The Barn: Meditation Retreat for Men (6 nights)

The 6-night retreat structure is based on the following:

• Three 40-minute meditation sessions a day in our meditation room
• Outdoor walking meditation
• Meditation and mindfulness guidance
• Mindful work practice in the organic garden and woods
• Community living and fellowship in a small group
• Daily periods of silence, and one full day’s silence
• Inquiry led by Buddhist teachers

Retreatants usually stay for one week, although many stay for longer.

Accommodation and Community Living

Every retreatant has a single room. Living as a small community of up to 12 people (including 2 coordinators), we share household tasks, and cook and eat together. In the afternoons there is free time to practise individually: use our extensive library, talk to like minded people, or walk in our beautiful 550 acre Sharpham Estate. Evening meals are prepared individually or in groups.

Meditation

Meditation can bring a deep sense of calm and awareness. We provide guided meditation sessions and also offer further basic instruction in meditation practice for beginners, on request.  Our regular visiting teachers come three times a week to help deepen your experience of meditation and answer any questions you may have.

Organic Gardening

We grow most of our own vegetables in our organic gardens. When on retreat you will be eating produce grown by previous retreatants, and being kept warm by the wood they chopped – the house is heated by a wood furnace. We therefore spend our mornings gardening and working in the woodlands. This is a chance to practise bringing the awareness cultivated in our meditation into meaningful activity, and to ensure that future retreatants enjoy fresh organic produce.