The Park Place School Retreat
Laurence Freeman and Eileen O’Hea
9th-15th June 2003

Following the pilot in Fara Sabina last year the first UK School Retreat was held at The Park Place Pastoral Centre in Fareham., led by Laurence Freeman and Eileen O’Hea. It started on Monday evening 9 June 2003 and concluded Sunday 15 June 2003 lunchtime.

Park Place is run by a Community of Franciscan Sisters of Indian origin and is situated in the beautiful Hampshire countryside with ample opportunities for walks from the doorstep of the Centre. There is also an inner garden with a magnificent sycamore tree at its center.

The difference between an ordinary retreat and a School ‘Retreat’ is the emphasis on profound silence with a minimal teaching input and daily individual meetings with one of the retreat leaders. Participants are encouraged not to read anything, which gives the opportunity for deep reflection of what comes up, and moving from the mind into the heart. The setting was perfect to allow the silence to deepen and the environment the sisters afforded was very supportive and contemplative.

The daily schedule was as follows:

7.00 a.m. Meditation
7.25 a.m. Walking Meditation
7.40 a.m. Meditation

8.30 a.m. Breakfast

10.15 a.m. Teaching
11.15 a.m. Walking Meditation
11.30 a.m. Meditation

1.00 p.m. Lunch

3.00 p.m. Walking meditation
3.30 p.m. Meditation

5.00 p.m. Meditation
5.25 p.m. Walking Meditation
5.40 p.m. Meditation

6.30 p.m. Supper

8.00 p.m. Mass and Meditation

Throughout the day the participants had appointments with Fr Laurence or Eileen to listen together to what the silence brought.

Fr Laurence and Eileen shared the teaching which was an inspiring interwoven dance and led us deep within.

To see some photos from the retreat, please click here.

Towards the end of the Retreat participants were encouraged to express themselves in the form of haiku poems. Perception has changed:

Haiku for a sunny afternoon

A small pond
And a fish swimming
In the sky.

Blackbird finds worm.
Worm finds blackbird
Who found who first?

Little rabbit,
So small you could
Eat it.

Two ducks.
Quack, quack, quack,
In love.

The afternoon has gone
And all around me the evening
Is tuning up.

River runs by;
no sound, no thought,
Just sunlight.

Gravel path:
Crunch, crunch,crunch,
Crunch, crunch…

A hundred trees
but only one forest
I could get lost.

Four p.m. The sky
is empty and the sun
Is caught in a tree.

Liitle evening primrose
Ten purple petals pared
And powdered with white

Bee buzzes,
Chickens cackle
Sun shines.

A dead tree
that even the ivy
can’t hide.

A pheasant
runs away. I didn’t
Say boo.

We stared
identified and agreed:
A Dahlia!

A Haiku sign

A small pond
And a fish swimming
In the sky.

Private land.
Beware of the horses.
Keep out.

The lark sings
Childrens’ laughter
Lovers quarrel.

Drooping sun
Glistening on warm rocks
The thrush sings.

Laurence, Buddha-like
Gongs the gong carefully
All is well.

Earth Foot, Light foot
A rainbow of life-paths weaving
Flower-kissed.

Scarlet poppies
The wine The Blood
The Chalice Non-dual.

Rooster crows,
Motorbike screams – loud:
Summer afternoon.

Energy freely flowing
Breathes the air
The bird flies.

The full moon
Broke through the clouds to look
Then crept back again.

Enfolding petals
Colour fading then deepening
Being carried home.

River runs by;
no sound, no thought,
Just sunlight.

Hot wind
scorching the skin
Bumble bees drunk with nectar.

Warm summer evening
The curlew’s cries
suspend the daylight.

Tree.
Bird.
Wind. Playtime.

Green star
Holds the white rose
In its sepaled embrace.

Heat laden air,
Squirrel, tail at rest,
In cedar’s shade.

Eucalypt scimitar leaves
Blue-green and russet cleave
Blue sky.

Old tree, twisted, divided
Lost boughs, quietly healing.
Spreading green shoots.

Shining splendour
Pink poppies
The insect finds a home.

Sorrow arises
Joy springs up
It’s all good.

Melting bitumen
Car horns papping
Lake water lapping over
Round pebbles.

Bee buzzes,
Chickens cackle
Sun shines.

Full Gold moon being
English summer evening sky
calm face of Buddha.

Pink poppy
Shines through bees wings
While it sings.

Trees root, larks soar
Foot-mantras silently sing
Clematis bloom.

Spikes of grass
entwining bramble stems:
Burst of energy.

Small black fish
Floats on weed – dead?
Plop – not.

Tree Mend us Oak.

The sky lark stood on a pole
singing his heart out to the universe and an audience of one.

Tortured and weathered
Broken arms of the fallen fir
Embrace the weary.

Short path-ways
Zen walk
Slow footfalls
Feeling the earth:
Ground covered.