Two Places Left in a shared room for women
Step away from the busyness of everyday life and into this peaceful, inspiring and supportive space for anyone who loves to write. Enjoy meditating and moving together, writing and talking together, cooking and eating together - and of course, laughing together. Because who wants to read writers who take themselves too seriously?
The retreat programme is spacious and peaceful with morning heart meditation & yoga before breakfast, meditative writing sessions in the mornings and afternoons, time to share your writing if you wish, and a peaceful heart meditation before bed. You will also have time to exploring the grounds, getting to know each other better or having quiet contemplative time to yourself. All sessions are optional - this is your time to follow your heart.
Heart Of Writing
The practice of sharing heart meditation (as taught in Heart Of Living Yoga) before free writing developed in 2020 when so many of us were trying new things online. We were amazed to discover how our writing flowed in the most beautiful ways and how what we wrote in groups resonated with each other’s writing. This practice has also been greatly inspired by Ursula K. Le Guin and the retreat falls near her what would have been her 97th birthday. See what you think of this quote?
“Beneath memory and experience, beneath imagination and invention, beneath words, there are rhythms to which memory and imagination and words all move; and the writer’s job is to go down deep enough to begin to feel that rhythm, to find it, move to it, be moved by it, and let it move memory and imagination to find words.”
Le Guin describes beautifully how Heart Of Writing helps us tune into the rhythms that underlay memory, imagination and words. Through shared meditation, we connect with this rhythm, this ‘Wave in the Heart’ that is silent, yet sings. Every spiritual tradition talks about the heart. This isn’t the emotional or physical heart, but the spiritual heart centre. On this retreat and in our online sessions, we have the opportunity to experience this directly for ourselves.
Outline Programme
Friday 16th October
Arrive from 2:30pm to settle in
4pm Tour of the Wysing Arts Centre
5pm Welcome Circle
6pm Dinner
7:30 Introduction to the Heart Of Writing & discussion
9pm Evening Meditation & floating off to bed in silence
Saturday 17th October
7am Optional morning Heart Meditation
7:30am Optional morning Heart Yoga
(Either Heart Flow with Vishwam or Gentle Heart with Nati)
9am Silent Breakfast
11am Heart Of Writing ~ freewriting practice
12:30 Break
1pm Lunch
2pm Guided Relaxation
2:30pm Tea break
3pm Heart Of Writing ~ developing drafts
4:30pm Free time
6:00pm Dinner
7:30pm Heart Of Writing ~ freewriting practice
9pm Evening Meditation & floating off to bed in silence
Sunday 18th October
7am Optional morning Heart Meditation
7:30am Optional morning Heart Yoga
(Either Heart Flow with Vishwam or Gentle Heart with Nati)
9am Silent Breakfast
11am Heart Of Writing ~ sharing our gifts (on publishing and sharing writing)
12:30 Break
1pm Lunch
2pm Guided Relaxation
2:30pm Tea break
3pm Closing Circle
4:00pm Floating home with happy hearts
Wysing Arts Centre
Our home for the second Wave in the Heart retreat will be this beautiful Grade II listed farmhouse on the 11-acre rural site of Wysing Arts Centre.
Set amongst beautiful, natural scenery, Wysing's farmhouse usually hosts artists who are on residencies or retreats and the house itself features a number of artworks from artists affiliated with Wysing over the years.
You can find out more about this progressive, imaginative art centre which empowers creative practice and compassionate connection by clicking here.
Wysing Arts Centre is located outside the village of Bourn, ten miles west of Cambridge. Click here for more information on transport links. We are happy to help coordinate potential lift shares in taxis or private cars from Bourn or other areas. For those who enjoy walking, it’s less than a mile from the nearest bus stop to Wysing.
Exchange
All places are offered on a sliding scale to make the retreat as accessible as possible. Half of all proceeds go directly to support the charity work of Heart Of Living Yoga Foundation supporting underprivileged children in Sri Lanka, Brazil, India & the U.K..
Rooms are offered on a first come, first served basis. Spaces on this small (11 person maximum) retreat are limited and early booking is advised.
To help keep prices down, we ask everyone to bring either a mild veggie curry dish or veggie pasta dish for our shared evening meals. All other meals will be prepared by teams of volunteers (that’s us!). Cooking together can be one of the highlights of the retreat experience. There’s nothing like chatting while chopping carrots.
If you have any special dietary requirements, please let us know and we’ll do our best to accommodate. Do bring any special foods you may need for the weekend.
About your Hosts
Vishwam Gurudas Heckert is a Heart Of Writing facilitator and Heart Of Living Yoga minister, yoga teacher and teacher trainer based in the Shetland Islands. His PhD thesis in Sociology (University of Edinburgh, 2005) was a unique look at identity, social change and the power of connection.
Vishwam’s essays, articles poems, and stories have been published in various books, journals and websites over the past 25 years. He has been sharing Heart Of Writing practices for over 5 years now and is continually amazed at how it support the rhythm, structure and depth of writing to blossom and evolve. Vishwam is known for his gentleness, humour and kindness.
Nati is a Heart Of Living Yoga Teacher with a focus on extra gentle, seated yoga. She has been teaching yoga for 2 years and practising druidic shamanism for the past 7 years. Nati is also a writer of poetry, creative fiction and memoir. Their self-published book has touched many hearts and has been used in spiritual gatherings in Alabama. She has a heartfelt commitment to social justice and have been involved in Women in Black, Trident Ploughshares, and other peace movements. Nati lives in Cambridge where they support others living with disabilities and small bookkeeping projects.
Booking Form
(Scroll up a bit for rates if you didn’t see them)