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2023
MLE Retreat August 2023
This will be an in-person retreat connected to the European Summer Research Institute 2023, taking place at The Lama Tzong Khapa Institute in Pomaia, Italy, from August 17th – 18th, 2023 (Arrival on the 16th). Click here for more information about ESRI 2023.
Program information: The retreat begins at 7am on Thursday, August 17th, and finishes at 5pm on Friday, August 18th, with arrival and registration on Thursday, August 16th. A tentative schedule is provided below, which is subject to change.
Sentience and Responsibility in Critical Times
The Mind & Life Europe Retreat, which is led each year by experienced scholar-practitioners, seeks to provide inspiration and tools for integrating our contemplative path with our professional lives more fully.
Through contemplative and dialogical practices, this year’s in-person retreat will invite participants to explore how their lives, experiences, and innate capacities can provide insights into how they might navigate a world in which challenges abound. Wisdom traditions and science tell us that we are, in fact, inextricably embedded in webs of relationships that at once constitute us and which we ourselves shape. What does it mean to be a human being in these times of uncertainty? How might we balance responsibility for ourselves, for other sentient beings, and for the planet as a whole? How can we cultivate the kindness, clarity, and insight that are necessary to care for life in ways that are sustainable both for ourselves and for the worlds of which we are a part?
The retreat will take place over two days and will include silent and guided meditations, dialogical exercises, journaling, and gentle movement practices. There will be periods of silence throughout our two days together. Since meditation will be a key ingredient of the retreat, younger and/or early-career academics and professionals who have established regular meditation practice are encouraged to apply. The MLE Retreat is open to all, but it is preferable if one has already participated in one or more Mind & Life Institute or Mind & Life Europe events.
Tentative Schedule
Wednesday, August 16th:
Arrival and registration throughout the day
Thursday, August 17th:
07.00 – 08:00: Body work and meditation
08:00 – 09:30: Breakfast
09:30 – 13:00: Morning session incl. tea break
13.00 – 15.00: Lunch break
15:00 – 18:00: Afternoon session incl. tea break
18:00 – 19.00: Break
19:00 – 20.00: Dinner
20:00 – 21.00: Evening session
Friday, August 18th:
07.00 – 08:00: Body work and meditation
08:00 – 09:30: Breakfast
09:30 – 13:00: Morning session incl. tea break
13.00 – 15.00: Lunch break
15:00 – 16:00: Afternoon session
16:00 – 17.00: Concluding session
Costs (for MLE Retreat & ESRI 2023)
| ESRI | MLE retreat | ESRI + retreat | |
| Research Fellows | € 600 | € 300 | € 800 |
| Senior investigators | € 800 | € 500 | € 1,200 |
| Professionals | € 1000 | € 500 | € 1,400 |
These prices cover the whole program and full board at the venue (including food and drink). Please note that most rooms are shared with one other participant of the same gender and single rooms are extremely limited in availability.
Non-participating partners can attend without submitting a separate application form. We are happy to offer them a 10% reduction on the overall package price.
Financial Support
Participants of ESRI (and the retreat) are expected to cover their own registration fee. Financial support is available for selected (PhD) students and early career scholars, with a particular priority given to scholars coming from Eastern Europe, the Baltic countries and Russia.
If you would like to be considered for financial support, please submit a written request in the application form with details of your financial situation (max. 300 words). Please note that MLE operates on a limited budget, and will only be able to provide grants to the selected recipients.
Marieke van Vugt is an assistant professor at the Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Engineering (ALICE) of the University of Groningen (Netherlands). The research in Dr. van Vugt's lab focuses on how, when and why we mind-wander, and what the fundamental cognitive operations are that underlie meditation and mindfulness. Most recently, she started to investigate how analytical meditation practiced by Tibetan monks and nuns affects cognition and emotion. She addresses these questions using a combination of computational modeling, neuroscience, and experimental psychology tools. She very much enjoys projects were science, art (particularly classical ballet), and contemplation meet.
Martijn van Beek is an Associate Professor of Anthropology and affiliated with the Interacting Minds Centre, both at Aarhus University, Denmark. Having worked and conducted research for many years on politics and development in Ladakh and elsewhere in the Himalayan region, for the past two decades his research has increasingly focused on the meeting ground between contemplative traditions, especially Buddhism, consciousness research and modernity. His research seeks to contribute to refining our understanding and the significance of emergent forms of contemplative ways of living for people and for the planet. He is also engaged in research on the (micro-)phenomenology of contemplative practice and experience. Martijn teaches sustainable ways of living and contemplative life in context, in theory and in practice at Aarhus University and elsewhere. He lives at Vaekstcenter, a contemplative community in Denmark.
18-08-2023 05:00 PM