DISCOVERING MINDFULNESS IN NATURE:
RETREAT TO THE CYPRIOT COUNTRYSIDE
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About the workshop This retreat is open to everyone who is curious about mindfulness & our relationship with the natural world and how to create a happier, healthier, more sustainable world!
Through group discussions, mindfulness exercises, games and meditations, Claire Thompson, author of Mindfulness and the Natural World, and the Art of Mindful Birdwatching will inspire you to notice, enjoy, explore, and share experiences of what it feels like to be alive, and part of our unfathomable natural world. In particular, the workshop will:
The workshop will include a combination of theory, informal group discussions, individual and group exercises, meditations and games – as well as walks around Pera Orinis countryside and hiking in the Machairas mountains and the opportunity to relax in the traditional rural guesthouse of Aperanti. Above all, Claire aims to reveal that practicing mindfulness in nature is relaxing, peaceful and lots of fun!
Why mindfulness in nature?
Nature is around us and within us always. How would we be here experiencing life if it weren’t for our bodies, air, water, trees, birds, the sun and the sky? The simple answer is that we wouldn’t. Nature gives rise to all life including our own. This means that experiencing the natural world is essential for our happiness and well-being - and there is now plenty of evidence to support this fact. In a fast-paced modern world we live in where we are increasingly disconnected from our natural home, we need to experience nature, today more than ever before. This is where mindfulness comes in. Mindfulness is paying attention, on purpose, non-judgmentally and with kind acceptance to our direct experience (thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment) in each moment. We tend to live a large portion of our lives on ‘autopilot’, lost in thoughts, without stopping to notice what it really feels like to be alive, moment by moment. Through mindfulness, we can actively decide where we direct our conscious attention. This choice is the secret to a happier, more contented life. The practice of mindfulness is thus the ideal way to explore our experiences of our own lives – but it is also a wonderful way to notice life around us, in the natural world, wherever we are. 
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DATES : Friday 19th-Monday 22th October 2018 (the course finishes on Monday at 3pm) PRICE:
PRICE INCLUDES:
NOT INCLUDED:
OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES:
PRICE FOR LOCALS:
If you have your own transport, you do not need accommodation and you do not want dinner.
FOR RESERVATION contact us in advance (limited availability) or book directly through WeTravel following the link below.
Let us know if you are thinking to extend your stay at Aperanti or if you would like some advice about places to visit in the rest of the island.
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About our course leader-Claire Thompson
Claire has explored mindfulness, meditation and yoga for the past 10 years and participated in many mindfulness, meditation, yoga and Buddhism courses. She has helped facilitate a number of workshops at the Cambridge Buddhist Centre and run many workshops in her role as Conservation Projects Manager for BirdLife International, working with nature conservation NGOs from across the world. Following the publications of 2 books (Mindfulness and the Natural World in 2012 and The Art of Mindful Birdwatching to be published in June 2017), Claire runs ‘mindfulness in nature’ workshops and courses for different audiences with the aim of reconnecting people with themselves and the natural world. She pursues this to fulfil her passion for creating a more mindful, peaceful, happier and sustainable world.
For more information, please visit Claire’s website at www.mindfulness-of-nature.com.
For more information, please visit Claire’s website at www.mindfulness-of-nature.com.
