October 2012 to May 2013
During this period we shall be working on the land and buildings. There will be no formal training programmes. Individual retreats might be possible at some periods. Volunteering to assist with the work may also be possible.
June 2013
13-16 June: Principles of Zen Therapy, an Intensive Training: I'm seeing this week as an opportunity for us to further develop the principles and practice of the approach. My current list of ten principles or foci reads as follows:
# The Transmission of Happiness
# Non-self - Other Centred
# Liberation not Extinction
# Bombu Paradigm
# Application of Buddhist Psychology: its mind model, dependent origination and conditioning principles
# Mindfulness of the Three Times
# Faith, the basic variable, as Encounter
# Spiritual Maturity
# Love, Fellow Feeling, Joy and Equanimity beyond Disappointment
# Shunyata: Transforming Adverse Conditions
Some implications are that on the one hand a) I still believe that it is the personal spiritual development of the therapist that makes them therapeutic*; yet b) I believe that that development is more soundly grounded in an appreciation of personal vulnerability and fallibility than the accumulation of admirable qualities. All this rests on a deeper understanding of shunyata (emptiness) as the limitless potential of the ordinary. This will be a workshop for looking at principles in depth, doing practice work together and getting feedback. Four full days, please arrive the day before. Course ends at 3pm on final day. [Cost: 350 euro full board five days or less. For extra days see Information & Booking]
*Note: Many institutes have abandoned requirements that trainee therapists be in therapy because research fails to demonstrate any positive association between being in therapy and becoming a better therapist, but to me this simply raises profound questions about the effectiveness of the therapy that those students are receiving and being expected to practice.
18-21 June: Teacher Training Programme: This event is open to persons with some extended experience of spiritual life who are or may be in the position of acting as spiritual guide to others. The religious tradition in which this takes place is immaterial, but participants must have an openness to learning across traditions and no agenda to convert others to their sectarian persuasion. We can all learn from one another. The programme will include ritual, practice, pastoral care, counselling and direction, public speaking, and an examination of the role of the spiritual mentor. This is, however, largely an experiential rather than a didactic programme in which the aim is to create a strong peer learning environment. (for further details see Teacher Training) Four full days, please arrive the day before. Course ends at 3pm on final day, please depart by the following morning unless participating in the Amida Order Retreat. Thank you. [Cost: individually agreed - see Information & Booking]
22-28 June: Eleusis will host the annual retreat of the Amida Order. This will be a closed event, only available to members of the order.
Please direct all enquiries to eleusis@fastmail.net
