Detailed List of Retreats

So many of you have loved Colin’s sunrise qigong at the BRC. For an energising session join him for some gentle movements to move the chi.
Chi kung is an art that combines aerobic conditioning, meditation and relaxation without the extremes of physical exertion, making it the ideal practice for people of every age and of all levels of fitness. Learn the gentle rhythmic dance of the shamans, increase your healing life force by dissolving blockages in your body and restoring the natural flow of Chi. Chi kung movements, practised on a regular basis, will prove to be invigorating and life-changing.

Time: 11:00-11:40am | 25 July; 1 August
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Ho'oponopono, an ancient Hawaiian prayer used for healing, transformation, inner-peace and self-love.

It's a simple yet powerful way to bring healing and forgiveness into your life stream. The intention is not about saying, "I forgive you because what you did was okay." Rather, it's saying, "I forgive you because by holding onto these feelings, I'm holding onto something that's already over. I love myself enough to stop reliving what was hurtful enough the first time."

Time: 09:00-10:00 a.m.

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In many spiritual traditions, the ego is seen as singular. What if we each had multiple egos? What if it was possible to form a relationship with each of these sub-personalities? What if these multiple egos were actually willing to co-operate and collaborate? What if trying to transcend ego is the very reason that ego persists?
In this webinar we will use a combination of theory and meditation practice to explore the multiplicity of mind.

Time: 7:30-9:30pm

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‘To celebrate the BRC’s 40th birthday, we will do nothing special and we will do it together.’

This was the beginning of the pre-lockdown write-up for the BRC August 2020 Stoep Zen retreat.

Since then our world has changed and our practice is to change with it. We will still do nothing special together but now we will do so in our kitchens, lounges, and bedrooms, in our robes, pyjamas, long-johns and slippers.

This is still Zen as the practice of friendship, but now we can broaden our idea of what this means to us. So, we will explore the intimacy of being geographically remote, the intimacy of meeting on screen, the intimacy of just listening, and the intimacy of turning off our screens and finding our seat. We will look at how to sit upright in an upside-down world.

All of the talks will take place via Zoom – some of this will be audio-visual while some may be audio only. The talks may also include chanting and guided meditation instruction.

Meditations outside the Zoom sessions are done by yourself individually, should you choose to participate, but they still form part of the group’s shared activity (and Antony and Margie will be sitting in the Poplar Grove zendo at those times).

Saturday 8 August 2020 | Register

09:00 – 10:30 Zoom talk and meditation
11:00 – 11:30 Meditation (offline)
12:00 – 12:30 Meditation (offline)

Sunday 9 August 2020 | Register

08:00 – 08:30 Meditation (offline)
09:00 – 09:45 Zoom Talk
10:00 – 10:30 Meditation (offline)
11:00 – 11:30 Meditation (offline)
12:00 – 12:30 Meditation (offline)

Monday 10 August 2020 | Register

08:00 – 08:30 Meditation (offline)
09:00 – 09:45 Zoom Talk
10:00 – 10:30 Meditation (offline)
11:00 – 11:30 Meditation (offline)
12:00 – 12:30 Meditation (offline)

When interacting with others, we often find ourselves triggered and then communicate in ways that hurt or harm - ourselves, the other, or the relationship between us. We have not learnt how to use mindful and authentic communication.

“When you are busy judging people, you have no time to love them.” Marshall Rosenberg

We will practice both intra-personal and inter-personal mindfulness in order to cultivate skills of empathy, compassion and a better understanding of self and other. Contemplative dyads are a way to promote social connectedness, something that we are often lacking in daily life where our time is dominated by digital devices. We will practice deep listening in this safe online setting, in order to learn skills that can increase feelings of closeness and strengthen relationships with our friends and partners.

Together, these practices will help us communicate more consciously so that we learn to be aware of our feelings and needs, make requests and stay open to the feelings and needs of others.  

Time: 3:00-5:30 pm

More details: Payment and Zoom registration

Join Elizabeth for a weekend of kindness, not only for ourselves, but also for the wonderful staff at the BRC who are keen to have friends ‘return’ to the place after months of lockdown and isolation . Help to kindle the spirit of generosity and friendship which the BRC has demonstrated for 40 years since it opened.

