SPONTANEOUS CREATIVITY
A Meditation Retreat in the Heart of Nature
July 8 – 13, 2024
Explore the power of creativity. Learn to enhance your creative process through meditation. This engaging six-day retreat presents wisdom and practices from Tibetan Bön Buddhist master Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, with a syllabus designed with his blessing and support. We will engage mind, body, heart and spirit through meditation sessions, philosophical discussions, and hands-on creative activities.
AT A GLANCE
Location: Earthville Institute/Suvarnabhumi Sanctuary
Dates: July 8 through 13, 2024
Program type: Residential meditation retreat (camping in nature)
Focus: Meditation and the creative process
Facilitators: Mai-Linh and Mark (see below)
Language: English
INTRODUCTION TO SPONTANEOUS CREATIVITY
Earthville Institute and Suvarnabhumi Sanctuary are delighted to bring this unique residential retreat, first developed at our sister institute in the Himalayas, to Colorado.
The program presents wisdom and practices from Tibetan Bön Buddhist master Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, through a syllabus designed with his blessing and support.
In this retreat, we will explore practices that support us to connect to the source of creativity within us, and we will work with ourselves in order to activate our creative potential.
Through meditation practice, reflection, and group discussions, this course will lead us on a journey from the source of creativity to full expression of our potential in our lives.
This retreat is an immersion in nature, and participants will camp at our rustic campground set along a creek valley in the beautiful Four Corners area of Colorado.
Read on below for details and registration.
KEY FEATURES OF THE RETREAT
Overview of the retreat content:
Meditation teachings and practices integrating the creative process with healing and personal growth
Program based on the material presented in Tibetan Bön Buddhist master Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche’s book, Spontaneous Creativity: Meditations for Manifesting your Positive Qualities (which we are using as the basis for this course with Rinpoche’s blessing and support).
The retreat is designed to support you to:
Connect more deeply with yourself and tap into your creative potential.
Channel your creativity fruitfully and manifest your positive potential in your relationships and in your work.
Create, live, and serve in a sustainable, balanced way.
Work with your blockages and heal your pain so you can manifest more of your full potential.
“The purpose of meditation is to connect us with the sacred ground of being, and there are many ways to make that connection. For a musician, playing an instrument can be a meditation. For someone who loves to cook, preparing a meal can be a sacred practice. Any activity can be a meditation if you are connected to the spaciousness of being — the source — when you give it a voice or form.”
— Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, from his book, Spontaneous Creativity
THEMES & ACTIVITIES WE’LL EXPLORE
The essence of creativity
How to connect with the source of creativity, activate your creative potential and express it in ways that benefit both yourself and others
Recognizing and working with blockages, transforming obstacles
The power of openness: connecting with the unbounded space of our natural state of being, discovering the power of spaciousness
The power of awareness: mindfulness for healing
The power of inspiration: connecting with your positive qualities, healing our pain
Working with emotional energy and undigested experiences
Nourishing the spark of creativity
The power of manifestation: awakening the power of taking action and expression
Some of the practices can be supported by chanting, for those who wish to practice in that way.
Opening to hidden emotions and expressing them clearly and skillfully through any form that attracts you
“There is an internal map or guidance system to help us move from pain to freedom, from feeling blocked to feeling open and expressive—a map that helps us discover the hidden treasure of our aspirations and visions, and bring forth our gifts in this lifetime.”
— Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, from his book, Spontaneous Creativity
REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATION
All participants will need to buy the book Spontaneous Creativity by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche (available both in print and digitally for Kindle, as well as an Audible audiobook).
All participants are encouraged to read the first two chapters of the book before the beginning of the retreat.
The program is cumulative (each session will build upon the previous session), so attendance at all sessions is required (it isn’t possible to skip sessions) and full participation in all the activities is necessary to keep up.
WHAT KIND OF EXPERIENCE TO EXPECT
Supportive routine: A daily rhythm of contemplative practice, time in nature, discussions, and silent time for meditation and reflection.
Full-time program focus: For this retreat, the point is to be fully present and focused on the retreat experience. There will not be time for other pursuits during this retreat.
Mind and body awareness: To support the body during the retreat, there will be times for mindful movement such as stretching and simple yoga sequences as well as walking meditation through the beautiful Earthville campus.
Emotional work: In a contemplative program such as this where we’re exploring some of life’s big questions, it is normal for a range of emotions to come up, and for many this is a necessary part of the process — a good sign. We encourage all participants to prepare yourselves to welcome whatever you and others might experience and hold a supportive space to move through it without judgment and learn all one can from it.
Natural simplicity: Rustic living, camping in a beautiful forest setting, with undeveloped campsites and very basic facilities (including porta-potties).
Yogic lifestyle: Clean and simple ashram-style lifestyle in which everyone contributes to the running of the place, including cleaning, washing dishes, etc.
Healthy food: Natural and organic, purely vegetarian meals (100% plant-based, vegan), lovingly prepared by all of us (together or in shifts).
