Alfoxton Park - The Myriad of Things

The Myriad of Things

A meditation intensive retreat with Paramananda

13th - 26th June 2027

This two week meditation retreat sits at the heart of our programme. Held in 50 acres of ancient woodland and led with grace and insight by Paramananda, this retreat offers ideal conditions to quieten the mind and dive deep into your meditation practice. Living close to the world, and camping in the summer abundance of Alfoxton’s grounds brings an opportunity to experience ourselves as part of the natural world.

The retreat will largely be held in silence with a stress on the fundamental principles of meditation, which can be understood as a cultivation of kindness and awareness. Paramananda has been leading retreats for over 40 years and is known for his poetic approach and his particular interest in Zen style meditation.

Paramananda's sessions offer unique pathways to embodiment and absorption, often involving poetry, relaxation and music. Alongside these there will be offerings of ritual, guided walks, open fires, silence and saunas.

Each day will feature a mixture of led meditations and personal practice. The teaching will explore the essence and form of meditation, with guidance given for developing the skills needed to deepen our connection with ourselves and others.

Facilitation Team

Paramananda

Paramananda has been teaching meditation and leading retreats around the world for over 30 years. He is also a poet and author of four books on meditation: Change Your Mind, A Deeper Beauty, The Body and The Myth of Meditation.

This retreat is an invitation to those with a regular meditation practice for at least 1 year, and for those familiar with the Triratna meditation practices of the Metta Bhavana and Mindfulness of Breathing. We'll ask you to provide information about your meditation experience during the booking form to make sure the retreat is right for you.

Timings & travel

Timings

Please arrive between 3pm and 5pm on the first day. Dinner is served at 6pm. The retreat will finish by midday on the last day.

Travel

The nearest railway stations are Bridgwater and Taunton. We are about 1h 15min from Bristol by car.

The 15 bus leaves Bridgwater at 16:50 during college term dates and stops at the Plough Inn in Holford. We are a 15min walk from there.

Please get in touch for further advice with public transport, or for help arranging lifts / carpools.

Make sure to put "Coach House 2, Alfoxton Park" into Google Maps. Other variations will take you to Alfoxton House nearby which is not us. Otherwise use grid reference 51.165187, -3.220080.

The What3Words for our car park are ///soup.candy.huddling

Accommodation & Food

Accommodation

This is a camping retreat - bring a tent or live-in vehicle. Toilets, showers and a sauna are available. Warm and waterproof clothing are advisable, along with gloves and boots or wellies. You may also wish to bring a torch and hot water bottle.

We have limited accommodation indoors for those with specific needs. Please let us know when you book if this is the case for you.

Food

We serve a vegan menu using mostly organic fruit and vegetables, from Riverford and our own walled garden. We are able to cater for most general food intolerances, such as gluten free, but not for all diets. See 'Accessibility and Special Diets' below.

Accessibility & Diets

We are committed to Alfoxton being a fully accessible venue and are working hard to achieve this. However, while the renovation work continues, visitors with specific mobility or accommodation needs may experience barriers to accessing all areas of the building and land. Please get in touch about any significant accessiblity requirements.

It is not possible to cook for people with highly sensitive allergies: if you are a coeliac or have any other medical condition which could seriously jeopardise your health or your experience then please get in touch to discuss a potential self-catering plan with our Kitchen manager.

Please contact us about either of these before submitting your booking request.

Costs

Alfoxton Park is a charity and works on the principle of Dana or a 'gift economy'. Read more about Dana here.

A £181 deposit will secure your place on this event. You will be invited to make a donation to Alfoxton when you attend.

If you are an Triratna Order member and need financial support to pay a retreat deposit, you can apply for a grant from the Abhayaratna Trust.

Technology, Alcohol & Drugs

All of our events are alcohol and drug free.

During the meditation retreats we ask you to turn off your mobile phones and other devices and not contact people outside of the retreat.

For all other events and workshops we ask you to be mindful of the use of devices and stay present, in order to make the most of your time here.

Any Questions?

Check our FAQ page or send us an e-mail at events@alfoxtonpark.org.uk

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