Posts from — April 2009

Join me at Morgan’s Rock Hacienda & Ecolodge near Granada, Nicaragua from June 16-22 for a week of relaxation, writing, hiking, meditation, and exploring the beauty of Nicaragua.

Morgan’s Rock is more than just a hotel. It is a project of nature conservation, community development and reforestation offering Agro- and Ecotourism at its best. Morgan’s Rock is located at north of San Juan del Sur, in the department of Rivas, which lies just north of Guanacaste, Costa Rica. It’s south of the colonial city of Granada and about two hours and a half from the Nicaragua’s capital, Managua.

Because the economy is so rotten, the price just went down!

Single Package – $2725
Doubles Package – $2475 per person

Price includes:

* 6 nights accommodations at Morgan’s Rock
* All Meals
* Roundtrip Ground Transportation to and from Managua International Airport
* Guided Hikes
* Group Meditation Sessions with Susan
* Group Creative Writing Sessions with Susan
* Local School Tour
* Tree Planting & Reforestation Tour
* Local Artisan’s Tour
* Colonial City of Granada Tour

If you sign up before April 20, there is is a discount of $250 per person.

Here is our tenative schedule:

It’s going to be incredible. Morgan’s Rock is exceptionally peaceful, beautiful, and completely soulful. Click here for more info about the program. E-mail me with any questions.

What past participants have said about the Writers’ Retreats:

“Susan is a caring, compassionate person whose presence, insights, and instructions made for a valuable week exploring meditation practice and writing.”  –H.R.

“Susan Piver is very wise, intuitive, and insightful and has had great impact, with a very light touch.” –G.S.

“This course helped me integrate meditation skills such as serenity, focus, compassion, and insight into the areas of poetry and fiction. Susan had a great presence and created a well-balanced program of sitting, writing, and discussion. I am extremely grateful!” –B.S.

“Susan was a phenomenal teacher/facilitator: powerful, generous presence, skillful, inspiring, uplifting, an ally, and strong leader.”  –L.E.

“I can’t imagine any way to improve this program because it was more than I could have asked for.” –K.H

“The growth I experienced in five days was life changing.” –B.L.

“Emotionally moving, spiritually a gift, cathartic beyond my wildest imagination.” –M.M

I’m teaching a workshop based on my upcoming book, The Wisdom of a Broken Heart. It will take place May  15-17 at beautiful Karme Choling Shambhala Meditation Center in Barnet, VT.

In the Shambhala tradition, a broken heart, rather than a problem to be solved, is considered a remarkable opportunity to discover your innate spiritual warriorship. Only by plunging into the depths of your heart can you achieve the self-knowledge and genuine presence that are associated with wisdom and personal power. And when your heart is broken, you really have no choice. Your insides have been turned upside down and your deepest fears and concerns are no longer manageable. You can’t run and you can’t hide and so it is time to meet them.

This weekend program will gently introduce you to the skills needed to work with a broken heart – not to drive it away or tie it up with a bow, but to find the message of wisdom contained in this most difficult situation.

You will learn meditation, the practice of loving kindness, and several on-the-spot techniques to use throughout the day. In addition, we will:

• Discuss the wisdom aspect of painful emotions
• Contemplate one’s history with such emotions
• Shift the emphasis from finding love to offering it as a way to reclaim power
• Learn to stabilize your heart in a state of openness

Whether your heart was broken yesterday or years ago, the elements needed to tread this path are present. As we progress, you will discover that gentleness, fearlessness, and intelligence are marks of spiritual warriorship and that the dark power of heartbreak can introduce you to them. If you stay with your broken heart, it will surely lead you down the path to wisdom.

It’s not expensive–$275, not including housing. Click here for more info.

Here is an excerpt from the book and a bit more detail about the weekend:

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I recently did a phone interview with The Writing Spirit. Since I’m just back from teaching a week-long meditation retreat for writers, I thought I’d post it, since these themes are very much on my mind.

JULIE:     I see that you’re about to lead a new meditation retreat for writers in a week. Are you looking forward to it?

SUSAN:    I’m looking forward to it very much. I have tremendous love for this combination, meditation and writing. They seem to go together extremely well.

JULIE:    I agree. And that’s what I’d like to talk to you about today.

So, Susan, what type of meditation practice do you teach?

SUSAN:    I teach a practice called Shamatha, which is a Sanskrit word that means calm abiding or tranquilly abiding. It dates from the time of the Buddha, about 2500 years ago, and is a basic breath awareness meditation; meaning, instead of allowing your thoughts to absorb your attention, you place your attention on your breath instead.

JULIE:    Susan, how does meditation relate to mindfulness?

SUSAN:    Well, meditation, I guess could be thought of as the cultivation of mindfulness. Because mindfulness, it’s come to be associated with many things, but I think all it is, is attention to the present moment, being in the present moment. Meditation is practicing being in the present moment so that when you’re off the cushion, you can more readily employ mindfulness as you wish.

But it’s not something in our very speedy world that we can just suddenly do. Okay, now I’m mindful, or I need to be more mindful. Well, yeah, we all need to be more mindful, but it’s not a matter of will. It’s a matter of practice and experience and a cultivation of mindfulness. And that’s what meditation does.

JULIE:    Is there any aspect of surrender in that? Surrender to the moment? Or is it more cultivation?

SUSAN:    Well, I don’t know. What do you mean by surrender?

JULIE:    When talking about the willfulness and focusing on thought and not being in the moment. To me, being in the moment is a relaxing, is surrendering. So, I’m just wondering how that relates to your view of mindfulness and being in the moment?

SUSAN:    I think you used the key word, which is relaxing…which is, I guess, the same thing as opening. I suppose surrender could mean the same thing. But at the same time, if you’re focused surrendering, you’re not paying attention. You know what I mean?

If you’re engaged in surrendering, you’re not so much engaged in what’s happening. And sometimes it feels great to be engaged in what’s happening, but sometimes it doesn’t feel very good. And you wish you didn’t have to. But, nonetheless, the ability to relax enough to relate with your world is critical. Perhaps you could call it surrendering or relaxing or allowing. I think we probably mean the same things by these words.

Here is the full transcript. Warning: it’s long….