Heart Space Multi-Faith Retreat
with Father Charles Ogada
Thursday, October 17th to Sunday, October 20th
Father Charles Ogada - a Nigerian Christian mystic and Vedantist - has been working to transform the village of Ebe, Nigeria into ‘Joy Village’. Allowing love to be his guiding light, he now brings his profound spiritual insight, love, and joyful presence to Canada for this extraordinary three day multi-faith retreat. Participants will have the opportunity to spend time in silence, contemplation and meditation, hear talks, and ask questions of Father Charles, practice yoga, walk in the forest, canoe, and do experiential exercises to come into awareness of our timeless, ever-peaceful, ever-present, ever-loving Self. One day of the retreat will be spent in silence.
Father Charles Ogada is a Nigerian Catholic Priest, a Christian mystic, a Vedantist and an award-winning humanitarian champion. After a profound spiritual awakening at the age of 17, he joined the Spiritan order and attained a higher education studying core aspects of different religions and philosophies. After several years travelling and meditating in India and teaching in Zambia, he returned to a remote village in Nigeria called Ebe where he began his transformative humanitarian work as founder and executive director of the Spiritan Self-Awareness Initiative. His current work includes the running of a free values-based school called The Embodiments of Love Academy, the Liquid Love Water Project, The 'Come and Eat' village food program, The Heart of Love Children's Home for orphaned children, and a free community hospital. For more information on Father Charles go to: https://www.joyvillages.org/
Important Details
Arrival and Departure: Please arrive on Thursday October 17th between 2-5:30 pm. There will be a dinner at 6pm followed by an orientation session and the first class at 7:30pm that evening. We recommend arriving as early as you can to give yourself time to fully land in the space. The last class will be held on Sunday morning, October 20th. The retreat officially ends around 2pm after lunch and a brief wrap-up.
Rates:
Early Bird (until August 1st): Non-members: $340 / Dharma Centre Members: $295
After August 1st: Non-members: $360 / Dharma Centre Members: $315 (to find out how to become a member please visit our membership page)
There are also options to attend the course for a reduced rate in exchange of doing service for the Centre. Please contact the Retreat Administrator at retreats@dharmacentre.org for further details.
Rates include: Single accommodation and all meals and a small fee towards the teacher's travel expenses. They do not include teacher fees. Father Charles Ogada is sharing his experience within the traditional Buddhist understanding of Dana.
What is Dana?: Teachers share their time and wisdom freely so that anyone, no matter their financial means can attend classes. Each time one receives teachings, it is an opportunity to consciously practice generosity. Giving money and other means of support expresses gratitude and support to the teacher and helps to ensure that these teachings continue. Each person receiving Dharma teachings determines the kind and amount of Dāna according to one's heart and one’s financial means.
When deciding how much to offer, one should think about what these teachings mean to you and try to give accordingly. It is recommended that students make an offering of dāna at the beginning of a class or retreat to establish the intention to make the most of this opportunity for one’s own progression and for the benefit of all others.
Payment: Payment can be made to the Dharma Centre of Canada by credit card, cheque or e-transfer. Please call us, toll free, if you need information on making a payment at 1 866 266 0966 or email: info@dharmacentre.com. Full payment is due 10 days prior to the start of a retreat or course. A 50% deposit is required to hold your space for an upcoming retreat.