In Love with the Earth
A 6-Day Retreat to Reconnect with the Sacredness of Life
with Antoine Drouillard, Antonio Martín, Estelle Vincent, and Pieter Moonen
May 27—June 1, 2024
Presented in English in Longeval, France
Learn to look deeply at your relationship with yourself
and the global ecological crisis, and find the strength
to act from wisdom and compassion.
We are living in a time of rapid changes and uncertainty. The foundations of our society seem to be at odds with life on planet Earth.
Maybe you feel pain for the damage done to the beauty of life on Earth but don’t see how you can make a meaningful contribution. Maybe you feel overwhelmed by the state of the world and long to find inner peace by connecting to yourself and nature. Maybe you are acting to build a more harmonious world but feel burned out.
Do you feel our current ways of dealing with the world’s problems do not touch the root of the crisis?
By opening to the deeper wisdom of the Heart, cultivating reverence for life, and transforming the pain of the world into awareness, our joyous nature of Oneness will shine forth, and we will be able to respond to the current crisis with Wisdom and Compassion.
The workshop will create a container of safety, inspiration, and increased awareness to allow an authentic experience of connection with the whole of Life.
We are living in a time of rapid changes and uncertainty. The foundations of our society seem to be at odds with life on planet Earth.
Maybe you feel pain for the damage done to the beauty of life on Earth but don’t see how you can make a meaningful contribution. Maybe you feel overwhelmed by the state of the world and long to find inner peace by connecting to yourself and nature. Maybe you are acting to build a more harmonious world but feel burned out.
Do you feel our current ways of dealing with the world’s problems do not touch the root of the crisis?
By opening to the deeper wisdom of the Heart, cultivating reverence for life, and transforming the pain of the world into awareness, our joyous nature of Oneness will shine forth, and we will be able to respond to the current crisis with Wisdom and Compassion.
The workshop will create a container of safety, inspiration, and increased awareness to allow an authentic experience of connection with the whole of Life. We will cultivate Gratitude and Joy for the Divine manifestation and make use of the healing power of nature, Hatha Yoga, meditation, and awareness practices. We will face our feelings of fear, pain, and disconnection, discovering how they are not personal and learning to transmute them into increased presence, allowing our Compassionate Nature to take action to face this global crisis.
In this workshop, we will merge a selection of teachings and techniques from the Hridaya wisdom with an existing method of engaged Buddhism. This work called The Work That Reconnects (developed by Joana Macy), provides tools to transmute pain into acts of Compassion.
We will cultivate Gratitude and Joy for the Divine manifestation and make use of the healing power of nature, Hatha Yoga, meditation, and awareness practices. We will face our feelings of fear, pain, and disconnection, discovering how they are not personal and learning to transmute them into increased presence, allowing our Compassionate Nature to take action to face this global crisis.
In this workshop, we will merge a selection of teachings and techniques from the Hridaya wisdom with an existing method of engaged Buddhism. This work, called The Work That Reconnects (developed by Joana Macy), provides tools to transmute pain into acts of Compassion.
Workshop Content
The workshop will take place primarily in natural environments. There will be moments of silence and contemplation as well as sharing and celebration.
Daily practices:
- Hridaya Meditation and Hatha Yoga
- Walking meditation
- Heart spot, connecting to nature through a particular place where we will return daily
- Karma Yoga in the permaculture gardens
- Mindful eating
Specific practices supporting the daily contemplations and themes:
- Group practices around different topics, such as gratitude, feeling the pain of the world, seeing with new eyes, and moving forward from these new understandings
- Rituals, ceremonies, and devotional singing
- Nature immersion and creative practices to connect with the living world
Workshop Leaders
Antoine Drouillard
Antoine has felt, since an early age, deeply concerned by the state of our planet and shared humanity. He worked for several years in various environmental projects in Africa, Asia and France. His journey finally led him to dive deeper into himself, sharing his time between meditation retreats and catering activities. He spent over a year in Plum Village, Thich Nhat Hanh’s monastery and after completing the Hridaya Teacher Training Course in 2021, he has served as a Karma Yogi in Longeval.
Antonio Martín
Antonio Martín has been serving as a Karma Yogi in the Permaculture Team in Hridaya France since 2020. He finished his Hridaya Teacher Training Course in 2021 and has continued sharing the teaching of the Heart since then. Antonio has training in sound healing and core shamanism practices, as well as in systemic theater and theater of the oppressed, oriented to work with groups or social conflict.
