To wake up first of all is to wake up to the beauty of the Earth. You wake up to the fact that you have a body and that your body is made of the Earth and sun and stars. You wake up to the fact that the sky is beautiful and that our planet is a jewel of the cosmos.” Thich Nhat Nahn

Peaceful Heart Sangha warmly invites you to a day of mindfulness in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh and Plum Village. We will explore practices of interbeing and metta (loving kindness), reflected in the natural surrounds of Marcassie Farm. Our day will include sessions by Dharma Teacher Susanne Olbrich and various members of Peaceful Heart Sangha.

What to bring:

• A packed lunch and favourite tea (tea and coffee will be provided)

• Meditation cushion or kneeling bench if preferred (chairs provided)

• Yoga mat or blanket for outdoor sitting / prostrations

• Layers and sensible shoes to be ready for all that nature in Scotland can offer in a day

• Dana/donation

Date & time: Saturday 11 May, 10.30am-4.30pm. You are invited to arrive at 10am for a cup of tea and to settle before we begin at 10.30am.

Venue: Marcassie Farm, Rafford

Fee: This day is offered on a Dana (donation) basis, inviting participants to offer generosity of the heart. Donations of between £5 and £25 will help us cover the costs of our venue and offer gifts of gratitude to our teachers.

To wake up first of all is to wake up to the beauty of the Earth. You wake up to the fact that you have a body and that your body is made of the Earth and sun and stars. We can establish a very close relationship between our heart and the heart of the Earth. The mind of love can help us to protect the environment and the planet.
Thich Nhat Hanh

This long weekend is a time to explore and deepen our connection with the Earth. We will spend time outdoors in the beautiful grounds of The Burn, touching our interbeing with all of life through meditation, Dharma teachings and nature practices. Mindful breathing, songs, Dharma sharing and time for rest help us weave a nourishing, uplifting time of togetherness.

Date & time: Friday 24 May, 4pm, until Monday 27 May, 3.30pm

Venue: The Burn, Edzell, Angus (Scotland), https://theburn.co.uk/

Registration: For details and a booking form, please email Christine Brown,

“The essence of loving kindness is being able to offer happiness. You can be the sunshine for another person. But you can’t offer happiness until you have it yourself. So build a home inside by accepting yourself and learning to love and heal yourself.” Thich Nhat Hanh

This retreat is an opportunity to deeply explore the teachings on love offered by Thich Nhat Hanh. What can be more important in this time of change than cultivating love and understanding for ourselves, our loved ones, the Earth and all beings?

Accepting and loving ourselves is fundamental – understanding ourselves as a person and also what it is to have a human mind with both the joy and the pain. These insights allow us to open our heart more and more to the whole range of human experience. Through opening our heart, transformation becomes possible. True love comes with compassion, joy and inclusiveness, and on our long weekend together we will cultivate these qualities through Plum Village practices and teachings.

Dharma teachers Mhairi McLuskie and Susanne Olbrich will guide you through the beauty of these teachings with warmth and honesty, supporting you to find ways of applying them in your own lives. There will be time to relax and care for ourselves and time to connect with nature and our ancestors (blood, spiritual and land based). There also will be a ceremony to transmit the Five Mindfulness Trainings.

This is an in-depth retreat for those who have practised mindfulness before and are familiar with the basic practices of mindful breathing, sitting, walking, eating and Dharma sharing.

Date & time: Friday 18 October until Monday 21 October 2024

Venue: Wiston Lodge, Lanarkshire

Details & booking: https://plumvillage.uk/event/dharma-training-programme-2024-love-is-the-way/

For a free download of Susanne’s chapter, please contact her.

Price: eBook £9.75 (worldwide), paperback £24.75 including p&p (UK only). All proceeds go to the Everyone Project, helping fund mindfulness courses to groups who otherwise wouldn’t have access to them, for financial or other reasons.

Available here: Please email Vin Harris, .