My beautiful Dhanakosa ... my experience of a buddhist retreat

Lock Voil ... I think I may have fallen in love with you!

Dhanakosa, Balquhidder Scotland, is placed in a setting that is so beautiful it is hard to comprehend.

Reachable by a single-track road, guided by trees on one side and Loch Voil on the other, Dhanakosa gives you an instant feeling of calm. I have been fortunate to visit the Centre 3 times now and I never fail to feel amazed at the sense of ease I get as I drive towards the big wooden gates.

First impressions 

Standard for me, I was late to arrive on my first trip. Running in a frantic, apologetic mess, I was welcomed by a sea of calm.

Everyone seemed so relaxed and all of a sudden I was very conscious of how fast I was talking, how quickly I was breathing and how shambolic I must have come across.

Shoes off and I headed to my room. The Buddhist retreat relies greatly on trust so there are no locks on your bedroom door, which I was actually strangely comfortable with. You do have the option to have your own room but bunking up wasn't an issue for me and thankfully, I have always been fortunate to land great room-mates. If you are in a relationship, you will be split by gender. The rooms are tidy and clean and the beds are super comfy ... I think I expected to be sleeping on wooden blocks :)

The food was all vegan ... the Dhanakosa team are amazing cooks! I have yet to have a bad meal and would go as far to say that some of the food was the best I have tasted. Which for a foodie is praise indeed.

You will have everything that you need at the retreat including a fantastic library of books. You are never short of tools to find out more about a specific area that interests you. Snuggling up with a good book, a cosy blanket and a nice cup of tea staring aimlessly over the beautiful tranquility of Loch Voil is definitely a memory that I will cherish forever.

Weekend retreat: Introduction to meditation and Buddhism

My first weekend retreat was the intro to Buddhism and meditation. I have never been a hugely spiritual person so I wasn't sure what to expect. I was really interested to learn more about meditation.

The weekend was a perfect intro. The team gave you just enough information so that you didn't feel overwhelmed and were happy to start from the beginning. They weren't afraid to be asked about their beliefs. Speaking to the leaders about religion and spirituality seemed as natural as asking someone what they had for supper the night before. Most leaders live outside the community, so they have and can advise on the same daily challenges that you face.

The centre itself follows Triratna which means that although it pays attention to contemporary ideas, it is based largely on Western philosophy, psychotherapy, and art - this made it a lot easier for me to relate to.

Weekend retreat: Yoga and meditation weekend 

I booked onto this retreat as a bit on an escape. On this weekend, I was introduced to one of my favourite meditations, the Metta Bhavana. This is a meditation of loving kindness. It helps to connect to self-love, as well as to enhance your feeling of love for other people. It helped me to channel my energies more positively.

I found that by taking Buddhism out of this retreat, you focused more on meditation as an art-form in its own right. I had decided quite quickly though that yoga wasn't for me (at that time). My lack of enthusiasm toward it didn't dampen the weekend though. Participation was optional. No-one complained if you decided to sit a class out and there were different classes for the different skill levels. You could take part as a novice, without distracting others or taking away from their experience.

The knowledge of the team was fantastic and the other people who attended seemed to know a lot about Yoga. This would be a great retreat if you are a yoga buff.


Week retreat: Mindfulness and the path to freedom

Now this was a biggy! My first week retreat ... it could be said that I got cocky. I though that after a couple of weekends away that I was a meditation master. I was wrong.

I guess that it depends on what you have going on at the time, but I found this to be very intense. The team was super supportive and you could take it at your own pace ... but by day 3 I was emotionally drained. 6 hours of meditation, almost daily silences and a lot of overthinking on how not to overthink almost broke me. I slept pretty much all the time, although with no coffee, junk food and regular fresh air, I was sleeping like a baby and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Looking at things on the grander scale, my life was really quite calm when I went to Dhanakosa but ... I would warn anyone looking to go for total emersion that meditation, especially somewhere like Dhanakosa, is like opening a surprise door; you can't really predict what's going to present itself. One minute you feel a little like a child on Christmas day and the next you feel as if you have been attacked by every demon you have ever faced. Which I guess brings you to the purpose of the retreat: to pick up a few practical tools that can help you to rein those demons in ... or completely kick their asses so that they don't cause issues in your life ... did things just get deep ;)

Back to the fun stuff, a week of healthy living, great company, a plethora of books, and the opportunity of not having to be somewhere is fantastic. Being disconnected from the world, alhtough tougher than I thought, gives you such a great feeling of freedom.

Final thoughts

Although for anyone from Scotland, you aren't physically travelling far, Dhanakosa is an opportunity to see so much more than you may predict. The people you meet are so diverse with people travelling from all over the word to experience Dhanakosa. It makes me feel so lucky to have this on my doorstep and so humbled to meet people who achieved so much in their life.

Every time I leave Dhanakosa, I feel so much more energised and excited for the future. For me it feels like a home away from home.

The Centre operates Dhana, which means you can attend the retreat regardless of your financial situation. You give what you can afford. I love this concept as it means everyone has the opportunity to visit Dhanakosa.

Suggested donations (in addition to the booking fee of £75) for 2017:

• Week retreats (introductory): £420 waged, £265 unwaged
• 2 week retreats: £630 waged, £420 unwaged 
• Weekend retreats: £175 wages, £125 unwaged

Visit their website for more information www.dhanakosa.com.

If you like this, subscribe to my blog. I love a retreat and will plan to visit more in the New Year. Suggestions are always welcomed.

Love,
Stacey
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