The smiles say it all…Turning towards Joy with Arinna Weismen was a weekend of gathering our spirits back and looking deep inside to find those wonderful qualities we all forget are naturally there. Invited to leave the land of distractions and diversions and sit quietly in community – sit with ourselves and see our inherent beauty, as well as our challenges.
That was one of the many messages this weekend of August 03,04 and 05th, 2018. Another, to cultivate wholesome thoughts, kindness to ourselves and recognize the importance of doing this over and over again, so it becomes stable and anchored within us. Joy – our natural state is uncovered and unwholesome thought patterns – often resulting from confusion and fear – begins to loose its grasp to awareness itself.
As we dedicate ourselves to this practice – JOY is possible, it an be a frequent visitor with more moments of ease and peace and love in the midst of our busy lives.
Arinna walks the walk – and embodies the essence of joy though her quiet and calm style of teaching. She shared personal and intimate stories of her life as a child in South Africa, her journey of healing trauma, and her past and current political activism to name a few.
It was truly an honour to have Arinna come to our island and share teachings and inspire us towards a better world.
This retreat was a great success- it filled up quickly with an enthusiastic wait list. Friday night public talk drew more than 60 people.
Many Islanders were hearing Arinna for the first time and many others who follow her teachings traveled from as far away as Chicago, Seattle, Vancouver and Victoria to participate.
Big thanks to the Gabriola Insight Sangha, especially Janice, Allison, Gera and Deborah who organized this event. To Brenda for use of the The Netloft and having such wonderful grounds for a silent meditation weekend, to Aly for the wonderful nurturing meals, the many people who billeted those coming from afar, the Gabriola Ecumenical Society for co-sponsoring this event and of course to all the participants who made the weekend truly insightful! Thank you!
