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News from The Hermitage Cottage
Saintfield, County Down BT24 7NB 44 2897 510232
Sally.taylor803@btopenworld.com
www.thehermitagecottage.com
September 2008
The hint of autumn has arrived, with a bit of crispness in the morning air J Leaves dance in the wind and birds sing new songs. Harvest abounds
For private or group use the Hermitage Cottage YURT, the walking Labyrinth and a 2 acre Garden are available to let. Contact Sally for details. The garden is also open through the National Trust.
Come spend some time with us in Scenic County Down!
Allotments are available to let from March 2009. Please contact Sally.
J Ongoing Meditation, for Beginning and Experienced Meditators, is held each week Monday Evenings (7-8:30) and Tuesday Mornings (11-1:30pm). A soup lunch is provided on Tuesdays. We conclude our time with a visualisation of love and compassion in our world. Why not cultivate a new and beneficial habit? No charge. Donations for help with Mongolian poverty.
Seasonal Fire Circles provide opportunities to take note of the constant impermanence in our lives. An important balancing point in the annual cycle, the Autumn Equinox, will be marked on Sunday 21 September 7~9pm. Further ahead, Samhain (31st October) begins the new year in the ancient Celtic calendar, and marks the end of the harvest season. Come discover what is to be harvested in your own life during this time of great bounty. Light seasonal supper included £10 per session
Duting this season of harvest, enjoy the harvest of your own life.
Hope to see you here!
SALLY
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Regular Meditation |
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At The Hermitage Cottage, County Down
Meditation is a unique tool for self reflection and understanding, perhaps better stated as ‘training the heart & mind’.
It is also can lessen personal stress and better enable us to benefit others.
We begin simply, germinating a calm centre & greater clarity about reality.
Meditation suitable for Beginners and Experienced Meditators
Suitable for Everyone!
Meditation cultivates living with
an open heart.
Meditation cultivates living with an open heart.
Monday Evenings 7~ 8:30pm
Tuesday Mornings!
11- 12:30
Private Direction also available upon request 02897 510232
Payment for the Meditation Course
is a free will offering of generosity (giving) on your part, and in
this case will be donated to ‘Jampa Ling Belfast’ Trust to
assist Mongolians living in great need. Additional Charge specifically
cover the costs of the facility: (£12 for 6 sessions)
Contact Sally at 02897 510232
The Mediations are held in the Hermitage
Cottage Yurt.
Really,
we are befriending the Universe we live within.
We're embracing the Story of the
Universe as our own 'story'.
Certain moments annually mark significant shifts in the life of the
planet. They provide the points of connection for our human lives.
At The Hermitage Cottage we mark
these occasions with Ceremonial Fire Circles:
acknowledging the shifts in the year's cycle as they are reflected personally
in our lives, honouring the earth and it's changes through the year
in nature,
rediscovering our own 'home' in the universe.
Seasonal changes are acknowledged within most religious traditions. It is a universal impulse as human beings: from Islamic Ramadan ~ time of fasting & purification before entering the inner darkness of winter; Hanukkah (Judaism), Christmas(Christian), Divali (Hindu) ~Festivals of Light in the midst of that darkness;
re-emergence of life in spring festivals (Easter and ‘New Year’ celebrations in China, Tibet) through seasons of full expression into the world ~ Pentacost (Christian), Saga Dawa (Buddhism), Ridvan (Baha’i).
Really, what we are doing is befriending the Universe through Self-Reflection Certain moments annually mark significant shifts in the life of the planet we call our home. They provide points of connection for our human lives with the Life around us. At The Hermitage Cottage we Hermitage mark these occasions with Seasonal Fire Circles:
Mark this one on your calendar!! ~ Invite a friend and come along! ~ Winter Solstice 2008 *** Sunday 21st December 7~9pm "The rebirth of the sun. The birth of the Son." Many traditions today call our attention to the roots of Christmas that include and are far older than the story of Jesus’ birth, traditions of renewal, and the return of light into a darkened world: the lighting of candles, evergreens, feasting and generosity -- are echoes of a past that extends many thousands of years further than we habitually imagine. May it continue to blossom into the future further than we imagine possible as we integrate seasonal wisdom in our own lives. :: Blessings Be :: £10 charge for each Fire Circle Session :: Seasonal Treats included RSVP to Sally Taylor at 02897 510232 or email sally.taylor803@btopenworld.com |
Dates Celebrated in the Cycles of the Year at The Hermitage Cottage:
31 October Samhain (All Hallow's Eve); The start of winter when traditionally the harvests were complete and preparations begun for the winter ahead. It is time to turn inward, kindle the home fires, and tell stories round the hearth as a way of remembering who we are in this universe.
21 December* Winter Solstice ~ the shortest day of the year asks us each year to live out from the womb of life in the fertile darkness of winter
1 February Imbolc, (St Brigid’s Day) ~ marks the beginning of spring in the ancient Celtic Earth Calendar; marks the return of the first spring bulbs – snowdrops and crocus; So too does the potential in all life lie begin emerging at this time. It’s time now to complete preparation for possibilities in our own lives.
21 March Spring Equinox * The Dynamic Equilibrum on its way into the lighter longer days of summer; Honour this moment in the seasonal cycles by pausing in your daily routines to consider right now this moment you are inhabiting.
1 May Beltane ~ May Day ~ marks the beginning of summer, and the season with most sunlight and plant life in its fullest expression
21 June* Summer Solstice Celebration ~ The summer solstice is the moment of longest daylight hours in the year. It honours the fullness of life, the apex of growth reached in nature ~ flowers abound! Life IS renewed! It is a time of honouring the light of the Sun which all life
1 August* Lammas Celebrating the fruits of the Earth, and beginning the Autumn season
21 September* Autumn Equinox ~ equal time, day and night, heading into the darkness; Pause to enjoy a moment of dynamic balance amidst the dance of change that is life on Earth.
31 October Samhain (All Hallow's Eve) ~ The start of winter when traditionally the harvests were complete and preparations begun for the winter ahead. It is time to turn inward, kindle the home fires, and tell stories round the hearth as a way of remembering who we are in this universe.
21 December Winter Solstice ~ the shortest day of the year asks us each year to live out from the womb of life in the fertile darkness of winter
*Date varies between 21st and 23rd of the month.
The
Hermitage Cottage in Co. Down, provides a private ‘retreat’
(self-catering) for individuals and offers workshops and Programmes
on related themes. It sits in a stunning 2 acre garden which is open
to the public seasonally. There is a walking Labyrinth in the grounds
of the Hermitage Cottage available for contemplative use. A Ceremonial
Fire Circle is used to mark seasonal turning points in Nature. The Hermitage
Cottage Yurt (30ft diametre) is available to hire as a meeting and small
classroom space.
Your
hostess at the Hermitage Cottage, Sally Taylor, is a 15 year practitioner
of Tibetan Buddhism. She hosts meditation practice regularly through
the year. As a keen gardener, she tends 20 acres of landscape, opening
her garden to the public seasonally.
She has taught adults and primary age children, using nature and gardening as an effective experiential learning tool. She sits on the Executive of the N. I. Interfaith Forum, and offers spiritual direction.
The Hermitage Cottage, 14 Drumnaconnell Rd., Saintfield, Co. Down BT24 7NB
02897 510232 info@thehermitagecottage.com
www.thehermitagecottage.com
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