The weekend will be adjusted to suit everyone; if you want to go hiking - that is an option - if you want to be silent, catch up with your reading and breathe in the restorative air – that’s OK too. Meditation sessions will be available (either guided or silent). We are sure many of you need a break and this is an ideal opportunity to be kind to yourself, for friends to reconnect and enjoy the peace and healing energy that the BRC offers…. It will be lovely to see you (in person).

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August 15;22;29 | 9:30-11:30am

For many people, this period has been a roller coaster of emotions and for some this has included unexpected changes in circumstance.

Perhaps you sometimes feel that you are coping well, but at other times not so much?

You may be feeling a bit shell-shocked, lost or in need of finding a new meaning in life?

Maybe it's just an urge to re-centre and align with your core, or a need for a different perspective, or even a desire for an entirely new direction?

To have what you want but do not yet have, you Have to go where you haven't yet been.

There is no other way!

I would be honoured to guide you beyond what is and has been, to a place of divine peace, joy and direction as you reconnect with your own all powerful inner compass.

Transition Online is designed to support you through the effects of the emotional and mental challenges you have experienced during the past few months in a way that resolves even age old trauma and transforms your present and future.

By liberating the current of your inner being and thus allowing it a clear path to lead and guide you into your present and future, you will find a new openness and ease to follow the powerful calling of your all-knowing guide within.

WITHIN THIS INTIMATE GROUP:

We will find ourselves moving through inner obstacles together, by using an approach that resolves their origins.

We heal and integrate parts of ourselves that have been isolated in pain for far too long and heal our recently troubled selves. We experience a new peace as they reunite in wholeness.

From this foundation of oneness everything flows into place as we move beyond where we were, through where we are going, into where we have always wanted to be.

This is a time of immense potential power and global momentum for those who know how to use it. As a group, we tap into this unprecedented surge of energy to transcend together into a life of greater abundance on all levels.

THE WORKSHOP: TRANSITION ONLINE is a workshop designed for an intimate group of 10, who get together for 3 consecutive Saturday mornings for 90 -120 minutes.

Like all Monique's work, this entire workshop is founded on her purpose where she provides a Space for Being, in an Atmosphere of Warmth, Passion and Commitment to Change, to Manifest the Vision through Inner Reconciliation, Enabling Love, Appreciation and Respect for All of Life.

Food and eating can be a source of great joy, but it can also be a source of suffering. Lockdown has brought up challenges and many people have been turning to food for comfort.

This retreat is based on a combination of the principles of Mindful Eating and Intuitive Eating.

What exactly is Mindful Eating? How could you benefit from it?

Mindful Eating increases our awareness around why, what, when and how we eat in a curious and non-judgemental way.

The mini-retreat will combine Mindful Eating tools, Mindful Eating practices with foods and meditation. The intention is to use a non-judgemental and compassionate approach to re-learning internal physical and emotional cues to guide us with when, what and how much to eat, also examining our rules around food and whether they serve us creating a peaceful relationship with food.

Join us on on Zoom for a mini introduction to Mindful Eating and gently explore your relationship with food and eating.

16 August | 3 hours 45 minutes | 9:00-12:45pm

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Here I am once again, disguised as myself - from About Death and Other Things - Alexander Ristovic

Life writing is not only about developing technical skills. It is also a way to reflect and grow awareness. The tools we need to write about what we know best are tools we need to live more creatively, less anxiously. Whether you are writing fiction or poetry, life writing skills can help to deepen observation. We each have life motifs or themes that are more or less unconscious. Yet an evolving pattern binds our journey from birth to death into a whole coherent piece. Getting to know more about the story we are living helps us to ride our stories, rather than our stories riding us. We will reclaim memory and imagination as a means to release ourselves into awe and creativity, connectedness and purpose, awareness and pleasure. Through identifying and engaging with the images that shape our time on earth, we will find refreshing approaches to put our personal stories down on the page. Bring a notebook and pen, two objects from the period you want to write about - one that represents something you loved about it, and one that represents something you disliked about that time. Beginners are welcome.

Join Astrologer Cor as she explores the Basics of the Ancient Art of Astrology, on the Buddhist Retreat Centre’s online platform from 24 August until 29 September 2020. We are part of the greater cycles of nature, bound to the ever-changing seasons of life. 

As within, so without. As above, so below.

