When life is full of demands, many of us respond by trying harder. We push through fatigue, carry more responsibility, and tell ourselves we’ll rest later. Yet there comes a point when what we most need is not another strategy or solution, but somewhere to simply be.

This retreat offers an opportunity not only to rest and restore, but also to encounter nature in ways that are fresh, playful and deeply nourishing. Together we will explore how the natural world can teach us about presence, tranquility, resilience, acceptance and belonging.

In our Nature as Refuge retreat, we will explore practices that awaken the senses and deepen our relationship with the living world. Imagine experimenting with having animal senses, for example. Animals have much to teach us about being aware and attuned to our environment through acute sensitivity to sound, touch and movement. Imagine having fox feet or owl eyes, a snake’s awareness of vibration, a dragonfly’s view of space. In this way we can move beyond our habitual ways of perceiving and enter into Beginners’ Mind, the mind to which the awesome nature of reality and its extraordinary vitality are not lost. Through practices such as soft gaze, mingling the mind with the sky, playful listening, deep grounding andcontemplating abundance in the richness of summer’s flowering landscapes, we can begin to experience nature with a renewed sense of curiosity and receptivity.

We invite you to explore all of this in the lovely surroundings of The Crichton in Dumfries, UK. Here, tall trees, summer flower meadows and striking land art create a landscape that naturally draws us into presence and wonder.

Nature offers profound teachings about the way things are. Watching the movement of clouds, grasses swaying in the breeze or light shifting through the trees, we encounter a world that is constantly beautiful, yet always changing. These experiences can help us appreciate the transient nature of life and cultivate a greater acceptance of change.

The body, too, is part of nature. As we slow down and become more present to our direct experience, we can rediscover ourselves not as separate observers of the natural world but asheld within it and as it. Through mindful movement, stillness and contemplative walking –including around the beautiful spiral forms of the land art – we will explore what it means to feel truly at home in the web of life.

If your batteries are running low, if you long for space to breathe deeply and reconnect with what truly sustains you, join us for a weekend of restoration, reflection and discovery. The refuge you seek may be closer than you think; it may be waiting beneath the trees, in the meadow flowers, or in the wide summer sky.

Join us for a little Mindfulness in Nature 18/19 June at the Crichton in Dumfries. 

Photo 33 Air solutions and The Crichton.

On International Peace Day 21^st September 2025,[1]  I thought it would be fitting to share a blog on the theme of the day, “Act now for a Peaceful World.” Sometimes I excuse my meditation time searching for a space to find some ‘peace and quiet,’ yet, often, it’s exactly what we don’t need to find the inner peace that meditation can provide us with. Did you know that 2025 was proclaimed by the United Nations as an “International Year of Peace and Trust”?  An initiative to highlight the need for global cooperation, mutual understanding, and sustainable development promotes, the statement, “Trust is the foundation of peace, and peace is the cornerstone of a just society,” [2] resonates. To me, it seems to embody the principles of mindfulness in action. Something I aspire to achieve through my research at the University of Aberdeen on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and Social Justice and mindfulness training and policy.  Over the past few months, my research has led me to a number of individuals, groups and organisations contributing to and fostering awareness around finding peace, supporting equity, celebrating diversity and championing inclusion. Social justice is at the heart of these organisations. I hope to share with you some of my findings here.

Before on embarking into the complexities of what ‘peace’ may be, a brief history of the origins and definitions of the root of the term and its journey into modern English by the 16^th Century.  The term peace, meaning the absence of conflict and harmony.  The etymology of the term, Santi (shanti), in Sanskrit, at approximately 1500 BCE meant ‘tranquility or ‘rest’ [3]; Shalom, (שָׁלוֹם) in Hebrew, meaning wholeness or wellbeing at 1000BCE;[4] the ancient Greek term, Eirēnē  (εἰρήνη ), meant, calm or the opposite of war, by 500BCE; [5] by 500 CE the old French term, (with an etymology from the Latin pax)  pais or paix,  meant agreement, peace,[6] by 1000 CE the Middle English terms,  pece/pees referred to social harmony.

It’s clear from these definitions that perceptions of ‘peace’  retain a combination of these linguistic roots. A general definition encompasses the notion of a state of calm and tranquility, as well as the absence disturbance or conflict. A personal or inner peace can be for some a feeling of mental and emotional harmony, freedom from anxiety, stress, or turmoil, a state that meditation can often allow us to enjoy. Social peace refers to the absence of violence, hostility, or social unrest within a community or society and political or international peace is a condition in which nations or groups coexist without war or armed conflict, often maintained through diplomacy, cooperation, and justice. At its core, peace is more than just the absence of conflict, it often includes the presence of fairness, security, and mutual respect and trust too.

“The International Day of Peace,” was established in 1981[7] by the United Nations General Assembly. Two decades later, in 2001, the General Assembly unanimously voted to designate the day as a period of non-violence and cease-fire. Through its Peacebuilding Commission[8], which is marking its twentieth anniversary in 2025, the United Nations works to address poverty, inequality, discrimination, and injustice – all potential drivers of violence. [9] The sentiments carried in these words, “We must speak up against violence, hate, discrimination, and inequality; practice respect; and embrace the diversity of our world, ” [10]  ring out loudly and clearly against a backdrop of a world clouded with news of fear, terror, the neglect of basic rights, lack of food, water and safe shelter.

