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Joy of Life Retreat | a Taste of Mystery


  • Centrum Athanor 9 Hooislagen Lochem, GE, 7241 NJ Netherlands (map)
Free the Joy inside the Self,
Awaken to the Wonder of your Life
— John O'Donohue
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The Joy of Life Retreat is a 5-day surrender to the mystery of life. Inviting yourself in the space of openness and wonder. You will celebrate life as it is, your senses wide open, deeply intimate with life's expressions.

You will taste the virtue of direct experience, the beauty of raw pure energy, whatever its appearance. Subtle or intense, painful or nice, sensual or dull...if you let go of the judging labels you will notice the power and beauty of your uninterrupted flow of energy. 

What are we going to explore?

  • Silence & Meditation | Resting in Awareness

  • Tantric Structures | Exploring life’s energies 

    • Inquiry, Breathwork, Sensory Experience, Visualisation, Ritual

  • Bodywork | Freeing our Bodies

    • Dance, Breath, Movement, Sound, Touch

  • Sharing & Deepening Circles

  • Lots of Free Time | for walking, writing, reading, bathing, doing nothing...

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There’s beauty everywhere, we have to let it in
— Jack Kornfield

Why join?

We live in a rushy, overstimulated society. We’re always on our way somewhere, keeping ourselves busy, most of the time in order not to feel our loneliness, our fear of not knowing, our emptiness. We miss a lot of life along the way.   

In this ‘Joy of Life’ journey you will slow down and pay gentle attention, to all of life inside and around you. You will experience the wonder of nature, of music, of body, of movement, of emotions of silence of connection….

You’re invited to relax, to open and to manifest. Not needing to work towards a certain outcome, not keeping parts of yourself hidden. You are fully welcomed as you are, blossoming in the mysterious flow of sensations.

For whom is this Retreat?

The Retreat is open for everyone who feels drawn to the most wonderful and truthful way of living. We aim to have a mixed group of male and female participants. 

There are no prerequisites for this Retreat. In light of the depth of the program, some experience with meditation, tantra and/or personal development is recommended. If you’re having doubts whether this Retreat is suitable for you at this moment, please get in touch.

The Retreat will be offered in Dutch or English (depending on the group).

Your teacher Mirjam Maëla

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Mirjam holds a master in Psychology and is trained as a coach specialised in working with language of the body. 25 years ago she started to live more consciously by exploring Yogic practice, breathwork and Reiki. Over 18 years now she studies and practices Dzogchen (Tibetan Buddhism) mainly at Rigpa and with Jan Geurtz. Nowadays her main interest lies in Śaiva Tantra, studying and practicing these profound teachings with Hareesh Christopher Wallis and at the Center for Tantra in Amsterdam.

“There is grace in the process of opening to our authentic beauty. I feel fortunate and grateful that I can provide people a safe space for exploring, releasing and expanding. Over and over again I feel a sense of wonder if I see people courageously open up to their true nature; fully embodied, intimate with all of life’s flavors”.

Co-teacher in the Joy of Life Retreat is Kris Zwemmer.

Location

The Joy of Life Retreat is hosted in the beautiful venue Centrum Athanor in Lochem, the Netherlands.

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Centrum Athanor is a true power place; the center offers a labyrinth, an earth-energy stone circle and two wonderful rooms for our indoor Tantric work. The grounded spaciousness of the Athanor land supports our work in a powerful way. See more info on their website.

Investment

  • Shared double room: € 995

    (€ 150 deposit upon registration, € 845 payable by May 15th, 2022)

  • Single room: € 1170

    (€ 170 deposit upon registration, € 1000 payable by May 15th, 2022)

  • Registration after May 15th requires payment in full

  • You can also choose a payment in full upon registration (10% celebration discount until the end of March).

You can find our Payment terms and Cancellation policy here.

Included

  • 5 days profound Retreat Program

  • 4 nights in a shared double-room or single room. All rooms are spacious and comfortable with large private bathrooms

  • 3 beautiful organic & vegetarian meals a day

  • tea, fruit and nuts 

Not included

  • Travel costs to/from Centrum Athanor

Your place in this beautiful Joy of Life Retreat is secured if you make a deposit upon registration. For the remaining amount you will receive an invoice. Registration after May 15th requires payment in full.

We don’t want financial challenges to prevent anyone from participating. Contact us if you want to discuss paying in instalments.

What to do if you lack financial resources?

If you truly want to participate but you have few financial resources, you might consider doing a little crowdfunding campaign amongst people in your environment. Most of the time friends, relatives and acquaintances feel honored if they can contribute to the rich personal development process of a loved one. By reaching out to people around you, you also acknowledge and honor your desire to live from a more loving and free space, which will always ripple out and serve everything and everyone around you. In this way, finding financial support becomes a beautiful commitment to yourself and others.

Payment terms & Cancellation policy

Click here for our Payment terms and Cancellation policy.

Later Event: February 5
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