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A Place to Belong with Lucy Chan

Sanjay Soni

a year ago, on Google
The Barn is a very special place set in a beautiful location with amazing views. You can feel the calm harmonising energy of the barn and the wonderful team create a safe space to share and learn. I've stayed at the barn twice in the last couple of years and will definitely be returning. Highly recommended if you would like to connect with nature, community and yourself.

Jeanie Bags

3 months ago, on Google
The Barn retreat centre is a wonderful place to slow down and commune with nature. It is run by a wholesome bunch of people who knows how to nourish one's space and coordinators/leaders with deep understanding of true mindfulness.The Barn is also healing for anybody with the intention of slowing down, clearing and quieting busy mind. It a wonderful place to pause and admire the beauty within your own skin , body, and mind. A peaceful and mindful place to learn how to process weak or strong emotions and slowly letting go of some thoughts or things. When you slow down your mind becomes clear... The set up works beautifully with activities and space for everybody. The kind of food available from the huge vegetable garden are so organically delicious. It is also cleansing and for me---healing. A great place for walking meditations over looking the meadows and the River Dart. Great appreciation comes out of me when I think of The Barn and the participants I met last week and bonded with. My heart is happy.

Mike Howell

5 months ago, on Google
The location is serene; the venue and accommodation is very comfortable. My first retreat, and not my last, was for 55+'s. Ten of us shared a peaceful week where we felt at ease. There was a great sense of community, sharing and kindness within the group - a welcome escape from the frenetic, combative, angry environment of the world today. Highly recommended.

clare salter

6 months ago, on Google
Staying at the barn on a 6-night retreat feels like the best, life changing experience I have ever had. My heart feels nourished, my connection with nature enhanced and a feeling of community that goes beyond words. The insight of the Buddhist wisdom taught by beautiful caring people, the meditations have deepened my practice and continue to bring a sense of harmony to my day-to-day life. Barn team thank you so much. Clare

Jenny Chamarette

2 months ago, on Google
This is a truly magical place - a space to live in community, connected to nature while practising mindfulness. The simplicity, kindness and generosity of the Barn is present in everything the team - and the land! - do. I have been on several retreats here and plan to return for many more.

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To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don't need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself. When you are born a lotus flower, be a beautiful lotus flower, don't try to be a magnolia flower. If you crave acceptance and recognition and try to change yourself to fit what other people want you to be, you will suffer all your life. True happiness and true power lie in understanding yourself, accepting yourself, having confidence in yourself.
                                - Thich Nhat Hanh

The theme of the retreat will be loosely held around the four Brahmaviharas: the Buddha’s primary heart teachings of Lovingkindness, Compassion, Joy and Equanimity. We will be focusing on ways to access our true home within us, and to understand the Buddha’s insights into interconnectedness.

Be the flower you want to be in this world

Ancient teachings coupled with modern practices will help you connect with a sense of stability, ease, and self-compassion. Realising your true belonging, and not limiting yourself to ‘fitting in’, is especially vital to be able to skilfully meet the individual and collective challenges of these times.

 

Be islands unto yourselves, refuges unto yourselves, seeking no external refuge; with the Dhamma as your island, the Dhamma as your refuge, seeking no other refuge.

- the Buddha (Mahaparinibbana Sutta v.33)


What does becoming an island unto ourselves look and feel like? Perhaps creating a space of resilience, well-being, and a deep sense of belonging? This is the question we will be exploring through the Buddha's teachings and through an anti-oppressive lens.

This retreat is welcome to all, but may be of particular interest to those from marginalised groups such as BPOC (Black/People of Colour), those who identify as LGBTQIAP+, or others who have experienced any form of discrimination or exclusion.

Read on for more details on this retreat and click the Leaders, Schedules and Venue & Directions tabs above for further information.

 

This retreat is for you if you:


  • Lucy Chan works with a retreatant of colour at The Sharpham Trustwant to develop resilience and self-compassion through meditation and mindfulness
  • want to go deeper into dharma, with an experienced teacher close at hand
  • need resourcing in these changing times
  • want to live and work in community, preparing meals together and working in the gardens
  • are aged 18 and above

Retreats with residential teachers


Our retreats with residential teachers are similar to standard retreats with extra teaching.

There will be a maximum of 11 participants on this retreat.

There are periods of silence on each of our retreats.

Our programme of retreats at The Barn can be viewed and booked here


Daily meditations


There are approximately three 40-minute meditation periods each day, and it's important that you commit to them to deepen your practice and connect to the community here.

