Retreats
Retreat days at Cascades Gardens, Bonsall, Derbyshire. 2025
Next dates for a retreat days to be announced:
Zen meditation sessions will be held in the new japanese tea house in April.
Email your interest to Alan by emailing him (see below).
We will be holding retreat days on Thursdays each week at Cascades Gardens, sessions (1-4 each month) when the garden is closed to the public. Participants have the garden to themselves for silent mindfulness and meditation sessions held in our large log cabin and the very spiritual garden.
Alan Clements runs the sessions which last between 9.20am and 4 pm. Lunches and other refreshments are provided.
Alan is widely travelled and has trained in and studied Tibetan and Zen Buddhism. His CV can be seen at https://cascadesgardens.com/about-alan-clements/
The four retreat day sessions per month include:
- An introduction to the methods and experience of mindfulness.
- The basics of meditation from a Zen perspective with a glimpse of advanced ideas and techniques.
- Thoughts and discussion about our spiritual journey.
- A summary of Mindfulness, Meditation and Spiritual Awakening and a chance to put the methods into practice again in the very spiritual Cascades Gardens.
All this takes place in the wonderful setting of Cascades Gardens that has taken 30 years to create from an old quarry. Based on Japanese gardens and Buddhist philosophy the four-acre natural garden has an 80-foot cliff, many waterfalls and is profoundly silent and beautiful. It is designed with 20 secluded benches for meditation and is an ideal place to become one with nature.
The first retreat day talks about our vision for a better life and how to gain peace of mind by employing techniques that focus on our life in the present that is Mindfulness.
On the second retreat day Alan focusses on meditation, its techniques and objectives based on personal teachings with his holiness the Dalai Lama, visits to the Japanese Zen gardens of Kyoto and Nara, and his stay and teachings at the Soto Zen monastery, Eheiji.
The third session discusses the concept of our Spiritual Journey and Alan reveals aspects of his own journey within the background of his meetings with the Dalai Lama and experiences in Japan. He goes into some detail about the recent findings of Quantum Physics and his own realization about the True Nature of Reality.
The fourth session is a chance for people who have come to previous sessions to refresh their memories about mindfulness and meditation practice and spiritual awareness in a group setting and the chance to practice in the wonderful setting of Cascades Gardens
If you are interested in coming to any of our retreat days please contact Alan on his email alan.clements@cascadesgardens.com and register your interest. The cost is £45 per day or £160 for all four sessions. Alans bank details ; Sort Code 40 35 18. Account number 54438396 A T Beaumont-Clements. You can come any Thursday throughout the season(not necessarily on consecutive days) and the cost covers lunch and refreshments. There will be new dates every month.
More details on the retreats
Day one: Introduction to Mindfulness in Nature
9.20am – Delegate introductions
9.35 am – What really matters to me ( 1).
10.25 am – Coffee
10.45 am – Talk 1. Cascades Gardens-Inspiration, Vision, Motivation.
11.45 am – Tour of the garden from a mindfulness perspective
12.30 pm – lunch
13.15 pm – Talk 2. Mindfulness
14.30 pm – Guided mindfulness meditation session
15:00 pm – Individual mindfulness experience in the garden.
15.45 pm – Tea/coffee with informal feedback/discussion about the mindfulness experience in the garden.
What to do next. feedback and evaluation. Second day session?
Final thoughts/questions
Departure by 16.15 pm. Close. Free time in the garden.
Day 2: Meditation
9.20 am – Delegate introductions.
9.30 am – What really matters to me (2)?
10.00 am – Learning Meditation: posture, body scan, breathing, purification.
1st Guided Meditation.
10.45 am – Coffee
10.45 – Talk 3 Meditation
12.00 am – Guided tour of Cascades Gardens, the meditation garden (Alan)
12.30 pm – Lunch
13.15 pm – Guided Meditation
13.45 – Individual meditation experience in the garden
14.30 pm – Tea/coffee
15.00 pm – Informal feedback/discussion about the meditation experience
What to do next. feedback and evaluation, further sessions.
Final thoughts/questions
Departure by 16.15 pm. Close. Optional free time in the garden.
Day 3: Spiritual Awakening
9.20 am – Delegate introductions.
9.30 am – What really matters to me (3).?
10.00 am – Learning Meditation: Chi energy in the garden and the body. 1st Connecting with the Universe
10.45 am – Coffee
11.00 – Talk 3 Spiritual Awakening:
In awe of nature.Emptiness- the loss of self.
Quantum Physics and Eastern Philosophy. Love.One with nature.
12.15 am – Guided tour of Cascades Gardens, the meditation garden (Alan)
12.45 pm – Lunch
13.30 pm – Guided Meditation
14.00 – Individual meditation experience in the garden.
14.45 pm – Tea/coffee
15.15pm – Informal feedback/discussion about the meditation experience
What to do next. feedback and evaluation, further sessions.
Final thoughts/questions
Departure by 16.15 pm. Close. Optional free time in the garden.
Day 4. Similar format to each other day. A summary of mindfulness and meditation and spiritual awareness. A chance to put the methods into practice again in the very spiritual Cascades Gardens.