I introduced a neat new feature for this retreat: You can now click on the images of the teachers on the home and retreat pages, and you'll get to a page dedicated to that teacher that includes their bio and their session during the retreat. Try with this one here! -->

Hello to you all!

I've been working hard (yes, but without straining or pushing myself) to help this new retreat come to life fully. I'm even learning how to do basic graphic design, like the above banner for the facebook event page! It's amazing how things just unfold from one day to the next. There is a sense inside, but not very personal, of an ongoing movement that keeps generating all sorts of activity. It's all part of this unfolding, of the retreat taking shape.

So this is a short report to let you know the information is all out there: 

• the detailed retreat program is up on the program page;
  
• you can invite your friends on facebook to the facebook event, a convenient way of spreading the news;
• or, if you've registered already, you can forward the e-mail that I sent out today to others who may be interested.

I've already done the pre-recorded conversation with Gangaji. Next week, I will speak to Tim Freke for the second pre-recorded session. All  is happening in its own sweet time.

I look forward to sharing this retreat with all of you. 
With love and gratitude,
grace

It's been a joy to set up more conversations for the fall, and to start inviting teachers for the November retreat. 

Here are the four conversations coming up, all taking place on Sundays at 11 am PDT, 2 pm EDT, 7 pm UK, 8 pm MEST:

• 24 August: Michael Damian: Meeting the Mind, Freeing the Mind
• 7 September: Pernilla Lillarose: Self Love
• 14 September: Brian Piergrossi: True Intimacy
• 28 September: Jeannie Zandi: Living as Love.

For more details about the teachers and themes please go to the home page or click HERE. There is no need to register for the conversations, the links for the live broadcast will be on the home page of the website. If you're on the mailing list, you'll receive a reminder in the week leading up to each of the conversations. (To sign up for the mailing list click HERE.)

Conversation with Scott Kiloby:
This conversation has been announced for some time now, but I haven't scheduled it yet because Scott is working every weekend in his new center, and this is not going to change any time soon. He is off on Wednesdays and Thursdays. So I decided to just ask all of you: Would you be able to participate live on a Wednesday or Thursday, and would this be of interest to you? If so, I'd be very happy to hear from you; thank you so much for taking the time to let me know (CLICK HERE to send me a message)! 

November retreat:
I will send more information as and when more details are settled, but for now you can note the time: 1 - 2 November 2014, and the theme: The place of the heart in non-dual teachings. If you have friends who may be interested, please tell them about it and suggest they sign up for the newsletter to find out more as and when the information comes out.

I look forward to sharing the conversations and retreat with you!

With love and gratitude,

grace

Dear all,

I'm on a summer break, enjoying swimming in the beautiful lake close to my home, and many other things.

I'll be back in August and September with more conversations, and I'm planning another retreat -- on the theme of: The place of the heart in nondual teachings -- for November.

If you'd like to make sure you get the news as they come out, please sign up for the Living from Love online newsletter (CLICK HERE or go to the Subscribe page).

And here's wishing you all a beautiful summer (or winter for those 'down under')!
With love and gratitude,

grace

Dear all,

We're at the half way point with the current series of live conversations on the theme of 'Living form Love': those with Unmani and Amoda Maa Jeevan have already happened, both very interesting in very different ways. 

You'll find the YouTube videos of them on the Conversations tab underneath the retreats tab on this website (or CLICK HERE).

Still to come: conversations with Prajna Ginty (1 June) and Neelam (8 June, more details on the home page). ... And then I'm off to Germany to visit family and friends!

I'm not sure yet whether I will continue the conversations over the summer, I'll see about that once I'm back from Germany. But I'm definitely already thinking of a whole-weekend retreat in the fall, very likely on the theme of 'The place of the heart in nondual teachings'.

Sign up to the newsletter to make sure you get all the news! CLICK HERE to subscribe.

Wishing you a beautiful spring and summer,
with much love to all of you,

grace

Unfortunately, David Alsobrook is not well enough to participate in the retreat. He's been dealing with health problems for some time, and they've recently taken a turn for the worse. He will get treatment soon, but while he is waiting for it, he is not able to do very much. 
So here's wishing you well, David!

As for the program, the last two sessions will both start an hour earlier. Please check the Retreats page for the revised times.

It's been challenging to get the news about this retreat out! Somehow, the fact of having Jesus in the title seemed to cause some fear and trepidation in me, and it took me a while to finally feel ready to put it out there into cyber space.
I knew, from having spoken to two of the speakers, Francis Bennett and David Alsobrook, that they had gotten some flak for introducing Christian language and thoughts into the nondual community. Somewhat predictably, there seems to be some reactive response to doing this. But this was just an outer concern.
More interestingly, there was a very visceral 'No, you can't do that' in response to the retreat title when it came up as a theme. What is this fear? Today, I came across a website about a film called Liberating Jesus, based on a play written by a spiritual teacher, Leonard Jacobson. He reports a similar visceral response which stopped him for a number of years (click HERE for his account). What is it that makes the topic of Jesus so fearful? Is it a fear lodged in the collective unconscious dating back to the persecution of the early Christians? Is it a fear about touching on a topic that's not very 'cool' in spiritual circles? 
Whatever it is, it's interesting to see it arise... I hold it with compassion, and I do what I must... 

Dear all,

There has been a real pull into silence for me these days that slows things down quite considerably. It's one of the challenges of a Western spiritual life to find balance between outward activities and inner deepening, and no doubt this balance also keeps changing over time. At times we are quite happily immersed in doing, at other times being becomes more important... So: in the midst of being, this is what's been happening:

What's up now?

• Videos and mp3s: I've edited the videos of all the retreat sessions to cut out the meditation periods. They are now embedded on the revised program page to make them more easily accessible. For those who prefer audios, there are also mp3s to listen to or download. You'll find all of this on what is now the retreat page.
• Comments page: You will also find a new page on the website with the spontaneous comments and gratitude that some of you expressed about the retreat. Have a look HERE.   
• More live conversations with other nondual teachers to come: This is one of the projects that got slowed down by my 'being pulled inside', but that I will start following up more actively now. I had to postpone the conversation with Unmani because she is in Australia at the moment, which didn't allow us to find a time that was suitable for both Europeans and North Americans. So here are the dates that are settled:
• Unmani: May 4th;
• Neelam: June 8th. 
• Also coming up: Scott Kiloby and other speakers.
• ... and hot off the inner press: It's also just occurred to me to organize something for Easter Sunday (April 20th). I'd love to explore the connections between Jesus's teachings of Love and nondual teachings. The question that comes is: What cannot die nor be resurrected because it has always been?

I have now edited all the videos from the sessions to cut the meditation periods leading up to them, so you can now start watching and listening right where the conversation started. You will find these edited videos and mp3s on the retreat page.

If you are interested in doing the retreat for yourself and would like to include the meditation before the session, you can click on the YouTube link for the complete session, also on the program page (left column, underneath the mp3 link).

Enjoy!

PS: Many thanks to Rick Archer for 'hosting' the mp3 files on his batgap.com website!

A big THANK YOU to all the speakers and all the participants in the retreat who made it the beautiful event that it was! Thank you also to my friend Wendy Ayotte for all her help behind the scenes!

There is a glow and a still place of wonder in my heart that holds the experience gently and with love, appreciation, and gratitude.

As for the videos from the sessions, you can use the same links that you had for the live broadcast, or you can go to my YouTube channel and watch them there (type Grace Bubeck into the YouTube search box).

Much love to all of you!

grace