Details:

Date: Thursday 21st – Sunday 24th January 2027

Retreat Leaders: Alison Murdoch & Anna Colao

Requirements: Everyone is welcome

Cost: Generosity Model – Donation only (by clicking the ‘Donate Here’ button below). Land of Joy provides: All meals, accommodation, workshops, materials and good firewood for soulful nights.

Format: Onsite only / Retreat begins: 7pm on the 21st January / Retreat ends: with lunch on the 24th January

Recommended arrival: 3pm – 5pm on the 21st January to join for supper and get settled into the space

Accommodation: Land of Joy wishes for everyone who visits the centre to feel welcome, accepted, safe and secure. Our accommodation options are very limited, with mostly single-sex shared accommodation and a very limited number of single rooms. Single accommodation can therefore only be offered on a priority basis. Please read the relevant sections of the booking form carefully.

About the Weekend

How might life change if we could meet ourselves and others with more kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity? Could you grow our capacity to love? In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, love is beautifully understood as the wish that others have happiness and the cause of happiness.

This weekend creates space to explore four qualities that have been cultivated in contemplative traditions for centuries: loving-kindness, compassion, appreciative joy and equanimity. Together, they offer different ways of opening to ourselves and others, while helping us remain grounded through the difficulties and uncertainties of life.

We will explore what these qualities might mean in our own experience: developing warmth towards ourselves and others, responding to suffering with care, learning to recognise and share in happiness, and finding greater steadiness when life does not unfold as we would like.

Through meditation, fun, nature, reflection and shared exploration, the weekend offers an opportunity to become more familiar with these qualities and to consider how they might support us in everyday life.

What Will Be Offered

Through guided meditation, reflection, discussion and periods of quiet, we will explore:

  • Equanimity – developing greater balance and steadiness amid the changing circumstances of life.
  • Loving-kindness – cultivating warmth and goodwill towards ourselves and others
  • Compassion – learning to meet difficulty and suffering with care rather than turning away
  • Appreciative joy – noticing and taking pleasure in the happiness and good fortune of others
  • How these four qualities support and balance one another
  • Ways of bringing them into our relationships and everyday lives

There will also be time for quiet reflection, rest and enjoying the peaceful surroundings of Land of Joy.

Who is the Retreat For?

This retreat is open to anyone interested in exploring how we can relate to ourselves, other people and life’s ups and downs with greater warmth and balance.

No previous experience of meditation is needed. The practices will be introduced in an accessible, secular way, making the weekend suitable both for those new to contemplative practice and those with more experience.

Why Attend?

It can be easy to become caught in self-criticism, overwhelmed by difficulties, compare ourselves with others, or feel unsettled when circumstances change.

Cultivating kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity offers another way of meeting these experiences. This retreat provides time and space to explore these qualities, experience how they can support one another, and discover practical ways of carrying them into our relationships and everyday life.

About the Retreat Leaders

Anna Colao is a facilitator and practitioner with over 20 years’ experience in embodied and reflective practice. She has worked for a range of frontline organisations in areas such as homelessness and youth work, and lives with her husband and son in Liverpool.

Alison Murdoch is a long-time Buddhist student, practitioner and facilitator who is the co-author of The 16 Guidelines for A Happy Life and editor of the study manual Lamrim Year. She has been both Director and Chair of Jamyang Buddhist Centre in London and currently runs a centre for kindness called The Good Heart in Frome, Somerset.

Anna and Alison became friends around twenty years ago when they were both working for The Foundation for Developing Compassion and Wisdom. They share a passion for making the teachings of the Buddha relevant and accessible for 21st century life.

A Way to Say Thank You

To Land of Joy…

Our generosity model means we do not charge for any teachings, accommodation or food. We are therefore 100% dependant on donations to help us cover our £90,000 a year running costs.

You are therefore invited to give what you can as a thank you for the organisation and hosting of the retreat, including the food and accommodation provided if you stayed onsite.

You may also like to make a regular contribution to the centre by becoming a Branch of Joy. This kind of support gifts us a steady and ongoing income, which in turn provides the confidence and means for us to continue to flourish for many years to come.

Everything given will ensure Land of Joy continues to be offered as a precious place for retreat.

To The Teacher…

Teachers and retreat leaders practice generosity by freely offering their time to Land of Joy. We cover their travel expenses but do not pay them for the teachings they give.

You are therefore invited to make an offering to the teacher as a thank you for the time and knowledge they share.

To The Volunteers…

Our retreats are supported by our wonderful team of volunteers, some of whom you will meet during your time at the centre. Those who live onsite offer their time, expertise and dedication in return for food and accommodation. They do not receive a wage or stipend. Unfortunately, we are only able to accept offerings for them in cash, so if you would like to thank them for their service, please do so by bringing cash with you to the centre and placing it in the volunteer collection pot.