This workshop will focus on celebrating and understanding the meaning of your birth chart. By learning the innate meaning and archetypal representation of the planets, you will explore your divine uniqueness and gain the gifts of self-compassion, self-tolerance, and inner equilibrium. Beginners are most welcome and encouraged.

1) Monday 24 August 5.30-7.30pm - Welcome Introduction Circle, History of Astrology Introduction to chart layout
2) Monday 31 August 5.30pm-7.30pm - 10 Planets and their astrological symbolism and meanings
3) Monday 7 September 5.30-7.30pm - 12 Zodiac Signs and their astrological symbols and meanings
4) Monday 14 September 5.30-7.30pm - 12 Houses and their astrological meanings
5) Monday 21 September 5.30-7.30pm - Polarity, Elements, Modalities, Hemispheres
6) Tuesday 29 September 5.30pm-7.30pm - Aspects

Participants will be working with their own charts. To receive a copy of your own birth chart, along with a copy of the workshop workbook, please send me your birth details (date, time, place) no later than the 22nd of August 2020. Please do not leave this to the last minute, as we will start working with your own charts right from the get-go. Should you not know your exact birth-time, a rectification is required before your correct chart can be emailed to you. Please What’s app me on 0827757423 after you have mailed your details to cor@corastology.co.za. I will confirm receipt by sending you the above-mentioned chart and workbook. 

24;31 August; 7;14;21;29 September | 5:30-7:30pm

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I want to share an approach to poetry
that’s taught me how to play
with rhythm and meaning, following words
and traces of feeling to make new tracks.
Acts of poetry link the tides of my body
and the world with new ways of thinking, moving
across from life to the page, and back

This course will help you to connect with themes and images that need expression and exploration. Learning to condense or distil your inquiry can help with insight and clarity. Working with rhythm and rhyme, off-and-half-rhymes, and with antonyms and synonyms, can break open meaning in new and unexpected ways. Please bring a thesaurus and a rhyming dictionary if you have one. I will bring mine to share.

Mindfulness is the fundamental component of all forms of mind-training, and can be mastered by anyone who is prepared to put in a little effort. The main aspect is learning to bring the mind knowingly into the moment, allowing thoughts to appear and pass without interference, and becoming the impartial witness of the tendency to engage, without compulsively following through on it.

Because the training is quite demanding, beginners find it helpful to have guided sessions until they establish enough confidence to continue by themselves.

Join Margot for a weekend yoga re(treat).

Given the current situation, we will turn to the ancient practice of yoga and use this as a base to journey through our subtle chakra system in the search for release, reassurance and vitality.

Using yin yoga, kundalini yoga, trauma release and vinyasa flow we will slowly unlock, unblock, re-energise and re-connect to each one of these energy centres in our body.

The retreat will begin with a Chakra Check^TM so you can discover where you are currently blocked / locked or limited and you will learn techniques to implement to help you shift back to strength, vitality and serenity.

We will work in sequence to unlock and expand and we will explore postures with a focus on the vegus nerve and the parasympathetic nervous system to assist and support us from the inside-out in these trying times.

This retreat is centred around releasing, relaxing and restoring our bodies, our minds and our energy, and is suitable for everyone.

Please bring a mat, water bottle, long socks and two blankets (not duvets.) Also - if you have - please bring two blocks, bolsters, straps and two tennis balls

During this online retreat we will introduce you to Mindfulness: the development of moment-to-moment, non-judgmental awareness. We will taste different practices together and explore ways to bring this powerful way of being into our daily lives.
Mindfulness practice enables us to relate with more centeredness to whatever is unfolding and makes it possible to work creatively with the stresses and demands of daily living, especially at this time we find ourselves in. This retreat will be based on the work of Dr Jon Kabat-Zinn, founder of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction programme.

Thursday 17th September | 10am-3pm including 1 hour mindful lunch break

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Ever since I heard my first love story I have been looking for you - Rumi

Who is the 'who' that Rumi alludes to? There is something deeply fictional about us human beings. We are the stories we tell about ourselves. Rediscover the lost art of story-telling. Experience the joy, presence, mindfulness and transformation that arrive when we engage with a tale, learn how to craft it and inhabit it. We begin to see our lives as a story, keeping pace with the rhythm of our hearts, balanced between the in and the out of our breathing. Be enchanted by Zen and other tales from many paths.

