Enjoy Summer in UK

Enjoy Practicing in Open Air This Whole Summer in UK with Burg

Dear friends,

My very happy day to receive the news from my senior in meditation, teacher Guy Burgs, who will offer everyone a meditation camping on the road throughout the United Kingdom, for as long as you wish. 

Here is what he wrote in the message: 

Hello everyone.

I hope life is treating you well. After a long winter of deep retreat in northern Scotland and Staffordshire, we are all preparing for a summer of living the Dharma on the road.

I have been reflecting much on how it must have been practicing and living as yogi's in the time of the Buddha. I realise of course that almost all of his teachings would have been given in the open air, out in nature and that a connection to the natural order of things would have been an innate part of life for everyone practicing back then. There was a period of staying in one place and doing deep practice during the rainy season each year, and a period of wandering and exploring.

I decided at the beginning of this year that I would try to incorporate this ethos into our own annual programme at AOM*. During this winter long retreat it became clear that there is a growing appetite amongst many of you to experience longer periods of practice in a supported environment under the guidance of your teacher. I was delighted at how much progress everyone was able to make as a group this winter and felt that for the first time I was able to give teachings that I have not been able to share since I received them myself from my own teachers during my own periods of intense practice many years ago.

I remember fondly and with a touch of nostalgia the simple life I was able to live in those days. My little wooden cabin and my daily walk through the forests to meet the teacher, or to gather with the rest of the community at meal times. Being immersed in peaceful seclusion while living out in nature played a significant part in my own progress along the path as it was there that I came to see for myself just how few my real needs were, and to experience the great joy of such a life of harmlessness and simplicity.

So we are now planning a moving Dharma camp. I will be moving around the country and holding an open Dharma space throughout the summer and you are all welcome to come and join at any time you like. We have some beautiful venues lined up where we will plot up for a few weeks at a time. It is my intention to give discourses and instructions in the open air as the Buddha would have done in inspiring locations where you can meditate and live simply to your hearts content without the distractions of our otherwise complicated lives. Once finalised we will send details of where we will be based throughout the summer to any of you who feel inclined to come and join us. You can come for as long as you like, from two days to a whole summer on the road. All you will need to bring is your own tent or sleeping space and enough money to donate to the daily costs of providing food and basic amenities like warm showers and toilets.

So for all of you who have been longing for a greater sense of community and Sangha, this summer is your chance to be a part of a genuine Dharma tribe living the life as the Yogis of the past have done.

We are kicking the summer off next weekend in the lovely grounds of Sandon Estate in Staffordshire with our annual Mettathon gathering. This year we will have a camp on the Friday night and we will be doing a purification ceremony that evening in the park. Then on Saturday after lunch we will start our 24 hour Loving Meditation marathon for charity. ( And don't worry it is a relay so you will be split into groups and not expected to meditate continuously for 24 hours!! It will be one hour on with two hours off, with shorter sittings for any of you who are relatively new to meditation). We will finish on Sunday afternoon with a celebratory feast.

Please do come and join us from next Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon in at Sandon in the beautiful Staffordshire countryside. It will be the formal start to our Summer on the road. So prep up, pack your tents, yurts, bivvy bags or camper vans and let's head out to nature and live the Dharma together this summer and make 2019 the next Summer of Love.

And if any of you have spaces to host us or have any ideas of where we can be outdoors, for groups of 6 to 60 people then let us know. Looking forward to seeing you somewhere out there on the road....

With love

Burgs

* AOM - The Art of Meditation. 

Interested? Contact AOM directly for participation. 

May all of us enjoy a meaningful summer with profound truth and cultivation within and without.

With respect,
Coral