Description
Our Residential retreat has sold out but you can still attend as a non-residential guest. All of your meals will be included with an arrival time of 4pm on Friday and 8.15am for breakfast served at 8.30am on both Saturday and Sunday.
The Birth of Christ in the Heart:
Advent and Spiritual Motherhood
A Christian Meditation Retreat
Event description
Each moment, each breath, is an invitation to open ourselves to the birth of Christ within us, says the great medieval spiritual teacher Meister Eckhart.
This birth is always happening within us. It is the gift of our life, the energy that sustains the whole of creation. But to know this in our own experience changes everything.
To awaken to the birth of Christ in our heart is to awaken to our life within the infinite love of God – and to become that love for each other.
In the words of Julian of Norwich, ‘The love of God creates in us such a unity that when it is truly seen no person can separate themselves from another.’
How might we awaken to this birth?
‘There is no better way than by silence and by listening,’ says Eckhart’s great pupil, Johannes Tauler. ‘What is truly needed is the creation of inner stillness and peace.’ In this silence, ‘God’s Word is heard in truth…’
What does the Word say within us? ‘You are my beloved.’ What does the Word say through us to those around us and the whole of creation? ‘You are beloved.’
Cherish inner silence, says Tauler, ‘nourish it frequently, so that it may become a habit, and by becoming a habit, a mighty possession. May God help us to prepare a dwelling place for this noble birth, so that we may all attain to spiritual motherhood.’
This ‘spiritual motherhood’ is a calling for us all: to become a dwelling place for the birth of Christ and to bear divine love into the world.
What to expect?
Through a flow of talks, silent meditation practice and opportunities for conversation, this special Advent retreat will explore the wisdom of three great medieval contemplatives, focusing on:
• the ceaseless birth of the Word within us and all creation
• silent meditation and awakening to this birth
• spiritual motherhood and compassion
Everyone attending will receive a selection of key quotations from Meister Eckhart, Johannes Tauler, and Julian of Norwich a week before the retreat.
Being on retreat is a precious opportunity to be still and to be silent — to step back from conversation and distraction, and to practice living simply and peacefully. It allows us to cultivate the gift of peaceful awareness as we devote ourselves more fully to the depth-dimension of faith and life.
The core focus of the retreat is silent meditation practice:
• We will practice bringing peaceful awareness to all our daily activities – while sitting, while walking or eating, when we are simply enjoying a glass of water. We will practice living each moment deeply.
• The practice of silence will commence when the retreat begins at 4pm on the Friday and continue until lunch on the Sunday, with a few structured opportunities for conversation and shared reflection as described below.
• Although the practice of silence may be new to some, most people find this a powerful and wonderful experience. Maintaining a quiet and peaceful environment – walking, moving, and doing things quietly – is important for our practice and a gift we can offer to each other.
When are there opportunities for conversation for people who’d like them?
• Small discussion groups interspersed throughout the weekend, hosted by Chris, provide an opportunity for up to seven people to meet and explore together a question or two about their meditation practice, or how practice relates to what they have heard during a talk or to daily life. We can learn so much sharing with and listening to others.
• The last session of each day will be an opportunity for conversation together – to reflect on the content of the talks and what we have experienced through the day.
• There will be conversation during Sunday lunch. Also, you’re warmly invited to stay after the retreat for an hour to connect with fellow retreatants
Who is this for?
This retreat is offered as a shared journey. It has been carefully crafted to be relevant and accessible to anyone searching for truth and peace, regardless of their faith or beliefs. We warmly welcome people who are completely new to meditation or have been practising for many years. Participants will arrive with different levels of experience and this is part of the richness of the retreat. The rhythm of teaching, silence, and shared reflection is designed to support this diversity, offering space to listen, to ask questions, learn from others and to be accompanied along the way.
Event leader
Chris Whittington is the Founder of The School of Contemplative Life. He was introduced to contemplative practice during several years of formation when he lived at the Benedictine monastery of Prinknash Abbey in England. Chris’ monastic teachers taught meditation as a universal wisdom found within all the great spiritual traditions, a pathway to peace and solidarity with people of all faiths and none. Following an introduction by the Abbot of the Prinknash community, Chris subsequently studied at the Dalai Lama’s monastery in Dharamshala, India.
Chris regularly delivers talks, workshops and retreats and has introduced the practice of meditation in the Christian tradition to thousands of people in the UK and abroad. He is known for his ability to communicate the subtleties of the practice and complex spiritual texts in simple, practical ways, resonant with the challenges of daily life.
Chris is the author of The Missing Peace – Meditation as a Spiritual Path to Peace, Community and Oneness published by Canterbury Press.
Arrivals 4pm Friday until 3pm Sunday.
Your commitment
Our events should be understood as only providing spiritual guidance and advice to help participants deepen their own meditation practice and understanding. You and any people you book a ticket for are entirely responsible for how you choose to understand, misunderstand, use or misuse any of our event content, materials and advice.
Many people report subjective improvements in general wellbeing through meditation practice. However, if you or anyone you intend to book a ticket for suffer from any mental, emotional or physical health conditions, please: a) ask your medical practitioner if it is advisable for you/them to attend an event with us, b) make sure you/they always follow your/their medical practitioner’s advice and c) let us know in general terms without sharing specific details. In the event that your/their participation brings issues to the surface or reveals some form of mental health condition, we recommend you/they seek suitable professional support. Please be aware that we cannot provide any professional care.
We cannot accept any responsibility for any adverse effects, directly or indirectly, that may result from your/their participation in or use of the information provided during our events or included on our website, in materials, or any other communications, both online and in person. Furthermore, we make no guarantees that any of the programmes, advice and practice material we provide will function in any particular way for you/them. By engaging with us, you/they agree that you/they will use the information, guidance and advice entirely at your own/their discretion.
Please note that Holland House does not provide a choice menu at meal times and it is therefore very important that you note any food types that you are unable to eat due to an allergy or you can advise of a dietary preference of vegetarian, pescatarian, dairy free, gluten free or vegan.
Early Bird price of £350 per person available until 30th September then rising to £370 per person.
Holland House Bursary Scheme: We can give up to 25% off at your request if our retreats are too expensive for you.
Please contact reservations@hollandhouse.org to book. If you need a more generous bursary, please email the Warden, Helen Stanton via warden@hollandhouse.org
Please pay what you can so others may benefit from our bursary scheme. Thank you.