Event

Mark Ovland

Seeing things Differently:
When life is so full and seems to demand so much from us all the time, where and how can we find peace? Is it even possible, without escaping into a convent or up a mountain?

The Buddha's teachings, counter-intuitive as ever, suggest that the difference between chaos and calm lies not in what's actually happening in any moment, but in how we're relating to what's happening. Sadly, the habitual ways we each have of understanding and relating to the world lead us often into stress and struggle. But in learning to see things differently, the Buddha tells us, all this can change: the knots in our minds can disentangle and our hearts can begin to know their deepest freedoms.

During this daylong retreat we'll take a closer look at this notion and explore some skilful ways of relating to our moment-to-moment experience, lenses to look through that lead not to contraction and frustration but to spaciousness and ease. There'll be talks and guided meditations, and an opportunity for Q&A. Everyone's welcome.

Mark Ovland
Mark has been devoted to the Dharma, to study, service, and practice, since his mid-twenties. His passion and curiosity led him first to India, where he lived briefly as a monk of the Ramakrishna Order, and later to Devon, where he served as a coordinator at both the Barn Retreat and Gaia House. Mark is a founding trustee of Freely Given Retreats and a co-initiator of the Dharma Action Network for Climate Engagement (DANCE). His training to teach Insight Meditation has been under Rob Burbea, with whom he has studied and practised since 2010.