NEWS
Happy New Year from Zen Mind Monastery!
Dear Mani retreatants,
hard to believe it has been almost half a year since we were with you! The memories are still so alive for us. We think about and talk about our experiences in Greece a lot. It was truly a life-changing event for us. Now Linda and I are in the midst of our winter "ango" or practice period at Tassajara, cloistered in the mountains near Big Sur, California (an experience that Vivi can tell you all about!). This practice period is very intimate, only 38 people. This is my 15th practice period at Tassajara! I am still loving being tanto, or head of practice. Right now our Abbess Eijun Linda Ruth Cutts Roshi is away for a few days in the city for meetings, so I am enjoying filling in for more ceremonial functions. Now here's Linda:
Hello dear friends,
Our time on retreat with you last summer was an inspiring and rejuvenating experience.
It meant so much to us to connect with each of you, especially the one-to-one meetings. The opportunity to share yoga and Zen teachings and practices, in such a special and beautiful place, is very precious. At Tassajara, everything is now very silent and still during this winter practice period, and we spend most of our time in the meditation hall. The practice is challenging, but we are sustained by everyone's strong effort and intention. There is a deep sense of joy that awakens as we slow down and experience our lives deeply, when we see through and drop off old habits that no longer serve us well, and we can rest peacefully with things just as they are. I hope that whatever benefit you may have received from the Mani retreat continues in some way to support you in your life in 2012.
Peace and love to all of you from G. and L.
________________________________________________________
Latest developments
Mani - Sonnenlink 2012
1) new direct flights to Kalamata - now almost daily:
one can fligh directly now from Wien, München, Nürnberg, Thessaloniki, Athen, London, Oslo
2) Our Holiday and Retreat House Mani-Sonnenlink is the first certified Organic Hotel in Greece.
Bio-Hotels: www.biohotels.info
see our new flyer: BIO-Hotel
3) The Seminarprogram 2012 is online
2012 many beautiful and interesting workshops, retreats and seminars
4) The Music-Festival 2012 is online: Kultur Sommer - Musikfestival 23.6. - 8.9. each Saturday, great music events, have a look.
________________________________________________________
Olive picking and Hiking tour - our new HIT!
This new program became another highlight of the year!
Besides Olive picking in lovely olive groves and hiking in the romantic and paradisal villages and mountain slopes, there was celebration, dancing and even daily meditation.
After picking the olives, we went to the oil press to witness the oil pressing procedure. The next day we analyzed our oil in the Blauel olive oil tasting course and finally we bottled it ourselves. The sun was shining almost constantly and several times our olive pickers were even taking sun baths and afterwards swimming in the blue sea.
We are already looking forward to our next year's groups:
this time 2 groups: 23-30.11. und 30.11.-7.12. 2012
________________________________________________________
Festival 2012!
at Mani-Sonnenlink
16.06.2012 - 08.09.2012
Thank you very much!
see you next year...
review of the festival 2011 here!
“Festival end in the Mani-Sonnenlink”
The last event of a long number of concerts in the Mani-Sonnenlink belonged mainly to the audience which played from the beginning a leading role. Burgi Bläuel, the promoter, had managed again to fetch almost 200 concert and dance friends to her theater. Glendi, Greek dance celebration, was the title of the evening and one could feel it literally as the whole tension of the summer fell and led into a lively atmosphere from the organizers. Right in the middle of it small Mozart deposits of Burgi and Ursula, Viennese waltz sounds and then again Moraites live - a young band from Kalamata with Greek folk music. The festival on the Mani has found its solid place in Messinia's calendar of events. Tou chronou pali! - next year again!
________________________________________________________
international Summer Music festival 2011
new seminars - new space - music
many new seminars are already planned.
If you are interested in organizing a workshop yourself,
it would be good to contact me soon.
Sleeping space will be expanded with 5 new house-tents on wooden platforms underneath our old oak trees. They will be equipped with furniture and beds for 2 people each.
Festival guests and Holiday guests: there will be enough space between seminar blocks
to visit us and enjoy the magic of brilliant Mani, Sonnenlink and Music
________________________________________________________
review of the festival 2010 here!
