Date

29 Nov 2024 - 06 Dec 2024

Time

5:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Body of Creativity, with Brandon Schwinn, Luciana D’Anunciação and Bonni Ross

November 29 to December 6, 2024

Growth and unfoldment begin in the body — the basis of life. The flow of spiritual and creative inspiration manifests through our physical and energetic bodies, which constantly respond and adapt to the environments we find ourselves in.

Exploring in nature, in community and in solitary practice, we’ll investigate somatic approaches to movement, creative writing, drawing, sculpture and meditation to discover creativity as a way of being. Visualisation practices from The Namgyal Treasury will stimulate discovery.

Meditators, artists, dancers and the curious should find tools to extend the depth of their existing practices.

The Wangapeka Study and Retreat Centre provides a wilderness environment on the edge of Kahurangi National Park; an idyllic container for experiencing inner depth and expansiveness.

Participants should be in reasonably good physical and mental health to enjoy the inner and outer challenges of life at Wangapeka.

Facilitators

Brandon Schwinn

Brandon Schwinn is a dance artist and meditator living in Vancouver, Canada. He has been studying Dharma for over twenty years and finds it a fundamental tool for living a life that values compassionate action. He has always found creativity to be essential for his spiritual practice. He has studied visual arts at Emily Carr University of Art + Design and he has been studying contemporary dance in Vancouver Canada intensively for the past 6 years. He has also completed a transformative training program in the art of clowning, which is where his interest in presence work and creative process in community began to take an artistic form.

Luciana Freire D’Anunciação

Luciana Freire D’Anunciação is a Brazilian-Canadian multidisciplinary artist, educator, and researcher. With an MFA in Interdisciplinary Studies from Simon Fraser University (Vancouver, Canada), her work integrates dance, visual arts and poetry, focusing on the themes of creative reciprocity and the interconnectedness of body, environment and community. Luciana has exhibited and performed internationally, blending her passion for art and community exchange. www.lucianaf.com

Bonni Ross

Bonni Ross has taught at the Wangapeka Study and Retreat Centre for 30 years and is a deeply respected Centre Elder. The Dharma teachings she shares stem from decades of meditation experience and intensive study with her main teacher Namgyal Rinpoche and other great masters.

She is a mother and grandmother with a deeply practical, integrated presentation of ancient wisdom. Bonni has immersed herself in the study of many spheres including Western Mysteries, music, science, dance, astronomy, systems theory, psychotherapy and poetry.

Costs

Costs include accommodation, food, cooks fee and a resource fee. These costs do not include dana to the teachers. 

Room or hut
Members: $643
Non members: $713

Camping
Members: $517
Non members: $538

Sangha Support

We encourage you to apply for support if cost is a barrier. Funds have been donated to Wangapeka to offer support for people who cannot afford the retreat but want to attend; this is called ‘Sangha Support’ and operates like a scholarship, and covers all or part of the accommodation cost. More information can be found here.

To apply, contact the Wangapeka Office Caretaker with your inquiry – info@wangapeka.org.

About dana

In the Buddhist spirit of dana, the teachings are offered freely. The course fees do not include payment for the facilitators.

Dana translates as ‘generosity’ – an act that empowers giver and receiver – and is at the core of everything that happens at the Wangapeka Study and Retreat Centre.

An offering can be made to the teachers, traditionally at the beginning of the retreat, and is a profound practice in itself. Giving can help us open; and through an open-hearted state of receptivity, we can find ourselves more able to receive.

You will need to bring cash to make this offering.

Information and Registration

For any questions about the course please contact the Course Manager Georgia; georgia.wangapeka@gmail.com

To register please fill out our online registration form

Register now

If using Paypal please add 5% of the total cost and include with your payment to cover Paypal’s fees.

Please consider becoming a Wangapeka member – click here for details.

Welcome to the Wangapeka Study and Retreat Centre. People visit from all over the world to meditate and enjoy the peace of this remarkable destination. The Wangapeka is a purpose built retreat centre, with fresh clean air and beautiful vistas. It is very quiet and ideal for respite, stress relief and deep meditation. We have a meditation hall, solo retreat huts, a main hall for dining and community, and a fully catered kitchen and an onsite vegetable garden.

The Wangapeka Study and Retreat Meditation Centre is a Universalist centre home to a wide range of teachings, paths, and studies. Retreats are held on Mindfulness, Vipassana, Insight, Heart based practices, Loving Kindness, Calm-abiding, Metta, Compassion, Conscious Movement, Nature, Forest Walks, Yoga, Dance, Feldenkrais, Wellness, Wellbeing, Archetypal Integration, Western Mysticism, Non-Duality, Zen, Dzogchen, Mahamudra, Mahayana and Vajrayana teachings with Empowerments and Sadhana Practice.

We are located in the foothills of the Southern Alps overlooking the Wangapeka River, about an hour and a half drive SW of Nelson, in the South Island of New Zealand.

We have meditation retreats throughout the year, have huts available for solo retreats, and welcome bookings from external groups. There are also opportunities available to work on our land. Come and enjoy this uniquely vibrant and peaceful centre.

355 Wangapeka River Rd
R.D.2. Wakefield 7096
New Zealand
Phone: +64 3 522 4221
info@wangapeka.org

©2024 The Wangapeka Study and Meditation Retreat Cenre

Website mindfully created by Caesura Effect