Digital detox: In support of the immersive retreat experience, all participants will give up our mobile phones for the duration of the retreat so we can give ourselves (and others) the ginormous gift of being present with nature and with one another. For those of us who are normally glued to our phones, it may take some adjustment at first but soon you might be amazed how much better you feel engaging with nature and fulfilling activities with good people rather than the screen. Also, note that cell service is very spotty here, but in case of emergencies you can use our WiFi.
Camping at Earthville: Healthy community living in the heart of nature
At this start-up stage in the development of our campus, we have no beds to offer, but we have a beautiful rustic campground, which is an ideal place for nature-loving people who are comfortable living very simply in the wild. Note that you’ll need to bring your own tent or, alternatively, you’re welcome to bring a camper or RV if you have one (our eco-campground has plenty of space, but no RV hookups). At this stage, we have outdoor showers with (limited) hot water, basic camp toilets and porta-potties. You do not need to bring any cooking gear, as we will provide all meals (and, due to forest fire risk, we cannot have open flames here).
The lifestyle here is focused on holistic well-being: organic plant-based food, nature walks, contemplative practices (meditation, yoga, etc.), and a healthy body and mind (free of intoxicants of all kinds).
DATE & TIMES
Start and end dates and times
The retreat will begin at 10:00am on the first day. All participants should plan to arrive between 9:15 and 9:30am .
As this is a traditional ‘closed’ retreat, all participants will stay on the Earthville campus for the entire duration of the retreat.
The retreat will conclude at 3:30pm on the last day.
Daily schedule: What will the flow of the days be like?
Although the day-to-day schedule may vary a bit, the schedule for a typical day during this program would more or less as follows:
6:30 Wake
7:00 Morning group practice session: yoga and meditation
8:00 BREAKFAST
9:00 Morning sessions: learning, practice, and/or creative activities
12:30 LUNCH
2:00 Afternoon sessions: learning, practice, and/or creative activities
5:00 Personal time
6:00 DINNER
7:00 Evening session: meditation and often a short talk or discussion
8:00 Quiet time for reading and meditation
10:00 Lights out
ABOUT TENZIN WANGYAL RINPOCHE
Founder and spiritual director of Ligmincha International, Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche is a respected and beloved teacher and meditation master in the Bön Buddhist tradition of Tibet. He has students in more than 25 countries, teaches around the world and reaches thousands of students through his online programs.
Trained as a Bön Buddhist monk, Rinpoche now lives as a householder, allowing him to relate more fully to the needs and concerns of his students.
Known for the depth of his wisdom and his unshakeable commitment to helping students recognize their true nature, he is the author of many books and frequently leads online courses.
ABOUT YOUR FACILITATORS
COST
Earthville Institute and Suvarnabhumi Sanctuary are nonprofit organizations dedicated to making contemplative programs available to all. Recognizing that our participants come from diverse backgrounds, we are providing a sliding scale with three tiers, to make it possible for everyone to donate according to their means.
Total cost for the retreat (including tuition, three meals daily, and use of our rustic eco-campground) are as follows:
Standard rate
(For most participants)
$324
For transparency: This standard rate is essentially a break-even rate, just enough to cover the Institute’s total estimated costs.
Subsidized rate
(For low-income participants who can’t afford the standard rate)
$216
This subsidized rate is approximately 33% below our standard rate, and that shortfall might be covered by participants who choose to pay the ‘Supporter rate’ to the right.
Supporter rate
(For those who can afford to help subsidize lower-income participants)
$432
This supporter rate is approximately 33% above the standard rate, to support lower-income applicants to participate at the subsidized rate. We thank you for your generosity in choosing this rate if you can.
In addition to the base fee above, there will be an opportunity to offer dana (an optional, voluntary offering of support), as per tradition.
Please note that the cost of purchasing the text is not included in the tuition fee above; you would need to do buy the text separately in whichever format you prefer.
Scholarships and fundraising support available
We do not want cost to be a barrier to anyone’s participation, and we’re happy to support potential participants to crowdfund their own participation via tax-deductible donations to Earthville. If interested in this option, you can contact us to let us know your situation and your needs and we’ll be happy to discuss it with you.
Members of the Ute and Diné (Navajo) nations qualify for full scholarships (subject to limited availability).
APPLICATION & PAYMENT
Space in this retreat is limited. Participation is by application and subject to acceptance.
STEP 1 — APPLY: Submit the application form. (We recommend using a desktop/tablet browser, as some people find doing the applications on a phone screen to be tricky.)
STEP 2 — CONNECT: The next step is for us to schedule a short video call to give you a chance to ask whatever questions you may have, and to help us better understand your interests and confirm if the retreat is a match.
STEP 3 — DEPOSIT: After the call, we’ll send you more detailed information about the retreat and how to prepare for your time at Earthville Institute. You will then have one week to make your nonrefundable deposit to hold your place in the retreat. The minimum deposit is 50%, and it is also possible to prepay in full if you prefer.
If you have any questions after reading all the material here on our website, feel free to contact us and we’ll be happy to help.
We look forward to connecting with you!