Beauty and Insight: A retreat on perception
Venue - The Guesthouse, Southern Sweden
“Look. This is your world! You can’t not look. There is no other world. This is your world; it is your feast. You inherited this; you inherited these eyeballs; you inherited this world of colour. Look at the greatness of the whole thing. Look! Don’t hesitate – look! Open your eyes. Don’t blink, and look, look – look further.”
This retreat is an invitation to look closely at how experience takes shape—how we see, feel, and make meaning of the world around us. Drawing on the Buddhist teaching of the Five Skandhas, we’ll explore perception not as a fixed or neutral window onto reality, but as an ongoing, interactive process—woven from sensation, memory, habit, and a sense of self that’s always in motion.
One way we speak of insight is as ‘seeing things as they really are.’ But this phrase—yathābhūtadassana in Pali—doesn’t mean seeing the world without interpretation. Instead, it invites us to notice how perception actually works: as a living, dynamic relationship between ourselves and the world. We shape the world, just as it shapes us.
When we begin to see the extent to which we are creating our world, we can begin to choose—consciously and creatively—to shape a world of beauty and meaning.
The arts offer us new and surprising windows on the world. Alongside Dharma teachings and meditation, we’ll be exploring what art, film, poetry, and music can reveal about the nature of perception. To support our explorations, there will be long periods of silence each day, and two or three days of complete silence in the middle of the week.
August 8th - 15th (7 days)
Cost £515
Just 9 places
Bookings open January 10th 2026
Mental health - Meditation and retreat settings can be deeply beneficial, but also emotionally intense. To ensure safety and support for all participants: If you have concerns about whether a retreat setting is right for you at this time, please get in touch — we’re happy to discuss it.
By booking on this retreat you confirm that you are not currently experiencing significant mental health challenges (such as severe anxiety, depression, or psychosis) that could be aggravated by meditation or silence.
Non-refundable deposit for 2026 retreat
Cancellations
You’ll pay a non-refundable £80 deposit to secure your booking. The full retreat fee will be due six weeks before your retreat begins.
Cancelling more than 6 weeks before a retreat:
full refund minus the deposit.
Cancelling 4 to 6 weeks before the retreat:
If we can fill your place, full refund minus the deposit,
If we can't fill your place, half refund minus the deposit.
Cancelling less than 4 weeks before the retreat:
If we can fill your place, full refund minus the deposit,
If we can't fill your place, any refunds will be at our discretion depending on circumstances