Antoine Drouillard
Antoine has always felt deeply concerned by the degradation of our planet and of our way of life as a human family. The longing to act for a better future has initially manifested through several years of working on forest and agricultural projects in Africa and Asia. After returning to France, he put his energy into sustainable farming and catering activities. His journey finally led him to dive deeper into the art of love and understanding through spiritual practices. He has spent over a year in Plum Village, Thich Nhat Hanh’s monastery. Since January 2022, he has served as a Karma Yogi in Hridaya. Initially moved by a feeling of anxiety and rebellion, Antoine is slowly finding his way towards acting from a place of peace and deeper understanding, convinced that “The way out is in.”
Antonio Martín
Antonio Martín has been serving as a Karma Yogi in the Permaculture Team in Hridaya France since 2020. He finished his Hridaya Teacher Training Course in 2021 and has continued sharing the teaching of the Heart since then. Antonio has training in sound healing and core shamanism practices, as well as in systemic theater and theater of the oppressed, oriented to work with groups or social conflict.
Estelle Vincent
Estelle has been involved with Hridaya since 2017, alternatively learning, serving, or teaching. The plant realm has been a long-lasting source of contemplation and inspiration in her journey. She is currently partaking in a three-year teacher training course that brings together dance and nature, diving deeper into topics such as deep ecology, land art, and dance in nature.
Pieter Moonen
Pieter has entered the spiritual path through the deep longing to live in harmony with all of Life. Initially, he followed an academic path, wishing to contribute to a better world (Ph.D. in natural resources management) by working with local communities in Africa. Being active in the climate and sustainability movement and seeing the injustice in the world, the calling to understand the root causes of the ecological crisis and human suffering grew stronger. Arriving in Hridaya France in 2019, he has served as permaculture coordinator and teacher.
Ian Wilkes
Ian is a Hridaya teacher, yoga therapist, breathwork facilitator, musician, and Holistic Life Coach from Vermont, United States. After going to business school and living in New York City as a hotel manager for seven years, Ian experienced a deep longing for truth, healing, and depth and left normal Western life behind.
Ian spent eight years traveling the world, studying and practicing with masters from many ancient spiritual traditions from the Himalayas to the Amazon. In 2016, he started the charity project Anahata Ma to help bring clean water to tribal villages of southern India. He also started teaching yoga and meditation and hosting kirtans internationally while based mostly in Berlin, Germany.
Today, Ian continues to share the teachings of the Heart, mostly online through weekly kirtans and by supporting others with Holistic Life Coaching and fundraising to keep the Anahata Ma project going.
Estelle Vincent
Estelle has been involved with Hridaya since 2017, alternatively learning, serving, or teaching. The plant realm has been a long-lasting source of contemplation and inspiration in her journey. She is currently partaking in a three-year teacher training course that brings together dance and nature, diving deeper into topics such as deep ecology, land art, and dance in nature.
Pieter Moonen
Pieter entered the spiritual path through the deep longing to live in harmony with all of Life. Initially, he followed an academic path, wishing to contribute to a better world (earning a Ph.D. in natural resources management) by working with local communities in Africa. Being active in the climate and sustainability movement and seeing the injustice in the world, the calling to understand the root causes of the ecological crisis and human suffering grew stronger. He has served as a permaculture coordinator and teacher since arriving at Hridaya France in 2019.
“Only when we’ve truly fallen back in love with the Earth
will our actions spring from reverence and the insight
of our interconnectedness.”
–Thich Nhat Hanh
Schedule
Sunday
| 19:30 | Introduction session |
Monday to Saturday
| 7:00-9:00 | Meditation and Hatha Yoga |
| 9:00-9:45 | Breakfast |
| 10:00-13:00 | Morning session |
| 13:00-15:30 | Lunch and rest |
| 15:30-18:30 | Afternoon session |
| 18:30-19:30 | Dinner |
| 19:30-20:30 | Walking meditation |
| 20:30-22:00 | Rest or special evening session |
| 22:00 | Mauna (noble silence) |
Pricing and Registrations
Click Pricing and Registrations for information and to book your spot.
| DATES | COURSE | TEACHERS | PRICING AND REGISTRATIONS |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 26 – June 2, 2024 | In Love with the Earth | Antoine Drouillard, Antonio Martín, Estelle Vincent, and Pieter Moonen | Pricing and Registrations |
Please Note:
- This workshop is presented in English at our center in Longeval, France.
- The dates listed above are for accommodation. The workshop begins the evening after arrival and ends the evening before departure. Check-in is available from 14:00 on May 26th. Checkout is on the morning of June 2nd.
- Please read our Payment, Refund, and Amendment Guidelines before booking.
- For more information about our center, including how to get to Longeval, please visit this page.
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