7-Day Self-Inquiry & Meditation Retreat : Melting of the Heart - Lake Atitlán, Guatemala

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻… 𝗠𝗲𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁
𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴.

This meditation retreat takes place near the beautiful Lake Atitlán, Guatemala and focuses on emotional intelligence as an essential foundation in approaching meditation.

The exploration of meditation will focus on three pillars:

• Entering into a 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 with oneself
• Cultivating mature 𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞
• Discovering a more 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 – beyond thoughts

🧘 6 days of practicing together with discussions, guided self-inquiry & meditation
🧘 day off mid-retreat for hiking, exploring, yoga, being, native sweat lodge (Temazcal)
🧘 A time in the stillness and beauty of the surrounding forest, mystical Lake Atitlán and scenic volcanoes

The following questions will serve as a structure for self-inquiry and meditation work during a focused time at the enchanting Kawoq Forest Retreat Center at the foothills of Lake Atitlán, San Marcos La Laguna, Guatemala. We will inquire into these questions by directly witnessing the answers in the body, without relying on prior knowledge.

𝙿𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚘 𝙼𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗
• Perspective: Self-Improvement as a form of self-inflicted violence.
• Meditation is not about silencing the mind, on the contrary it is about learning how to listen to thoughts and understand them.
• Spiritual bypassing—a misguided form of spirituality—may deaden emotional access by falsely striving for a “neutral mind.”
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• Entering into a living relationship with yourself – relating not to a mental construct of self, but to the actual, living human being.
• Giving accumulated knowledge its proper domain – is knowledge a “middle man” in relationships?
• Cultivating a mind that is free of internal conflict – no emotion possesses an internal split where a virtuous “better half” attempts to correct its inferior counterpart.
• Emotional Freedom: an emotion is able to flow without friction, telling its complete story without internal resistance..
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• Recognizing oneself as a continuation of humanity.
• Understanding Self-Esteem / Becoming an independent thinker.
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• Meditation – not a mechanical practice nor a technique.

𝙰𝚙𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙴𝚖𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜
• Maturing the relationship to physical sensations.
• Does the mind look at thoughts the same way that it looks through the physical eyes?
• Does the mind need to project the thought outward (i.e., create a distance from itself) before it can fully examine the mental content?
• Is the distance between the image and the observer imagined?
• Are mental images actually three-dimensional and spatially organized?
• When an image is visualized, does it have width, height, length or depth? Is the space around it also visualized?

𝚄𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙼𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚕 𝙲𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚌𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 "𝙼𝚎"
• Observing how the self arises from memories.
• Witnessing the relationship between the thinker (self) and thoughts, emotions, feelings and sensations.
• Sensing how the brain manufactures artificial intelligence that is self-aware (the self).
• Considering the possibility that the nature of even the most intense thoughts and emotion may be more mechanical than living.
• Learning to deescalate the charge and importance of a thought-emotion-feeling-sensation.
• If the self is made of thought, is it actually alive?
• Does thought have a center that says “I”? Does this “I” have a human face / voice?

𝚃𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 / 𝙵𝚒𝚗𝚎-𝚝𝚞𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙼𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗
• Short meditation drills with check-ins, feedback and possible suggestions for course correction
• Exploration of inner experiences, witnessing wealth of information in the seemingly insignificant observations
• Partner Work: “Assisted Meditation” in the exploration of muscle tensions

𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘
Hiking, exploring, yoga, being, native sweat lodge (Temazcal)

𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡
Arrive with the intention to work sincerely and to pour your heart into discovering and developing an inner stamina and composure that is capable of holding, softly allowing and witnessing the arising and passing energies of what is named as thoughts and emotions.

𝗜𝗡𝗩𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧
In the effort to make this very important time together as accessible as possible, three tiers of pricing are available based on the individual’s financial circumstance. Please take a moment to consider the amount that you are able to give not as a transactional exchange, but as an offering to support something that is meaningful to you.

𝗦𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗔 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡?
I'd love to connect with you over a brief call before you sign up. This is a chance for us to get to know each other a little and see if this retreat is a good fit. Please call / text at 224-300-0499