I’d like to share with you a beautiful practice of becoming more intimate with yourself and understanding your mind. My teacher Daniel Brown combined the most effective into-tibetans meditation techniques with his knowledge of attachment, trauma, and hypnosis. The result is an instruction that is at the same time exact and poetic, very accessible to western ears, mesmerisingly intimate, unexpectedly transformative.
In this meditation training, you enhance your concentration and gain a deeper self-insight. The essence of the training is a form of mental kung fu: maintaining inner stillness by not identifying with enticing thoughts and appealing emotions. The simplicity of “non-doing” has a transformative impact: in that inner silence, you learn to master your autonomic nervous system and gain access to ever more subtle nuances in the experience of yourself and reality, and how you can influence that experience.
The exercises originate from Mahamudra (great seal), Dzogchen (great perfection), Zen Buddhism, and tantric Shaivism.
You will learn:
- what meditation is and how to practice it
- to be intimate with yourself
- techniques to achieve inner calm and stillness
- how your mind works
- dealing with challenging thoughts and emotions
- seeing through conceptual stories and conditioning
- ways to apply your new experiences and insights in everyday life
Program
Friday
- Arrival from 6:00 PM
- (Optional) Dinner at 6:30 PM
- Start at 8:00 PM
- 8:00-9:30 PM Session 1
- 10:00-10:30 PM Evening Ceremony
Saturday
- 6:40 AM Morning bells
- 7:00 AM Session 1
- 7:30 AM Free body exercises
- 8:00 AM Breathing & voice
- 8:30 AM Morning ceremony
- 9:15-10:00 AM Session 2
- 10:30 AM Brunch
- 12:00-2:00 PM Session 3
- 4:00-6:00 PM Session 4
- 7:00 PM Dinner
- 9:00 PM Evening program
- 10:00 PM Evening ceremony
Sunday
- 6:40 AM Morning bells
- 7:00 AM Session 5
- 7:30 AM Free body exercises
- 8:00 AM Breathing & voice
- 8:30 AM Morning ceremony
- 9:15-10:00 AM Session 6
- 10:30 AM Brunch
- 12:00-2:00 PM Session 7
- 3:00-4:00 PM Session 8
- 4:00-5:00 PM Closing
- (Optional) Dinner at 6:00 PM
Cost
In the first place, we aim to form a community of existential journeyers who support each other in the House of the Beloved. For practical reasons, we must also discuss exchange. We request a contribution for this weekend, either in money (sliding scale between for level 1: €350 (low income), €550 (middle income, and €750 (high income), for level 2 and beyond: between €550 (low income), €700 (middle income, and €850 (high income), depending on your income, to be paid to account number IBAN BE54 7370 7190 1897 in the name of House of the Beloved vzw), or in time and/or work (please contact us to decide together on a fair exchange). All contributions will be used to maintain and further develop the House of the Beloved.
You enroll by transferring the money (include your name, “meditation training,” and the date of the weekend for which you are registering), and complete this form.
The deadline for registration is one week before the start of the weekend. Until then, you can also cancel free of charge. If you cancel after that deadline, a fee of €100 will be applied. If you cancel 2 days or less before the start, you will be charged the full minimum amount (€550). Feel free to contact us to explain your situation.
Practicals
- Join the WhatsApp group to stay informed.
- The address is Emile Bockstaellaan 22, 1020 in Laken. The doorbell is labeled S. Smeets.
- You can stay overnight here (It’s advisable to bring a sleeping bag and pillowcase; we have 10 mattresses, space for approximately 12 people, 2 showers, and 2 toilets) or choose a nearby B&B. If the weather permits, we can sleep on the terrace. Once I know how many registrations there are, I will organize this through the WhatsApp group.
- Opt for simplicity and bring only the essentials (including a towel). Everyone will receive a box measuring 40cmx40cmx40cm to store personal items; all other belongings will be placed in storage.
- We provide a meditation cushion for you, and you can also bring your own.
- Wear loose clothing that allows easy sitting and movement.
And then?
This training is part of a longer trajectory of multi-day training sessions of various levels that build upon each other.
- Level 0 – May 4, 2024
- Level 1 – May 24-26, 2024
In this tradition, individual guidance is important to prevent you from going down a dead-end path for an extended period. You can schedule personal guidance through this link. Such guidance involves reviewing what is effective and what is challenging. You determine the times and frequency yourself. Guidance operates on the same exchange system as the weekends, either through money or by contributing to the community. The initial levels of the training will be accessible to everyone. Subsequent participation depends on your level, as assessed during individual guidance.