some optional gentle yoga and meditation.  Enjoy the tranquillity of the space and embrace the art of doing nothing – seriously. This time out offers a slower rhythm, allowing you to step back from the busyness of life and find peace within.

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    Robyn Aitkin is a level-3 (300-hour) instructor with a Yoga Alliance International (YAI) certification in Transformational Hatha Yoga, which is a powerful system of yogic techniques (poses, breathing, meditation) that helps keep us naturally happy and healthy, physically and mentally strong and emotionally stable. She is also a Mindful Coach, Sound Bath Guide, WFPB (whole food plant-based) Nutrition Coach. Robyn is resolute in living a life in line with Ahimsa (non-violence) and with kindness towards all sentient beings.

    Keelan Naidoo did his 200-hour Sivananda yoga teacher training certificate in Kerala, India. He offers a gentle yoga class that is accessible to all, including beginners. He also offers guided meditation sessions ideal for those who are new to meditation and mindfulness practice focusing on the present moment experience, on gratitude and acceptance. Keelan’s calm presence is best for those who are looking to relax, connect and ground themselves.

    Dirk Lamprecht guides retreatants in meditation and mindfulness practice by utilising the Himalayan singing bowl with its sound vibrations to align energy centres and to restore mind and body harmony. Dirk’s personal philosophy embraces the core Buddhist practice of Metta (Loving-Kindness): May all beings be healthy, may all beings be happy, may all beings be free from suffering, may all beings be free from the causes of suffering.