Retreat with Paul Haller in Northern Ireland

April 2011 – Entering the Gates of Love –

a brief account of our time with Paul Haller in Northern Ireland

Attempts to secure a place on this retreat started us off into a world of wonderment. How does this work? What will it be like joining this community? What does this way of joining invite us into?
Thanks to Facebook we connected with Stephen Williamson and from that moment onwards we were warmly and lovingly welcomed to joining the Black Mountains Sangha Sesshin with Paul Haller.
Finding ourselves meeting Stephen and others at their Centre in Belfast we journey together by taxi to the retreat venue ready to set up and dine on tea and chip butties.
Sitting with this wonderful group was touching from the outset; the unintended long open sit was just stunning in its atunement to stillness and silence; finding a place of joining with mostly unknown beings.
Paul’s rich talks gently pointed to multiple ways of connecting to experience and staying as best we could with our bodily ways of knowing. Longer that previously experienced outside Kinhin was a sensory delight and a context for staying connected to the moment.
The work periods most days were joyfully spent in warm spring sunshine weeding and clearing an overgrown grotto, some ventured into some skilful rock climbing but the likes of me stayed firmly on safer ground. The daily yoga session was a great help and inspiration.
The theme of love flows though my recollection of this retreat as it did for much of the retreat itself. As Maturana has said “Love is the fundament of social phenomena and not its consequence”, the love that pre-existed the retreat was found in our ways of connection.
Thanks so much to Stephen and the BM Sangha for such a great welcome and look forward to being with you again when we can – Chris & Clare

Back to front page