I believe that poetry is a primal impulse within us all. …we are all capable of it … a small, often ignored corner of us yearns to try it - Stephen Fry

Do you love reading poetry? Do you yearn to write poems? Poetry is a way of paying attention, listening, being in the moment and observing the world. We enter the world of images, rhythm, sound and subtle rhyme. We open to our creativity and imagination. As we cultivate a sense of belonging, our words offer us relationship, presence and healing. We can all live poetically and find the words that balance voice and silence. Together we can shine light into ignored corners and engage with the craft that calls us.

Tune in and allow nature to flow through your heart and lens. The lens of your camera is an extension of your eye, your eyes are an extension of your heart. This 3-day workshop is guided by Master Fine Art photographer, Marlene Neumann. She will take you on a journey deep into the forest where you can explore the light through your camera lens as you listen to the ancient wisdom whispered by the trees. This is not a technical workshop on how to use your camera, but rather an opportunity to learn to follow the light and allow the spirit of nature to shine through you. Marlene’s contemplative approach will teach you new insights and a new way of seeing. See: www.marleneneumann.com

It is important for us to take time out from the incessant demands and fast pace of daily life. The BRC gives us a space to step off the wheel and the time to come home to the quiet, strong refuge which lies at our centre. Cultivating the natural state of peace and ease that lies there reveals our true nature - which enables us not to just help ourselves, but to help the world of which we are a part. Then daily living becomes meaningful. This mid-week retreat will bring out our Beginner’s Mind through the practice of meditation. The time will be silent, quiet, and slow. There will be meditation instruction and guidance, formal sitting, and time for walking, writing, or staring into the distance.

We have a choice in how we meet the difficulties that life presents us with: we can be defensive and erect barriers to pain, or we can choose to approach discomfort with an attitude of friendliness and curiosity. Being open to what is challenging requires courage and practice as it is not in the nature of the human brain to remain calm in the face of difficulty. In relaxing into what is painful we are making friends with ourselves and our world and developing maitri - the unconditional self-acceptance - that is the basis of compassion and well-being. In this retreat we will have the opportunity to say yes to life in all its forms, delightful and painful. We will draw on the writings of Pema Chodron to inspire us to live fearlessly by giving up control and waking up to everything we experience in and around us. Loving-kindness meditations will support us in our journey, as will the tranquil, containing environment of the BRC. The weekend will include sessions of sitting and moving mindfulness practice, as well as walking the labyrinth and group discussions. Silence will be observed throughout the weekend.

Qigong (chi kung) is an ancient Chinese practice that boosts one’s health and longevity. Through gentle, slow and flowing movements, it integrates and harmonises one’s bodily functions and states of mind by eliminating static and toxic energy patterns. Qigong (chi kung) strengthens the internal organs and skeletal structure and encourages good posture. In this retreat Paul will teach the Healing Sounds Short Form - a set of gentle exercises that also uses sounds to cleanse and heal our major organs, and which is a lot of fun to practise. He will also teach the ancient Taoist qigong meditation for inner tranquility. A Chinese tea ceremony will be held on the Saturday night.

Research on emotional intelligence (EI or EQ) suggests that a person’s ability to perceive, identify and manage their emotions is essential to making good decisions, taking optimal action to solve problems and coping with change. According to Daniel Goleman, emotionally intelligent people are aware of their own emotions (self-awareness) and they effectively manage their emotions (self-management). In addition, they are aware of the emotions of others (social awareness) and are adept at managing the emotions of others (relationship management). Each one of us can acquire and improve our EI - an essential part of our personal development. Self-awareness - an EI competence - cultivates our empathy, and nurtures our compassion and caring. The subject of mindfulness has received huge interest from practitioners and researchers alike, with a growing body of research linking mindfulness to cognitive, physiological, and psychological benefits. Interestingly, current research shows a positive relationship between mindfulness and the development of emotional intelligence competencies. This interactive retreat supports participants in their personal development journey through gaining insights into their emotional intelligence and mindfulness, and identifying and developing behaviour that positively impacts their well-being and relationships - in our volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world.

