Shadow Play
Transforming Our World from Inside Out
An Experiencial Exploration of Emotional Energy
Shadow Play is an embodied, experiential deep dive into the energies of the 5 Buddha Families and the associated elements of Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Space. Each of these elements correspond with an emotional energy that can manifest as “wisdom,” the expansive dimension of our being, or as “confusion,” constricted self-centered emotional patterns.
Our retreat will combine art, ritual, embodiment, play and meditation to learn how to transform shadow energy. The shadow is the unconscious dimension of our being, which contains repressed emotions and pain that tend to drive our behavior when we are not aware of them.
Only by bringing these into the light of awareness can we release habits and patterns that no longer serve us. Remarkably, we find insights and energy right there in the messiness of our lives, just as the lotus grows out of the mud—revealing the buddha within.
What is keeping you from accessing your own inner wisdom?
Due to social conditioning and ancestral trauma, we each have habits that influence our way of seeing and being in the world. We have blind spots and unresolved emotions that can lead us to cause harm to ourselves and others without even realizing we are doing it. In Buddhism, we call this “confusion.” This confusion prevents us from accessing our inherent wisdom.
How do we transform confusion into wisdom?
According to the teachings of the 5 Buddha Families, different types of emotional energy can manifest in expansive or contracted ways within each of us individually and in our communities. When we gain awareness of this process, we can transmute these energies to foster healing in ourselves and in our world for the purpose of personal and collective liberation.
What will we be doing?
Our retreat will be an immersion into meditation and movement with time for play, dialogue, story and ritual. Together we will work with each element to help reveal the contracted aspects of ourselves and learn how to release them into wisdom. We will engage deeply with our own ancestral lineages to mine for the riches and reveal the recurring themes. Each of us will contribute our own insights to the collective and help to build a mindful and caring space.
Arrival & Departure
- Saturday, please plan to arrive 3:00 - 4:30pm for registration.
- The program will start at 5:00pm.
- The program will end by noon on Thursday, October 30th.
Getting Here
Visit our Directions and Transportation page to see different options for traveling to Karmê Chöling.
Pricing
Karmê Chöling values its commitment to making programs affordable and available to all who wish to study with us. To support this commitment we provide two program price options.
Generosity Price: $660.00
You're able to help us with this commitment by choosing the "Generosity Price". The money above the basic tuition cost goes into a scholarship fund for those who might not be able to attend a program otherwise.
Tuition: $550.00
This is the price of the program, it does not include housing options or material fees.
Please Note:
Price does not include accommodations, which will be added during the registration process.
Policies
Payment Policies:
Please read the payment policy before proceeding with registration.
Financial Aid:
Karmê Chöling offers full-time student discounts, scholarships and other financial aid.
Program Credit:
If using existing program credit to pay for a program, you must pre-register for this program at least two weeks prior to the program start date by calling the front desk (802-633-2384 x3000). Program credit may not be used to pay for housing or practice materials and may not be used on or after arrival day.
Instructors
Holly Gayley is a scholar and translator of Buddhist literature in contemporary Tibet and Associate Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. Her research areas include gender and sexuality in Buddhist tantra, ethical reform in contemporary Tibet, and theorizing translation, both literary and cultural, in the transmission of Buddhist teachings to North America. Her most recent books are Inseparable Across Lifetimes: The Lives and Love Letters of Namtrul Rinpoche and Khandro Tāre Lhamo, and her new edited volume, Voices from Larung Gar: Shaping Tibetan Buddhism for the Twenty-First Century. For two decades, she has regularly led meditation workshops and retreats and serves as a senior teacher in the Shambhala tradition.
Aarti Tejuja (she/they) is a spiritual life coach, ritualist, sacred space facilitator, youth mentor, and social justice advocate . Aarti is trained in the Art of Hosting, Interplay, Restorative Justice, Reiki, Mindfulness, Ritual and Ancestral Medicine. Aarti's ancestors are from Sindh, Pakistan from pre-partition India. They grew up Hindu and became Buddhist in their 20s, working for Shambhala from 2009-2018.
Aarti is currently co-developing the Antara Network for contemplative facilitators and Moya, a contemplative community on Cherokee Lands in Appalachia (Boone, NC), where they live with their partner, Matt Lentz and three cats, Buttercup, Fiona and Owsley.
Instructors:
Holly Gayley
Aarti Tejuja
Date & Time Details:
Location:
On-Land
Program Fee:
Generosity Price - $660
Tuition - $550
Room/Meals Fee:
This will be added in during the registration process.
View accommodations
Wellness Update:
Read our Wellness Policy
Getting to Karmê Chöling:
Contact Us:
Karmê Chöling
(802) 633-2384
info@karmecholing.org
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