“Thank you to you all for a very relaxing and calming day. The walk was especially nice… a novelty to just listen and truly be party of nature. Everyone at the temple is so welcoming and friendly. A place to feel safe and experience natural compassion.” ~ Beth

    See our calendar for upcoming retreat days.

    Bright Earth Retreat Days – all you need to know!

    The spirit of retreat days

    Our retreat days are open to everyone – from experienced practitioners to complete beginners. We offer a series of optional sessions during the day and you are welcome to come along to part or all of the schedule. We trust that the experience of taking time out for spiritual practice and to spend some time in nature will be a fruitful one, and that it will offer different things to different people – a chance to rest, insight into a persistent problem, an opportunity to begin to feel or articulate something, or whatever is most needed. We also believe that it’s important to be able to self-regulate on days such as this – for example some people enjoy lots of conversation during the breaks, and some like to spend time alone in the garden or in the library. We hope that you will find refuge in Bright Earth temple and garden, the teachings, and the community who practice here – and that you will feel welcomed just as you are.   

    Booking a space and practicalities

    If you haven’t attended a retreat day before, do get in touch with Satya & Kaspa before coming along – hello@brightearth.org. We suggest a donation of £5-£7 for a single session or £20-£30 for the whole day. We want retreat days to be accessible to all regardless of their current financial situation, and so whatever you can afford (whether more or less!) is fine. You can pay on the day by putting money into the golden bowl in our hallway, or online in advance or afterwards here: www.brightearth.org/donate

    There is very limited parking at the temple – if you are disabled and need us to reserve you a space, let us know. Otherwise there are all-day free spaces on the road just five minutes walk away – if you go along the Worcester Road towards Worcester (pass the temple on your right and keep driving, or on your left before you get there) there are spaces on the hill side of the road. We are around fifteen minutes walk from the Great Malvern train station – if you need to get here earlier because of trains, let us know so someone can let you in. If you need to buy lunch there are plenty of cafes in Malvern – we are only a few minutes walk from the centre.

    Schedule

    This is our usual schedule:

    9:00am Walking meditation in the temple garden (with two little dogs – let us know if you’d like us to keep them on the lead)

    9.30am Buddhist practice in the temple or on Zoom

    10.30am Dharma talk by Kaspa or Satya, in the temple or on Zoom

    12 midday Meditation for the Earth in Malvern town centre with our local XR Malvern group

    1pm Bring your veggie or vegan lunch & we’ll eat together in the temple dining room or garden

    2pm Mindful Walk on the Malvern hills starting at the temple car park

    4pm (time may vary) Sharing Circle in the temple to share any comments about the day

    Feel free to arrive just before 9am, 9.30am, 10.30am, 1pm or 2pm – let us know when you’re joining us and we can tell you exactly where to come. The sharing circle is only for people who’ve attended other sessions during the day and the time may change depending on when we return from our walk – do let us know on the day if you’d like to go away and come back to attend this.  

    Things to bring

    As three of our sessions are outside, regardless of the weather, do bring suitable clothing – woolley hats and warm coats in the winter, rainproofs and maybe a towel if it’s raining, sun hats, water and sun cream if it’s hot. If the weather is a little challenging (!) you are welcome to stay in the temple whilst we go out. 

    If you’re joining us for lunch do bring a veggie or vegan packed lunch. We have no meat, fish, alcohol or smoking inside the temple or garden. Hot drinks and water will be provided. We have a little fridge in our dining room – do put your lunch in there if it needs to be in the fridge.

    There will be spaces in the day for contemplation – do feel free to bring your journal or a notebook, a book to read, or anything else you want to make yourself comfortable. 

    If you’re joining us in our outside vigil for the Earth at midday, you might want to bring a cushion to sit on (people mostly sit on the steps at the top of town). We can provide yoga blocks and meditation stools, or you could sit on the bench at the top of the steps if that would be more comfortable.

    Accessibility

    We want to make these days as accessible as we can to everyone. If there is something not mentioned below that would make your visit possible/easier, please do write to us at hello@brightearth.org

    Unfortunately we have no disabled toilet in the temple (our public toilet is at the top of one flight of stairs). We do have a ramp for wheelchair users to gain access to the ground floor where the shrine room, dining room (with a great view!) and kitchen are, and those with limited mobility would be welcome to use these spaces whilst we are elsewhere. 

    The afternoon walk is on the hills and so although we will be going slowly, it begins with some steep steps and a long slope up. There is also a steep slope down at the end. If you are concerned about managing this, you could either stay at the temple or go on a solo walk through town to Rosebank gardens (a much flatter walk) – we can give you directions.  

    If you have any particular anxieties about meeting a new group of people, being somewhere new, or anything else, do let us know if there’s anything we can do to make it easier for you to come. 

     

    We hope to welcome you soon!

    Satya & Kaspa