This retreat recognizes the challenges in leading effectively in the 21st century VUCA world: volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. The goal of this interactive retreat is to support retreatants’ personal development journey through gaining insights into their emotional intelligence and cultivating leadership competence that positively impact their relationships, organisations, and society. The retreat focuses on two components: firstly, personal and interpersonal change that equips managers/leaders with the skills, practices and concepts needed to be authentic, adaptive and transformational leaders; secondly, explores organisational change and renewal. The retreat introduces participants to a range of theories, conceptual frameworks, case studies, practices, and tools in emotional intelligence, mindfulness, coaching, social neuroscience and leadership models and styles to understand their leadership behaviours and gain insights into their organisation’s culture and climate. The interactive practices are designed to support managers/leaders’ ongoing development in improving self-awareness, communication and listening skills, enabling them to understand - through direct personal experience - the impact of leadership and management behaviours on organisational culture and climate. For more information and the course fee, please contact Shanil Haricharan: shanil@icon.co.za or 0823773459.

The Zen hermit-monk Ryokan (1758-1831) remains one of Japan's favourite poets. An eccentric original, (he is also known as the “Great Fool”) his antics have endeared him to successive generations. After his initial Zen training, Ryokan spent several years of wandering before settling in a mountain hermitage. However, Ryokan was no world-hating recluse and was often to be seen playing with village children or sharing a drink with farmers. According to one authority Ryokan's life “was a living sermon”. In an atmosphere of contemplative silence, this retreat will use Ryokan’s life and his luminous poetry to reflect on our relationship with the world and all the beings who inhabit it. Please note: Apart from an introductory talk and discussion period this retreat will be held in Noble Silence.

My beloved is the mountains, /the solitary wooded valleys … the tranquil night /at the approaches of dawn, /the silent music, /the murmuring solitude…

This will be a simple “bare-bones” Zen-style retreat consisting of sitting and walking meditation including a morning and evening dharma reading as well as time to experience the beautiful grounds and surroundings of the Centre and listen to silent music. The retreat presents an ideal opportunity to extend and deepen your meditation practice. Please note: The retreat will be held in Noble Silence apart from an introductory talk.

It is often our personal struggles that bring us to a retreat setting. But, is Buddhism meant to be a form of psychotherapy? This retreat will explore the potential of traditional Buddhist practices such as Vipassana as a means of better understanding and effectively addressing our personal struggles. We will look at how we can combine ideas from secular Buddhism, existential philosophy and psychotherapy in order to go beyond ourselves and “embrace the totality of experience”. The retreat will include qigong (chi kung), meditation and short periods of silence.

We are urgently called to action in two distinct capacities; to serve as hospice workers to a dying culture, and to serve as midwives to an emerging culture - Will Keepin

Environmental degradation, economic suffering and social conflict are rampant. Despair, anger and fear abound. Scientists maintain that “humans are eating away their own life support systems at a rate unseen in the last 10, 000 years”. Many want to act, to get involved but don’t know what to do, or where to start - at home or in their social lives and workplace. They feel powerless and unable to make a difference. On this retreat we will learn the way of the gentle, contemplative and effective activist: a model of connecting to a higher source, to others and ourselves. We will leave with a framework for being and doing - the ‘must’, ‘should’ and ‘could’ do’s that we can work with. For more information, contact: centserv@iafrica.com.

Although aimed at mostly beginners and those with intermediate knowledge of photography, anybody interested in using beauty, variety and inspiration found at the Centre to improve their photographic skills, is welcome. The basic technical aspects will be briefly taught and explained, and participants will use this knowledge, along with a Zen type of mindfulness and awareness to endeavour to shed some of their inhibitions and improve the way they understand and look at photography. The emphasis will be on enjoyment and looking at the art of photography with a different mindset. Bring a camera, a tripod, flash unit and spare batteries - and a sense of humour.

The aim of this workshop is to develop the tools that enable us to arrive gently and lucidly in the present moment, being aware of the ebb and flow of our moods and emotions and learning to be mindful instead of reactive in our interactions with others. Using the techniques presented, we will learn to train our minds to be centered on the present so that we can flow with the river of life instead of fighting against the current of our conditioning. There is great joy in being present, no matter what is happening. We will explore Kundalini yoga, which is a combination of stationary and dynamic poses that include chanting, yogic breathing and qigong (chi kung) techniques. These practices increase our energy level and give us the capacity to be fully present and integrated in our bodies and minds. This is a meditation-centered practice - not a physical yoga practice. The workshop will be varied to allow retreatants of all ages and levels of experience to derive great benefit from this very old tradition. Bring comfortable clothing and a sun hat.