Sitting in meditation at The Barn

Working on the land


It is important that you are willing to participate in working on the land as part of your mindfulness practice (we can easily find suitable tasks for people with health difficulties) and that you can commit to all the scheduled activities during the week.

Gardens at The Barn at The Sharpham Trust, Devon, England, UK

What you’ll experience on this retreat


During this retreat you’ll:

  • experience guided meditations and periods of silence and quiet contemplation
  • be living in community with like-minded people, sharing experiences and tasks, including the making of meals and taking care of the house
  • have a single-occupancy room and your own space in which to rejuvenate, with free time to deeply rest and reconnect with yourself
  • have access to 24-hour hot teas, coffee & infusions in the kitchen
  • be able to explore the beautiful Sharpham Estate, set within a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty close to nature, amid breath-taking scenery on the banks of the River Dart

The valley view with a vase in the foreground in the kitchen of The Barn

Mindfulness in nature at Sharpham


When you experience Sharpham's inspiring and nourishing environment, we hope you'll connect spiritually with the natural world, so you’ll:

  • become aware of how we are all part of nature - not artificially separate from it
  • pay attention to and appreciate the natural world surrounding us
  • explore nature through your senses and your natural creativity
  • Tread more lightly on our finite planet, developing a respect and reverence for all living things

Click here to read our ethos and principles

a teacher-led Buddhist meditation retreat at The Barn at Sharpham, Devon

What you need to know


If you decide to stay with us, we’ll send you a list of what you need to bring for this retreat in your Welcome Letter that we send out after you've booked.

You can also find out more about staying with us on our Frequently Asked Questions page, including

  • accessibility information
  • why we encourage you to come on your own and not with partners or friends
  • what the difference is between our retreats

See our Barn Covid-19 measures here

 

Food at The Barn at The Sharpham Trust

Food & your dietary needs


We have a fully stocked organic and vegetarian kitchen. The main meal is at lunch time.

We can accommodate gluten-free and/or vegan dietary needs. However, our kitchen is not gluten, dairy nor nut-free. We do not provide gluten-free bread, but you are welcome to bring your own.

Due to the nature of the kitchens at the Barn with food being prepared by participants and no dedicated chef, we are not able to accommodate guests who have anaphylaxis. If you have anaphylaxis we recommend you book on to one of our other retreat venues - Sharpham HouseThe Coach House or our Woodland Retreats.

Please make sure you include dietary restrictions and any food allergies on your Booking Form. We may need to communicate further with you about specifics. The booking form is sent as a link once you have booked and paid for a retreat.

Our water is provided from our own spring, UV treated and filtered.


Your physical and mental health


This retreat is suitable for you if you have some meditation experience, or you are seeking to renew or reconnect with your practice.

Although meditation and mindfulness can be helpful in managing stress, depression and anxiety our retreats might not be suitable if you are experiencing major depression or other clinically diagnosed psychiatric illness such as bipolar disorder, psychosis or current self-harming. Click here for more information and for our booking process

If you have a medical condition that requires you to have a room close to a toilet, please contact The Barn team on the number below and we'll try to help.
 


 

I found the space to reconnect with parts of myself I thought were lost. All thanks to the amazing coordinators, other retreatants, beautiful surroundings. If we all did this once a year, the world would be all the brighter for it….

 

View down the River Dart Valley at The Barn meditation retreat centre

 

 

Retreats with residential teachers have a tighter schedule and have less free time than our standard 6-night retreats.

Note that we hold silence from 9.00pm to 9.00am each day, and all day Wednesday.


Sunday

Afternoon
2.00pm to 4.00pm – Your arrival
4.30pm – Welcome talk, introductions and tour
5.30pm –  Guided meditation
6.30pm – Light evening meal. Then settling in
8.30pm – The Barn goes into silence until 9.00am the next day
 

 

Monday to Friday

This is a typical schedule and will be adjusted to meet each teacher's needs.

Mornings Afternoons
6.20am – Wake up 12.20pm – Meditation (some guided) 
6.50am – Meditation 1.00pm – Lunch
  2.00pm – Personal time
7.30am –  Household tasks 4.30pm – Optional sitting meditation
8.00am – Breakfast 5.00pm – Teaching 
9.00am – Morning sharing and meeting  6.00pm – Light supper prepared individually or in groups
10.00am – Mindful gardening  8.00pm – Practice discussion
   

 

Saturday  

As above until 8.00am. Silence ends at breakfast. Then it's time to clear your room and depart between 9.00am and 10.00am.

