DAA8_2023_May

Liberating Joy on the Journey and in Daily Life

What brings you joy? What causes your unhappiness? Have you wondered if joy is the result of external conditions, or is it actually a natural state? And if it is a natural state, how come we aren’t happy all the time?

In this three day online retreat, we will explore essential joy—what we call ‘the yellow Latifa’. We will dive into what blocks it for us, and what opens it up.

Essential joy is the sunny radiance of our heart. Our reactions to the conditions of life tend to shut down our natural qualities of playfulness, joy, delight, curiosity. Some of the biggest blocks to it are our “shoulds”, our ideas about what is and is not an appropriate emotion, about what we are allowed to want or wish for, and about where our happiness comes from.

We will look at these ideas to see what’s true, and see if we can let go of misconceptions and judgements, so we can open to the naturally occurring phenomenon of happiness.

It’s true that the spiritual journey is a sometimes arduous undertaking, and sometimes a thrilling adventure, which requires steadfastness, discipline, and courage.

And it’s also play—delightful, light-hearted play.

The yellow Latifa makes it fun.

From your experience of participating in this retreat you may:

• see when and how you shut down your playfulness, curiosity and delight
• release the patterns that block your heart’s capacity to experience the joy of your being
• reconnect to the innate human quality of curiosity that has been squashed through conditioning and beliefs
• recognize how you can access your natural happiness even in times of great stress and strife
• understand that the closer we get to reality, to authenticity, to the truth, the happier we feel

This three-day retreat uses an experiential approach that includes teacher talks and spiritual practices such as open-ended inquiry, meditation and awareness practices.

Teaching sessions generally start with meditation followed by a specific teaching related to the theme of the retreat. You will have the opportunity to deepen your personal exploration through experiential exercises, usually in pairs or triads and sometimes in a small group, before re-joining the large group to process what has emerged in response to the teaching.

Each retreat day is divided into two, three-hour sessions with a 2-hour break for lunch.

EVENT DETAILS
Teachers: Jane Armytage, Frances Haynes, Grant Trewenack, Renee Rudd (Learn more about our teachers)

Dates: 19 – 21 May 2023, (3-day on-line retreat)
Cost: AU$605 (inc GST)
Live-stream via Zoom

Open to: General public based in Australia and nearby and those considering joining the new Diamond Approach Australia ongoing retreat group 8 (DAA8)
RSVP at diamondapproachaustralia.com