Integral Zen Shadow Integration Retreat

This retreat is a rare and unique offering. An opportunity to explore our individual and collective shadows from witnessing mind. The only prerequisite is an open heart and an empty mind.

Integral Zen Shadow Integration Retreat includes powerful meditation and non-meditation instructions, ego deconstruction techniques, shadow illumination and awareness intervention processes.

After a full day of meditation on the first day, you will learn how to illuminate your ego structure and explore your individual and collective shadows from witnessing mind – from pure selfless awareness.

This will be an adventure. If you think you are experienced in shadow work, get really curious. If you are a beginner, then welcome. What would integrating your shadows look like without our individual and collective opinions, beliefs, values, biases, prejudices, without the addictions and allergies of ego mind? This is the question we will be exploring together deeply, in the safe and structured container of Zen form.

We are all part of Nature. Come learn how to let your body, your emotions (likes and dislikes), your thoughts (opinions and beliefs), your dreams, and especially your conflict, inform and liberate you. Come learn to differentiate between your disowned selves (shadows) and your undeveloped selves (golden shadows).

Learn to reclaim the emotions and parts of yourself that you have suppressed, integrate the sub-personalities you have disowned and develop the parts of yourself that have been oppressed.

The week will be held in essential silence and will include traditional Zen rituals and form, to create the solid and safe container in order to engage in the deep psychological work required to find true liberation in the 21st Century with our incredibly complex ego structures. We will also engage in somatic practices like Qi Gong to help you let your body inform you and learn to not hold it as separate in the path to liberation.

The Retreat
This retreat is open to anyone with an interest in meditation, spirituality or Buddhism. There are no prerequisites apart from an open mind and an open heart.

The retreat will be a mixture of seated meditation (on a cushion or a chair), Kinhin (walking meditation), Qi Gong practice and shadow illumination practice. The schedule will be more relaxed than some Zen retreats due to the intense shadow work going on alongside the meditation, so sessions will start at 9am each day and finish around 8:30pm.

Also pre-work for the retreat is required. Before the retreat there will be a series of videos for you to watch which will orientate you to the work we will be engaging in. This video series will be sent to you before the retreat starts and we will expect everyone to have watched them beforehand.

The week will be partly held in silence in order to facilitate the shadow illumination process. What is strongly advised is that you limit communication outside of the retreat setting, so please take care of any business before you arrive.

If you have any questions about the retreat then please feel free to contact Gyoki Chris Alder, Integral Zen Priest and organiser for the retreats in the UK for Integral Zen, at chris@integral-coach.co.uk

Doshin, P J Daicho and the whole UK Integral Zen Sangha look forward to welcoming you and sitting with you in exquisite silence in the wonderful location of the Findhorn Community.