A beautiful way to slow down, listen in and be in a welcoming and loving community. This has been an enriching week - stunning surroundings, lovely people, delicious food, very skilled and compassionate facilitators, and wise teachers.
 

This week at The Barn has been food for my heart. I feel calmer and more connected. The kindness of all the people here, the healthy food, the chance to be in nature were so helpful.
 

This experience was a long overdue gift to myself. It felt both restorative and gently transformative--a very special week.
 

Coming to the Barn is an opportunity to reconnect with yourself, with your body and mind in the context of wonderful nature. It is immersive, and helps to blur the lines between body/mind, self/other, and human/nature.

This retreat takes place at The Barn, with superb views over the River Dart.

view of The Barn at The Sharpham Trust

We are 3 miles from Totnes – famous for its Transition Town movement

We are in a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

Click here for our How to Find Us page on this website.

Click here to view and download directions and a map to The Barn

Click here view and download walking/cycling directions to The Barn

If you have a medical condition that requires you to have a room close to a toilet, please contact The Barn team on the number below and we'll try to help.

 

Phones and laptops


We ask all participants to turn off mobile phones and electronic devices for the whole of your retreat. This helps you and everyone else to disengage from daily life and live fully in the simplicity and quietude of a Buddhist retreat.

 

Sustainability


We take sustainability seriously.Meditation retreats at The Barn at The Sharpham Trust, Devon, England

Heating and hot water in The Barn is run from our log furnace and solar thermal panels. We supply as much food as possible from our organic gardens, the rest comes from Riverford Organic Farms and Essential Trading Cooperative.

We also have two large photovoltaic solar panel arrays on the Estate and use biodegradable cleaning products wherever possible.

£375 - Supported Rate plus dana

The Sharpham Trust is committed to ensuring that retreats at The Barn are accessible to all - regardless of income. The Supported Rate is for those unable to pay the Standard or Benefactor Rate.

£450 – Standard Rate plus dana

Paying the Standard Rate means you will be contributing towards our running costs, supporting the work of The Barn and helping retreatants of lower incomes to access our retreats.

£525 – Benefactor Rate plus dana

If you are able to pay the Benefactor Rate, that means that you'll be supporting others who cannot afford to benefit from a Barn retreat on The Sharpham Estate. Your choice to pay this rate will help us with the running costs of The Barn, enabling us to continue our charitable work connecting people to nature and fostering mindfulness and wellbeing, as well as caring for the land, wildlife and wider estate.
 

Dana


Dana is the Pali word for generosity or donation. The teachers are receiving only a small payment for teaching at The Barn and are generously giving their energy and understanding to us all. Please consider giving a donation to teachers for the retreats that they lead.

 

Accommodation & facilities

Rooms at The Barn at The Sharpham Trust

All rates include all meals, bedding and towels. All rooms are comfortable single rooms, with a shared bathroom.

All rooms are randomly allocated, unless you have medical needs relating to your room allocation. If you have such a need, let us know on your booking form before the retreat begins. 

Hot drinks are available 24 hours in the kitchen.

The Barn is on the Sharpham Estate, set in a stunning hillside location overlooking the River Dart within a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
 

Bursaries


Limited bursaries are available for those experiencing financial hardship. Contact the Barn team on the number or email below at least 4 weeks in advance if you wish to apply.

Our bursary fund relies on donations. If you’d like to help another to go on retreat here through our bursary scheme, you can give online quickly and easily by clicking here

 

Lucy Chan - A Place to Belong

Lucy Chan - A Place to Belong

Lucy Chan (she/her) has been practising Buddhist meditation since her early 20s, in both the Insight Meditation and Plum Village traditions. Her exploration of Buddhist practice helps her maintain balance in an engaged life, and connects her with the aspiration to alleviate suffering both in the inner and outer worlds.

She is an experienced Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) teacher, and shares the practice globally with the general public as well as with particular communities including youth, and BPOC (Black/People of colour). She is part of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) team at the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion where she is part of the LGBTQIAP2S+ subcommittee.


Retreats & Events

All rooms are single occupancy.

How to book easily and securely:

  • online on this page
  • by phoning 01803 732542

If you've got any questions about this retreat, call The Barn team on 01803 732661 or email [email protected]

We’re not always in the office, so be prepared to leave a message saying when we could call you back.


Do check our Calendar to see and book for our events - or join our mailing list by clicking here to be kept in touch about Sharpham Trust news, retreats & events.