The official unofficial newsletter for Dharma Ocean’s sangha in Europe.

(No time to read? Scroll down to events in your country.)

EDITOR’S NOTE

Welcome to the latest issue of the newsletter for Dharma Ocean’s sangha in Europe! Many of us attended the Fields of Enlightenment retreat in Somerset in June – it was a wonderful time with many exciting possibilities for Dharma Ocean’s future in Europe.

One of the many things to come out of our time there was a group of us came together and discussed ways to develop this newsletter. Sacha began the newsletter in 2017, inspired to share sangha events happening around Europe. The three of us have agreed to work on it together. This issue is our first collaboration.

Vote: Name Your Newsletter!

To make you smile when it arrives in your inbox, we have decided to give it a identity and we would like your help in naming it! We have a couple of ideas, but we would also like to hear your suggestions. Here are our two contenders:

• The Little Gap: This refers to the gap in the process of ego where our real freedom is found (Indestructible Truth, p. 385).
• The Strangely Enough: A little inside joke about that little phrase Reggie loves to say!
• You can either vote for one of these or offer your own suggestion by clicking here!

The newsletter now features a greater variety of content, too. Tell us what you think! We welcome your feedback and suggestions on how to improve for what you’d like see in future editions. You can get in touch with us at events@dharmaocean.eu

Wishing you all good practice.

Sacha, Petrina & Josh

CONTENTS

Q&A with Eva Ruijgrok-Lupton

Shrine photo

Upcoming events

ON THE JOURNEY

Q&A with Eva Ruijgrok-Lupton

Q. Where are you from and where do you live?

A. I’m from the Netherlands. I have lived in the UK for 35 years. I now live in Somerset. We are very fortunate there is a sangha in Bristol. It’s two hours drive, but we get a lot of support from there. We have very nice connections.

Q. What's your occupation?

A. I’m a mindfulness teacher.

Q. What drew you to somatic meditation?

A. I started meditating about 30 years ago. Over time, I realised my understanding of awareness was very cognitive. There wasn’t much body awareness. The body seemed to be something to be overridden. I became severely ill, and that brought me down into my body with a bump. I met my qigong master and trained very intensively with him for about 10 years. That was a very powerful embodying practice.That’s when I started having a more somatic approach to my meditation. In addition, my training as a mindfulness teacher was very body-based. So I would say, what drew me was a culmination of all the practices I have done before that got me to Reggie. What Reggie offers is a deepening and brings it together and takes it further. What drew me, is my body started screaming at me, “what about me?” My natural tendency is towards intellectual work and that’s okay, but it goes into delusions of grandeur. Intellect forgets it’s a servant not the master. My true opening and connection to life has been through my body.

Q. What has been your favourite practice and why?

A. Pure Awareness. I like the very clear structure – it really helps me to stay focused. It offers lot of points of entry to come back in. It includes elements of all the other practices so feels very complete. We had a powerful transmission at Field of Enlightenment retreat and that really helped to bring it alive.

Q. What practices are you focusing on now?

A. Pure Awareness. Sometimes I do a long 10 points and earth descent. And also longer bodhicitta when the need arises.

Q. Do you have a favourite quote from CTR or RR that you would like to share?

A. “All experience is sacred.” I remember making a note of it at the Fields of Enlightenment retreat. It’s important to be open to everything rather taking a “pick and mix” approach to life.

Recommended reading:

The Practice of Pure Awareness

Recommended listening:

Life is not a problem

CTR quote of the month: Once you have developed a sense of awareness, a glimpse of awareness, that glimpse of awareness cuts through the karmic chain reactions that reproduce karmic debts, because it creates a little gap that sets chaos to the karmic chain reactions’ productivity. So the karmic chain reactions are cut, and that slows down further reproduction of ego-centered karma. So the basic logic is that awareness practice is the way we can stop or transmute samsara. – The path is the goal (p. 146).

SHRINE PHOTO

This month’s shrine photo is from Lulu Guinness, based in Cumbria, UK. Following the recent Fields of Enlightenment retreat, she was inspired to create a second shrine at home. We have included both here, along with her descriptions of them.

Would you like to share a photo of your shrine? Send us your photos here.

Here is where I practice every day.  Flowers freshly picked from the garden, CTR photo kindly given to me by a close friend,

light holders and altar cloth from travels in India, image of a buddha a long-time companion. I’m a little resistant to orthodoxy but love this little shrine.

I have had a bit of a clear out/declutter since returning from Fields of Enlightenment.  

As well as creating a lot more space in my house this altar has also manifested,

reminding me that during the retreat I set an intention to create an altar to Yeshe Tsogyal.

