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ECSTATIC MEDITATION RETREAT

August 1, 2023 @ 9:30 am - August 5, 2023 @ 7:00 pm UTC+7

$315.00

ECSTATIC MEDITATION RETREAT

with and by

Raphael Jay Adjani

The Delicious Delight of Living

 

ECSTATIC MEDITATION is a celebration of the divine and our own divineness.

In this 5-Day partially silent retreat, Raphael invites you on a journey to:-

  • Living Life as a Dance – where each moment can feel vivid, playful, fun, and creative
  • Evolving conscious awareness, healing, and awakening through trauma-sensitive mindfulness and compassion-focused meditation processes together with Healing & Recovery through Indian Head & Facial Chakra Activation Massage.
  • Cultivating greater self-acceptance, self-care, and self-love that also positively impacts on our world and all those around us
  • Nurturing a greater sense of community, belonging, and harmonious relationship with the natural world, including meditation in shallow sea waters.
  • Reveal Your Inner Blue: through meditative, playful, creative, and ecological engagement with water, sky, and earth, and evolving understanding of the neuroscience and psychology underpinning our immersion in water, to fully reveal your true self, your divine being.

 

 

ECSTATIC MEDITATION retreat draws on the art, meditation, breathwork, and philosophy of Buddhism, Tantra, Japanese Zen, and Shinto, yogic practice such as yoga nidra; wider understandings drawn from contemporary scientific research; and organic connection with the sea, earth, and sky.

 

ECSTATIC MEDITATION combines practice and theory in a supportive environment. It is a safe space to evolve resources: to creatively surf the waves of life; toward the sublime; toward enjoying The Delicious Delight of Living.

 

The retreat contains elements of Raphael’s follow-up September playshop BEYOND ECSTATIC.

 

Raphael is a wonderful guide on this journey within

And holds the space with

tenderness, care and good humor

You are in very safe hands

– Mel, previous course participant

 


ABOUT RAPHAEL

 

 

Raphael is a meditation teacher for several Samma Karuna programs: Tantra Teacher Training, Breathwork Teacher Training, and Yoga Teacher Training.

For the Awakening and Healing Program they guide morning meditations in Spacefulness (see below); and a weekly practice and theory program,, called Mindfulness – The Delicious Delight of Living. This course trains us to better manage stress and anxiety, as well as provides us with practices that enable living a life that fulfills our deepest universal needs, in attune with our personal core values. Contact Raphael for details.

Raphael is a certified teacher of  Mindful Self-Compassion; and has been teaching this course for the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion (USA), the mental health organization Mind (UK), New Life Foundation (Thailand), and globally.

They are an inspirational teacher of Art and Dance-Theater at doctoral, master and undergraduate level at Goldsmiths University of London, and courses around the world.

Raphael is an integrative psychotherapist. In their therapy, they utilize Buddhist psychology, meditation, art, dance, play therapy, ecotherapy, neuroscience, and person-centered therapy.

TheDeliciousDelightOfLiving.com

 

 

WHAT OTHER PEOPLE SAY ABOUT RAPHAEL

 

Raphael brings great integrity and sensitivity to his mindfulness teachings.

During his course on the beautiful island of Ikaria,

he has helped me to remember my deep connection to all other beings and

my personal responsibility to meaningfully serve.

His gentle and insightful guidance has especially allowed me to reconnect with the magnificence, beauty and magic of the sea;

and the heartbreaking damage that is being done to its marine life every single day.

As a result, I have decided to take action to help address this painful situation.

Thank you Raphael for reminding me that

I am part of it all, and for re-opening my eyes to this important need.

– Sarah, Breathwork Teacher Training Course

 

It was such a marvelous pleasure not only to follow the mindfulness meditation guided by Raphael

 but also to be in heir Joyful Ecstatic Presence all day long.

Thank you Raphael to be you and for the example you give of a Divine Life

– Frédéric, Tantra Teacher Training Course

 

Raphael has a way of immediately making people feel at ease with the present.

Feelings and thoughts are validated at that moment.

This made it possible for communication and engagement to flow.                                       

The students valued

Raphael’s demystification of quite complex philosophical ideas.

They were able to examine their everyday experiences and

appreciate the art of simplicity and conviviality

in a present and authentic way.

– Dr. Daniel Somerville, Senior Lecturer, University of Worcester,

commenting on Raphael’s playshops with his master’s creative art students

 

Working with and attending Raphael’s mindfulness lectures and guided meditations have been more than deep and profound.

Their material and energy bring an enlightened perspective

on our human existence.