Based on the Chinese philosophy of Taoism, tai chi is rooted in balance and flow, stillness within movement, and reflection during action. Just like the shape of the Taijitu - the symbol of yin and yang - every movement is based on circles. Al Huang, in Embrace Tiger, Return to Mountain, suggests: “Stop the words and start the doing.” With gentle movements and focused mind, we will teach a short sequence of yang-style tai chi, complemented with simple qigong (chi kung) exercises and movement-within-stillness meditation. Tai chi has been described as “learning to move with the wind and water in the course of everyday life”.

In a series of talks and Mindfulness meditation sessions, we will explore the chemistry which mediates the effects of mind states on the body: psychoneuroimmunology or PNI. The talks and demonstrations will show that we can attain optimal wellness and performance by getting to know our temperament and personality traits; by being more present-minded; and through sensible, informed ways of living and behaving. 

Shibuie is the ancient Japanese concept of Accidental Beauty in which the artist is just one ingredient in a number of dynamic interacting natural processes, the outcome of which is delightfully unpredictable, but strangely beautiful - not ego-driven or deliberate. Louis will teach the classical Japanese brush painting techniques (Sumie) as these are applied to traditional subjects, such as landscape, bamboo and flower studies, while Ingrid will introduce contemporary subjects. We will use the genuine, traditional materials: solid pine-soot ink, a hollowed-out slate to liquefy it, a deer-hair bamboo-stemmed brush and absorbent mulberry paper. Tools will be provided, but sets can be purchased (R850) from the BRC. Each retreatant will receive a bisque-fired tea bowl to sumie-decorate and glaze. Fay will then fire up the kiln after which we will watch the magic as the pots emerge from their ordeal of having been subjected to 1000ºC heat, smothered in sawdust and immersed in cold water. The pots will emerge triumphantly from the scorching heat and will be used in a traditional Chinese Tea Ceremony on the final evening.

Be here now. Rest in the moment. Catch the ungraspable moment. How do we do that when life keeps tumbling us along like a sand grain in a river? When all is in dizzying motion, where is 'the moment’, where is ‘here’? Take time out at the BRC over Christmas to slow down into the moment. You can find your true home in the here-now. With sitting and walking meditation, we will stalk the elusive moment. We will discover how to recognise our 'home', and we will see that we are in fact at home always. The retreat will be held in Noble Silence, with time for journaling, reflection, and fireside talks.

The spiritual life is first of all a life. It is not merely something to be known and studied, it is to be lived - Thomas Merton

New Year is a good time of the year to take stock and contemplate our moment-to-moment, here-and-now reality in all its fullness. It’s a traditional time for clarifying our motivations, and for starting afresh with new intention. A time, in other words, to reboot the system. Give yourself the gift of time over this traditional New Year period to collect the Three Medicines of gratitude, ahimsa and contentment, reflect on the past year, and uncover how you can best live your life in the coming year. During this time together we will let our body, speech, and mind fall silent through the practice of meditation and silence. In working with the Three Medicines, there will also be time for writing and contemplation, walking, and ceremony, especially outside in nature. We will welcome the New Year with a lantern-lit perambulation around the Buddha, chanting, ringing out the old year with an ancient Chinese temple gong and welcoming the New Year with a Tibetan bell.

It is difficult to make decisions about important issues in your life when you are immersed in them. You need some distance from them, physically and psychologically to see them clearly for what they are. Only then, can you gain a fresh perspective on them. So, if you feel you need a gentle, uncluttered space to tune into what lies ahead for you in 2021, this largely unstructured weekend will prove useful. Experience sunrise qigong (chi kung), gentle hatha yoga sessions and evening chanting and meditation. The Centre is yours to enjoy, walking or bird-watching in three hundred acres of rolling hills and indigenous forests. Circumambulate the labyrinth and stupa, meditate in the Zen garden or in the Buddha Boma, and spend solitary time in the deer park and at the dam or listen to the wind-chimes. Deborah Don, a qualified Self-Esteem Coach and massage therapist, will be offering healing therapies by appointment. The BRC provides an ideal opportunity to be in a sympathetic space to reflect on the things that crowd one’s life and to experience what it is like to "just be".