The main aim of this retreat is to provide you with the space to connect with your own eternal self. Simply, to ‘just be’. We will approach this in a number of different ways that include silent reflection, various meditative exercises and simple techniques to bring you to a greater awareness of yourself. You’ll be able to approach these reflective sessions in a way that works for you.

The other aim of this program is to help you strengthen the connection between your ‘inner’ and ‘outer’ worlds. That is, to help you to better integrate your spiritual practice with your daily routine, your career, and your vocation. We’ll do this through a series of professional workshops, where you’ll get to choose an area that interests you, e.g., business, the arts, health. Here you will explore ways of integrating spirituality into these fields of human endeavour. You’ll hear from inspiring young professionals who have successfully done this in their own field of choice. You’ll also be surrounded by an amazing group of young people with similar aspirations and have the opportunity to hear their stories and inspirations along the way.

There will also be plenty of time to relax, have fun and enjoy a Sydney summer at its best!

The retreat will be held from 15 – 22 Jan 2012, at School of Philosophy’s beautiful ‘Mahratta’ property in Sydney.

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Each day will be packed with a range of different sessions aimed at deepening your sense of being, integrating your spiritual practices in your daily life, and having lots of fun doing it! Participants will choose a professional elective which they will attend each day to build continuity in a single are of interest. As with most spiritual retreats a clear and structured program will be provided to support and balance your learning. But participation in any particular session will be entirely voluntary, and there’ll be a good chunk of ‘down-time’ each day to unwind and digest your learning.

Take a look at the electives and faclitator details to find out more. 

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This year's retreat brought a variety of people from all capital cities of life. We came with our guitars, our road bikes, our manuscripts, our yoga mats, our joggers and even our dogs! Next year we hope that an equally diverse crowd will descend on Mahratta for a week in which we'll encourage everyone to 'just be!

The retreat is open to all current and former students of the School who have been offered meditation and who are between 18 and 38 years of age (give or take a few years).

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For the purpose of the meditative and spiritual practices, you'll be allocated to a small group. This group will also be a useful forum for sharing the experiences and learning’s of each day. Two mentors will lead your group and their role will be to facilitate the reflective / meditation sessions and to support you during the retreat.

You’ll also have the opportunity to choose a group for a ‘professional elective’. You will meet with this group each day during the week. These sessions are designed to build continuity in one area that interests you, explore its links with spiritual practice and deepen this over the week. For this reason, we ask that you choose one elective to follow through the course of the retreat.

As well as discussion and reflection, there will be plenty of opportunity to experience ‘being’ through more active sessions like cooking, gardening and creative sessions like theatre or public speaking. As well as having a practical purpose, these sessions are designed to deepen your experience of ‘being’ in action.

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Each day will start with Tai Chi and chanting followed by meditation in the small groups. This will lead into breakfast and morning activities that include some time for silent, personal reflection and study, as well as some physical exercise. You'll then meet with your professional elective groups from the elective you choose.

Each afternoon there’ll be the active sessions like gardening, theatre sports, cooking, drawing, etc. At the end of each afternoon there’ll be around an hour and a half of ‘down time’. The evening will include dinner and small group meetings or a whole-of-retreat gathering with the Sydney School’s principal, Mr Anthony Renshaw.

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Throughout the retreat, meals will be vegetarian, with a tasty variety of options available at each meal. If you have any particular dietary requirements, please let us know ahead of the retreat. When you register for the retreat via our online form, you can specify any dietary requirements you might have.

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Each day you will have plenty of time to get to know your peers and hear their stories through the group discussions, the ‘down-time’ and the professional elective sessions.

We’ve also lined up an amazing group of mentors to help coach you through the retreat. These people are all living examples of spirituality in action, and will be drawn from around Australia and beyond.

Lastly, you’ll get to hear from a small number of guest speakers; young professionals who have successfully integrated spirituality in their own field of choice and have used it to uplift humanity.

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Please pack sheets and towels if you live in Sydney, and for interstate and international residents these will be provided.

There is no ‘dress code’ as such, and we ask that you dress thoughtfully, with the intention being that dress does not distract or detract from the spiritual aims of the retreat. For guys, we ask that you please avoid wearing singlet tops or stubbies, and that girls avoid wearing very short skirts or low-cuts tops. In the evening, we usually dress up in ‘smart-casual’ for dinner. These are guidelines to assist you in packing and please feel free to email us if you have any questions.

We’ll also head to the beach during the program for a bit of time out, so please make sure you bring a hat / sunscreen etc, plus a beach towel.

Also, please bring clothes for outside activities – sport / gardening etc. And remember, Sydney will be HOT at that time of year – around 25-35 degrees each day.

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The week will be a fantastic way to start off the New Year. We had lots of great feedback from this year’s retreat that included, the relaxed vibe and open approach gave students plenty of space for self enquiry. They found the freedom to follow what works for them.

We hope you’ll leave this retreat having met a group of amazing, dedicated young people, feeling re-energised and inspired. And we hope that you’ll leave with a deeper and stronger connection with your own essential being.

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We have an amazing group of mentors to help coach you through the retreat. These people are all living examples of spirituality in action and are from around Australia and beyond. View the facilitators' biographies.

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There will be around 1.5 hours of ‘down-time’ each afternoon. There will also be plenty of choice in the afternoon activities and participation in any of the other sessions will be voluntary.

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We don’t want financial constraints to be a barrier to anyone coming along to the retreat that wants to. So we’ve set the program fee as low as we possibly can and we’ve included an ‘Early Bird’ rate for people who are keen to come and ready to scoop up a great discount. However if you’re finances are limited and you’d like to come along, then please email us, and we can explore payment options and rates that may be more doable for you.

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