Now the first thing I do in the morning is light a candle here.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Dharma Ocean Bristol Summer Camp August 31 - Sept 2, 2018

Dharma Ocean Bristol warmly invite you to join us for a weekend of practice and camping on Stroud Slad Farm in Gloucestershire, UK from Fri 31 August - Sun 2 September 2018. This is a peer-led event with no teacher or facilitator present. See this link for photos of last year’s camp! Please bring your own camping equipment and vegetarian food to share. The cost of the whole weekend is shared - £240 for up to 15 people, additional £16 per person up to max 18 people. Please contact us to reserve your place and to be sent a full information sheet. dharmaoceanbristol@gmail.com

Weekend retreat: Hirschhorn, Germany. November 2-4, 2018

Practitioners in Germany have opened registrations to a long-weekend retreat in November. The retreat is being led by Paris-based Dharma Ocean meditation instructor Linn Lillsunde. Linn will guide a mix of Pure Awareness, body work and bodhicitta practices. The retreat will take place in a three story villa located in a small, medieval village called Hirschhorn – considered the “pearl of the Neckar River” (click here for images of the location). The retreat fee is 200 Euro. For more information, send an email to: dharmaocean.germany@gmail.com. Organisers Dirk Milanowski, Katja Rübsaat and Josh Gale hope this is the first of many retreats in Germany at this location.

COMMUNITY PRACTICE GROUPS

AUSTRIA, Graz

We are two Dharma Ocean Practitioners happy to share our beautiful Living Room/Shrine Room to practice together. Our Shrine Room can host comfortably 6 to 8 people lying down. We are located in the Centre of Graz, South-East Austria,  a city close to the border of Slovenia and Hungary. So if you are interested in Meditation Evenings on a regular basis or Full- or Half Practice days (being scheduled in coordination with participants) and of course sharing precious time together, please get in contact with us:

Michaela Fuchs

michaela108@me.com

FRANCE, Paris

Dharma Ocean Paris meets about once a month (usually a Sunday morning) in central Paris (in the 2nd arrondissement). Next meeting will take place in September. We usually practice together, listen to a talk by Reggie and have a discussion about it afterwards. The best way to contact me is by email.

Linn Lillsunde

linn@dharmaocean.org

IRELAND

DO Ireland are currently looking to establish a monthly Sunday gathering in Dublin city centre. Please contact us to join us.

Across Ireland, we plan to have day-long or half-day events once per quarter in rotating locations around the country to allow everyone a chance to attend. We’ll listen to teachings, sit together, and just hang out! We’re also in the early phases of planning an annual weekend gathering, open to the whole European sangha.

Do email Sean for more info! We're especially interested in hearing from people outside Dublin who might know of venues in their area suitable for hosting small group gatherings.

Sean Harnett

sean.harnett@gmail.com

UNITED KINGDOM, Bristol

We meet every Saturday 9:45am-11:30am at the Shambhala Meditation Centre, 17 Lower Redland Road, Bristol BS6 6TB to listen to guided meditations, practice, and sharing. The centre has mats, cushions, blankets, yoga mats, chairs, although you’re welcome to also bring your own. There is space for 17 people seated/lying down. The room hire cost of £22.50 is shared between whoever turns up on the day. Email us to let us know you’d like to come and to get further info!

Petrina Yeoh and Jon Young

dharmaoceanbristol@gmail.com

UNITED KINGDOM, Bruton, Somerset

We meet in Bruton, South Somerset every other Sunday 4:00pm-5.30pm for a meditation session followed by tea and sharing. Please contact me for further information.

Danielle Crawshaw

daniellecrawshaw@hotmail.co.uk

UNITED KINGDOM, Cumbria

On Saturday 18th August there are 5 of us gathering in Kendal (The Lake District - Cumbria - UK) for a day and evening of practice. Unfortunately there isn't room for any others to join us in person - it's a small house! - so we're offering an online Zoom call for anyone across Europe who would like to join our gathering via Zoom. We’ll meet at 4pm UK time on the 18th. Please email us for more info and help joining us online.

Paul Sibson

sibson9@yahoo.com

UNITED KINGDOM, Devon

I offer a fortnightly practice gathering at 8pm on alternate Sundays in Devon, UK.

Currently we meet on Zoom to practice together, listen to teachings and share together, but my home is also open if people want to come in person.

Julia Collins

juliacollinsconsulting@gmail.com

UNITED KINGDOM, East Sussex

I offer my shrine room in Newhaven for fortnightly practice on Sundays from October 2018 (date tbc). There is space for about 8 people seated/lying down. We have plenty of zafus and yoga mats. There is also an opportunity to connect via Skype for group practice.  

Please contact me for further info.

Alistair Appleton

alistairappleton@mac.com

UNITED KINGDOM, London

Our next practice date is Sunday 23rd September. Monthly thereafter (October date tbc). We meet 11:00am-1:00pm at The Study Society, Colet House, 151 Talgarth Road, London, W14 9DA - nearest tube is Barons Court. Please bring your own mats and cushions – chairs are available.  Donations to help cover the room hire cost are welcome – we suggest £10 but whatever is ok for you will be gratefully received.

Email us to let us know you'd like to come and to get further important room access info.

Julie Larner and Ian Sturgess

dharmaoceanlondon@gmail.com

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