The Essence of Meditation – Online Weekend Retreat at Home
Description
Join hundreds of people from around the world for a powerful online weekend retreat where you will immerse yourself deeply in the profound peace and quiet joy at the heart of your being.
Throughout the weekend, you will explore various pathways back to your essential self — the ‘I’ that lies behind, or beyond, our thoughts, feelings, relationships and experiences.
This ‘I’ is often referred to as the ‘I am’, pure being, or being aware of being aware.
Being aware of being aware is described variously in the spiritual traditions as self-enquiry, sinking the mind into the heart, surrendering to God, focussing on the 'I am', or the practice of the presence of God. These are all simply labels that describe the same experience.
Being aware of being aware is the essence of meditation and the highest form of prayer.
The more time you spend getting to know, and resting as, the universal and infinite being that is your essential self, the more the peace inside you will grow until it eventually becomes your primary experience.
Details
This online weekend Retreat at Home will comprise of meditations and dialogues on the essential, non-dual understanding that lies at the heart of all the great religious and spiritual traditions. This simple, contemplative approach, which encourages a clear seeing of one’s experience rather than any kind of effort or discipline, leads the us to an experiential understanding of their own essential being and the peace and fulfilment that are inherent within it.
The weekend will begin on Friday with a guided meditation. There will be two guided meditations and a Q&A session on Saturday, with breaks in between, and on Sunday there will be two meditations during the day, finishing with a Q&A session. Details of the schedule are below.
Community
The retreat is a wonderful opportunity to connect with like-minded people around the world. There will be a private facebook group just for event attendees, where you will meet each other and start to connect before the event. You may also wish to join one of the several Zoom rooms that will be open throughout the event for you to chat, meditate or spend meal breaks together.
Access
All you need to participate is a computer or a mobile device, such as a tablet or smartphone, with a built-in speaker and access to the internet. The platform we use for the sessions is Zoom. Neil will walk you through the sign-in process, which is very simple, and she will email you with the invitation to join ahead of the weekend. Participants also receive audio and video links to stream the recordings of each session, and these will remain active for 30 days.
To optimise your retreat experience, we recommend a wired connection if possible. If you do use a Wi-Fi connection, close all or most other devices using the signal. For mobile devices, a 3G or 4G connection is needed.
Schedule
| Date | Session Type | West Coast (PST) | East Coast (EST) | United Kingdom (BST) | New Zealand (NZST) |
| Friday 30th | Meditation | 11:30 am - 12:30 pm | 2:30 - 3:30 pm | 7:30 - 8:30 pm | 6:30 - 7:30 am |
| Saturday 1st | Meditation | 12:00 - 1:00 am | 3:00 - 4:00 am | 8:00 - 9:00 am | 7:00 - 8:00 pm |
| Meditation | 8:30 - 9:30 am | 11:30 am - 12:30 pm | 4:30 - 5:30 pm | 3:30 - 4:30 am | |
| Q&A | 11:30 am - 1:30 pm | 2:30 pm - 4:30 pm | 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm | 6:30 - 8:30 am | |
| Sunday 2nd | Meditation | 12:00 - 1:00 am | 3:00 - 4:00 am | 8:00 - 9:00 am | 7:00 - 8:00 pm |
| Meditation | 8:30 - 9:30 am | 11:30 am - 12:30 pm | 4:30 - 5:30 pm | 3:30 - 4:30 am | |
| Q&A | 11:30 am - 1:30 pm | 2:30 pm - 4:30 pm | 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm | 6:30 - 8:30 am |
To calculate the time difference where you live, use this link: everytimezone.com
Discussion Board
Everyone who books onto this event will get access to the discussion board, with the ability to:
- Post comments
- Contact other attendees to exchange information or for social purposes
Everyone who registers for this event will automatically be added to a Discussion Board, which will put them in direct contact with all other attendees, enabling them to be in touch with one another, individually or as a group, exchange information or simply for social purposes. Please note that the Discussion Board is not to be used for promotional purposes.
The Discussion Board will also be used by the group organiser to contact the whole group in the run up to the event with important information and to share the links to recordings during the retreat. If you have technical issues during the meetings please contact the organiser directly using the chat function on the platform.
The server will only send out emails for the organisers posts. If you would like to stay in touch with the other attendees, you will find the Discussion Board tab is available, once registered for the retreat and is located on the tab next to the Attendees list.
Registration
To register for this weekend retreat, please use the 'add to basket' buttons below and follow instructions to check out.
Tickets are available based on the sliding scale below, with the intention of making the teaching available to more people:
£40 - Supported: for those who would like to attend but are unable to do so for financial reasons*
£80 - Standard: for those with sufficient financial resources to attend at a fair price
£160 - Sponsor: for those with adequate financial resources and a desire to support attendance for others.
Tickets include access to all of the daily meetings. Links to the streamable recordings will be posted on the discussion board after each meeting and will be available for four weeks. Please select from the options in the tickets section below, add to basket and checkout as normal.
Supported Tickets
If you wish to attend with a Supported ticket, please email Niya, niya@rupertspira.com, to apply for a discount voucher code. Once you have this you will be able to follow the usual 'add to basket' process to book your place using the discount code to reduce the ticket price.
*If you are unable to afford the tickets at the supported rate, please include this in your email, stating that you wish to receive a free place on the retreat and Niya will allocate a free ticket to you.
Please note that the cut-off date for supported ticket applications is Wednesday 28th, 10am GMT.
PLEASE NOTE THAT REGISTRATION WILL CLOSE THREE HOURS BEFORE THE FIRST MEETING.
Full refunds will be given on tickets cancelled before the start of the retreat.
No refunds will be given after the retreat has begun.
If you have technical problems, please contact the organiser of the retreat for assistance.
Tickets
Book Standard or Sponsor tickets below.
Please email Niya to apply for a discount code before purchasing a Supported ticket.