Their knowledge and personal practice on incorporating nature,

specifically, the sea has been nothing less than magic!

If you have a chance to work with them

I highly recommend you take this opportunity.

 Love and Light

– Jessi, Breathwork Teacher Training Course

 

Raphael is a great role model and a wonderful teacher.

In their Mindfulness Sessions, they showed me that everything I need

is already within me and

how important it is to live out the quality of being a child in my adult life.

In their meditations, they inspired me to connect more with nature, and

to dance and play more with life.

I hope that their messages will reach more people.

 It was an honor to learn from them 💙

– Isabelle, Breathwork Teacher Training Course

 

 

 

EXCHANGE POSSIBILITIES, CERTIFICATION, ONGOING SUPPORT, TEACHER TRAINING


EXCHANGE POSSIBILITIES

  • Full Exchange
    12,000 Thai Baht  /  315,00 Euro
  • Samma Karuna Volunteer and Samma Karuna Members Exchange
    20% discounted places, subject to availability, for volunteers and long-standing regular SK teachers, on application.

N.B.

We invite participants to find their own way to offset the carbon footprint of their travel to the playshop

 

CERTIFICATIONS

Certificate of Participation on fully attending the whole retreat.

 

ONGOING SUPPORT, TRAINING, AND TEACHER TRAINING

  • Ongoing online access to guided practices & other resources
  • THE ECSTATIC MEDITATION retreat is an excellent preparation for the undertaking. BEYOND ECSTATIC: Raphael’s playshop in September 2023 at Samma Karuna. and teacher training, planned for 2024.

 


MORE ABOUT THE TEAM

Raphael on ECSTATIC MEDITATION retreat (August) and BEYOND ECSTATIC playshop (September):-

 

The retreat and playshop begin from a very personal connection and engagement with spirits of the natural world at Haad Chao Phao beach, Koh Phangan Thailand; alongside the mystical island of Ikaria, Greece, where I teach meditation for Samma Karuna’s Breathwork and Tantra Teacher Training courses.

This sacred site-specificity is crucial to each retreat and playshop creation and manifestation. It is an evolving listening, developed further by playshop participants through their listening allowing it to be further steered by spirits of the natural world.

I arrive at this space and place through a practice where art meets meditation meets philosophy meets ecology meets science meets technology meets therapy for the soul. Psychotherapy is therapy for the soul that holistically impacts the way we live.

This meeting ground of integrative practice includes research on Tantric architecture, art, philosophy, geometry, and wider mathematics. It embraces interactive art installations and happenings such as the multi-sensory Japanese Tea Ceremony,  “Sado” (the way of tea), which is informed by Zen and the animistic practice of Shinto.

It engages with Deep Ecology, and Neuroscience that evidence our brains being hardwired to react positively to water; and that being near it can calm and connect us, increase innovation and insight, and…heal what is broken’.

I share things I have assimilated through inner inquiry; and through my practice as: an artist, integrative psychotherapist; teacher of art, dance-theatre, meditation; and academic researcher.

Raphael’s art, teaching, and research formerly at the Goldsmiths University of London, and University of the Arts London, is critically acclaimed, award-winning, and internationally presented.

They have created a unique playful meditation called Spacefulness, (details below) taught on a number of Samma Karuna’s programs: Breathwork Teacher Training, Tantra Teacher Training, and Yoga Teacher Training.

 They are a teacher trainer for internationally recognized programs that are scientifically evidenced such as Mindful Self-Compassion and Radical Self-Care, as well as an experienced teacher of Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction, and Mindfulness for Health.

Raphael has supported many many people globally, to become the most creative, authentic, healed, and fulfilled versions of themselves. They help people to enjoy The Delicious Delight of Living.

 

 

INDICATIVE PROGRAM

 

Daily Themes

Each day will have:

  • Specific creative, healing, and meditative focuses: an exploration of the creative body, the healing body, the belonging body in diverse ways, in relationship to the natural location of the playshop
  • Guided engagement with physical and metaphysical space

 

Core Foundational Training involves:

  • Release Your Inner Blue

Neuroscience and psychology evidence that ‘our brains are hardwired to react positively to water; and that being near it can calm and connect us, increase innovation and insight, and even heal what is broken.’ Nichols, The Blue Mind.

Moreover, the color blue around the world is the color most associated with peacefulness.

Nichols describes this Blue Mind as  ‘a mildly meditative state, characterised by calm, peacefulness, unity and a sense of general happiness with life in the moment.’

