Although everyone wants to change, we remain stuck in painful ways of thinking and behaving. Why? Because we grasp so strongly at the limited self. You know that self: the hurt self, the not good enough self, the anxious self etc, etc. We consider these to be our real self and therefore inescapable. So rather than changing we try to bury that self in unhelpful actions and compulsions.

According to Buddha this “limited self” is not our real self at all. Our actual nature is extraordinary, pervaded by freedom and joy. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could lose that tedious and painful self once and for all and replace it with one that reflects our actual nature?

During this day retreat, through a combination of talks, guided meditations and questions and answers, KMC Kent’s Principal Teacher James will take us into a deep dive into the liberating wisdom of understanding emptiness, not just of that ordinary, limited self, but of all painful and limiting conceptions associated with that self.

As Buddha’s teachings reveal, when you lose the ordinary limited self, you also lose the world of that self, with all of its past problems and conflicts, unfulfilled desires and so on. This opens us up to whole new, beautiful and liberating way of experiencing ourself, our world, our past and future etc. It turns out we can free ourselves from our past, we can change our life and our future, we can heal ourself and our relationships!

Each session will consist of a talk and guided meditation plus time for Q&A.