For those who are already practicing meditation this retreat offers a unique opportunity to join with other practitioners and go to a deeper and simpler place – together in solitude into the ‘great silence’.
There are seven daily periods of meditation, times of contemplative walking and a 15-minute personal session with one of the leaders of the retreat. Apart from a short morning teaching by the retreat leader and the contemplative Eucharist in the evening there are no spoken prayers or readings. It is a full silence and a loving and friendly experience of what the silence reveals to us – something that is easier, more natural than you might have thought. Many who have done it – once or annually – say it has re-simplified them and reminded them that they had not lost their innate capacity for inner peace and clarity.
We invite applicants to send a short description of their journey so far and what they are hoping for.
If you are unsure whether it is right for you at this point don’t hesitate to talk it through with Liz Watson by contacting her at lizmeditates@gmail.com.
Important Information
This retreat is a more intensive retreat and provides a rare opportunity to benefit from the sustained silence and stillness of meditation over an extended period. In order to participate you should already have a regular meditation practice and should be familiar with the Essential Teaching of the Community.
This retreat is an opportunity to grow in the silence and stillness of meditation and will be a transformative time with long-term benefits. It is required that you attend the whole retreat: and therefore, that you do not arrive late nor leave early as this disrupts the group.
In the embodied practice of our communal meditation times insight into our relationship with Christ deepens and we see how this is lived in commitment to each other as we grow in self knowledge. Each day there are seven sitting meditation sessions with contemplative walking sessions between them. A short teaching in the morning and a contemplative Eucharist help the silence reach its full potential. You will also have a daily fifteen minute one-to-one meeting with one of the retreat team.
This is a rare opportunity to go significantly deeper in the work of silence. It is not a time for study or extensive reading. You will be expected to practice a ‘digital fast’ and not to use your phone or computer. This will help us be fully present and undistracted together.
Bonnevaux (Bonne Vallée , or Good Valley) is set within a beautiful valley formed by the river Rhune (la Rhûne) which descends past the Chapel and the 12th-century Abbaye, emptying into the lake beyond. The beauty and peace of Bonnevaux´s 65 hectares (160 acres) reflects the contemplative life lived here from its foundation as a Benedictine monastery in 1119 until the French Revolution. The community is continuing this policy as a living witness to the link between ecology and the human spirit. The land has over 20 different plant habitats, some of which are of heritage value.
Bonnevaux is near Poitiers, France, southwest of Paris. It is 20-minute ride from Poitiers Airport and train station. The journey by train to Poitiers is about 90 min from Paris (Montparnasse).
By road
5 hour drive from Paris along the A10. Parking is available at Bonnevaux. Get directions here
By air
Fly into Poitiers Airport, served by low-cost airlines. The airport is a 20-minute drive from the Abbaye. To the Poitiers Biard Airport website
Fly into Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport – click here to get all travel info to and from the airport.
Fly into Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport – click here to get all travel info to and from the airport.
By train
1.5h by TGV from Paris to Poitiers station which is about 20 minutes drive from Bonnevaux. To the Gare de Poitiers Train Station website
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Speaker
Leader
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Liz Watson
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Liz Watson is a member of The World Community for Christian Meditation and lives by the sea in Cornwall,UK. She has served the meditation community in various capacities over the past 28 years, including a term as UK National Coordinator. She now focuses on teaching meditation in a wide range of settings – speaking and writing – leading retreats and offering spiritual direction. For WCCM she has recorded the CD ‘Images of Meditation’ with its accompanying booklet, contributed chapters to the book ‘Journey to the Heart’ and to the website ‘Contemplative Path through the Crisis’.
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Schedule
Deep Silent Retreat
Arrival | Saturday 25 January 2025, check-in: 13h30 – 15h30 |
Departure | Sunday 2 February 2025, after lunch (15h00) |
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Contribution
Single room with ensuite bathroom | 1120€ |
Single room with shared bathroom | 960€ |
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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Application
Please submit the following information. You will be contacted within 48 business hours.
Registration opens soon
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); Krzysztof Albinski (Executive Director)
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