RETREAT: Open the Heart & Still the Mind: Returning Home to the Joyful Heart (Volos, Greece)

This 5 night Open the Heart & Still the Mind Compassion Retreat is held in a nurturing and containing atmosphere of Noble Silence and is suitable for beginners as well as experienced practitioners. The retreat takes place at the exquisite venue of Pelion Homes, Volos in Greece (Athens to Volos is 320km and Thessaloniki to Volos is 142kms) and is facilitated by two experienced South African psychologists, Sue Cooper and Nicole Economou.

In addition to their clinical work as psychotherapists, Sue has offered Open the Heart and Still the Mind silent retreats (from half-day and daylongs to residential 1 - 9 days) throughout South Africa for 15 years and in Italy in 2015 and Nicole has been offering Psyche to Soma & Soma to Psyche Mindfulness half-day and daylong retreats for the past few years, under Sue’s mentorship.

Inspired by the wisdom teachings of the Dharma and an integration of Buddhist and western, psychoanalytically oriented psychology and somatic traditions, we will cultivate mindfulness and compassion practices which calm the nervous system and help integrate body, heart and mind. As we learn to listen deeply and connect more compassionately with ourselves, we will find solace in silence with a like-minded community (sangha). We will discover that the containment provided by the ennobling silence allows us to cultivate the courage to honour and embody our authentic, heartfelt presence with greater confidence, clarity and appreciative joy. We will savour the delicious offerings of Greece, including beach and forest days in silence.

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A 30-40 minute pre-retreat individual session via Zoom/Whatsapp is recommended for newcomers or if you have not attended one of Sue’s residential retreats before. This provides greater containment and enhances and deepens the silent retreat experience for yourself and for the group. The fee for this will be the 30-40 minute medical aid rate and will be reduced if you are not on medical aid. Please contact Sue on sue.stillmind@gmail.com to arrange a time.

CPD accreditation for psychologists and other HPCSA (or equivalent) registered professionals to be confirmed, with an annual admin fee tbc (R375 for 2024).

Bookings: admin@stillmindretreats.com