Wisdom is not knowing more. It is knowing deeper, knowing with more of you,” writes Cynthia. Wisdom fundamentally describes a higher level of human consciousness characterized by a supple and alert awareness, compassionate intelligence, a substantial reduction in the “internal dialogue,” and the capacity to engage reality directly, without the superimposition of mental constructs and categories. It is the original Integral Knowing.
The retreat offers balanced movement from prayer to work, from intellectual stimulation to silence—and back again. Wisdom School has more talking than a meditation retreat, more silence and physical embodiment than a seminar. The Wisdom model suggests that it is not through specialization in any one mode (contemplative silence, thinking, bodywork) that one learns Wisdom, but through the ability to move smoothly and rhythmically through all these modes without getting stuck in any one of them.
The Benedictine monastic tradition has specialized in this mode of knowing for more than 1500 years now, offering an ongoing alternative to the much more academic and theological models that began to dominate in Europe with the rise of scholasticism and the university in the Middle Ages. Bonnevaux originally began as a Benedictine Monastery and the life being lived nowadays at Bonnevaux is rooted in this Benedictine tradition and reflects it in a contemporary form. A Benedictine Wisdom School merely makes more articulate what has been intuitively lived on this soil for centuries, and we draw on that presence on our work.
This event takes place at Bonnevaux and offers an opportunity to discover the rich cultural and historical French and European heritage of the 12th-century Abbaye de Bonnevaux, as well as to explore the varied and natural beauty of the land which we cultivate as a model of ecological responsibility.
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Speakers
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Schedule
"A Benedictine Wisdom School"
| Arrival | Tuesday 7 March 2023, check-in: 14:00 – 17:00 |
| Departure | Sunday 12 March 2023, after lunch (15:00) |
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Contribution
| Single rooms | 500€ |
| Shared / Twin rooms | 400€ |
All rooms on-campus are already taken. Remaining places for this retreat have accommodation only off-campus at €325. These include all meals and instruction. Please book and pay for your room directly with the hotel St George or the gite La Cadoue with whom we have a friendly partnership. Our minibus will shuttle you back and forth once a day. Please mention you come on behalf of Abbaye de Bonnevaux :
If you have booked a retreat that does not include accommodation on site at Bonnevaux, please note that our shuttle service is only available between Bonnevaux and the St Georges Hotel in Vivonne. |
The prices reflect the need to achieve self sufficiency. Therefore if you’re able to give a little more we would be very grateful. Please, click here to donate.
If you need a concession please let us know. We do not turn anybody away for lack of resources. Please, click the email address <contact@bonnevauxabp.com> to contact us.
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Registration
This event is fully booked.
Cancellation
— Please ensure you have travel insurance in place as we cannot refund cancelled travel for any reason.
— If you cancel your Bonnevaux booking up to 30 days before the event starts, you will be refunded the full cost of the event. Cancellations occurring within 30 days of the event start will be offered a voucher for a future event. Bonnevaux reserves the right to cancel events at any point – cancellations occurring within 30 days prior to the event start date will be subject to the voucher refund policy only.
Membership Fee ** – 10€
Membership fee is paid once per year, valid from Jan – Dec.
** by French law you must be a ‘member‘ of the charity (association ABP) Abbaye de Bonnevaux – Centre Pour la Paix in order to participate at an on-the-ground event at Bonnevaux – 86370 Marçay, France.
Membership is non-binding. It simply means that you are invited to attend the annual general meeting if you wish and that you may receive information about our events during the year.
The Abbey of Bonnevaux is the spiritual home of the World Community for Christian Meditation (WCCM) which includes a Conference and Retreat Centre dedicated to peace. The on-the-ground activities of the Abbey are organized under the responsibility of l’Association Abbaye de Bonnevaux – Centre pour le Paix (ABP). The Association, which is governed by the French law of 1st July 1901, is registered in Poitiers under the reference RNA: W863007299.
Address : Bonnevaux, 86370 Marçay, France.
Phone number : 06 33 43 71 71 / 06 61 96 57 74.
José Pype (President of the Association); Giovanni Felicioni (Associate Director and Programme Manager)
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