The call in the west for what is generally termed as Socially Engaged Buddhism (SEB) is thought to have originaged by the work of the well-known, inspirational Vietnamese Buddhist monk,  teacher and human rights activist,   Thich Nhat Hanh, whose book Being Peace may be familiar to you. [11] Many of us will have encountered the transformational guide in secular mindfulness by Mark Williams and Danny Penman calling us to find peace in everyday life [12] and  Eckhart Tolle,  who writes  in his book, The Power of Now, (2001) a chapter, “Beyond Happiness and unhappiness there is Peace” asks us, “Is there a difference between happiness and inner peace?”  [13]

In a recent seminar at Kings College, London, Dr Tiffany Fairey, pointed out that there are limited images in society that convey, ‘peace’, yet there are many more representations of conflict. [14] We don’t have many images of peace, though the opposite is true for conflict and war.  A project and resulting exhibition “What is Peace Photography” aims to address this. [15] , [16] Further,  in the area of education,  Art, Music and Sport work tirelessly towards encouraging young people to adopt positive experiences of peace, to counteract the negative imagery of war and conflict that arrives on a daily basis into their living rooms. This includes an art project for children in schools.[17] A recent exhibition at the parliament shows how war viewed through the eyes of children is a chilling reminder of the effects that war has on their future. [18] It also reminds us, there are in fact fewer images of peace, though the opposite is true for conflict and war.

Many of us who practice mindfulness find that it does foster a range of positive feelings and emotions.  Kindness, compassion, care, love, gratitude. Finding peace and acting for peace may also be part of a vision for the future when examining equity, diversity, inclusion social justice and secular mindfulness. This area is the subject of research at the University of Aberdeen. If you are a trained mindfulness teacher interested how peace can be promoted through, “Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and Social Justice,” please do reach out.

Shirley Gonsalves

s.gonsalves.22@abdn.ac.uk

 

References

[1] https://www.un.org/en/observances/international-day-peace

[2] https://feature.undp.org/for-people-for-peace/

[3] Peace (n.), Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved from: https://etymology.en-academic.com/26894/peace

Peace, Wikipedia. Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace

[4] Shalom, My Jewish Learning. Retrieved from: https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/shalom

Shalom: Hebrew Word Study, Ancient Hebrew Research Center. Retrieved from: https://ancient-hebrew.org/definition/peace.htm

Shalom, Wikipedia. Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shalom

[5] Peace – Eirene (Greek word study), Precept Austin. Retrieved from: https://www.preceptaustin.org/peace_eirene

[6] Pax (Peace), Wikipedia. Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PeaceEtymology from Latin pax → Old French pais/paix → English peace: https://etymology.en-academic.com/26894/peace

[7] http://undocs.org/A/RES/36/67

[8] https://www.un.org/peacebuilding/commission

[9] https://www.un.org/peacebuilding/commission

[10] https://www.un.org/en/observances/international-day-peace

[11] Hanh, T.N., 2024. Being peace. Parallax Press.

[12] Williams, M. and Penman, D., (2012). Mindfulness: An eight-week plan for finding peace in a frantic world. Rodale.

[13] Tolle, E., 2004. The Power of Now: A guide to spiritual enlightenment. New World Library.

[14] https://youtu.be/V2V7m6RMKy0?feature=shared

[15] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2V7m6RMKy0

[16] https://imagingpeace.org/

[17] https://www.neversuchinnocence.com/poetry-and-art-competition-old

[18] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeVmlSduMvA

 

 

Photo by eberhard grossgasteiger: Silhouette of Trees

I’ve never been accused of being a shrinking violet, a wall flower or someone who does not reach out in times of need. Yet, often I find that days will go by and I haven’t left the house or I have chosen not to speak about something that is causing me worry. Indeed, I have recently noticed that I have a tendency to isolate myself.

I think that I assumed that as we age, we have less need to be social. I have heard myself make this claim to those around me. It’s as if I was almost convincing myself, and them, that spending time alone is the preferred pursuit. I would usually be met with quiet agreement and then a description of their book club’s trip to Sardinia. Clearly, I am in the wrong book club!

To be honest, socialising has increasingly felt like it takes a lot of effort. What is more, when I am tired, overwhelmed, sad or apathetic, the thought of connecting falls off my radar. Yet, research tells us that, in all actuality, connection is exactly what we need. Connection and community help us feel a sense of belonging, boost our mood and even provide a bit of what Domyo Burke calls “positive peer pressure” or the inspiration and support to engage in healthy behaviours, such as going for a walk, sitting in meditation for the whole 20 minutes (!),  or even simply washing your face.

I experienced this first hand when I got a text from a friend asking me to go for a walk. I knew that I needed to go for a walk; I knew that I needed to wash my face 😉, yet I tried to put her off. Thankfully, she is a good friend who refused to say no. She showed up to my door, two coffees in hand and a warm presence to lean on. It was just what the doctor ordered. It was also enough to inspire me to rejoin my Sunday Sangha, a gathering from the Mindfulness Association’s Wisdom course. And you know what? I feel connected, supported and much less alone.

So, if you need a nudge, a friend at your door with  two cups of coffee, let me be it. The Mindfulness Association has a vibrant community of mindfulness practitioners. Some have bucket loads of experience, some are just at the beginning of their journey. However, we all have a place to belong to- together. Why not join us for some community meditation? Or if you are part of our membership and/or teacher membership, why not join us for our weekend gathering and one of our retreats?  After all, it’s good for us!

 

Jane Negrych