Anyone on the meditation path knows it is a journey to ever deeper and fuller levels of consciousness. Integration always leads to something new. The silent meditation retreat gently leads us into our own next level, unifying and opening us to what unified consciousness and openness to God really means.Â
Although all our retreats include the silence of meditation this one moves immediately into a sustained purifying silence for the whole week. There are eight periods of meditation without opening or closing words; a fifteen minute daily meeting with one of the retreat leaders; a short daily talk and a silent Eucharist. Retreatants will need a certain level of experience and will be expected to participate fully throughout.Â
The surprise in this retreat is that its silence and rhythm can be so rich and full an experience of peace and freedom that, as Laurence Freeman says, “we are all of us closer to a calmer and clearer mind than we usually imagine. Even without great revelations a retreat like this, where each supports the other in deep silence, can show us how the busy mind can quite quickly arrive at our capacity for peace and balance that our over active daily lives usually make us forget.
All our events taking place at Bonnevaux offer an opportunity to discover the rich cultural and historical French and European heritage of the 12th-century Abbaye de Bonnevaux, as well as to explore the varied and natural beauty of the land which we cultivate as a model of ecological responsibility.
Arrival and Departure
ARRIVAL: 05 Feb , check-in : 14:00 – 17:00
DEPARTURE:Â 13 Feb, 14:00
Contribution for the Retreat
CONTRIBUTION FOR THE RETREAT WITH FULL ROOM AND BOARD –  1240 €
8 days with room, board and instruction
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Therefore if you’re able to give a little more we would be very grateful. If you need a concession please let us know. We do not turn anybody away for lack of resource.Â
Registration Opens Soon
MEMBERSHIP FEE ** – 10€
Membership fee is paid once per year, valid strictly 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.Â
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.Â
Address : Bonnevaux, 86370 Marçay, France.
Phone number : 06 33 43 71 71 / 06 61 96 57 74.
José Pype (President of the Association); Giovanni Felicioni (Associate Director and Programme Manager).
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