ECSTATIC MEDITATION retreat and its follow up BEYOND ECSTATIC playshop supports you in healing and awakening through: mindfulness; creative engagement with water, sky and earth; artistic exploration; exploration of ecological process; communication with wider sublime existential practices.

They invite you to “Release Your Inner Blue”: to fully reveal your true self, your divine being; so that in the world of daily life you can enjoy The Delicious Delight of Living.

  • Mind Flow

In Mind-Flow we will be inviting the possibility of integrating in a single flow of practice – the practice of breath work which in yoga is called pranayama with physical posture and movement which is called asana, and a practice of meditation, which in India is called sati. Sati can mean present movement awareness. Mediation is the goal of yoga. Mind Flow is a playful meditation in movement, connecting the inner world with the outer world.

  • Ecological Ritual

Ritual meditative processes to honor the spirits of the location, including mindful cleaning of the beaches.

 

Supporting this Core Foundational Training:

  • Individual Creative and Reflective Exploration
  • Yoga Nidra

A deeply restorative meditative yogic practice

  • Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC)

Raphael is a certified and experienced teacher of this life development program and they input key MSC elements here. MSC is scientifically evidenced to support good mental helath and living life attune to our personal core universal needs

Details of their online MSC life development program

  • Other Yogic and Meditative practices

A range of inputs here, including Laughing Buddha practice. Playshop participants can also access some of the daily yoga sessions of a range of teachers at Samma Karuna.

  • Theoretical Conceptual Exploration

Evolving of conceptual understanding of core creative and philosophic foundations of the programme. This can takes place through talks, videos, and collective sharing.

 

 

FAQs

 

Is this retreat accessible to anyone?

The retreat is accessible to anyone – from beginners to those practicing for 80 years and more – who are able to self-manage existing mental and physical health conditions in a 5-day concentrated environment.

The overall location requires participants to be able to manage stepped access.

Raphael’s process embraces diversity, including: sexual identity, and gender identity, (LGBTQ+); ethnicity, color and race such as black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC); disability; and relationship diversity.

Supporting this: all explorations and activities invite adaptations to suit personal needs. The picture to the left epitomizes this approach: movement in the ocean while seated.

You need to be ready to open to your own vulnerability. The process of restorative healing and awakening inevitably involves challenging emotional moments.

The retreat embraces the idea that: “If you want the rainbow, embrace the rain”. This though should not be forced. It requires gentleness: we open at our own pace.

The mindfulness and compassion focused meditative approaches of this playshop are known to be healing.These can be useful tools to accompany formal trauma therapy. It is essential though to understand that the retreat should not be considered as stand-alone trauma therapy; or a replacement for any kind of psychotherapy.

You also need to be able to work in direct sunlight.

Please consult a suitable health professional, if relevant,  before signing up for this retreat.

 

What is the scheduled start date for participants? 

Registration normally by 18:00/6pm on the day before the retreat start.

Each day typically begins before sunrise, 06:00 with a meditative sun salutation on the beach and/or in the immediate sea water

 

What do I need to bring?

Swimwear: including shoes: to protect you feet from any coral that can be found in the predominantly sandy sea. sunblock, sun hats, sunglasses, etc.

N.B. No swimming ability is required. We work in shallow waters, estimated to be 0–1.25 meters

 

 

 

MORE ABOUT THE DELICIOUS DELIGHT OF LIVING

An agency of Raphael and associates. It provides life transformation strategies and practices through: integrative psychotherapy; meditation; personal growth coaching; mentoring; and playshops nourishing the soul.

Raphael integrates talking therapy, art, dance, play, water therapy, ecotherapy, meditation and buddhist psychology. They help people to transform their lives.

They support healing wounds of trauma, relationships, loss, bereavement, insecure attachment negative-self-image, poor sense of self-worth. They support: managing stress and anxiety; and recovery from depression.

Details of Raphael’s next online life development course

More about Raphael’s psychotherapy and life transformation programs

Every Wednesday 18:30 – 19:30 (+) in Samma Karuna

 

 

 

Inestimable contribution and guidance by

John Akayzer

Tereze Brence

Wilaiwan Phimkhalee

Spirit of earth, sea, and air in the locations of

Haad Chao Phao beach, Koh Phangan

and the island of Ikaria, Greece

Details

Start:
August 1, 2023 @ 9:30 am UTC+7
End:
August 5, 2023 @ 7:00 pm UTC+7
Cost:
$315.00
Event Categories:
,

Venue

Samma Karuna – Thailand (Koh Phangan)
84/13 Moo 8 Haad Chao Phao
Ko Phangan, 84280 Thailand
+ Google Map

Organizer

Samma Karuna