A Place to Belong with Lucy Chan

Hear FIRST about our retreats & events

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.

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:

• want 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.

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.

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

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

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 & 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 House, The 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….