Wise Attention: A Training of the Heart and Mind

Friday evening, October 21, 7 - 9 p.m.

and Saturday, October 22, 2022, 9:30 - 4:30 p.m.

An in-person retreat at the Church House

360 Georgina Point Road, Mayne Island, BC

Cultivating wise attention is about bringing an attitude of interest and investigation to the activity of the mind. We can ask, "What is my attitude?" Or, "How am I perceiving this experience?" There may be unwholesome mental states we are often only dimly aware of: mild disinterest or boredom; niggling doubt or uncertainty; habitual judgment or comparing mind; even lingering envy or jealousy. Often these background mental states are so subtle and so familiar that we don't notice them. Yet by allowing them to remain half-hidden, unexposed in the shadowy recesses of our mind, we are giving them permission to condition how we see the world.

At the same time, there may be wholesome mental states that we don't recognize, and therefore we miss the opportunity to cultivate them and bring them to fullness.

Cultivating wise attention is an invitation to shine the light of our awareness not just on what's happening in the physical realm of experience, but on our reaction to it and the subtle ways we construct an identity through these reactions.

Within the supportive conditions of retreat, there is only one task: remembering to recognize the present moment’s experience. This generates true momentum in practice. Continuity of mindfulness yields increasing stability of mind, and with that comes concentration and clear-seeing. Our own wisdom potential appears.

Samadhi or concentration is the fourth of the Five Spiritual Faculties. In the course of the retreat we'll be exploring the factors that support the development of concentration. 

Registration fee: $40

To register, please send an e-mail with Mayne Island Retreat in the subject line to Margo at margostoryteller@gmail.com