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Welcome to the South Bristol Buddhist Drop-in Meditation Classes
Written by Web Master   
Saturday, 12 June 2004
We have been running Meditation courses and drop-in Buddhist Meditation classes and retreats in South Bristol for some years, and a small community of regular visitors and supporters has slowly grown up.  This website has been designed to help everyone keep in touch, and let you know about our regular term-time Thursday evening classes and other retreats, events and meetings in South Bristol.

Click on the 3-Jewels opposite for news about the TBO (Triratna Buddhist Order), the Buddhist organisation inspiring our classes in South Bristol. 


ONE SONG AT A TIME - SONGWRITING RETREAT

Friday evening April 30th, May 1, 2, 3  2010

Blaenau Cottage in mid-Wales

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This is a songwriting retreat run by Buddhists in a beautiful cottage surrounded by a secluded Welsh valley. 

Our aim is to provide an opportunity for you to explore your creativity in a Buddhist retreat context but, of course, you don’t need to be, or want to be, a Buddhist to enjoy this retreat. 

The focus will be on personal and group exploration of the craft of songwriting and lyric writing.  We will provide a space in which you can explore and express what is important to you in word and sound.  We will be looking at the process of songwriting, rather than trying to produce finished songs. There will be a number of workshops and exercises, using Meditation, Body Scanning, Chanting, Stick and Improvisation Exercises to move ourselves toward a more creative state while exploring our mental states and emotions. 

improvisationsession4.jpgWe have programmed in a lot of free time when you can work on songs and lyrics with support from  Achintya, Manjusvara, Beth and Jane.  Achintya has been singing, writing and recording his music and songs all his life;  Manjusvara is a published poet and writer who runs Wolf at the Door writing workshops across the world; Beth is a qualified music teacher, singer and songwriter; Jane has been running Vegan cooking workshops, singing and songwriting for many years.  So we are very lucky to have some very experienced people with us who will be running various workshops and able to help you work on your material and bring your ideas to life. 

Please don’t worry if you have never even written a song before, the retreat has been designed to help everyone, no matter how experienced, to enjoy exploring their creative ideas and learn some basic techniques for expressing these in music and words. 
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There also will be recording equipment so you can listen to your ideas and try out arrangements on your own or with others.  It will be possible to take home a recording of your work if you wish. 

THE PROGRAMME
The retreat starts on on Friday evening 30th April from 7.00pm onward with a help-yourself buffet supper and introduction to the retreat., then continu
es on Saturday, Sunday and Monday with a programme of morning body scans, stick exercises, walking and sitting meditation, with workshops and free songwriting time throughout both days and with communal breakfast, lunch and supper.  We will finish after cleaning up by around 3pm Monday, so you should be home sometime early Monday evening.  

You are asked to attend for the whole retreat programme, unless you have made special arrangement


SP_A0051.jpgBOOKING
There are 12 places on this retreat and quite a few places are already taken. If you are keen to attend, you will need to pay the full charge of £80 (£60 low wage) which includes accommodation, vegan food and all tuition.  Please send a cheque as soon as possible, with a short note about booking, your name, email, phone number and address on the back to:

Birgit Muller, 44 St Lukes Crescent, Bristol BS3 45D. 

Please phone Achintya on 07957 340689 or email enquiries@south-bristol-buddhist-meditation.org.uk if you have any questions.


meditatinghands.jpgAchintya
South Bristol Buddhist Meditation Classes
February 2010


Our annual One Song at a Time songwriting retreats are dedicated to the memory of Heloise Osborne, a regular attender and supporter of
these events, who died in 2008.



Last Updated ( Thursday, 04 February 2010 )
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Notices

NAME CHANGE FOR FWBO AND WBO
It has been decided by Sangharakshita, the original founder and retired Head of the FWBO and WBO, to change their names to the Triratna Buddhist Community (TBC) and Triratna Buddhist Order (TBO) respectively. 

THURSDAY DROP-IN CLASS FOR REGULAR MEDITATORS
Our Regular's class is now held on a Thursday evening at the Off Centre Gallery, Bedminister (directions and details on this website - see Where we Are )  The class is for people who already know how to meditate or sit quietly. Call Achintya on 07957 340689 if you are interested in visiting our classes and would like to have a chat about what we do and whether they will meet your needs. 

BOOKINGS ARE NOW BEING TAKEN FOR OUR MAY 2010 BANK HOLIDAY SONGWRITING RETREAT
Place are limited and going fast, so if you are interested see details about the retreat and booking opposite.